New life for old boat
Fisherman wants dragger for home
BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER
Moored in Nantucket Harbor, the 67-foot Miss China is on her way to becoming a houseboat. New owner Joe Dooley cannot move aboard the former dragger, however, until he complies with several marine safety and environmental regulations.

PETER B. BRACE/The Independent Miss China

According to Marine Superintendent Dave Fronzuto, the Miss China has sat moored at the piers near Hy-Line Cruises' Hyannis terminal for the last year-and-half. Dooley, a scalloper who is already living on a much smaller boat in the harbor, had her towed to Nantucket several weeks ago - not to fish with, but to live upon.

Unfortunately for Dooley, although the vessel has been deemed structurally sound, the Miss China does not meet all the regulations for onboard safety and environmental considerations.

Fronzuto said he and the Coast Guard both gave Dooley lists of items that need repairing or replacing before he can move onto the Miss China. One article on the checklist is the bilge contaminated with fuel and oil.

"He's going to have to have the fuel professionally removed since there are no federal provisions to have it removed," Fronzuto said.

Further, the boat lacks anchoring and mooring capabilities. Because the main engine is inoperable, Fronzuto said Dooley has no way of setting his anchor should the boat break free during a storm. Currently, the Miss China is attached to a rental mooring. Although Dooley does have his own mooring, his permit does not allow for a vessel of the Miss China's size.

"He has no way of anchoring, and with no propulsion he can't set the anchor, and he can't reposition himself to re-anchor," Fronzuto said.

Fronzuto added that Dooley's holding tank, which is above deck, is sound and shows no signs of leaking.

The Coast Guard at Station Brant Point and the Marine Safety Office at Otis Air Force Base have their own concerns as well.

Station Brant Point Senior Chief Terrell J. Malvesti, whose crew boarded the Miss China on Oct. 12, said he needs to make sure that his crews know where to tie off and where to safely put a water pump should the need arise during a storm.

"If I have to send my guys out there in the middle of January in a storm, I need my guys to know where to tie a tow rope and where they can put his dewatering pump to save him from going to the bottom," Malvesti said.

Malvesti added that it is unusual for the Coast Guard to spend so much time inspecting and following up on such a vessel, but the fact that Dooley plans to live on the Miss China puts her under Malvesti's care for the long-term.

"We want to make sure we're familiar with it so that we can dewater it or tow it if we have to," he said.

The Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office also boarded the dragger to ensure that there are no fuel tank and bilge leaks.

Fronzuto told the Shellfish & Harbor Advisory Board at its Oct. 16 meeting that he has been tracking the Miss China for about three years. He said the boat had been put on a state abandoned vessel list in an attempt to have it removed from Barnstable Harbor, but there is no state funding for the removal of abandoned boats from Massachusetts harbors.

But if Dooley can make the necessary repairs to the Miss China, the state will have one less derelict vessel to worry about.

"He wants to use it for a residence, as a liveaboard," said Fronzuto. "He's just trying to find a decent place to live. The vessel does appear to be sound. We just have the initial concerns about the

pollution and the anchoring." I