Classic Wooden Boat Scrapped
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!
Written By: Luke Edney
Luke completed a journalism degree in Brighton University and fortunately for us uses this in his communications, Facebook posts, Tweets and emails to tell all our enquirers and followers what we are up to. Without Luke we would be lost, he runs the office, keeps us organised and is like a terrier and never lets a tricky boat disposal job go un-photographed or Tweeted about.
He also manages all of our enquiries passing them to whoever in the team is the best suited to deal with it. We are teaching Luke how to drive a motorboat or sail a yacht so while he’s learning we suggest you keep out of the Solent!
When he’s not at work he’s a massive football fan (his Dad used to play for Portsmouth FC years ago) and seems to know everything there is to know about any player, anywhere. Next time you ring and he answers, think of a tricky football trivia question and ask him
Date Published: May 5, 2017
Last Modified: June 28, 2022
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