PORT ANGELES — The salvaged remains of the 42-foot cabin cruiser Eudora will remain in Dumpsters on Ediz Hook until the legal custody process runs its course, Joe Smillie, state Department of Natural Resources spokesman, said in an email Wednesday.
The Eudora washed ashore onto the seaward side of Ediz Hook on Sept. 14. The Coast Guard tried towing the vessel off the rocks but was unsuccessful and turned the situation over to the owner and DNR. No pollution was reported.
A hole was discovered in the boat on Sept. 23, making it a navigation hazard, and so DNR posted that it was taking possession of the boat.
A Port Angeles police report listed the owner as David G. Schroeder, 51.
“They have more work to do to remove the last bits of the boat (Thursday) — the stuff that was too loaded with sediment for the helicopter to pick up (Wednesday),” Smillie said in the email.
“Then — since it was an emergency removal and not a full custody — we have to leave the boat in the dumpsters until that custody process officially runs its course,” he said.
After that, DNR officials will add up the salvage costs and bill the owner, Smillie said.
“We have received repayment on boats in the past along with civil judgements for those who don’t respond and whom we seek restitution in court,” he said.
According to DNR’s website, a public entity can take action on a vessel in two ways — temporary possession, which is an emergency action and what was done here, or the lengthier custody procedure.
The owner of a derelict or abandoned vessel is responsible for reimbursing the authorized public entity for all costs associated with the removal and disposal of that vessel.
They include administrative costs and costs associated with any environmental damage.
The 2002 state Legislature passed the Derelict Vessel Act, which gives specified local and state agencies the authority and funding for the removal and disposal of derelict and abandoned vessels from state waters.
Prior to taking custody of a vessel, the public entity must attempt to notify the vessel’s owner of its intent to remove the vessel. Notice must be mailed to the last known address of the owner on record, posted clearly on the vessel, printed in a newspaper in the county in which the vessel is located, and published on DNR’s website.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@soundpublishing.com.
Remains of the broken pleasure craft Eudora await disposal at a staging area on Ediz Hook in Port Angeles on Wednesday morning. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
A piece of the cabin cruiser Eudora is lifted by helicopter to a staging area after it was hoisted from the beach on Ediz Hook on Wednesday. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
