Why are so many derelict boats sailboats?

[Woodland Hills]

We have only lived on our boat full time for three years, but in that time I’ve noticed that nearly all the abandoned, 1/2 sunken or derelict boats are sailboats of one sort or another. In our yearly travels from the Keys to Long Island Sound it is extremely rare to see a powerboat beached or abandoned, but not sailboats. There seem to be many more powerboats than sailboats if one includes all the center consoles and skiffs, yet proportionally there are many more sailors who appear to have walked away from their boats leaving someone else to clean up.
Any possible explanation?

[boatman61]

Power boats are easier to load on trailers..

[sailingabe41ds]

Because we are a sorry poor bunch?

Abe

[Albinvega27]

In the past we were considered romantics, apassionate and adventurers. Today, specially girls are looking for comfort, luxury and show off. Even the 50+ ladies are rejecting classics and "beautiful" boats. They want to have 50+ and 60+ foot boats, with grill, freezer on board, air conditioning, helicopter landing place and jet skies under the rudder. The boats require 2 wheels, since they don´t want to stand inclined on the deck, but have the comfort. Behind the wheel you need to install a chair which moves with the heeling and the winches have to be electronic. The boat requires 2 additional beds, for the massage boy and for the boy toy...

We are living in 2021, the year of the ultimate adventure... not to forget you require NETFLIX on the boat, so they don´t miss Orange is the new black...

[Joh.Ghurt]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Power boats are easier to load on trailers..

... and thus they can rot away in some backyard on said trailer instead being forgotten in some mooring field.

[Group9]

The neglected powerboats all sink from lack of maintenance. Sailboats just hang on for dear life, no matter how neglected.

[Rob_P]

Originally Posted by Woodland Hills

We have only lived on our boat full time for three years, but in that time I’ve noticed that nearly all the abandoned, 1/2 sunken or derelict boats are sailboats of one sort or another. In our yearly travels from the Keys to Long Island Sound it is extremely rare to see a powerboat beached or abandoned, but not sailboats. There seem to be many more powerboats than sailboats if one includes all the center consoles and skiffs, yet proportionally there are many more sailors who appear to have walked away from their boats leaving someone else to clean up.
Any possible explanation?

Two possibilities:

They bought it cheap thinking it would be easy to fix and get them something/somewhere. When they found out it wasn't either of those things, they walked away from the loss.


There are people who collect antique cars and people who lease a new car every 2 years. Few of some, lots of the other. Guess which type buys old boats to restore and which type buys newer boats then leaves them to rot on a mooring someplace.

[sailorboy1]

Might be cost and living space. Small pos sailboat probably cost less and had more living for the person looking for cheap boat to live on, which joins the derelict boat world.

[BillKny]

As a boat gets less valuable, it's price (of course) goes down. The people who buy the cheapest boats (as a rule) have the fewest resources in terms of knowledge and finances to actually keep it running. It seems to completely escape the average persons logic that maintaining a 50 year old sailboat in good condition actually costs MORE than the same boat that is 5 years old.

Eventually, the boat lands in the hands of someone who lacks the scruples to properly dispose of it, so they abandon it and turn it into someone else's problem. These kinds of people should be forced to dress in underwear made of fiberglass mat.

Automobiles have a significant scrap value, if only as recycled raw material. Boats do not. There is nobody who is going to haul your junk boat away to make money on cutting it up.

It's actually a significant problem. And will continue to grow as fiberglass boats age out.

[dreadpiratk]

It’s not a complete explanation but sailing is, in large part, about the dream. Few people dream of ‘motoring around the world’.

People buy a sail boat based on the dream, then dream meets reality. Once that happens It’s easier to run away from the ruins of your dream and pretend you never had it, or more likely keep telling yourself you’re still going to do it someday while the boat sits and rots. Selling or scrapping the boat is to finally admit the dream is dead, and many people find that too painful to deal with.

[MicHughV]

drive around any neighborhood in any town and count the 100's of motorboats, fishing boats, skiffs, canoes, pontoon boats, etc, that havn't seen a splash of water in a dozen years...that's where they die, on somebody's driveway or backyard.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by BillKny

As a boat gets less valuable, it's price (of course) goes down. The people who buy the cheapest boats (as a rule) have the fewest resources in terms of knowledge and finances to actually keep it running. It seems to completely escape the average persons logic that maintaining a 50 year old sailboat in good condition actually costs MORE than the same boat that is 5 years old.

Eventually, the boat lands in the hands of someone who lacks the scruples to properly dispose of it, so they abandon it and turn it into someone else's problem. These kinds of people should be forced to dress in underwear made of fiberglass mat.

Automobiles have a significant scrap value, if only as recycled raw material. Boats do not. There is nobody who is going to haul your junk boat away to make money on cutting it up.

It's actually a significant problem. And will continue to grow as fiberglass boats age out.

I won't speculate on WHY you see mostly sailboats. I also see that. And I agree about how they become derelict and abandoned.

But what do we do to stop this trend?

I consider it a problem with inadequate local law enforcement and weak laws concerning boat ownership and insurance coverage. Localities could require insurance to cover the cost of clearing these boats. Local On-The-Water authorites can inspect arriving boats and require proof of insurance, or posting of a bond. Maybe the patrols can be funded by anchoring fees.

AND, at the time of arrival the authorities can get proof of identity so they know who to go after if the boat becomes a derelict.

Anchoring and insuring for clearing should be a cost of ownership.

[thinwater]

In fact, I believe most of the derelicts in the Chesapeake Bay are powerboats. That is certainly the case in my creek.



I also wonder if it has something to do with it being more obvious that a power boat is done, when the engine is dead and it obviously is not going to be repowered. A sailboat still has sails (maybe).

[Ivory]

Originally Posted by Albinvega27

In the past we were considered romantics, apassionate and adventurers. Today, specially girls are looking for comfort, luxury and show off. Even the 50+ ladies are rejecting classics and "beautiful" boats. They want to have 50+ and 60+ foot boats, with grill, freezer on board, air conditioning, helicopter landing place and jet skies under the rudder. The boats require 2 wheels, since they don´t want to stand inclined on the deck, but have the comfort. Behind the wheel you need to install a chair which moves with the heeling and the winches have to be electronic. The boat requires 2 additional beds, for the massage boy and for the boy toy...

We are living in 2021, the year of the ultimate adventure... not to forget you require NETFLIX on the boat, so they don´t miss Orange is the new black...

Having dating trouble?

[DeValency]

motorboats sink way more (especially in those parades ), but these crafts just have no 6' keel (maybe the OP doesn't know that) so they end up under water to create nav hazards for the real sailors.