The town recently demolished and removed a boat from the beach at Mackerel Cove.
The boat sank to the bottom of the cove about a year ago, Harbor Master Paul Plummer told the selectmen June 24. The town had sought to have the boat removed by its owner ever since.
On June 22, the owner contacted the town and said he had removed the boat and towed it to the beach. But with the owner unlikely to remove it from the beach immediately and the Fourth of July just 10 days away, Plummer asked the board of selectmen for approval to have the boat dismantled and hauled away.
“We didn’t want it there during the Fourth of July because we know it’s a really busy time to be on the beach. … It’s now on the beach,” Plummer said. “We have about a week to get rid of it.”
The board authorized the use of a marine hazard fund for the work and asked the town administrator to recover as much of the cost as possible from the owner.
R. A. Webber & Sons Inc., of Harpswell, removed the boat soon after the meeting. Plummer said the work cost about $2,400 and the town expects the owner of the vessel to cover $1,000.
