Using house wrap, a big pump, and the knowledge gleaned from years of restoring old houses, semi-retired carpenter Rick Arndt waded into the St. Croix River on Tuesday in an attempt to refloat Sweet Destiny, the 54-foot motor yacht marooned on Beer Can Island near Hudson, Wis.
While he did not succeed Tuesday, Arndt said he was only trying the cheapest possible solution at first, and he has more ideas of how he might yet get the boat off the river.
“Wouldn’t it be cool if I could do it?” Arndt said Tuesday, as he piloted his fishing boat across the St. Croix.
His is the first serious effort to remove the boat since former owner Grayson McNew parked the sinking vessel on the island last summer. The two-story white boat quickly became a river landmark, then a headache for local officials who have grown weary of abandoned river boats.
It’s inspired a new Hudson ordinance that calls for fines for boat owners who leave their watercraft on the river. The issue has also spilled into both the Minnesota and Wisconsin legislatures where representatives proposed laws that would criminalize boat abandonment. A Minnesota DNR conservation officer who testified before the legislature said the state sees about 40 abandoned boats per year.
While others debate, Arndt, who isn’t billing anyone for his time, said he just wants to help.
“I’ve heard so much anger about this boat,” he said. “People are just angry. I’ve been self-employed for 49 years and so my idea is less about talking about it and more about doing something.”
Arndt said he’s used his skills to help others before, from a New Richmond family who got a free mobile home renovation to impoverished residents of a region in India that Arndt visited on a mission trip.