A 41-foot fishing boat that sank in August in a slip at He'eia Kea Boat Harbor has generated concern among harbor users after debris began floating away and the owner was unable to move the boat.

The state and the Coast Guard were called, but despite some initial activity, the boat is still there today.

Kiks Hugho is vice president and an assistant coach for Kane'ohe Canoe Club, whose members paddle in the area. He said he would like to see the boat removed before the season for younger paddlers begins in a few weeks because he's seen pieces of the boat drifting away from the vessel.

Hugho worries that the debris, such as boards with nails sticking out, poses a hazard. "The doors were floating over to us with broken glass," he said.

Finally, though, things are beginning to happen.

The state is soliciting bids for getting rid of the sunken vessel.

The boat was allowed to sit for months to give the boat owner time to try to salvage it, said Clifford Inn, spokesman for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. "The state did not step in immediately because the boat did not pose a health or safety threat," he said.

Inn said the Coast Guard was notified when the boat first sank and removed the fluids from the boat and put a boom around it. Meanwhile, the state notified the owner — whom officials declined to identify — to move the boat.

But Inn said the owner told them he bought the boat after it had begun to sink, thinking that he could fix it. "He realized he couldn't," Inn said.

Inn said the bid deadline on the boat removal was yesterday afternoon.

He said there is a waiting list of seven people wanting to rent a slip of that size at He'eia Kea. "Some people on the waiting list have waited five years," he said.

Inn said the boat's owner was current on paying the $120.30-per-month slip fee. When the state realized that the owner didn't have the resources to pull the boat out, officials worked out an "amnesty agreement" in which the owner signed the boat over to the state, which then takes over the cost of removal.

"However, if this individual ever wants to moor a boat at a state harbor, he will have to pay any past-due fees plus the cost of removal and demolition," Inn said. Those costs will be determined after the boat is moved.

He'eia Kea Harbor Agent Randall Kunichika said the case was fairly unusual. "We've had vessels sink but the owners took care of it right away," he said.

Inn said boats occasionally are abandoned but it is not too common. In this case, the state determined it was better to step in and get the boat out than wait any longer.

"If we waited for the boat owner to get the resources to move the boat himself, it might drag out for some period of time," he said.

Randy Cates, who does salvage work on boats, said sunken boats can be a problem. He said he knows of six vessels sunken in or near state harbors: the one in He'eia, four in Ke'ehi Lagoon and another in Lahaina on Maui.

"The problem is uninsured vessels," Cates said, because the responsible boaters — who pay fees to support the boating fund — end up paying the cost of the removal of such boats. That ends up taking money away from harbor improvements and other needed facilities, he said.

Cates would like to see a rule that would require boat owners to act quickly in such situations.

For example, Cates said a boat called the Two Star ended up aground recently on a Friday night. He said the boat could have been pulled off intact the next day, but the state didn't get permission to act until Tuesday when the boat was already breaking apart.

Cates said that salvage job ended up costing the state $95,000. "The longer it stays there, the worse it gets. The worse the boat gets and the more harm to the environment," he said.

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