Abandoned Boats in Yard

chrisjcbt

Hi there,

Whilst studying for my national powerboat cert I couldn't help notice the many boats littered around the area which have clearly been left either abandoned in the water (in the harbour moored up), or out of the water on a trailer in the yard. They look like they haven't been visited in many years and are slowly decaying.

On the flip-side - I'm really enjoying my powerboat course, and would love to think about being able to take the family out in a boat for the day, or over a weekend. I've found little to no options to hire a boat near Cork City, so am left having to consider buying a second hand boat.

But the reality is that I can't afford to buy a boat. But I would happily consider taking on one of these boats and working to restore it.

I've searched these threads for discussions about abandoned boats. They seem to talk about 'taking ownership' of them. I'm not really proposing that, but I am trying to understand....

1. How would you go about finding the owner of a boat?
2. If that boat owner does not respond, then what are the options at that point?
3. Does the Marina the boat is moored (or stored up in) have any say, or role in this whole situation?

I'm really keen to see if this is possible. What do you think I could do??

Many thanks,
Chris

gaffer falls

It usually will be more expensive to restore these boats than buying one in use

AndyBoBandy

chrisjcbt wrote: »

I've found little to no options to hire a boat near Cork City

Heres a few options;

https://www.corkharbourboathire.com/pricing/ - self drive for 1 hour - €39

https://purecork.ie/things-to-do/kinsale-boat-hire in Kinsale

https://www.our.ie/county-cork/cobh/arts-sports-and-recreation/cork-boat-hire/boathirecork/ - in Cobh

CrankyHaus

I've known people to pick up (fairly bandy) boats for a song and put a year or two of elbow grease into them to get a half-decent (still old with issues like sections of soft fibreglass) boat on the cheap.

The trick is to find an owner who doesn't want the hassle of doing the boat up themselves. Some old lads will just pay Marina fees year after year and let the boat sit there and decay. I got rid of an old powerboat myself in the last year that a family member had let decay to the point I was happy to let anyone who was willing to take it away to do so(after I spent some effort and expense conmfirming it was beyond practical recovery).

I'm not saying it's a dead cert but it can happen. Obviously fixing the boat up is no trifling matter and may involve significant cost, including for unexpected issues.

I wouldn't bother myself, but the OP could simply ask around and a few boats that look like this and eventually he'll find soemone willing to give one up for very little. Whether it will even be worth that is another matter.

fergal.b

Older boats are worth nothing and unless you know what you are doing can cost a fortune to repair just look what I had to go through with this one https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=96112235 what your really looking to buy is a good engine and running gear anything that has been sitting in a yard for a few years can be a nightmare. Most marinas will have boats for sale and will let you do a test run before you buy and will help you out if you have any problems.




.