Dave Eck talks on his phone in the level underneath the deck on the dilapidated boat on Thursday. He says the last remaining pump on the Casey barge stopped functioning due to overnight cold temperatures. Crossing a metal tightrope and crawling through a hole in the back of the Allen Casey barge, Dave Eck warns visitors to watch the hole up ahead, the one that gapes down into the derelict barge’s guts.
Down there, he said, is the pump — the problem.
For months, Captain Dave — as he calls himself — has lived either on the trashed barge or in a camper on the bank, warding off vagabonds and running the sump pump that sucks water out of the buoyancy cells, continually keeping the barge on an even keel by balancing out the amount and weight of water resting in its bottom parts.
Thursday afternoon, the barge listed toward the bank.
Eck said in the near-record cold Wednesday night, the sump pump froze up and burst, rendering it useless.
And it comes just on the heels of power issues which briefly shut down the lone, residential-grade pump earlier this month.
The pump is the key to keeping the barge afloat, said Eck. Without the ability to empty the buoyancy cells, they could fill up — over time, granted — and finally cause the barge to sink. If the barge sinks, all the junk onboard goes into the river. And there are immediately more costs incurred to lift the barge off the river bed.
It’s a minor catastrophe that city leaders and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been trying to avoid for years. Chattanooga businessman Casey floated the barge into Chattanooga in 2009 with dreams of converting it into a floating restaurant and bar.
His dream fell through, and Casey and his company fell into bankruptcy with investors threatening to sue. Mayor Andy Berke’s office began asking federal regulators in 2013 for help booting the Casey barge out of its spot on the north bank of town.
The barge partially sank back in 2011, and river mud from that incident still coats the bottom-most levels.
Nearly a year ago, the Corps of Engineers gave Casey 60 days to move the boat.
Now, the barge could actually be only months away from being floated down the river to PSC Metals, where it can be scrapped and forgotten. Southern Community Bank offered earlier this month to loan $225,000 for the dismantling of the barge, the necessary and first step in moving it.
There’s a hearing scheduled for Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to consider the offer. If it’s approved, work could begin soon after breaking the barge down and prepping it for removal.
But Eck wonders how long the barge will hold up, now that its pump has gone bad.
A “no trespassing” sign is seen on the barge’s deck on Thursday.“Hey guys, the barge is not going to wait till springtime,” he said. “It’s not going to wait. It’ll be on the bottom.”
David Fulton, an attorney representing Casey interests and acting as point person for the barge, was unavailable for comment Thursday.
On Thursday afternoon, Eck climbed down into the barge and pointed out the thick pipes and red spigot risers that make up the original, real buoyancy cell pump infrastructure.
He said he’s making do with the type of small pump found on hardware store shelves, or was making do until this week.
He said the barge’s current list toward the shore is caused by the empty bouyancy cells on the river side of the barge and the fuller, heavier ones on the shore side. He said part of the barge is actually sitting on the bank right now.
“This is the first time I’ve been on it that it’s this much out of level,” he said.
Eck hopes someone comes through with a new pump soon.
Whatever the timeline for the barge’s removal, its owners will have to coordinate with the U.S. Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480.