Beach Drive boat-woes update: Small boat’s on shore, but what about trimaran debris?

The smaller of two boats that have been in trouble for almost a week off the Beach Drive shore is now out of the water. Good Samaritans helped the boats’ owner get the Bayliner off the shore north of Harbor West Condos and onto the trailer. Now, as for what happens to the wreckage of the trimaran just south of the building:

We have spoken this morning to representatives of two state agencies that have gotten involved with the situation to some degree, the Department of Ecology and the Department of Natural Resources. Here’s the short version, with more details to come: Ecology was on site over the weekend, helping remove fuel and oil from the power boat – the trimaran, he says, had never held fuel – and adds that there are no more “pollutants” on the trimaran (the owner removed possibly hazardous everyday substances like cleaning fluid). Now, as the Ecology spokesperson told us, it’s more of a “solid-waste issue” than anything else. A DNR spokesperson, meantime, says the fact the broken-up boat is on private property is compounding things – they are determining jurisdiction, but were expecting to have someone come out sometime today and take a look to start sorting things out. The Ecology spokesperson says they always try to recover the cost of these operations from the boats’ owner, but in most cases – as appears to be the case in this one – the owner’s lack of financial resources was a big reason for the trouble in the first place. More to come.

Tony S February 19, 2013 (1:28 pm)

“The Ecology spokesperson says they always try to recover the cost of these operations from the boats’ owner, but in most cases – as appears to be the case in this one – the owner’s lack of financial resources was a big reason for the trouble in the first place”

This is the whole problem — individuals that “dream big” with these kinds of schemes are the ones with no financial resources to fund their dreams, making everyone else pay the freight when their “dreams” go bad. AND as an added bonus, they spread their debris and pollution across the waterways for everyone else to enjoy. Until they put some teeth into the regulations (not letting indviduals with little or no financial resources off the hook) then the vessel misuse and abandonment will continue unfettered. After all, if someone else is going to pick up the bill for stupidity, why not go for it?

WSB February 19, 2013 (2:03 pm)

That was the gist of much of our conversation. I plan to add more of it here – was under a time constraint earlier and just needed to get the basics published so we could report the smalle boat was out of the water, etc. – TR

coffee February 19, 2013 (2:04 pm)

We had a boat growing up and my dad said later on, “there are 2 great days in a boat owners life, the day they buy their boat and the day they get rid of their boat”….

panda February 19, 2013 (2:16 pm)

‘coffee’…the latter is likely never more true than in this situation. Poor guy. I too own a boat and really feel for this guy. On another note, I’m impressed the couch is still holding on. It actually looks in remarkably good shape. A little Febreze and that bad boy is ready to go!

kevin February 19, 2013 (2:51 pm)

Hey folks,
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Let’s lighten up on the new owner. When I talked to him, he indicated that he intended to live on the trimaran.
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Perhaps finances were an issue, maybe he lives on SSI? We don’t know… but it does sound like he had a plan. So the “plan” failed… But at least he tried. Better than living at NIckelsville.

Trevor February 19, 2013 (3:17 pm)

Reading about that powerboat getting on the trailer down there got me thinking. Does anyone know if there is public shore access in the immediate vicinity where one could legally launch a small rowboat or sailing dinghy? I see that windsurfer out there on windy days and it has me pondering.

Guy February 19, 2013 (3:48 pm)

Free catamaran and kayak….

Citizen Sane February 19, 2013 (5:02 pm)

Uff da. I thought this crap only happened in North Dakota.

BeachDriveBoy February 19, 2013 (5:39 pm)

I’m with Tony on this one. I’m all for feeling sorry for ‘Skipper’s’ lack of means, but that doesn’t change the fact that he undertook an enterprise without being able to pay for damages if things went wrong. In this state, you can’t legally operate a motor vehicle without financial responsibility (i.e. insurance). Why should it be different for vessels?
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I respect your generosity of spirit, Kevin; would you like to pony up my (and others) share of the tax money that’s going to go for cleanup? Personally, I’ll save my sympathy for the truly unfortunate, not the irresponsible.

BTW, I’ve owned several boats, from runabouts to sailboats to a motoryacht, and I’ve always carried insurance. At my last marina, I was required to carry a million dollar liability policy, ‘just in case’.
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Boats shouldn’t be viewed as ‘affordable housing’ for those who can’t afford shoreside accommodation of their liking. We don’t need ‘gypsy liveaboards’ who can’t take responsibility for their potential environmental impact.

JA February 19, 2013 (7:05 pm)

Everyone is concerned about the boat debris and making sure the owner pays up… and yet nobody seems remotely concerned about the sewage leaking into Puget Sound from the condos. Double standard much?

john February 19, 2013 (7:10 pm)

neighborhood seems a little snobbish… if I found it on the beach I think I’d get some tools down there and start fixin’ it…and haul the couch up to the road and put a free sign on it.. unless I just wanted to make myself feel superior, by imagining I knew that the person who lost it was less than me and I found a chance to point it out to the neighbors…what do I know though?

Panda February 19, 2013 (7:34 pm)

…aaaaaaand he tows the boat with a minivan. Of course…

Scupper February 19, 2013 (9:43 pm)

Owner mentioned that a salvage crew was going to clean up the mess in return for the mast, fixtures and rigging. We’ll see…

As for Trevor’s question: “Reading about that powerboat getting on the trailer down there got me thinking. Does anyone know if there is public shore access in the immediate vicinity where one could legally launch a small rowboat or sailing dinghy? I see that windsurfer out there on windy days and it has me pondering.”

There is a “hand carry” ramp on the immediate north side of the condos that the Seattle Park Department confirmed was public access. Some folks that live in the condos may beg to differ. The trailer technically should not have been used as it was for towing the guys Bayliner out but it kept that boat from eventually washing up on the rocks & causing more debris. The ramp is VERY narrow. There was less than 3 inches of ramp on either side of the trailer wheels!

Thanks to the 3 people that drove their 4X4’s down to help!

Snobbish neighbor :)

gibsheet February 20, 2013 (2:27 am)

Quit your whining. if you live on the water sometimes things are going to wash up on the shore, if you can afford to live on the shore You certainly have the means to get rid of a little fiberglass catamaran

René February 20, 2013 (6:00 am)

I prefer using my tax money for education and my personal funds be given to charities(such as the red cross for recent east coast hurricane)

Since i’m one of the beach owners who may be effected by clean up costs I’ll put it back to you. How would you feel if this same guy had the boat fall off a trailer into your yard then did not have the means to take the debris away? There it is in your yard and the city issues you a bill when the waste management department comes and carts the wreckage away.

I do contribute to charities which this guy could have gone to for food… He may be of reduced means but he is not destitute. He has his van, a trailer and is paying to keep his other boat somewhere. He made a mistake and I am sorry his goal of living on the boat did not work out for him but call me callous I’m annoyed the consequences will be paid by others.

spending the money to feed a hungry child or use it to clean debris. I know what feels better to me.

René February 20, 2013 (6:12 am)

Just ignore the harbor west folks who give the stink eye over use of the public boat ramp. I do.

Robert February 20, 2013 (7:52 am)

starting to sound like boston,, snobs

wetone February 20, 2013 (10:19 am)

Condo owner should have been alittle more concerned with his plumbing problem and other issues under their building. That look to be caused by recent high tides and winds, not the boats. Than trying to stop this simple action of removing one of the boats. Less than ten minutes one was gone.

Sorry, comment time is over.