Ousted crane still works

Courtesy of Sea Tow

Air bags were used to float a 9- to 10-ton crane to the surface on March 10 after it was towed by Sea Tow from B19 to Lakeside Marina near B1.

Courtesy of Sea Tow

When it was close to the shoreline, Lynchburg Crane lifted the crane out of the lake and onto shore. The crane has been in the lake since it slipped off a barge Oct. 5 during a dock removal and rebuilding project.

It may be hard to believe, but a crane that's been sitting at the bottom of Smith Mountain Lake for more than five months still is operational.

Dickie Dill, owner of Lakeside Marina where the crane was towed and recovered last week, said it wasn't in great shape, but the crane still runs.

Dill said the crane was returned to Erik Plyler, owner of Plyler Homes & Docks in Moneta, which owns the crane.

The 9- to 10-ton crane fell into the lake on Oct. 5. It was recovered March 10 after a three-day operation.

Sea Tow held the winning bid on the removal project. Capt. Rick Ellett of Sea Tow of SML said his company subcontracted a dive team and crane company to assist.

The operation began on March 8 when divers from Glenn Underwater Services surveyed the downed crane. Sea Tow removed the existing boom for disposal and replaced it.

"We contained the area with a hard boom and a soft boom inside of that to contain any petroleum that might come up with it," said Ellett.

On March 9, divers secured air bags to the crane, which was about 40 feet underwater near B19. Ellett said the divers were "pretty impressive," as they were working in zero visibility.

The air bags allowed the crane to float several feet underwater as Sea Tow pulled the crane down the Blackwater to Lakeside Marina near B1. The boom stayed with the crane as it was towed.

The following morning, additional air bags were added to hoist the crane to the water, bringing the bag count to five, said Ellett. Once the crane was situated near the shoreline, Lynchburg Crane hoisted the downed crane out of the lake and onto shore.

"It was pretty cool; for as long as it sat on the bottom of the lake, it didn't have any slime or algae on it or anything," said Ellett. "It was like it had been down there for a day."

He said the booms contained the petroleum that rose to the surface as the crane was being towed and lifted. Ellett said he was told the crane had about four gallons of diesel gasoline in its tank when it fell into the lake.

Allen Linkenhoker, pollution response coordinator for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, said no one from his office was able to be on site during the removal process.

He said DEQ didn't learn about the crane removal until the day after it came out of the lake.

"They started earlier than they had indicated," said Linkenhoker. "They were probably watching the weather forecast."

Rain was scheduled for late last week when the removal operation originally was scheduled.

Linkenhoker said DEQ officials visited the lift site near B19 and the cove at Lakeside Marina on March 11 to check for petroleum leakage. The lift site was clean, but a sheen was detected at Lakeside Marina, he said. DEQ contacted Sea Tow for additional cleanup.

Ellett said Sea Tow members used a product called Quikleen that "renders the petroleum inert."

A fellow Sea Tow captain said the cost to remove the crane was confidential, but Ellett said the operation went smoothly.

The crane has been sitting at the bottom of the lake since it slipped off a barge on Oct. 5 around 11:30 a.m. The crane operator, Roger Dale Goad, was using it to remove old pilings for a dock removal and replacement project. Divers found Goad's body outside the crane's cabin about two hours later.

The U.S. Coast Guard, which has jurisdiction on the lake, investigated the incident. The initial investigation is complete and has been forwarded to the Coast Guard headquarters for review.

Plyler declined to comment for this story.