Cleanup of collapsed roof continues at marina

Courtesy of Al Busch

About 2 inches of ice topped with 7 or 8 inches of snow weakened a roof, causing it to collapse at Crystal Shores Marina in Moneta.

LAURIE EDWARDS | Laker Weekly

A crew works to dismantle and remove a collapsed roof; work will take an estimated five to seven days.

Courtesy photo

An accumulation of ice and snow caused a dock roof at Crystal Shores to collapse on about 20 boats Saturday.

No one was on site when the roof over several boat slips at a marina collapsed on Saturday, although about 20 boats were damaged, said Rob Sorrentino, president and owner of Crystal Shores Marina in Moneta near R27A.

He said the roof collapsed around noon because of snow and ice that accumulated during the weekend storm.

"It's more ice than it is snow that created the problem for us," said Sorrentino.

He said about 2 inches of ice accumulated on the roof, with about 7 or 8 inches of snow on top of the ice, leading to the roof collapse.

Boat owners were notified immediately, said Sorrentino. He said damage to the boats will be covered by a combination of individual boat owner's insurance and the marina's insurance. Sorrentino said he didn't have an exact figure on the property damage, but was sure it would be more than $1 million.

Sorrentino said he's unsure when the damaged portion of the marina was built, but estimated it was in the 1960s. He and business partners purchased the marina, formerly Smith Mountain Yacht Club, in 2007. The marina first opened in 1964.

Sorrentino said the other boat slips at the marina are newer and were constructed with different materials, but they have been checked.

"The other areas have been attended to," he said. "We've done everything we can at this point to stabilize."

A crew is working on site to dismantle and remove the collapsed roof, which is resting on top of several boats. Sorrentino said cleanup could take five to seven days, depending on the weather.

"If we have good weather, we can get the cleanup done in short order and get everything stabilized," he said.

When the site is cleared, a new row of slips will be built, said Sorrentino. Engineering plans for the rebuild are being drawn.

"It'll be nicer," he said.

Sorrentino said, although "it's a tragedy," he's glad no one was hurt when the roof collapsed. A man had been working on some of the boats involved earlier in the day, but had vacated the premises before the collapse.