Clearing Abandoned Boats from the River Itchen

Our Boat breakers team have been tasked with removing three abandoned boats from the River Itchen. The area of Southampton water is an infamous dumping ground for old boats. Anyone driving into the city will see plenty from each side of the Itchen bridge.

The first two we had been asked to dispose of had both sunk on their mooring. One was a 30ft wooden fishing vessel and the second is a 24ft bilge keel GRP yacht. Both boats had been recovered to Driver’s Wharf Boatyard which is one of the local yards.

Once the boats were lifted out and recovered our team visited to prepare them for removal. For the abandoned wooden boat we had to lower the wheelhouse. This is simply because when the boat is eventually on the back of the lorry it could be too tall. So to be safe our team simply cut it down and left the pieces in the hull. With the wheelhouse removed the overall height of the boat was only around six and half feet.

As the boat had been abandoned and then underwater for a while it wasn’t in a great state. Lots of sections of the wooden boat could be pulled away by hand. Our reciprocating saw made light work with any areas that needed to be cut.

For the GRP yacht the only prep we needed to do was to make sure that there was no water inside her. Also we cut the bow of the boat off just to make sure this boat would never see the sea again. In the past when boats have been delivered back to the scrapyard people have made offers to buy them. We want to make sure that these old abandoned boats never find their way back to sea. Cutting the nose off seems to do the trick.

Finally the third boat that we have been tasked with removing is a GRP yacht. From the images we have been sent she looks ok and hasn’t been under. She was simply abandoned by her previous owner for the local authorities to sort.

The problem with old yachts that are about 20ft long is they have very little resale value. People pick them up cheap and it seems then don’t see a problem walking away. These three boats aren’t even the tip of the iceberg for abandoned boats on the river. Just by looking along the shoreline near Driver’s in Southampton you can see a number of potential scrappers. But it’s not just the Itchen, that picture will be common across the country.