Junk boats left to die

[frankies56]

Hello all.
yesterday on my power boat went cruising on the icw in st augustine. they the city made a change to anchoring off the the city and made moring balls for those that are willing to pay. the problem is they moved the anchor field about 1.5 mile down from the city. as we rode by we found a sailboat sunk must have been a nice boat roller furling and sail still on it almost up to the spredders. and then a little farther back a 30 ft cabin cruiser high and dry on the banks. well what a dismal sight to see lots of neglected boats. I have always thought to myself that people sould be able to anchor were they like but after seeing that that it looks like a hazzard to navigation and ugly as can be for those who have expensive homes just to see that in there view. so I think that anchoring laws that have been acted on are justified. those of you that keep boats like that what are you thinking. a junk yard for boats.well sell it give it away scrap it. the keel is probably worth more than the boat. so now I get it why the law is cracking down on those people that live aboard or so they say.

 

[ggrizzard]

Glad you can afford the mooring/slip fees while cruising. Hope a mooring chain doesn't fail in a storm in St Augustine while you're hooked up to it at O Dark Thirty.

 

[Jackdaw]

The HUGE glut of boats made in the late 60s, all of the 70s and the early 80s mean that there is a very large number of plastic boats that are dying. Owned by people without the means or desire to maintain them. Most are one large systems or structural failure away from being worthless economically. That happens and some owners take the cheap and crappy way out and abandon them.

 

[centerline]

Glad you can afford the mooring/slip fees while cruising. Hope a mooring chain doesn't fail in a storm in St Augustine while you're hooked up to it at O Dark Thirty.

it sounds more like the OP is referring to how some boat owners neglect their boats, and WHY the rules are getting tougher and the boaters freedoms are waning, rather than a PRO anchor ball rally....
I very much agree with his general assessment...

 

[vimocam]

Glad you can afford the mooring/slip fees while cruising. Hope a mooring chain doesn't fail in a storm in St Augustine while you're hooked up to it at O Dark Thirty.

I always prefer and trust my own anchor but at $20 a day for a mooring it is pretty cheap (99% of cruisers can afford it). They are inspected twice a year. The have one of the best mooring fields out there.

 

[Gunni]

As you know, St. Augustine is a big stop on the trip north-south. Nice anchorage (mooring field) easy access to the Atlantic and a great walkable waterfront. At least St.A took the initiative to place moorings rather than run off the traveling boaters who bring so much to their waterfront. Boats have been anchoring, sinking and running aground at St. Augustine for like 600 years, long before anybody decided they needed to build a waterfront home and claim the viewsheds. A much better solution to derelict boats is proof of insurance (or bond) inspections - owners must be insured / bonded for the cost of salvage...or clear out. With no place to go, derelict boats would be hauled, cut up and properly disposed of.

 

[Alan Gomes]

A much better solution to derelict boats is proof of insurance (or bond) inspections - owners must be insured / bonded for the cost of salvage...or clear out. With no place to go, derelict boats would be hauled, cut up and properly disposed of.

Seems like a very rational solution to me. I know our marina won't allow any tenants to keep their boats there without proper insurance. I wonder why this has not been done?

 

[frankies56]

I agree with Gunni, there about having mandatory insurance at marina,s and if a boat is registered it should have insuranse for protection my boat is! and have used it got struck by lightning. payed for everything.that blew all ac voltage.including a haul out for inspection of fiberglass. And for those boats just left neglected well its like leaving a car by the side of the road when its at the end of its life. and let someone else deal with it at taxpayer expence. boy there would be a lot of cars out there. I am really not so concerned about the well to do with there mansions on the water. I was rather dismayed at what I saw. much like litter on the road carelessly dumped out the window, just venting

 

[Johnb]

I was rather dismayed at what I saw.

Because eventually it will lead to our freedoms being curtailed - me too.

 

[frankies56]

now it,s political, freedom comes with a price. so you dont mind if I throw my trash out in the street right ,