Need Help!! Getting rid of a boat!

Waterborne · Feb 21, 2003

Hello all, my team was given a trailer for our new rescue boat. The trouble is there's a 26 foot, non-salvagable boat on that trailer right now. We were originally going to sink it in Oxford Lake, Michigan. We had approval from the fire chief but the city board did not approve it. The boat has been stripped of all environmental hazards already. Does anyone have any ideas of what we could do with it? We are located in SE Michigan so anything around here would be great. Thanks in advance for the help.

Drew Sailbum · Feb 21, 2003

I spent years around a non-profit sailing center where we had this sort of problem many times. Many people offered boats in donation, and we always had two questions: 1. Is it in one piece? and 2. Does it float?

Occasionally, we'd accept a boat that failed question 1, 2 or both just to get a good trailer. What to do with the boat?

:smash: A sledgehammer and/or chainsaw should do the trick.

AzAtty · Feb 21, 2003

You could buy your way into DIR Valhalla by packing the boat full of jacket-style BC's and bungied wings, setting the boat on fire and sending the boat out to sea for a Viking-style funeral. Add some music from Wagner, and I could almost guarantee that the Valkyries would show up for you.

mddolson · Feb 21, 2003

In additon to providing something to see for divers, sunken boats create an excellent artifical reef.
Talk to your local fish and wild life ministry for help, and the local anglers association in the area.
Most town councilers reject things out of ignorance and fear, not because they see a real problem. They are afraid of what they don't know.

Believe it or not PADI may be of help here.
They've assisted on a number of artifical reefs (sinking ships)
Can't hurt to ask.

good luck

MikeD

WJL · Feb 21, 2003

Lake Fenton is within an hour of Oxford and has probably a dozen sunken boats on the bottom already. They may be willing to take another one, but I don't know who you would talk to about it.

Northeastwrecks · Feb 21, 2003

If the boat is truly beyond repair, could you donate it to the fire department for a controlled burn exercise?

Around here, that's one of the things they will do with donated cars that are beyond salvage.

Following up on AzAtty's suggestion, they FD could load it up with all those jacket style BC's before they torch it.

Big-t-2538 · Feb 21, 2003

BURN BABY BURN

Padipro · Feb 22, 2003

I heard of people having the same trouble in South Carolina at one of the lakes we did a lot of diving in. After fighting to sink an old wooden, non moterized, boat for divers and being told that they needed insurance on the thing, figure that one out, the story goes this group launched the boat after dark, towed it to the site they had picked out and sank it anyway before anyone knew they were even there. Now it's one of the most popular sites on the lake.

Scott

divedude · Feb 22, 2003

Padipro once bubbled...
I heard of people having the same trouble in South Carolina at one of the lakes we did a lot of diving in. After fighting to sink an old wooden, non moterized, boat for divers and being told that they needed insurance on the thing, figure that one out, the story goes this group launched the boat after dark, towed it to the site they had picked out and sank it anyway before anyone knew they were even there. Now it's one of the most popular sites on the lake.

Scott

Hummmm... That reminds me of a dark nite, a LOT of beer, a old motorcycle..........Have you ever seen the motorbike on the car deck of the "Wolfe Islander"

Waterborne · Feb 24, 2003

divedude once bubbled...

Hummmm... That reminds me of a dark nite, a LOT of beer, a old motorcycle..........Have you ever seen the motorbike on the car deck of the "Wolfe Islander"

No actually I haven't. Ya'll might see a boat down there next time though

Thanks for all the help guys. I think it's going to be a long weekend with tools of mass destruction!

Need Help!! Getting rid of a boat!

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