Double Abandoned Yacht Disposal

Boatbreakers have been busy helping a local boat yard to clear some abandoned boats. In Portsmouth Harbour there are many abandoned boats just sitting on moorings. They are a ticking time bomb for boat yards and marina owners as once they are uninsured they are a costly risk waiting to happen. If the boat was to sink it would be on the yards to foot the bill to recover and dispose of them.

Our team have been working with one local yard to remove some of these problem boats. Not only removing a risky boat from the waterway but also giving them back a mooring. This can then be sold on for the year to be used by an owner who wants to keep their boat afloat.

We told the yard to choose their two most at risk of sinking boats for us to take. One was an obvious choice, it was a T24 with half the roof caved in. How it hadn’t already sunk was a mystery. The boat had become a floating aviary most likely for a family of pigeons. There was very little we could salvage from the T24 as anything worth having seemed to have either rotted away or already been taken.

The doomed yacht was dragged into the yard and we assisted with getting the mast down. We also made sure there was no loose items that might fall off on the lorry ride to Portsmouth. As the abandoned yacht was lifted out our team drilled a number of holes.  This was to make sure all the excess water was out of her.

Whilst we waited for the water to drain we were told by the yard that this boat was once a much loved boat that was “completely immaculate”. Sadly she was worlds away from that now.

Evidently the second boat was also in a sorry state but not so open to the elements. It was an old Snapdragon 24 that had been left on a mooring and abandoned years ago. Luckily for us there was a couple of items for us to salvage. Subsequently there was a Rutland generator that was still in good working order. Plus we had some customers who were looking for a Snapdragon mast. So we managed to line that up to be delivered straight to them.

In a similar fashion to the first yacht we drilled some holes in the hull to make sure all of the rain water was out. The Snapdragon was easier for us to load onto the lorry as it was a bilge keel boat. This meant that it was just placed on and strapped down.

Moreover the Boatbreakers team hope that we can continue to remove more abandoned boats from our local moorings. It means there isn’t a risk to other boats or the environment. Plus generally it saves the yard money and gets them more mooring back available to rent out. Abandoned yacht disposal jobs can really help improve the local boating environment.