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How do we dispose of old fibreglass boats |
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ecosail
Newbie Joined: 12 Apr 12 Location: Australia Online Status: Offline Posts: 13 |
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Topic: How do we dispose of old fibreglass boats Posted: 12 Apr 12 at 10:54am |
I have a puzzle that affects most of us boat owners. What happens when eventually our old fibreglass boat is beyond economic repair and we need it to vanish?
Landfill? Burn? Recycling fibreglass seems to be in its infancy.... So what is the answer? |
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Kev M
Far too distracted from work Joined: 05 Dec 11 Location: Landlocked Online Status: Offline Posts: 346 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Apr 12 at 11:06am |
I don't know the answer, although I'd like it so that I can tidy up our boat park but I've been told it's a bad idea to burn fibreglass boats because you just end up with a pile of fibres on the floor which still need clearing up.
I'd have though landfill is the only option, but imagine it will be costly.
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Successfully confusing ambition with ability since 1980.
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Medway Maniac
Really should get out more Joined: 13 May 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 2788 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Apr 12 at 11:32am |
I once processed a patent application from a Japanese company which was concerned with chewing up the g.r.p. with cutting tools so that the resulting pulp could be recycled. No idea (as ever with patents) if it ever came to anything. But the preamble to the application stressed that there was an awful lot of g.r.p. out there already that was very hard to dispose of.
Edit: but my conscience was not so disturbed that I went out and bought a rotomould. There are some levels to which one cannot stoop. Edited by Medway Maniac - 12 Apr 12 at 11:34am |
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alstorer
Really should get out more Joined: 02 Aug 07 Location: Cambridge Online Status: Offline Posts: 2899 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Apr 12 at 11:38am |
burning is problematic- even if at a high enough temp to minimise nasty smoke (ie complete combustion), you're left with the glass fibre- which in a chopped strand boat will be all sorts of nasty short fibres that you don't want blowing around in the breeze. With fabrics, they'll be so distorted that you'll not be able to reuse them. And with carbon, you'll damage the fibres- though there's various companies looking at digestion methods for recovering carbon.
Edited by alstorer - 12 Apr 12 at 11:41am |
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Al |
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ASok
Really should get out more Joined: 26 Sep 07 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 739 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Apr 12 at 12:30pm |
Interesting question, but how big is the actual problem? For someone to make the effort to recycle the waste there needs to be a market for it. This waste is likely non-hazardous or inert despite the chemicals that went into the construction. Plus the volume and weight is low, so no real problem or massive cost associated with landfill disposal. You could cut up and place a few boats in one skip. I hope no-one is out there burning fibre glass boats. The fumes would be horrific and the fibre left overs would be a nightmare - especially as they could go airborne. Wouldn't fancy that in my lungs. |
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JimC
Really should get out more Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6649 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Apr 12 at 12:43pm |
Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes; Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a sea-change Into something rich and strange. |
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chrisclark123
Groupie Joined: 03 Apr 08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 49 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Apr 12 at 1:56pm |
My old fireball that was an insurance right off (a tree fell on it!). Removed the wooden decking then used a JCB to chop up the remaining fibreglass hull, stuck it in the back of an old landrover then took it to the local dump.
Would like to be around a burning fibreglass boat! Chris
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PeterG
Really should get out more Joined: 12 Jan 08 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 818 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Apr 12 at 2:24pm |
Chainsaws work well - then the dump
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Peter
Ex Cont 707 Ex Laser 189635 DY 59 |
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Rupert
Really should get out more Joined: 11 Aug 04 Location: Whitefriars sc Online Status: Offline Posts: 8956 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Apr 12 at 4:04pm |
Do them up a bit and sail them with the CVRDA! If they sink 1/2 way round, problem solved...
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Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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drifter
Posting king Joined: 09 Jun 08 Location: Oxfordshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 177 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Apr 12 at 7:49pm |
Clearing up our dinghy park last year, we had a handful of old GRP boats to dispose of. The council tip is just around the corner, so I took an unidentifiable boat round on the trailer. They took it as I had already unloaded it, but the other seven or so they wanted to charge £80 each to put in landfill. Worth bearing in mind when calculating club berthing fees! Don't burn 'em as it's very hazardous.
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Stewart
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