Gregory's ServerGood article on the state of delelict boats in BC, how did we get here?
"We have no real solution because we never planned ahead back in the exuberant 60s & 70s. We never thought, “What are we going to do with all these boats when they get old and no one wants them?” Back then, they were valuable. No one would have predicted, then, that a day would come when real estate would be worth fortunes and fibreglass yachts would be sold for 5 bucks just to get rid of them-"
https://cortescurrents.ca/vessels-of-concern-signs-of-the-times/#more-82907
 8 comments
"- A whole generation of “good old boats” is reaching the end of their lives. As fuel costs increase, we can expect even more derelicts in the cabin-cruiser class — gas-engined monsters that no one can afford to feed. And if current economic trends continue, we can expect more people to buy old cheap boats because it’s the only affordable housing available to them.  @rek In the Puget Sound region at least, ports have quotas for liveaboards that have been topped out for a decade. Three years ago the waiting period was 3-5 years, today there aren't even waiting lists, the answer is just, "no." None of the fiberglass heaps around here will get a second wind as floating apartments, for better or worse. They're just toxic tea bags floating in the water. @humulus lack of foresight is a common culprit. Boat builders ought to have paid in part for future boat-breaking and recycling(you put a thing that cant biodegrade in the world, that ought to have a cost), and to maybe have a recycling fee added to the sale of a brand new boat.
[DATA EXPUNGED]
@jbauer yea it's possible, but requires a lot of re-design. Im not an engineer tho, so hard to say what could be done. The hull shape plays a big part in it. If the goal is not efficiency tho, just to get the boat 'moving', anything is better than nothing... a hull as is could work, with a shorter mast, larger sails etc. Problem tho is that theyd have no righting ability (although thats true for catamarans and trimarans too) |
"-There was no “end of life” plan for these boats. Just like there was no “end of life” plan for the abandoned salmon feedlots that litter our coast, or for the collapsing canneries and piers from 60 years ago. The corporate owners have moved on, leaving their trash behind; and now it’s everyone’s problem."