50 Year old boats can they be giving away in Mexico or somewhere.

[115jcurtis]

I was interested in getting an older sailboat but after 50 years it is not always possible to insure the boat. You are not allow to sink in the ocean and to depose of in could cost $5000. Could I get someone to take it from me for free somewhere like Mexico or The Dominican Republic? Or somewhere? Let me know. Please

John in Rochester N Y

waypointnorth8@gmail.com

[marcjsmith]

Post on Craigslist or Facebook for a free boat. Someone might be desperate enough to take a free boat. Or try to part it out yourself.

All the metals bits generally have some value

[ekelly36]

what kind of boat... lots of 50 yo boats that are good still.

[SailingHarmonie]

Disposing of old boats is an ongoing nightmare that we as a society have not figured out how to do, at least in the USA. In the "good old days" you could just set a wooden boat on fire, and come back and pick up the valuable metal bits for recycling. Obviously not practical with GRP.

Boats that are in condition that they need to disposed of are very rarely owned by people with the resources to dispose of them properly, after all that's how they got to be junk in the first place.

If you have an old boat that could actually sail to the Caribbean (and prepping it for such a voyage will easily cost you $5000, so you are kind of back where you started!) you should look long and hard to see if there is a charity who will take it.

[rslifkin]

Plenty of 50 year old boats are still viable for use. As far as insurance, if you could afford the cost of losing the boat, then it may be worth getting liability only insurance. That should be much easier to obtain for an older boat and still covers you for the potential big costs, but not loss of the boat itself.

Also, good to see another local on here!

[thomm225]

My boat will be 50 years old in July based on the HIN. (1974 Bristol 27)

Liability Insurance for $500,000 is around $19/month. (marina requirement)

There is a guy in North Carolina that will take old boats for salvage. He runs an ad on Craigslist periodically.

[boatpoker]

A few years back a guy in Ontario was grinding boats with something like this video (only bigger). You could drop off your boat for free. The shredded glass was added to concrete patio stones and curb stones which were 30% lighter and 70% stronger if I remember. He only lasted a few years, I don't know why he shutdown as there were no shortage of boats in his yard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc_9e4hTsQc

[Wayne Gilham]

Washington State has the "model" program for vessel disposal and Derelict Vessel removal - under its Dept of Natural Resources. Had been funded by a $3 surcharge on yearly vessel registrations (netting about $750k/yr) but in 2020 the boatowners' advocacy group Recreational Boating Assn of WA (RBAW) got legislature to also dedicate 25% of our dreaded yearly half-of-one-percent Vessel Excise tax - which used to disappear into the State's "General Fund" and be lost to boaters - to this Derelict Vessel program, gaining the program about $4million! This allowed much more robust funding of the VTIP = "Vessel Turn-In Program", wherein a boat-owner who can demonstrate ("means-tested") that he is WITHOUT the financial means to properly dispose of his no-longer-desired boat, can simply "turn it in" to the State, which has several means of disposal. Most are crushed and sent to landfill, but there is now a pilot project in Port Townsend for true recycling of fiberglass boats - not yet confirmed if this is economically viable. Since inception of the program in 2002, DNR has removed over a thousand derelict or unwanted vessels in WA waters... VTIP is very "economical": a boat still floating, or on-a-trailer, costs only (on average) 10% of cost to remove as a sunken vessel. (the real outrageous costs are for removal of ex-commercial or ex-military "ships" that starry-eyed individuals THINK they can afford to keep-up and use recreationally - usually a folly, often end up sinking again and again... takes millions per vessel to dispose of these 200+ footers... our sailing toys are nothing compared to those.(Wayne Gilham, Past-President RBAW)

[NorthCoastJoe]

Aluminum boat ... Mine will never be in a landfill or a haz-mat issue. 100% recyclable hull and real wood interior.

My Pearson 30 is 1976, saved from the jaws of death and is a fully rebuilt boat. I would say most plastic boats can be saved but the new boat industry would be upset. Cranking out new plastic trash every year.

[ekelly36]

Yeah I don’t understand why the value of some boats seems like it never drops but on others you could put 50k into upgrades and refits then the boat is still only worth 10k lol… it’s pretty stupid

[BenBowSirocco]

I have seen some threads discussing the insurance issue, specifically a young person who was living aboard struggling to get insurance on an older vessel.

To me: that is so sad.. nearly heartbreaking.

Because any fiberglass boat in use is a LOT better than one that needs disposal. Fiberglass lasts and since its already around I say: use it. I believe there is always SOMEONE that will insure you. Usually a survey helps. There are some smaller companies people on the forum suggested that seemed better suited to insure these older boats than the big conglomerates.



We sailed a 1972 C&C MK II for years on Tampa Bay and it was a great boat for the bay. Performed very well for its age. Great weekender and short cruiser. Had some awesome cruises of the Keys on her. I did the usual deck repair (unsealed Balsa), but it was pretty minor and a hole saw took care of 90% of it. Absolutely no reason whatsoever that boat shouldn't be sailing for another 20+ years.



If insurance is your only hurdle: someone will help you find some!!

[Shanachie]

The issue is almost never the fiberglass. As others have noted, it can last many decades. However, the rest of the stuff ... Refitting a tired old sailboat can cost a staggering amount of money.



Let's keep it simple, a 30-footer.


Rerigging is 3-5K. Repowering? 10K or so. New cabin cushions? 3-5K. Sails, 4-9K. Electronics can run 5-10K even for a simple system. Then there is all of the little stuff that adds up.


Perhaps most of all, there are leaking hull-deck joints. Many old boats have 150 or more frozen bolts securing the deck. At least some of them will leak. It is a bear to fix this.


I know there are people on this forum who will say, "Oh, I did all of this for a couple of thousand dollars." I would like to know what happy drug you are on because that has not been my experience with three sailboats.


Boatyards and marinas are filled with neglected vessels that people bought, thinking a little elbow grease and a few second-hand parts could bring them back to life.


It's almost always cheaper and saner just to buy a newer vessel in decent shape.

[BlueH2Obound]

The problem with giving away to someone, is that if they don't transfer registration or ownership, and something bad happens . . . . a search may come back to YOU as the last legal registered owner, with potential associated liabilities. Even if you "win" it may cost you a lot of $$ to defend yourself against liability.

[Kettlewell]

My current boat is 46 years old and I have liability only insurance. I'd rather take my boat anywhere than most new ones I see in the boat shows.

[OS2Dude]

Originally Posted by ekelly36

Yeah I don’t understand why the value of some boats seems like it never drops but on others you could put 50k into upgrades and refits then the boat is still only worth 10k lol… it’s pretty stupid

If I spent $100,000 restoring a YUGO, would you give me anything at all for it, or would you rather spend the money on a good condition Shelby Cobra?

Boats have never really been an investment.