Where do old boats go?

Good question.. i reckon the boats old enough to be scrap are wood but in the near future the GRP ones will becoming scrap so maybe open a boat scrapyard.
 
They get used on isolated rivers, slowing moving from one owner to another and getting further and further upstream. Kind of like an old elephant, drawn away from the wilds and into a secret graveyard.

Decks thick with moss, upholstery held together with mildew and concave patches worn in the topsides from decades of fender chafing.

It brings a tear to my eye.
 
My old Leander was given a Viking funeral on the beach of Langstone Harbour many years ago. Asked local constabulary and HM beforehand and the approach was "don't burn yourself". Solemnly pushed along on an improvised trolley to a hummed Dead march onto the foreshore not far from the old sea lock and burned a treat while we toasted her in several cans of beer. Came back a day later to remove the metal for the scrappy and someone had already got both keels and the rudder fittings! Ony 20 years ago too, couldn't do it now I guess.
 
Of course the GRP ones are all disappearing due to effects osmosis!
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Not many old GRP boats that I've seen have the dreaded osmosis - do they just go off in a puff of smoke?
 
From what I understand, early GRP boats were massively overbuilt; current output are a lot thinner. I wonder which era will fade away first.
 
im tempted to look into the idea of opening a boat reclaim yard but i suppose there is loads of problems with land pollutuion etc. it depends on what can be sold off these craft , is there any call for cetain engine spares and general chandlery and interiors.
 
A boaty scrapyard. My idea of heaven, all you need is lots of land near the water and unlimited time. Have you ever been to the 2nd hand chandlery barge at Bursledon?
 
i used to help run a car scrapyard a few yrs ago and the local council regulations were very strict and being near water im sure they would be even more strict. i will spend some time looking into it but riverside land is expensive unless byron is feeling charitable
 
i was thinking along those lines to get rid of the hulls but i'd need some knowledge about what parts are needed as getting rid of big engines and outdrives that no one wants at any price would cost a few pounds to get rid off
 
I was assisting with a charity collection of christmas trees a fortnight ago. The job I was given was unloading the trees which we bunged into a tractor powered trailer which repeatedly mashed them them into ever smaller pieces. I can't imagine GRP would be more recalcitrant.

I would have thought the resulting waste could be used as a bulking agent for something like traffic cones.
 
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