City gets grant to remove old boats
The city of Folly Beach has been awarded a $45,897 grant to be used for removing abandoned boats from the waters and marshes around the island city.
The city will put up $15,299 in matching funds that combined with the grant from the state Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, will create $61,196 to spend on hauling away old, decaying vessels. The city could be advertising soon for bids on contracts to remove about half-a-dozen abandoned boats, Folly Beach Mayor Carl Beckmann Jr. said.
He said he knows of five boats in the Folly River, Folly Creek and Cutoff Reach that he'd like to see cleared away first. "They're just anchored everywhere. There are no lights on them," Beckmann said earlier this fall. He said anyone on the water at night could easily run into one of the decaying hulks, which are eyesores no matter what time of day it is.
Beckmann said he hopes city council can review and accept bids in January and that contracts can be signed and boat removal begun a short time afterward.
It is illegal to allow a boat to sink in public waters, but owners are almost never ticketed. Serial and registration numbers on the abandoned vessels are now gone or blurred. Beckmann said that if owners of the abandoned boats can be identified, "We'll try to ding the people for part of the bill" for boat removal.
Removing the old vessels will benefit oyster beds because the hulks often end up atop them. The city will be required to document the removal work, including videotaping, Beckmann said.
One of the boats on the removal list is an abandoned cabin cruiser stuck in the marsh and dubbed the "S.S. Minnow" by a spray painter. It will go last or near last because some folks like it and think of it as a landmark, Beckmann said.
The well-known "painted boat" beside Folly Road is not among the boats to be removed. Locals paint messages, memorials and greetings on that boat, which Hurricane Hugo left beside the highway in 1989.
Folly Beach did put a metal top on the "Folly boat" to keep people from falling into it but officials have no other plans for it. Beckmann said. Anyway, the painted boat is half in Folly Beach and half in Charleston County.
Reach Edward C. Fennell at efennell@postandcourier.com or 937-5560.
E-mail this story 
Printer-friendly version
Notice about comments:
The Post and Courier is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. The Post and Courier does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not postandcourier.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "suggest removal" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our Web site.
Full terms and conditions can be read here.
Comments
This article has 0 comment(s)
