After Irma, Sailboat Junkyard To Be Cleared In Coconut Grove

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- More than two dozen wrecked boats, a major eye sore in Coconut Grove, will be picked up months after Hurricane Irma hit.

On Wednesday, the City of Miami announced they would start picking up the boats that were dumped off Dinner Key Marina after the hurricane hit in September.

The boats are being taken a few miles north of Watson Island, near the Miami Seaplane base, to be demolished.

A large crane was brought in to hoist the vessels onto flatbeds and drive them to where already more than 100 damaged boats are stored.

Emanuel Romain showed up at Dinner Key to see if anything was salvageable. He left disappointed after being told none of the boats were repairable.

"I hope the owners enjoyed the boats while they had them," said Romain.

It's likely they don't have insurance and that's why the boats are still here," he said.

Boat owners in Florida don't have to carry insurance so the City of Miami and ultimately tax payers may have to bear some of the cost of getting rid of the damaged boats.

The city has applied for reimbursement from the federal government but it's not a sure thing.

Any boat not claimed at Watson Island will eventually be scrapped.

The junkyard of damaged boats stuck out like a sore thumb for months in the neighborhood. Some residents in the area were not happy about it.

As for when the cleanup will be done, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission estimates everything will be finished over the weekend.

More than 2 dozen wrecked boats from Hurricane Irma will be picked up and shipped off from Dinner Key Marina in #CoconutGrove for demolition. @MyFWC estimates clean-up will conclude over the weekend. pic.twitter.com/gzwx0MnLcp

— City of Miami (@CityofMiami) January 31, 2018