Is there opportunity here?

[StuM]

Originally Posted by ValiantV

Derelict Boats A Problem - BoatUS Magazine

Derelict Boats A Problem - BoatUS Magazine


Two articles from BoatUS regarding derelect boats.

It's a bigger problem than I realized - though just seeing the number of derelect or near-derelect boats in my area has been eye-opening in a depressing way.

Another reason for putting some thought to finding opportunity in this situation is that the eventual alternative is higher taxes, fees, and more government oversight of our recreational sailing activities.

Something that was particularly surprising is that some of these vessels - including many of the bigger ones - are "former military". I would think finding who they were sold to should be dead easy. If not, it should be the military's burden to clean up after themselves rather than allow a government agency to add to the cost and effort of civil authorities.

Recently watched a "Dirty Jobs" episode where Boat US were removing a derelict from a Florida waterway. If you can find it on line, that may well answer your question

[belizesailor]

Meh, there are much easier, and more profitable, ways to make money.

The only viable options I see are:

1. Get paid to remove and dispose of derelict boats. Establish a relationahip with local authorities and marinas and remove them under agreements with them (WRITTEN CONTRACT ONLY). But, as pointed out, this will require an investment in equipment up front...or subcontract to those with said equipment.

2. Salvage the parts and establish a salvage business. See SailorMan for an example of this (though I dont think they do any salvage work themselves).

Some combination of the above might work, but will require a significant investment of time and $ to get started...plus a lot of operational effort.

[Caliber40]

If the keels are lead there is decent money to be made!

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Caliber40

If the keels are lead there is decent money to be made!

But is it enough to cover the cost of recovery and disposal of the rest of the boat?

[keith4001r]

There should be a lot of salvageable/ recyclable parts- winches, engine/transmission,lead keels, stainless, aluminum masts and booms, etc. But you'd still have to dispose of all that couldn't be recycled or reused. And what is your time worth?

[hafa]

Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market for boats...

[alansmith]

Working in a boatyard repairing my boat for the last six months has taught me a lot about boats. It is incredibly expensive to rehab a boat. My boat wasn't in bad shape at all. The bottom paint and fiberglass on the chines was totally shot.

You get to know the people who work it for a living. If there was money to be made on derelict boats they would be all over it. At the Napa Marina they do crush the boat. They harvest what they can and crush and dump it. They make some money off the lead keel and metal. But it takes time to do it. They make 100 dollars and hour renting their skilled guns out to do the work. It isn't economical to pull good men off paying customers boats to do scut work.

If you ever have the chance to bring a boat back to life...you will quickly understand what sanding discs cost, resins, brushes, fiberglass cloth, catalysts, epoxy paints, disposable plastics to measure and mix in, bottom paints, tip and roll paints, correct tools for the work like a good dual action sander (300-600 each)....my point....it is a truck load of misery you are getting into. There is almost zero chance of making money on a boat that has been underwater for awhile.

You can pick up boats that are still floating here in California for almost nothing. They are almost worth ....nothing. Once you rehab one boat...you will have a much different opinion what a boat is worth. It is always...TIME...MONEY....GRIEF.

[hpeer]

We bought 2 older boats in good order and still spent a ton of money and sweat equity.

We have nice boats, the way we want them, but we started out with a very good boat to start with.

We use our boats pretty hard, takes lots just on upkeep.

[SV Bacchus]

If there was money to be made with this concept then Florida is a millionaire in the making paradise..

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Meh, there are much easier, and more profitable, ways to make money.

1. Get paid to remove and dispose of derelict boats. Establish a relationahip with local authorities and marinas and remove them under agreements with them (WRITTEN CONTRACT ONLY). But, as pointed out, this will require an investment in equipment up front...or subcontract to those with said equipment.

2. Salvage the parts and establish a salvage business. See SailorMan for an example of this (though I dont think they do any salvage work themselves).

Some combination of the above might work, but will require a significant investment of time and $ to get started...plus a lot of operational effort.

Now we are talking and its being done in the UK:

Boatbreakers | Buy, Sell, Scrap & Recycle all kind of boats

[Jerry Woodward]

Here's an idea.

Plug into the tiny house movement that is sweeping the country. Turn these boats into a land based, self sustaining tiny house. The one that is sunk isn't worth trying to salvage, but there are plenty of derelict boats that could be re-purposed to a land based house.

• remove the keel, mast and sell for scrap
• re-paint with house paint,
• install composting toilet
• install hook up for pressurized water or cistern to collect rain water.
• Can plug into 110v or install solar + batteries if desired.
• Generally make the boat attractive and livable inside. Much less expensive to do than trying to make it seaworthy again.
• These "tiny boat houses" could be set down anywhere there is available land, kind of like a mobile home. They could also be trucked.

To make money, sell them outright, or, if you have some land, set them down and rent through Air BnB. The marina might even be interested in establishing these "tiny boat houses" to rent out to their customers.

[stnick]

Originally Posted by tarditi

Living near Philly, we see the derelict US United States, a historic ship, rotting in the harbor - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_United_States

Ahoy there Tarditi . I used to live on Long beach island I know forked river also. Worked in Philly also 8 th and Market for john Wannamakers the old (seeYOU AT THE EAGLE Moved to fla with a 17 ft sailboat traded up to a 24 than traded up to a28 sabre and My last 384 Morgan . The sea made me a sailor Lee

[socaldmax]

What you need is really cheap labor and a gov't subsidy to pay for all or most of your materials.

I don't know if the local authorities are interested in this, but if you pitch the prison warden the concept of a rehab program teaching inmates valuable skills such as marine engine rebuilding, sewing sails, refinishing wood, repairing fiberglass hulls, electrical repair, etc. they might be interested. There are actually a lot of prison industries that use prison labor (like 25 cents/hr) and get gov't subsidies for rehab. Not to mention they're learning valuable skills. When was the last time you heard anyone say, "Boy, that Yanmar repair was cheap!" or "He fixed my sail drive dirt cheap!"

I don't know how hard it is to get it started, but I have heard of prison industries rebuilding cars, building school desks, furniture, etc. I'm assuming you're in IL. Here's an online catalog of prison industries in IL.

Home - Illinois Correctional Industries

[socaldmax]

That reminds me of a cynical comment I made to a friend long ago. "Some of the most profitable enterprises masquerade as charitable organizations." The Red Cross and the Clinton Foundation come to mind. Not that there is anything wrong with making a profit, I actually think a prison rehab business is a lot more honorable an endeavor than many of the popular "charities."

[ValiantV]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

"WAG...evict..."
Nope. Legal will vary with your venue, but generally in the US the only thing the marina can do is file a "warehouseman's lien" seeking title so they can sell the item to recover the costs of "warehousing" it.
Not worth their time and effort, since after all the paperwork it still can't be sold for a profit. And they can't even GIVE it away, because they don't have title to it. If they knew someone besides the owner was trying to take it, the owner could sue them for allowing that theft. So, catch-22.
This is an old topic.
Once a boat has gone derelict, not knowing why, you can anticipate rotted bulkheads, rotted deck, engine and electrics needing major investment...All great if you want a project and your time has no value. But the phrase "not economically feasible" applies.

Doesn't compute.

The marina owner says SOP is one he gets three sunken derelicts, he calls for the meatwagon to haul, break up, and tote away the carcasses. I'm sure he'd have been broken of that habit if the owners had any legal recourse.