Still stranded: 78 days and counting for boat on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee

It’s been a spectacle, a hot topic of conversation: How long it that boat going to be stranded on the Lake Michigan shore in Milwaukee?

The boat, a Chris-Craft Roamer named Deep Thought, has had plenty of time to think. It has been abandoned on the Lake Michigan shoreline by Bradford Beach since Oct. 13: 78 days and counting.

On Monday, a crew with Jerry’s Dock Marina drew a crowd while attempting to free the boat from the shore. It didn’t work.

Klavs Mednis works for Jerry’s Dock Marina, owned by Jerry and Sandy Guyer. He said he was inside the boat’s engine compartment, “just pumping out water.”

“There’s everything in there − muck, sand,” Mednis said. “It’s stinky business.”

Mednis said the boat’s propeller is buried 2 to 3 feet deep in the sand. Over time, the side of the boat closest to the shore also has settled in the sand, essentially creating a sandbar.

“When you pull it out, it almost beaches back up (on the shelf of sand),” Klaus said. “It’s not as simple as just pulling it out.”

Mednis gave credit to boss Jerry Guyer for taking workers to the site in an effort to free the boat.

He said the next option could involve dredging sand loose from underneath the boat by blasting it away with high water pressure.

The temperature was in the mid-40s on Monday afternoon. Temperatures forecast to dip below freezing within two days will make any effort more challenging, Mednis said.

“We’re trying to do the right thing and get Milwaukee back to normal,” Mednis said.

This story was updated to add new information.