Hundreds Of Boat Owners See Dreams Sink Under Weight Of Collapsed Marina Sheds

Half-sunken boats bobbed in the Edmonds marina today as cranes began to remove aluminum roofs that came crashing down under the weight of wet snow yesterday.

"It looks like a war zone," said Dave Howard, marine-services manager for the Port of Edmonds, the hardest-hit site as hundreds of boats at several marinas suffered millions of dollars in damage.

For many boat owners in the area, the experience was like losing a friend.

"We're heartbroken," said Julie Freeman, of Bellevue's Meydenbauer Yacht Club, whose boat was among as many as 50 damaged at Meydenbauer Bay Marina. "Our boat was there, and it's gone."

"It's like losing a part of the family," said Paul Friedrich, whose boat was crushed.

Officials at Edmonds said once the collapsed roofs are removed, the damaged boats would be hauled out of the water and onto the marina parking lot.

"Cleaning up the vessels is just the first part. Then we've got to rebuild the marina," said port Executive Director Bill Toskey.

All but one pier shed fell at the Edmonds marina, where a $20 million renovation plan was to begin the end of next year.

Many boat owners who attended an emergency Port of Edmonds commissioners meeting this morning wanted to know how soon they could get to their boats.

It could be tomorrow, it could be a week, officials said, but it won't be until the docks are safe. That can't be determined until the roofs are removed.

"I'd love to get to my boat. It's still floating, but I don't think it's going to float for long," said Commissioner Don Stay.

Officials simply shook their heads when asked to estimate the amount of damage. An insurance broker, along with some port officials, couldn't even reach the marina until today because of poor road conditions in surrounding areas.

Tenants were not allowed on the docks for safety reasons, so they had to watch from the shore.

Gary Bee, of Monroe, came down hoping to see his 23-footer, Miss Beehaven. It appeared that two taller boats alongside Bee's had caught most of the fallen roof. But with only the bow visible, Bee could only hope damage was limited to his antenna.

Most of his friends who keep boats moored here, too, weren't so lucky.

"Most of the guys I know are sports fishermen. It's still a great season," Bee said. "But no fishing today."

Marina roofs designed to shed rain were ill-equipped to bear the weight of more than a foot of snow saturated with rain.

"You've got this giant cotton ball on your roof, and then you soak it with rain," said Bellevue Fire Department spokesman Marty LaFave.

Moorage areas affected in Seattle included one in the 2400 block of Westlake Avenue North, where eight boats sank, and four people and two dogs had to be rescued. There were also reports of damaged boathouses at the Seattle and Duwamish yacht clubs, as well as at Marina Mart Mooring.

No one was injured in any of the collapses.

For Julie and Ken Freeman of the Meydenbauer Yacht Club, the Princess Britt - named for their granddaughter - was a labor of love they appreciated for the opportunities it allowed, including the chance to see a pod of whales near the San Juan Islands last summer.

"It was worth working hard for," Julie Freeman said. "It was an opportunity for our grandchildren to experience things they wouldn't otherwise experience."

The Princess Britt was among several dozen buried under a crumpled pier roof at Meydenbauer Bay. "You wouldn't even know it's where boats were," LaFave said.

Another pier roof there collapsed partially, while a collapse at Bellevue's Newport Yacht Club, off 118th Avenue Southeast, damaged as many as 40 boats.

At Edmonds, Gary Messer, owner of a 28-foot boat, was critical of the port for not taking earlier action to remove snow from the roofs, which were held up with little more than four-by-fours. He said he'll seek compensation from the marina for the damage.

But port employees said they spent two days shoveling snow off the roofs. "This last snowfall put it over the edge," said Jim Fahey, a seasonal port employee.

Many boat owners brought cameras to record the damage for insurance claims. The smell of diesel and gas hung in the air, and the port had posted no-smoking signs, apparently in fear a spark could touch off fumes.

As in other moorage areas with similar damage, entrances to the docks were locked, and frustrated owners were not allowed access.

But one man, undeterred, jumped the fence, clambered down to his boat and began shoveling off the snow to keep it afloat.

Another man, Andy Martinis, saw the sheds shatter from his condominium just up the hill. His boat had not been in a covered area, but the damage to others overwhelmed him. "I'm just crying about this," he said.

LaFave, the Bellevue Fire Department spokesman, said he understood the frustrations of boat owners barred from the collapsed sheds but added that safety was the department's primary concern. "Even though the owners might be frustrated that their boat is underneath that," he said, "they should be happy that they're not.

"These are emotional things. Boats are home to some people."