Boat disposal

Some of the boats that are ebayed turn out well.  My Mogo is a lovely boat now (and for sale ), and the thirty year old Oppi will be taking to the water again this weekend.  I think people lose interest, the boats fall into disrepair and the owners walk away rather than face the embarrassment of owning them or the sometimes onorous task of putting them right.

There has been a glut of families at Hunts buying old gps, but all are grp because no one wants the woodwork jobs.  I think ebaying them is a great idea because it means people can get hold of boats cheaply, but if they don't sell they should be scrapped.

I think my initial post highlights the problem of trying to work out who owns these boats in the first place.


Edited by winging it

Originally posted by tickler I just wish people would stop buying rotting old GP,s off ebay in the hope that little Jimmy will leave his playstation and become Ben Ainslie. When I hear some old hulk come rattling down the track on a "bed iron" trailer I just know that by the following season it will be nettle fodder. Fees or no fees.

These are possibly the abandoned boats that were ebay'ed by clubs?

Loads of us learned to sail because our parents bought Ent's and GP's. I think some newomers need more guidance away from derelict wooden projects though! we can't expect everyone to start off by buying a new boat on the other hand.

One of my clubs has ebay'd a few boats, mostly tenders. It was mostly prompted by running out of space. Even rusty trolleys have been sold. I think its a fair view that if you can't shift it on ebay, it's worthless and can be skipped. My other club has space problems too, but keeps very tight grip on who's paid for what. Because duties are related to compound space, people are less likely to just store boats there.

If I was the OP, I'd ensure several people on the committee knew it was not my boat, in writing or at least email. Clubs are run by amateurs and information gets lost.

I doubt they are threatening to destroy it; no doubt the club would aution it to recover unpaid parking fees...

Chopping up a boat is stupid, and apart from anything else, the club would have to pay to dispose of the remains. It makes
far more sense to sell the boat for whatever the club can get for it. Then subtract the outstanding fees and a charge for
all the aggro, and if there's anything left then the owner is entitled to have it (if he bother to ask). That's what we do
at my club.

First off though, the club generally has to use all reasonable endeavours to notify the owner. In this case it looks as
though they've got the wrong man and it would be helpful if you told them this so they can have another bash at it.

If they sell/destroy a legitimately parked dinghy, they are in deep doodoo.

The club can't dump it on public land, that would be fly-tipping, and the club would be breaking the law.  The local council, i am sure, would be far quicker and more expensive in their action.