Derelict Boats - Not Florida

[Jim Cate]

G'Day all,

Interesting stuff! And yes, that boat does not look to be well maintained, but...

To my eyes, the photos don't show enough detail to make much of a judgement. Yep, there is visible rust, there is what appears to be lots of bird poop on everything, and it according to the OP has not been maintained at all for some years. Yet she floats roughly on her lines, she has a rig that was stowed carefully (maybe) of unknown completeness, and has god knows what below decks. Perhaps it isn't so bad below, since apparently it well enough sealed up that she hasn't sunk from rain accumulation.At any rate, I'd suspect that one could get her seaworthy for less money than starting from scratch. Not a job that I would undertake, but then I haven't ever felt like building from scratch either, and others frequently do just that.

And despite the appearance of her hull, I have seen vessels in commercial service as inter-island ferries (in Tonga for example) that were far worse in terms of rust, dilapidation and general poor appearance. Folks PAY to go on them ( I wouldn't go on one if they paid ME but I am a coward about OPBs).

The issue of abandoned property is thorny, and exists on land as well. I don't know what the answer is here, but seems to me that towing and sinking offshore (for those that still float) is perhaps less of an environmental disaster than commonly stated. During WW2 millions of tons of shipping were sunk, often with huge cargoes of what would now be called toxic stuff and the sea seems to have survived that ok. A few hundreds of tons of derelict yachts might not cause that much of a problem if viewed realistically rather than emotionally. Oh, and at 5 bucks a gallon, pumping out any fuel prior to scuttling might be fiscally sound too!

Enough -- I don't like to see things like this boat either!

Cheers,

Jim

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

The issue of abandoned property is thorny, and exists on land as well. I don't know what the answer is here, but seems to me that towing and sinking offshore (for those that still float) is perhaps less of an environmental disaster than commonly stated. During WW2 millions of tons of shipping were sunk, often with huge cargoes of what would now be called toxic stuff and the sea seems to have survived that ok. A few hundreds of tons of derelict yachts might not cause that much of a problem if viewed realistically rather than emotionally. Oh, and at 5 bucks a gallon, pumping out any fuel prior to scuttling might be fiscally sound too!

Enough -- I don't like to see things like this boat either!

Cheers,

Jim

But! If we towed them and sank them, how could we account for the millions of dollars we get from both the federal government and private resources to fix this 'problem'?

That would be too much like right.... what's better is, we need a way to make those people look like ********, while we report the costs as high as possible so 'the people' will think we're doing them an incredibly great service everytime we remove one boat, even if it's once a year.... Meanwhile, we could make a fist-full of cash by pretending like the problem doesn't even exist until somebody actually says something.... sound like a plan?

[capta]

It's so sad the way things have gone.
When an apparently abandoned boat with nice lines is nothing more than an eyesore to those who own the ugliest, cookie cutter, characterless boats, I feel so disheartened.
I saw the launching of the very first production fiberglass sailboats in Sausalito in the early 60's, while working and sailing on vessels such boats as Wanderer, Yankee (SF woody, not Irving Johnson's), Baruna, schooner Atlantic, Wander Bird and Viveka. I hated the smell, the Formica look and feel of the interiors and complete lack of character of those boats, even though they were designed and built by real craftsmen with care and attention to detail.
Well 50+ years later I'm sailing a plastic boat and though she does not have the graceful lines of many of my previous boats, she is low maintenance, fast as hell for a heavy displacement boat and strong enough to take a strike from a container in a gale in the North Atlantic, without damage. And I am sailing her a whole lot more than I would be a beautiful old classic, steel or otherwise.
I don't want that steely, but I grieve for her and what she could be, or at least should be; a loved, comfortable, safe vessel making her way into an exotic anchorage.
I got the impression that Don only gives a damn because he cannot be anchored (moored) where she is.
And not to beat a dead horse, steelies are very easy to repair; cut and weld, sandblast and paint, though not necessarily cheaply. I've operated tugs so dilapidated that when I wanted to shower, I did it under the pin hole leaks in the engine room. But they were making thousands of dollars a day for their owners, and supplying me with a decent income. When it came time to change an engine on a steely, we cut a hole in the side and pulled out the old one put in the new, welded up the hole and voila; repowered.
As to my comment on insurance, I seriously doubt any yard would haul that or any other "hard case" vessel w/o some kind of insurance in case the owner abandoned the vessel there.
There are abandoned houses all over the US right now, and many thousands of abandoned Americans who are in need of somewhere to live, so I guess a few abandoned boats should not be such a surprise.
But you folks who so offended by them should probably move into those uppity marinas that don't even allow you to dry a bathing suit or towel on your lifelines.

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by capta

It's so sad the way things have gone.
When an apparently abandoned boat with nice lines is nothing more than an eyesore to those who own the ugliest, cookie cutter, characterless boats, I feel so disheartened.
I saw the launching of the very first production fiberglass sailboats in Sausalito in the early 60's, while working and sailing on vessels such boats as Wanderer, Yankee (SF woody, not Irving Johnson's), Baruna, schooner Atlantic, Wander Bird and Viveka. I hated the smell, the Formica look and feel of the interiors and complete lack of character of those boats, even though they were designed and built by real craftsmen with care and attention to detail.
Well 50+ years later I'm sailing a plastic boat and though she does not have the graceful lines of many of my previous boats, she is low maintenance, fast as hell for a heavy displacement boat and strong enough to take a strike from a container in a gale in the North Atlantic, without damage. And I am sailing her a whole lot more than I would be a beautiful old classic, steel or otherwise.
I don't want that steely, but I grieve for her and what she could be, or at least should be; a loved, comfortable, safe vessel making her way into an exotic anchorage.
I got the impression that Don only gives a damn because he cannot be anchored (moored) where she is.
And not to beat a dead horse, steelies are very easy to repair; cut and weld, sandblast and paint, though not necessarily cheaply. I've operated tugs so dilapidated that when I wanted to shower, I did it under the pin hole leaks in the engine room. But they were making thousands of dollars a day for their owners, and supplying me with a decent income. When it came time to change an engine on a steely, we cut a hole in the side and pulled out the old one put in the new, welded up the hole and voila; repowered.
As to my comment on insurance, I seriously doubt any yard would haul that or any other "hard case" vessel w/o some kind of insurance in case the owner abandoned the vessel there.
There are abandoned houses all over the US right now, and many thousands of abandoned Americans who are in need of somewhere to live, so I guess a few abandoned boats should not be such a surprise.
But you folks who so offended by them should probably move into those uppity marinas that don't even allow you to dry a bathing suit or towel on your lifelines.

While I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiment. I can't help but point out that the first fiberglass boats were not produced in the 60's in Cali....

Good Old Boat - The Birth of Fiberglass Boats article

Also, there are currently more empty houses in the US than there are homeless people.... "house" that for irony.

https://www.google.com/search?q=more...hrome&ie=UTF-8

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Cormorant

Now, some might call her a derelict, but I plan to restore her with a thorough wire brushing, followed by two coats of Rustoleum. . . .

Two coats?

How the other half live

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by capta

But you folks who so offended by them should probably move into those uppity marinas that don't even allow you to dry a bathing suit or towel on your lifelines.

...Yes and at the same time these offended folks talk of freedom and the call to go voyaging while all the time caving into ridiculous rules imposed upon them in the name of doing the right thing for our society.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by capta

I got the impression that Don only gives a damn because he cannot be anchored (moored) where she is.
.

And there I thought for a minute you would have a non personal dig post.

[seahag]

Do her halyards slap too?

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Some go through life seeing the glass half empty, while others see the glass half full.

yeah, well.... I've seen far too many boats as "half full" that looked way better than that one! ......and regretted taking on the project. Can you imagine what the inside looks like!!