Boats still on St. Augustine's shores months after Hurricane Matthew

Displaced boats are still lining St. Augustine’s shores three months after Hurricane Matthew. Neighbors want them out of the way but owners say it isn’t that simple.

The sheriff’s office’s marine unit is handling all the boats that were left on land after the hurricane. They said Rich Ardinger’s boat is one of five still ashore in St. Johns County.

The boat owner told Action News Jax that getting the vessels off land is a costly challenge. “My first estimate was a thousand dollars from Southern Crane in Jacksonville and they couldn’t get near it because the land mass wouldn’t hold the weight,” Ardinger explained.

According to Ardinger, it’s going to take a barge with a crane out in the inlet to get the boats back on the water. “Where he can float it up to the boat and actually pull the boat to the barge, which is in the water already. Which makes it a lot easier, I think,” he said.

The sheriff’s office is in contact with all five of the boat owners and together they’re working to get the crafts back on the ocean. Neighbors aren’t happy about the boats being on land, obstructing views.

Ardinger isn’t sure of a removal timeline and explained that all the owners are at the mercy of equipment contractors.

Cox Media Group