Derelict boat finally removed from Perdido Bay after being abandoned in 2011

PERDIDO BEACH, Ala. (WKRG) — Lying just beneath the surface of Perdido Bay in about 3 to 4 feet of water was the engine block of what used to be a pleasure boat.

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“That’s one big chunk of metal right there; it’s an industrial engine,” Grey Biggs said.

He has been on a one-man crusade to get the boat removed before something terrible happens.

“Nobody knew who to get in touch with who had the money and who could OK it, and it kind of went round and round,” he said. “That’s what was so frustrating about it.”

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His fear was an unknowing boater or jet skier would get hurt or killed.

“Some days, it would be this much above the water, and some days this much underneath felt like that was the real danger,” he said as he watched a salvage crew working to remove what was left of the boat.

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“And so it just sat there and as the storms came along it just ripped pieces off it till that was all that was left,” he said.

A call to the Baldwin County Commission finally got things moving in the right direction. The commission hired Gillis Construction and in a matter of minutes, the remains of the boat were out of the water, on a barge and on its way to a landfill.

Thirteen years after the boat was abandoned it is no longer a danger to unsuspecting boaters. A relief for Biggs who says it has been a long time coming.

“I’m just glad to see it done,” Biggs said.

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