Crews begin dismantling sinking W.Pa. steamboat

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Crews have begun dismantling a retired steamboat that partially sank in the Ohio River near Pittsburgh last month.

Salvage workers began taking apart the Becky Thatcher on Monday after last month’s heavy snows caused it to start listing and taking on water.

The boat had been docked along Neville Island since last fall. Nashville entrepreneur Jeffrey Nevin had hoped to open it as a restaurant.

The wooden upper decks should be removed by midweek. After that, a diver will inspect the boat’s hull in hopes of finding out what caused it to sink.

If the hull is in good shape, it could be refurbished and sold; if not, it would be sold for scrap.

The boat’s upper decks were built in 1899 and transferred to a steel hull 37 years later.