MILWAUKEE — On the 200-day anniversary of when the Chris-Craft Roamer “Deep Thought” first ran aground on the Milwaukee lakefront just south of Bradford Beach, and one week after it was announced an anonymous donor would pay for its removal, it appears plans are changing once again.
Milwaukee County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman tells WTMJ exclusively the County will be working with a new vendor next week Tuesday, weather permitting, to hopefully have the boat removed once and for all.
“We’re really at a point right now that this is becoming a major problem. And the cost factor is definitely going up dramatically,” Wasserman tells WTMJ.
In Wasserman’s estimation, the cost of removal is approaching 100,000 dollars, about five times the amount Jerry’s Silo Marina owner Jerry Guyer told WTMJ he had put into his own removal efforts last week. As of this week, a small barge Guyer’s crew had been using during removal efforts is now itself grounded into the sand, with one of the pontoon floaters detached and bobbing in the water near the rocky shore.
“Jerry tried his best, but this thing is really stuck…this is becoming a very expensive proposition for Milwaukee County,” says Wasserman.
It’s not clear if the anonymous donor will cover the cost the County incurs working with a new vendor, and Wasserman declined to comment on who the new vendor is. The County has previously said taxpayers will not be on the hook for the boat’s removal.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: “I’m praying it gets done”: Where could the abandoned boat “Deep Thought” end up?
Mississippi residents Richard and Sherry Wells purchased the boat in Manitowoc last October and planned to sail it back to Mississippi, but beached it October 13th after getting stuck in a storm.
The Wells stayed in Milwaukee for a few days to try removing it, then went radio-silent.
The boat has since become a canvass for vandalism, appeared in music videos and become a Google Maps entry called “The Minnow”.
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