Boats damaged in Fourwinds Marina dock roof collapsesWeight of snow drops roof onto 14 boats at Lake Monroe
By Nicole Brooks 331-4232 |
nbrooks@heraldt.comThe roof of a dock at the Fourwinds Resort & Marina on Lake Monroe collapsed Wednesday, but no boats went under water, according to Jeffrey Hammond, Fourwinds general manager.
Fourteen boats were damaged when the roof of J dock came down on them under the weight of snow. Hammond said he has notified the owners of those boats.
“No boats are in danger of sinking,” and to estimate the damage would be pure speculation at this point, he said.
Hammond and another employee were out on the lake Wednesday afternoon, assessing the damage. About a foot of accumulated ice and snow was on the roofs of the docks, he said.
“There were some other roof areas that were affected as well,” Hammond said. The only boats affected were those at J dock, he said.
J dock has 90 slips, and part of the dock is year-round while part is seasonal, with contracts that run April to October. The boats damaged were docked at the year-round end, Hammond said.
Some boaters’ lifts are “here and there, scattered around,” but Hammond couldn’t say if there were any lifts in the specific slips that were damaged.
The dock itself was largely underwater, but the sections of the dock have flotation devices and “they’ll come right back up,” Hammond said. “Nothing that has to be retrieved” is underwater, he said.
From a barge Hammond will use a rake of sorts to pull snow from the roofs of the docks. “And then, we’ll cut away any of the damaged roof materials, then remove the boats.” He said he plans to have all boats removed from the area by the first of next week.
Hammond said he can’t have employees climbing up on the roofs to clear snow. “We will not put people’s safety at risk for property.”
Boat owners must have their boats insured to dock at the marina, he said.
The damage done to the 14 boats at J dock will be nothing like that following the collapse of G dock in late December 2004, Hammond said.
“It was a terrible snowstorm. It caused a lot more property damage than this one.”
About 50 boats were damaged, including three that sank. Docks E, F and G were replaced that year.
