Disposing of old yacht by sinking it?

[jerrytug]

I am hoping to get a bigger yacht this year, and my present 40 yr old glassfibre one would seem impossible to sell, there are lots on the market, have been for years.
So I was thinking of stripping every movable thing from it, including ballast, and cleaning it of any oil etc, then with my new boat, towing out the hulk and sinking it.
All the fixtures and fittings, mast engine and rigging etc are worth a fair few quid.
I would fill it with rocks and sink it in a deep place, eg one of the old bomb dumps. What harm could it do?
And what rules and regulations sticklers, health and safety nazis, or environmental stalinists would have me put in the gulag for such a common-sense solution?

 

[Oldhairy]

What does the P in GRP stand for?

 

[Rigger Mortice]

Just make sure nobody sees you doing it.

 

[jerrytug]

What does the P in GRP stand for?

It's very thin glass strands, in polyester resin. Just like a Rival! Sorry if I used the wrong terminology.

 

[jerrytug]

Just make sure nobody sees you doing it.

Well I was thinking of getting sponsorship actually

 

[KellysEye]

As you said you would need to remove anything with oil in it plus petrol or any other water contaminant. Then ask the local dive club where they want it sunk for wreck diving they may well offer to sink it for you. They may also know the H&S etc requirements

 

[jerrytug]

Diving club, good thinking thanks.

 

[Sgeir]

All the fixtures and fittings, mast engine and rigging etc are worth a fair few quid.

Fair point but not that much surely? Are you certain that you would not be able realise that value through the sale of the boat intact?

Destroying a seaworthy boast does seem to go against the grain a bit when there are probably people who'd love own one. Is it the Hurley that is doomed?

 

[rjp]

What about just hiring a skip and a chain saw?

 

[hartcjhart]

I am hoping to get a bigger yacht this year, and my present 40 yr old glassfibre one would seem impossible to sell, there are lots on the market, have been for years.
So I was thinking of stripping every movable thing from it, including ballast, and cleaning it of any oil etc, then with my new boat, towing out the hulk and sinking it.
All the fixtures and fittings, mast engine and rigging etc are worth a fair few quid.
I would fill it with rocks and sink it in a deep place, eg one of the old bomb dumps. What harm could it do?
And what rules and regulations sticklers, health and safety nazis, or environmental stalinists would have me put in the gulag for such a common-sense solution?

If you fill it with rocks it will sink before you get anywhere,and surely if you put the rocks in your new boat it will sink before you can tow the other one

 

[Rigger Mortice]

Well I was thinking of getting sponsorship actually

 

[Tranona]

Fair point but not that much surely? Are you certain that you would not be able realise that value through the sale of the boat intact?

Destroying a seaworthy boast does seem to go against the grain a bit when there are probably people who'd love own one. Is it the Hurley that is doomed?

That is the point. Few people want old boats, judging by the number on the market and those mouldering at the back of boatyards and in gardens. It is inevitable that some will be broken up and unlike wooden boats, GRP is very difficult to dispose of. The only solution for individual boats seems to be cutting the remains up and paying to take it to landfill.

 

[doug748]

If your old boat had a lot of good gear on it, it would probably sell ok. If not, it is unlikely to be worth removing it.

E bay is the yachtsman's chum.

Everything there has a value, often well above it's intrinsic worth. We call it virtual fiscal quiddity.

Start at 50p. Get your money ASAP, carefully word the receipt and peg it as fast as you can.

 

[jerrytug]

Yes the thing is , it would take months or years to sell the yacht, and I would be paying money out all the time to have it in a convenient location to view it, plus all the time, money and elbow grease to make it shiney ( rather than just seaworthy).
There are plenty for sale, they aren't shifting. Yes it is the Hurley, Sgeir, thank you for asking.
Every hour I devote to talking or writing about it, let alone cleaning it, every penny I put towards it, is a dead loss when I move up the ladder one rung.
One possibility which someone said, was just to sell it really cheap, but even then, it involves such a chunk out of my life to deal with all that stuff.
So deep sixing the fe ker seems an attractive option, as long as I don't end up picking up the soap in HMP Brixton for frightening a seahorse or something..
Hence my original Q, thanks in advance for any legal advice.

 

[Sandgrounder]

Could you not find a youngster, maybe through a club near to where you keep it, who would not otherwise be able to have a boat and let them have it for a nominal donation to the RNLI or some other charity? We should all try to foster interest in our sport after all many, if not most, of us were helped along the way by older club members and so on.

 

[dunedin]

A better troll could be achieved by proposing an "accidental" sinking and associated insurance claim ?

 

[Cantata]

Worth asking the Arethusa if they'd like it?

 

[jerrytug]

Worth asking the Arethusa if they'd like it?

Yes if I wanted to completely give it away they would be 1st on the list, good suggestion.

 

[jerrytug]

A better troll could be achieved by proposing an "accidental" sinking and associated insurance claim ?

I bow, Sir, to your superior expertise.

 

[Daydream believer]

Where would one find the details of this boat?
I was thinking of getting a bilge keeler with an inboard, Cutting the cabin off & bulkheads down to deck level. Lining the side decks with heavy timbers & using it as a launch to service moorings. It should be stable. Easy to recover at our club as it can sit on the hard for recovery with gantry.
Could be beached to pick up sinkers off the hard & motored out to the drop point.
Would need to sort a floor through it but could use the existing cabin & cockpit floor.
The bunks would become seats or work platforms.
I would not want any rigging , mast etc
A couple of winches & deck cleats required
The awkward bit would be the working inboard & delivery to the east coats. really needs a trailer for moving
Something about 22 ft seems ok
Just need a jig saw & some timber & away we go