That sinking feeling
LOREN BENOIT/Press A crew works on Friday on a boat that had sunk in the Spokane River at the Red Lion Templin’s marina in Post Falls. The boat owner told police a possible power outage on the dock may have turned the heaters off and caused the boat to sink.
With his sunken boat being recovered in the background on the Spokane River at the Red Lion Templin’s Hotel marina in Post Falls, John Leavell takes shots of his courtesy whiskey shots that were given to him by hotel staff. Leavell and friend Dave Couch watched the recovery efforts from the hotel’s restaurant on Friday. (BRIAN WALKER/Press)
By BRIAN WALKER
Staff Writer
POST FALLS — John Leavell lightened the mood of watching recovery efforts of his sunken boat by taking a photo of the courtesy whiskey shots he'd just been handed, with the lopsided vessel in the background.
The on-the-house shots were given to comfort the Liberty Lake man and Post Falls friend Dave Couch from Red Lion Templin's Hotel staff on Friday. Only slightly buoyed by the booze, the men watched from the restaurant overlooking the marina as the 1987, 41-foot President troller slowly rose to the surface of the Spokane River as it was drained.
"Surreal — that's the only thing I can say about it," said Leavell, adding that he was unsure what caused the boat to sink.
"I'll have to pour one (shot) out for my dead house boat."
Leavell told police a friend checked on the boat on Wednesday and everything was fine. The boat had been covered and winterized, yet Leavell was called Thursday morning to let him know the boat had sunk.
In the police report, Leavell told an officer there was a possible power outage on the dock that may have turned the heaters off and caused the boat to sink.
Leavell, who has owned the boat two years, said he hopes it will be usable again. The boat is insured, he said.
While the boat had been brought to its normal floating position Friday afternoon, responders were still investigating early Friday night for a definitive cause of what made the vessel sink.
The biggest cost, he said, will likely be the mitigation efforts of spilled fuel into the river. Responders, including divers, were still working on the boat Friday afternoon, battling snowy conditions.
Couch said the boat has been a good cruiser on the lake.
"It was nice to party in at Harrison for Fourth of July weekend," Couch said.
Red Lion staff reported around 11 a.m. Thursday the sunken boat and a sheen of fuel on the water. Efforts that day focused on hazardous materials mitigation.
"It was decided to place a secondary line of boom to contain any additional fuel that escaped the primary boom," Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Warren Merritt said.
There were about 200 gallons of diesel on board and the spill was estimated at 20 gallons.
The boat was tied to the marina dock when it sunk.
"It appeared to have put strain on the dock but no permanent damaged was noted," Merritt said.
Friday's recovery included draining the boat and raising it to the surface.
Kelly Gwinn-Duby, a manager at the hotel, said it was the only boat at the marina to have an issue. She said boats have sunk at the marina during the summers in recent years, but this was the first winter plunge.
It wasn't the only boat in peril that responders dealt with on Friday.
Todd Burke, manager for the marina at The Coeur d'Alene Resort, said a 38-foot Sea Ray was sinking and that the owner was aware of it.
Burke believes a sump pump battery was not recharging due to a tripped breaker, and that may have caused the problem.
"It was taking on even more water," he said, adding that was the only vessel in peril.
Kristen Morgan, office manager for Bayview Marinas, which oversees multiple marinas, said there haven't been any issues with sinking boats or unlevel float homes in that area on Lake Pend Oreille.
"Crews have been on top of snow removal," she said.