FOR SALE: 28-foot catamaran, gently used by the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department, $50,000 or $1,000/month lease.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Department is seeking a buyer for its saltwater rescue boat.
The vessel is bigger than the department needs and is costing the county money, said Undersheriff Ron Peregrin.
“It is a good boat, but we don’t need to use something that big,” he said.
Also, the vessel is not easily put on a trailer, which means it must be moored.
That costs the county dockage fees as well as expenses on the heavy maintenance that comes with in-water storage.
“It’s not selling it that is so much important to the county’s budget, it’s the maintenance,” Peregrin said.
A ballpark figure for yearly maintenance and moorage costs is about $6,000, he said.
The sheriff’s department wants to buy a smaller boat that it can put on a trailer, and therefore move around the county and maintain more easily.
“What we’re looking at is something more deployable that fills the bill,” Peregrin said.
The three Clallam County commissioners approved in May a request from the sheriff’s department to sell the boat.
A potential buyer decided recently not to go through with the sale, or even a month-to-month lease of the vessel.
The North Whidbey Fire and Rescue District and the Island County Sheriff’s Department were considering buying the Clallam County boat together, but commissioners of the fire district voted last week not to go through with the purchase.
The two agencies were discussing splitting the cost of the boat or a monthly $1,000 rent-to-own lease from Clallam County.
Island County Sheriff Mike Brown told the Whidbey News-Times that he plans to apply for more than $500,000 in grants for a marine safety program and use the money to buy a new boat to replace a broken one on Camano Island, and to repair another boat moored in Cornet Bay that is inoperable because of engine problems.
Although the Island County agencies are no longer interested in the catamaran, Peregrin said there are other potential buyers.
“We’re looking at alternatives in the sale, at least some other people (agencies) that have expressed interests,” he said.
“It’s a good buy.”
