A dock-building barge that sank near Finley Point a week ago is back afloat, its captain said Wednesday.

Last week, the Sir Izaak Walton, a 74-foot barge, sank near the Finley Point shore after it was swamped by waves caused by a windstorm.

Rande Walton, owner of the Sir Izaak Walton and Dockmaster, a Polson barge service, said some waves were 10 to 12 feet tall.

A week after the barge’s containers were knocked off and the cabin torn loose, Walton said the barge is floating once again. Bringing the barge back above water took a handful of pumps capable of drawing 5,000 gallons a minute from the hull.

When the Sir Izaak Walton sank, it was only a few feet from shore. Walton considers himself, his company and his clients lucky the Walton wasn’t farther from shore.

“It would have been a total loss if that was the case,” he said. “We were lucky.”

Steve Stanley, coordinator for the Lake County Department of Disaster and Emergency Services, said an inspection showed no oil or any other hazardous material leaked from the barge into the lake.

“He didn’t spill any product,” Stanley said. “He did a great job, so we’re done.”

Walton said he will change the oil and filters on the barge motor as a precaution to any potential problems the sinking might have caused.

“There will be 10 things we don’t see right now,” Walton said. “We’ll get them sorted out and I bet you we’ll be going again in a week.”

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at [email protected].