Reuniting The Owners With Their Boat That Was Sunk At The Bottom of Lake Powell For 30 Years! 

That was emotional for me to listen to him tell the story, the worst part of it is to hear about how everyone just went by and wouldn't help them with two little kids, that's just completely inconceivable to me, even if there's one hell of a storm going I'm still gonna try to stop and help young parents with two little kids on the boat, we're all coming out or going down together where there's kids involved. It's really cool to see this though, I bet they'd long ago accepted that they'd never see the boat again

As a father of three, and a Navy Veteran, I am absolutely disgusted to hear that nobody stopped to help them. I hope every individual on the lake that day comes across this video and has to listen to this poor man tell the story of how he nearly lost his family. Even if the boat can't be towed, you rescue the people. Period. I had to hit pause numerous times because of the emotional impact this had on me. All of you are amazing for bringing this tragedy to a better ending. I love you guys, many could learn from your example. Including myself.

As someone who went out in a canoe as a pre-teen to pull people out of a stormy lake, I can’t imagine people, especially a commercial captain, refusing to help a family in obvious distress. Wonderful series and so glad the family is back in touch with their boat.

We need a video of what the owners decided to do with the Boat. I still can't believe it's running and floating. Merlin and the FabRats are Amazing people.

It's amazing everyone was able to bring back a piece of history for a total stranger. I think this shows more than ever the kind hearted people of the Fab Rats family and the general goodness people have that is overshadowed by the wickedness of others

As a father I felt the emotions of the Dad when he was telling what happened and that he would have sacrificed his own life to save his family, I and I'm sure many father's would do the same. This one hit right in the feels 100% , well done Fab Rats family and friends best episode ever! 💝🤘🤘🤘

Amazing how those feelings resurfaced after 30 years. You could feel the trauma as he relayed the story. ( Maritime Law REQUIRES you to lend assistance ). The big grin when he was driving his old boat said it all. It will be interesting to see how this eventually plays out. GREAT job Merlin and the Fab Rats crew.

Look at the look on his face when he turned it over and all those memories of driving it came flooding back. What an amazing story, I'm glad you were able to give him closure! You can tell this was his pride and joy

If everyone was as kind and generous as the Fab Rats Team and their family the world would be a whole lot better place

This little series has been as much fun as the Golden Nugget! Thanks for taking us along.

Ok, it took me an hour to watch this video even though it's only 25 mins long. Between my crying like a baby and knowing what it's like to be stranded on a sinking boat I reached the end. Thank you Merlin, Paul and everyone else involved in this amazing story. Today is the day all of YOU are the heroes .......

I couldn't help but tear up listening to him talk about getting caught in that storm and how no one would stop and help as he was trying to keep his family alive. I was in a kayak about three years ago, on a lake in Colorado on a photography expedition. I'd crossed the two mile wide lake, taken some still photos and some drone shots and as it was getting late in the afternoon, I decided to head back across the lake. There were a couple other boats on the lake, fishing. When I was halfway across the lake, I heard thunder behind me. There was a storm building, coming over the mountain behind me. Having spent a considerable amount of time in the Rockies, i knew how fast storms can form out of nowhere and become deadly. Being a mile from the nearest shoreline, I started rowing as fast as I could and within five minutes the wind and waves kicked up, and waves were blowing over my head. The boats on the lake took off at full throttle with one of them passing by me less than a tenth of a mile away while I tried waving them down. They never even slowed down. It took everything I had in me to keep that boat pointed in the direction the wind was going in order to keep the wind and waves from blowing me over. When I finally crashed into the rocks on the back side of the lake, the skin was coming off my hands from the oar. My 40 plus years of sailing experience is the only reason I'm still alive. If you're on the water and the weather turns bad, make sure you don't leave anyone behind!!

The fact he remembers so much detail tells just how traumatic this event was for them, but he made sure they lived to tell the story, you guys did something really good here for this family, it might seem like it's "just a boat" but it's more than that.

Never thought I would be in tears over a boat returned to its owners. God bless Fab Rat's and Merlin for all they have done! Thank you!

I'm a Dad with young children and we love boating... I can't imagine being in danger in a storm and no one being willing to help. That's heartbreaking to say the least. What an incredible series this has been!

It’s folks like you that give me a bit of hope for the future. The process of recovering the previously sunken boat and restoring it so lovingly and then just giving back to the owners has been just amazing. May God bless you all!

If this story hadn't been documented, I never would have believed it. A jet boat that sank and sat at the bottom of a lake for 30 years, salvaged after the lake level dropped enough to retrieve it, and then revived with the original motor to power it once again.......absolutely unbelievable! Merlin (you ARE a magician🧙‍♂) & Fab Rats, great job! It's a Christmas miracle!

I'm sitting in my driveway with my daughter sleeping in the back of the jeep, 12" of snow melting by a dec 30 rainstorm I'm in tears over a recovered boat being fixed up and returned to its owners after 30 years. You all deserve a million subscribers after this story. I hope my Cummins speed boat doesn't end up at the bottom of a lake..

The owners of that boat seemed like some cool people but I can't imagine what it was like the day it sank, I can't even fathom the fact that no one would stop to help them. Awesome to see the boat on the water though, it's pretty cool that after all that it can still be used and enjoyed!

Just another prime example of the level of character on display. Very genuine people with big hearts. Love it.

WOW! It is a wonder that this family survived , very emotional story. Shame on the ones that went by and did not stop to help.

Watching you recover the boat and haul it out of the dirt was all fun and games and sure, we all thought about it sinking but hearing that man recount the day in the storm with his young family and no help thinking they were going to die is a hard to relive with him. I can't imagine his pain from that day.

I really hope they decide to take it home. That’s where it needs to be. Cool, cool, story.

Iv had five boats in my life and a few times the engine had stopped. and the amount of people had stopped to help was on believable. the people who just drove past should be ashamed of their self's I was almost crying myself listening to them telling the story. and gog bless you guys for the lovely thing you did for the family. putting the boat back in the water. I wish you all the best of lucky from Ireland 🇮🇪

Wow! That was a harrowing experience for that family back in 93! I can't even fathom why no one would stop to help, especially with young kids in the boat. To hear the father say that he was prepared to die that day to save his family, that's what a real man would do. That was a good little series, good to see. FabRats & Merlin's old school garage work together to make it happen. Gotta give a shoutout to jetski jimmy, he worked pretty hard on it too.

Jesus christ. As a father, my heart broke listening to that story. To imagine, facing losing your whole family and no one stops to help. The helplessness. Cant imagine being in that position. Puts tears in my eyes. Most sobering FabRats episode ever. You guys are amazing.

Seems like the boat brought back one of his worst memories. Hopefully seeing it again will churn up the pleasant ones he doubtless had before the disaster. I hope he takes it back, finishes the refurbishment, and has some fun with it again.

This is one of the best if not the best series I've ever seen on RU-vid.

Congratulations NO Joke Having spent 6 years in the Coast Guard & been prevy to sinking & drownings your series & the story that the owners brought about brought me to tears. I think the most unfathomable thing of their story was no one stopped to help. So a bad situation almost turned deadly. There's an unwritten creed boaters normally share. Never ever leave someone stranded. Aid & assist as much as safely possible. Shame on all that passed, at the time, this young family to possibly all parish. I loved your story a bunch & have shared the link to lots of my boating buddies & nonboating friends. Hopefully they took their boat home & will continue the reconditioning if such a treasure. You all are just good people.

Such a story! Broke my heart no one would help them. Thank the Lord was watching over them. The world needs more positive videos like this. Thank you Fab Rats and Merlin

Amazing story! We were in tears as to what happened 30 years ago!! You guys did an amazing thing for these people!! But why didn’t you finish the story and tell us…. did the boat go home with your original owners or what?

Bryan is a man’s man. You can tell he’s a great father

Made this grown man tear up, way to go, I thought this was supposed to be a channel on how to build cool stuff, didn't know it was a tear jerker! But no seriously, you guys are truly amazing to do such a kind jester for someone you have never met before. You guys are a truly blessed family.

As a Owner of a jet Boat and a avid River Rat I just want to thank you for the videos about this boat. I am amazed like everyone else that this boat lives again. Thank to Merlin and Fab Rats this was an AWESOME ending.

Whenever you see a boat in trouble you do everything you can to stop and help. This is the best example of why.

I just wanna express to you my sincere appreciation, is he my brother and I remember that incident. You guys have done a great job!

You just had to make an old guy cry this early in the morning? Fantastic video and kudos to all of you for masking this happen. Truly a touching story. Merlin and Fabrats rule!!

WoW! Brian's story had me in tears. Just imagining the sheer terror as that storm hit and the complete and utter feelings of abandonment as boat after boat passed them by without helping. Brian looked like a natural in the captain's seat! Thank you FabRats for your Huge Hearts!

Who wouldn’t stop to help poor Mom and Dad were probably so terrified. What a heck of a story thanks for sharing sir. Fab Rats 🐀 changed their lives!! Excellent Job 🫡

I was in tears til the end. What a story and you and your entire crew are what everyone needs to model themselves after. This world would be a much better place if everyone had the hearts like all of you. Signed, A life long subscriber, Sean

This truly is one of the best stories on the net! It was fun to see you guys repair it and watching Brian relive that day brought a tear to my eye! Shame on all those people who went by them on the lake in '93 and didn't stop to render aid. I'm gonna buy a flare gun for my boat. If I get into trouble and no one stops, flares will be launched at them!!

Merlin is an actual wizard. He does some amazing things with that imagination and his tools. This was such a feel good series. Can’t really get much better than good people helping strangers

Wow, who would have thought the story behind the day the boat sank and all the emotions the owners went through that day, then watch them relive the story all over again. Very Emotional !! What a great and heartwarming act of kindness by all the people at Fab Rats. This will be a video to remember. Go Fab Rats !!

Oh that was special. The joy on that mans face was priceless!

I grew up on the Norfolk Broads, and always understood that if you see a boat in trouble, you help out. it was so disheartening to hear that so many people just passed on by when they were in trouble that day. Hats off to you for restoring their pride and joy!

Just an amazing RU-vid community. You guys brought tears to my eyes. Listening to their story was just intense…having to picture what they gone through. I’m thankful they all survived and were able to tell us their story. Thank you fab rats and Merlins old school garage for making this amazing content and giving to the community. You guys have an extremely big heart.❤

What an amazing and emotional story this is! Just finding the boat and salvaging it 30 years after it had sunk would have been an unbelievable story, but to have the boat actually float and drive was a small miracle. Then to be able to hear the original owners story and to bring them out to see it was just so overwhelming and emotional to watch. Thank you all for sharing this story!

You guys are awesome returning a lost boat to people that almost lost their lives ,awesome people.

At this point, I don't know if he would be better fixing the boat up, or letting it go, but hearing their story of their frightening experience that day really hit me in the feelings. Thanks to all of you for cleaning up the lake, doing the work, doing the research, and sharing a real world story with us all. And somebody better put a Valvoline sticker on that boat right away (ha ha)

That wasn't just another project, Paul and Michelle, that was giving back. Real generosity. Helping others come full circle to get their closure. You were brought there (the two of you, Ben, Papa Darr, Merlin, Hunter, and anyone else involved) to do what no one else could have done. Good on ya all! Mission accomplished. Give a thanks.

the comments all have made here also fully represent my feelings as well...the only thing i have been waiting for, as well as everyone else is, is an update of what has been the outcome of the boat and the family.

If I was boating out there and came upon them, I would've definitely stopped and helped them no matter how high the waves were. Listening to the story made my eyes teary but glad they got their boat back. Fat Rats crew and the people involved in getting the boat to run again and return it back to the original owner deserve a great blessing from God Almighty for making it possible 👍🇺🇸..

You guys are truly amazing! what you all did for this family is Unprecedented! I'm a 57 year old man balling while watching this video! Merlin is also an Amazing person! God Speed to all of you!!!

Wow!!! what an amazing story. How could anyone just drive by and not try to help that poor family? So glad they survived and it is beyond awesome that you guys were able to recover the boat 30 yrs later and actually get it running again. this is why I love your channel, you are some great people and do some awesome stuff. I struggle with depression and anxiety and Fab Rats help me get through the day, your channel makes me laugh and keeps a smile on my face. Thank you for all that you do.

Wow guys, Talk about a heart ripping story of young parents out for a nice afternoon with their little ones and then having to fight for their lives. Just simply good people enjoying their toys from their hard work, and then suddenly watching their investment and dreams slipping away and making the split second decisions to protect their most important assets of all. I'll be honest with you, yes I cried listening to them relive the day, obviously good Karma has been watching all this time as they raised their children and continued on with life. What a blessing and what a gift, thank you Fab Rats for all you did and thank you for being such good quality people.

Michelle deserves a youtube oscar for EDITING. Awesome job Michelle

Both Jean and I honestly thought that the build of the "Golden Nugget" for Ed by Matt and Paul and the Fab Rats Family was the "Pinnacle" of RU-vid Viewing. Well, Boy were we WRONG! The combined efforts of Merlin and Paul along with the efforts of Ben and Michelle with the rest of the Fab Rats Crew have taken this recovery and build to a Whole New Level! Having been a "Waterman" all of my life, You don't realize how small you feel when you are on the water, and "Mother Nature" rears its ugly head. My wife Jean and I were "Snot Crying" by the time this vid was over. Hearing the owner's story of that fateful day 30 years ago, brought back memories of my childhood with my own father giving up his life vest for me to wear when things got "REAL" while on the Atlantic Ocean, over 50 years ago. My dad "Pulled a Rabbit Out of His Hat" and we made it back to the Marina that day, but it was a close one! It is refreshing to know that there is a new generation of men and women that live their lives with honor and dignity. Thank you Fab Rats, for this "Christmas Miracle"! Earl and Jean Harrell.

The best part was seeing Brian's smile emerge when he hit the throttle and the boat jumped to life!! What a wonderful thing you have done!

I was in my feels prior to the story!! How horrific that day must've been!! As a sailor an someone who's spent my life on the water... I will never understand the selfishness of not stopping to help another vessel in distress.. I tell every new boater .. Never assume someone else has them... When someone calls a PON PON or an SOS .. you have a duty to humanity to help.... That vessel was an is beautiful an the family is just as special!!! I just found your channel an subbed cuz y'all are amazing ✌🏼💗😊⛵

Someone cutting onions in here? What a story and my goosebumps will last for a little while on this one. The family/crew at Fab Rats are such incredible humans. Exceptional. Blessings to you all in this new year of 2023.

As a Utah boat owner and someone that frequents Lake Powell, I have experienced bad weather situations with my family that were really scary, but can't even imagine the stress they went through and no one offering to help as the boat was sinking. I can tell it was a very bittersweet moment for the family to dredge up all the bad memories, but also know there are great people out there that truly do care. Hats off to the Fab Rat and Merlin garage teams!

I know it's natural to condemn the people that didn't stop to help and I'd like to think I would have stopped. I can't believe how emotional I got watching this episode. Thanks to all of you guys at Fab Rat's and to Merlin for working so hard to just try and bless someone you have never met and bring closure to such a tragic event they have been thru. Great work guys!

Hey Guys @Fab Rats, I just started watching your channel when you dropped off the yellow Submarine to the owners. I went back and watched the previous episodes. I’m hooked on this channel. It’s nice to see people out there, still care about doing the right thing. Congrats everyone involved with this episode.

Holy shit the emotion in the guys voice after all these years, its hard to imagine how scared they must have been. I think they must have been really lucky to all get out alive. You guys really are the best, you really are.

This series was the Christmas present I did not even know I needed. This was awesome even for Fab Rats which is normally awesome. You can see how emotional that trauma of sinking was even 0 years later. The owners wearing a Nine Line shirt and a Coffee shirt listening to Van Halen tells me I could really hang with them!

Such an emotional story. I can't believe all those passed by and never stopped to help. Glad it wasn't a fatality. Glad to see them get their boat back. Good job Fab Rats crew and also Merlin to all you did.

MY HEART Goes out that Strong Iron Man of a Father & Husband 🥺💯

Congrats on making such an awesome series about this boat and finding its original owners who shared their very emotional and traumatic story about the day it sank . But thanks to you and everyone that brought this boat back to life turned this family's bad memory into a much happier one. 💖

Beautiful. And this story has reached around the globe, I'm sat here in Australia with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. I don't say this lightly when I say that it's amazing people like you and the team that resets America as a country with great people doing good things. Truly amazing, and so many thanks for sharing what's been a fascinating & heartwarming journey.

Dang man... What an incredible story. I can't imagine the emotions going through that man, the moment he realized what he was seeing, knowing all his family went through. Got me bawling over here... Such a sweet story. Thank yall, so much!

COMPLETELY blown away the boat runs, and how good it looks after 30 years in Lake Powell. Having spent well over 15 seasons competing on water (dragon boat and kayak) I have seen numerous inconsiderate boaters. rich weekend warriors (is what we referred to them) and I am so sorry this family was not being helped when they were trying to save themselves. Pretty crappy boaters etiquette. SOOOO pumped you found the owners and got to share their story and a ride on their boat. YOU GUYS ROCK!!

How absolutely rad was that!! WOW!! Brought back some instant bad weather on Mead and Powell memories. It gets life or death scary real quick out there.

I knew Merlin was really an old softy! That’s a great story. I can’t imagine what they have been through. That really is a nice way to complete that. I hope they keep ripping on that boat for years to come! Great work everyone!

You guys restore my faith in humanity, and this was an amazing mission, Kudos!

yep. you tuged at my heart, not just the boat, but fixing it an giving them there memorys back/

That is freaking awesome!! So glad you guys gave it back!! I hope they take it an use it forever

Not only is the bridge from London back to it's glory, but the BOAT is back to it's glory! Such an emotional story to hear. SO glad to see what you all have done for this family. It's been an amazing series to watch on both channels. The Fab Rat's and Merlin crews are truly special people helping people. We need more of that in this world. I hope the owners of the boat have more positive memories to make with it in the years to come.

WOW, what an amazing almost unbelievable story. All you guys show us what being a good neighbor and good person really means. It's all about the "golden rule" and living it out. Shout out to Hunter and everyone else for all the great video, the drone shots and really being able to make a great production of this story. Glad this family was willing and able to share this with us all here in this "YT" world. Thanks again Fab Rats and Merlins Old School Garage.

It’s so disgusting to me that nobody stopped to help them when they were in trouble. That is really disappointing. You always help a boater out especially in that situation. Man that makes me so mad. Im glad they all made it through that.

So Happy the family made it safe, but the fact that people chose not to stop is very sad. FAB RATS have done a great thing here!!

That story brought tears to my eyes. It was awesome to see him smile after he opened her up. Great job Fab Rat's, Merlin, and everyone else that had a hand in this.

That was such a hard story to hear. How different a story it would of been if the 1st person the waved down had just taken the few minutes to help out however they could of. It makes you realize how much you can change someone’s day by just helping in a small way for a few minutes. Thank you to you guys at fab rats, Merlin and Jimmy for sharing and putting some effort into changing the end of the story for them.

Merlin and Fab Rats , you are an example for humanity ❤

Can I give this more than 1 thumbs up? What a great ending to the story. Obviously emotional, but it was probably good for them to get that out. Dad is a hero for the way he saved his family. All those boaters that passed by....I hope you see this.

This group of amazing people from Fab Rats, Merlin, Robby Layton, to Matt's ORR always restores my faith in humanity with all the good they do for perfect strangers. Outstanding job from flat out wonderful human beings!!

I just finished this series and I have been around boats my entire life, and I cannot comprehend how that ran. That story was heart wrenching. I can't imagine that family will want the reminder of one of the worst days of their lives back, but to be reunited and to have that boat live on will probably be more than enough. I hope this series is successful enough that you, Merlin or another channel goes and resurrects something else from there.

It is crazy to hear people wouldn't help !! The greatest part of being an American is we help each other. I can't fathom what it felt like to be him. I am sure glad he made it to tell his story. Sure glad you did this for the family.

I'm trying to think of something to say that would express how heartwarming that story has been to watch but, I realize that I just simply don;t have the words to say it properly. I would be so proud to call the people who helped in this effort my friends. You folks set a wonderful example of how we all should be treating people each and every day.

Thanks for taking me along on the journey! I'm so glad that everyone made it out. What a tragedy it was that day, but so glad they've been able to reconnect with their past.

taking random acts of kindness to the next level here guys...... bravo!

Man, it was heart breaking to hear their story. You all are so awesome for everything you did.

I think the fact that their son remembered at least one of those toys, absolutely incredible. At 18 months of age, he may not have been totally aware of what was going on, but he would have seen the emotions of his parents and that etched some of those memories in his mind. So glad someone upstairs was looking out for them that day, or this video would have had a much different outcome.

I am sad about people not helping. It show exactly how people can be in such dire need of help and outsiders feeling safe in their bubble just don't see how much danger there truly is. The entire fab rats team is a great example of living a life having compassion for others. Love this channel! ❤️

Guys that is very cool of you to for those people between you and Robbie helping Aiden with his dads truck and then restoring that boat and fixing the gold nugget that is awsome there needs to be more people like you in this world

Thanks for sharing!

Certainly bought a tear to my eye with this story. Being a former First Responder I can relate to the story. I have seen these situations go really bad. The recovery of the boat, the tears from the gentleman retelling the story shows how bad it really was, the near tragedy of the whole sinking. The hand over. Everyone who had a hand in this story should be commended for taking the time to do this for this family. Bit shocked by how people just left them to deal with it though.

Wow, I was so moved by the story, and stunned about the fact that no one would help out this family in what must have been the worst of nightmares that parents to small kids could ever face. SOO happy that they all made it, and were willing to share it. Paul and Merlin and everyone involved... you guys ROCK, Van Halen style kind of rock, love it !

Heart wrenching story but the best ending that anyone would want. What a great ending. All the emotions in this video. What did they do with it?

This may be the best thing I've ever watched on RU-vid !! This should be made into a movie. How awesome to see her back crusing the water with her original motor even. ( Increadable ) And getting to knowing the story and people. Amazing 👍👍👍👍👍

So I didn’t expect to get tears but you folks are incredible. Paul, Ben, Merlin, you guys are rock stars. Your family’s and everyone involved. What a great series this was. Thanks for being great people.