What to do with old boats ?

[CaribbeanCraig]

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

This is kind of sad...

[denverd0n]

The sad part is how many of these irresponsible free-loaders are out there, sticking taxpayers with the bill for cleaning up their mess.

[CaribbeanCraig]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

The sad part is how many of these irresponsible free-loaders are out there, sticking taxpayers with the bill for cleaning up their mess.

I agree ! I wonder if there is anything useful that can be done to old fiberglass boat . metal you can scrap .. wood can be salvaged some. but fiberglass .. just don't know ..

[delmarrey]

We also pay for uninsured boat clean up after a storm/hurricane. Not much different.

[zeehag]

some of the freeloders who own derelict and abandoned boats have died and there is no way to rid marina or mooring field of that boat until rent is not paid for x number months. dontcha love trust funds fro rent paying purposes.

[CaribbeanCraig]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

We also pay for uninsured boat clean up after a storm/hurricane. Not much different.

Maybe the state should post a picture of the boat and ask if anybody wants it..if not then trash it.

[brownoarsman]

This was more of a problem in Maryland in 2008-2009. We had two or three boats wash up with the names filed off and all the electronics gone during that timeframe. As I remember, our neighbor took one or two of them, thinking 'Hey, free boat!' but I think he later got rid of them for free on Craigslist.

[windex]

Just to note, it is possible to recycle fiberglass but not like you think. It's usually ground down into a sand/polyester dust mixture and either used as burnable fuel or cement binder or god knows what. One place I've seen seems to use melted down fiberglass to produce plywood strength building panels.

(I looked into this when evaluating the ecological impact of hull build materials.)

[Fernao]

I would like one of those boats. I could work to refit it and make it my retirement home. Who knows, 31 years from now I can perhaps break Ron Daw's record by being the oldest to circumnavigate solo!!!

[monstads]

Woowwaahh, hold the train. . No way I would want to go anywhere near the waterways of the great federation of the US of A with all of those boats lining every inch of my way. . Seriously, it looks like there are derelict boats everywhere!

And, me as a visiting innocent tourist has to pay for it all since the no good, welfare recipients in Florida who don't pay any income tax, but still whine about it as if it was a religious thing aren't actually paying much at all in taxes, at the end of the day. ...

[lorenzo b]

The communities affected need to dispose of these vessels as best they can.
It is a given that 6% of the population is in one way or another dysfunctional to varying degrees, it has always been thus. They are either in jail, halfway houses, homeless, living in trailers or cars in National Forests, or on the streets of our cities. Those who can find an old boat and live on the water do so.
It is possible to help these people to some extent and protect them, but the overall numbers will not change. Also, the more you do for them, the more you will attract them, as was the case in SF.
The USA is the richest country in the world and we can deal with this. I would suggest to everyone to go out and do some serious volunteer work with this population and get to know them. You will be surprised how much they are just like us.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by lorenzo b

The USA is the richest country in the world and we can deal with this.

NOT!

The USA has the biggest debt in the world with the UK not far behind with a per capita x 3. It's called living beyond ones means. When they stopped making gold and silver coins that was the end of an era, I believe ruined the economy.

Some people are just one paycheck from living on the street.

The whole world is in debt, except a few small island countries. Even China is 800B in debt. They probably barrow money to loan to the USA.

[nimblemotors]

Fiberglass (plastic) boats are disposed of in landfills.
Unfortunately, fiberglass has no value as recyclable material and doesn't biodegrade.
Please go to a landfill and see the enourmity of the trash brought in every day.

[Cheechako]

Many states throw the boat money collected into the general fund. Each should charge a fee on boat purchase and deal with abandoned boats appropriately with the money.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by CaribbeanCraig

I agree ! I wonder if there is anything useful that can be done to old fiberglass boat . metal you can scrap .. wood can be salvaged some. but fiberglass .. just don't know ..

Take off the keel, salvage/cut out the interiors and invert them over cinder block bases. Voila, third-world (or homeless Westerner) housing that's unlikely to come apart in a hurrican if sufficiently lashed down. It would resemble Woodland native or Viking longhouses.