Posted Friday, March 6, 2009
Marathon - A large crane fell onto a boat at a Marathon marina Wednesday after what appears to be an old septic tank collapsed under the weight of the crane.
The owner of AC / DC Electric Incorporated, Jerry Doss, told Deputy Sydney Whitehouse he was lifting a derelict vessel out of the water at a marina on 15th Street around 1 p.m. when the incident occurred. He said he'd extended the outriggers that stabilize the crane and had begun to lift the vessel from the water when one of the outriggers fell into what appears to be an old underground septic tank. The crane fell over onto a 42 foot Hatteras owned by Andrew Schlieper, docked nearby. The Hatteras sank under the weight of the crane.
It took several hours to right the crane, which sustained some damage. The Hatteras was lifted upright, but the owner told Deputy Whitehouse he' d lost all the belongings on it. He said he'd just purchased the boat and had not been able to register it or get insurance for it yet.