50 Year Old Shetland 535 Collected and Scrapped

Boatbreakers pride ourselves on covering the whole of the UK. In the last few weeks we have been from Inverness to Penzance. This time we were slightly closer to home to provide a boat disposal solution in Cambridgeshire.

The Boatbreakers team were on the road again this week. This time it was off to Hartford Marina in Cambridgeshire to collect a 50 year old Shetland 535. Her owners had owned the boat from new so it was an emotional day for them to wave goodbye to the boat. Shetland boats are popular little river cruisers and this one hah certainly had a long well-used life.

Sadly the boat had got to the stage where she had been unused for a while and had most fixtures and fittings removed. Even the engine was off ready to be sold. Many owner will remove and engine to sell themselves when they scrap. This does make sense for them as the money they get can help to pay the scrap bill.

Our plan for the boat was straightforward. The Boatbreakers team towed a flatbed trailer up to Cambridgeshire and parked close to the boat. We then manoeuvred the trailer around so the boat was lined up with the trailer ramps. Usually this process can take a while but the Shetland was extremely light.

Just to be safe we used the manual winch to slowly pull the boat up and on. With the boat up and strapped down to the trailer it was time for the owners to wave goodbye. We’re not sure if it will be the end of their boating days but we’re sure they will enjoy not having to pay storage fees for a project boat.

Whilst there might have been some chance of new life being breathed into the hull it would have cost thousands. Her owners just wanted to wave goodbye to the boat with minimal fuss or expense.