Milwaukee abandoned boat; leader of crew that freed vessel talks
The Brief
The owner of All City Towing spoke on Tuesday, May 20, about his team's removal of Deep Thought from Milwaukee's lakefront.
The boat was abandoned back in October.
Despite multiple attempts by other teams, the All City Towing crew successfully removed the boat in early May.
MILWAUKEE - Boat watch 2025 is back! Well, sort of. On Tuesday, May 20, we learned a lot more about how a Milwaukee crew successfully removed Deep Thought, the boat that was abandoned on the city's lakefront.
What we know
On Tuesday, Jeff Piller, the owner of All City Towing, spoke at the Rotary Club. He was invited to share how his crew was able to free the boat which had been beached between Bradford and McKinley beaches from October 2024 until early May.
Piller said his crew estimated the boat weighed between 40,000 and 50,000 pounds. It was actually close to 100,000 pounds.
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Piller spoke about the challenges of removing the boat. He initially estimated the cost to free it from the beach would be around $50,000. It turns out that it was much more than that.
What they're saying
"There was a lot of people who wanted to see it stay but it was definitely time to get rid of the boat," Piller said.
Piller said he is giving the county and taxpayers a discount, as they are figuring out a way to come up with the money to pay for it. Two donors previously pitched in around $20,000 to help with the costs.
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"But we have went way over that," Piller said. "But I have a discount on my invoice. That's approaching about $35,000."
What's next
Milwaukee County Parks said final costs and responsibilities will be confirmed once it reviews the invoice.
For now, the boat is being housed at All City Towing's lot on Milwaukee's south side.
The Source
The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News and taps into previous FOX6 News coverage.
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