Seeing an old wooden boat scrapped is always a sad sight, even for us at Boatbreakers. But sometimes the problems with them and the costs far outweigh the value, so if nobody wants her it’s time to be scrapped.
Laughing Gull had severe rot in her hull and even had holes in some places. It wouldn’t have been long until she had sunk on her mooring in the Thames. If she had been fixed the repair work was estimated at around £15,000 which her previous owner understandably did not want to commit to.
The boat was up for sale for around £16,000 until recently but when the extensive rot was discovered the deal fell through and it was evident that any future buyer would have to factor in the time and cost of repairing the boat.
She spent the last few weeks of her life at a Classic Wooden Boat Yard so she had plenty of chances to be saved. At the yard in Windsor they specialise in building and repairing classic wooden boats so she was well placed to find a saviour. However this week her time finally came and she has been scrapped at our yard in Portsmouth, UK.
The wood will be recycled, most metal fittings were removed and could be re-used, the engine is a runner so will be sold, as will the steering gear. So very little will end up in a hole in the ground which is a good thing. It’s always a shame to see these boats chopped up as there is a certain class about a wooden boats compared to Fibre Glass boats.
Take a look at our video on Youtube video that shows the boat being broken up by our heavy machinery and don’t forget to subscribe!
