Do Old Boats Fade Awa......

[Lakesailor]

It occured to me the other day as I was antifouling that at some point in the next few years my yacht will be riddled with boat pox. It has a few small blisters now, but as it's not worth a lot I'm more of a mind to watch the progress and save the money on an epoxy repair. I keep it afloat all year on fresh water, which I realise is the worst situation.
What do you do with a dead GRP boat? You can't burn them (you can, but it won't be a responsible thing to do) They have no residual scrap value, so scrap men won't want them. Is there an acceptable way to dispose of them?

 

[Evadne]

You just keep them going.

Mine is 42 this year, and I have every hope that she will outlive me.
Yes, £3k is expensive to get her epoxied, but over the life of the boat it fades into the noise. Mine was epoxied in 1989, and I suppose she'll need doing again one day. I guess the problem comes if you want another boat and she is deemed completely unsellable, and you can't even give her away.

 

[starboard]

There are two types of boat.....those with osmosis and those that are going to get it!!.....however I have never heard of it sinking a boat!!! take heed of that and go and sail till the cows come home....a good question though, come to think of it you never see a scrap yard for old boats do you.......maybe based on that they never die.

Paul.

 

[ccscott49]

Mine doesn't have osmosis and will never get it??

 

[BrendanS]

Polyester mites, will, if left undisturbed, simply eat the hull away. They are easily scared off though, so the boat has to be unused for a long time

 

[longjohnsilver]

How about gribble?

 

[ashanta]

My boats hull was moulded in 1970 and it has no signs of osmosis. my personal view is the opposite to yours in that there some boats that get osmosis and there some that don't. I owned a 1972 Seamaster in 1990 and the surveyor said that not only did it not have osmosis but it still had the freeing agent (I'm notsure but a sylicon I think) still on the surface of the gel coat.
This leads me to think that the processing of the older builds were less surceptable than the modern, production line technique built boats to osmosis. This is purely IMHO as I have no technical knowledge on the matter.

regards.

Peter.

 

[starboard]

Ah but see what he says in another 20 years......

Paul.

 

[ashanta]

You're missing the point! If I believed that I had the ideal boat which I intended to keep until I either retired from sailing or died, I wouldn't care about the resale value.
The point in all of this is whether the ferro concept is a good method of boat building and in my opinion, if it has been carried out properlyit is a good method, then they need to be taken seriously.
By the way, the boat I refer to was built in the 70's and would pass a survey better than my own. It's immaculate and incredibly well maintained. if I could afford it and my plans were that it was my last boat then I would buy it without any hesitation.
regards.

Peter.

 

[MarkJohnson12345]

One of the points of the thread I thought was what do you actually do with a boat thats at the end of its life, whether its died by itself, or the last owner cannot sell it because no-one else wants it even as a gift?

With modern disposal regulations, what do you do with fibre glass remains?

 

[Evadne]

Look around the back of any boatyard (but probably not if its attached to an expensive marina) and you'll see them. We are at the back of the yard at the moment and are parked next to two of the less: One is a Westerly Puffin (I think) which doesn't look like she's moved for a couple of years: all the varnish is peeling, the cockpit lockers are covered by a scrap of delaminating ply, the decks are green with a dusting of algae, as are the ropes and sails, which are still set. The other is being revived, all the wood and the windows are out and there's the non-stop sound of power tools from within, every weekend. Further back in the long grass there are plywood and grp 21-footers, some full of rainwater, that have been there for years.

 

[BobPrell]

I have disposed of two boats that I couldn't sell. The first was a double-diagonal wooden 18 foot skiff. The builder must have gone as light as possible on the glue, because the planks were curling and separating. I sawed it into about ten pieces, each curved piece nesting into the rest. I took them to the dump.
Ten years later, same problem with a grp hull I had bought very cheap and found it was not worth completing, mainly cos I didn't have the energy. This time I had an old cheap circular saw with tungsten carbide teeth. I found an old dirty pair of overalls to absorb the fibre, put on my goggles and dust mask, and attacked. Twenty minutes later the hull was reduced to twelve curved pieces each ten feet long, easily fitting into my trailer. I threw the overalls in too. Times have changed however. This time I didn't take it to a dump, I took it to a waste facility.
The hardest part is getting past the feeling that I am destroying something beautiful. It has to be done because some artifacts should be "terminated" if we can't look after them in the manner they deserve, and nobody else will.
I have visited Britain and saw HMS Belfast, the largest steel warship of the modern era which was preserved. I was a bit amazed to think that not one of the huge fleet of dreadnaughts still exists.....but.....unless we have the resources for upkeep, it's time for putdown.

 

[supermalc]

Or look in people's back gardens, or sheds/outbuildings. Since I've had a boat it's incredible how many I've noticed in farmyards, barns etc. that must have been there for years.

On the riverbank nearby there are 2 houses and a derelect house on a half mile stretch to the road. The derelect house has the last remains of a wooden boat, and the small bungalow has the upturned hull of a steel boat serving as a shed.

Yes it does appear difficult to find a 'scrapyard' for boats.....now could that be a business opportunity for someone?

 

[MarkJohnson12345]

I have received a CD recently from the Enviromental Agency and RYA called Environmental code of Pracice. (Did it come with the last edition of PBO?)

Page 43 deals with disposal of fibreglass hulls;

It writes;

The disposal of life expired (nice one!!) craft is the responsibility of the owner.

Continues to say the boatyards are usually asked to sort disposal, but does recommend any particular method.

Points out that old craft are an eyesore and will detract from your garden or yard, and suggests that the parts are recycled, (who is looking for a 40' planter that sits 3 metres in the air).

Don't scuttle it or burn the old tub at all costs. However if incineration is the only way out, it must be done with permission of the Local Authority.

Sounds a bit like old GRP hulls are like old tyres!

Just hope someone wants my 32' in 15 years time.

Regards

 

[Lakesailor]

That's the kind of thing I was asking about, except of course it's not giving any positive advice. I should think by the time I need to sort it out there will be some kind of EC Directive.
Perhaps I could ask to be buried in it or sent on my final trip across the lake - on fire - like the Vikings. (Provided I'm already dead of course)

 

[Avocet]

I work with cars and the "End-of-Life Vehicles Directive" is causing a real headache for GRP cars! The SMMT have a working party for this (as do most EC Member States) and nobody has (so far) really thought of a use for old GRP. The best ideas so far have been to grind it up to a coarse powder, re-mix it with resin and turn it into park benches and phone boxes. Failing that, chainsaw it into small enough bits and landfill I guess! Once someone finds out how to deal with it, I wouldn't mind betting the European Commission tacks another Directive on the end of the RCD making the boat manufacturer take responsibility for his products at the end of their lives! - that's what they're doing with cars. The principle is that the last owner must be able to dispose of the car at no cost to himself...

(hasn't happened in the Uk yet then!)