A contractor yesterday removed the hull of a 36-foot sloop aground off Waikiki and planned to recover the keel at high tide sometime after midnight or at the latest by tomorrow morning, said a state Department of Land and Natural Resources official.

Pacific Environmental Corp. salvage specialists floated the hull of the TereMoana across the reef to the beach, DLNR spokeswoman Deborah Ward said. The boat ran aground Tuesday.

David "DC" Carter, the company's area manager, said the hull was brought to a spot on the diamondhead side of Fort DeRussy Beach about 5:30 p.m. The hull was to be hauled to a landfill.

"The key for us was making sure not to break any living coral," Carter said. Specialists spent most of the day rigging the hull as high as possible to protect the reef, he said.

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