The resale of a sports boat is often not that easy. This may be due to the large number of boats available on the market, price expectations that are too high - or the fact that a boat is too old and in need of repair to attract a prospective buyer. If a boat has turned out to be unsellable and the only thing to do is to sell it, there are various tactics. Through an online advert, it could then find a new owner for a symbolic price - or even for free - who will transport the boat away and relieve the owner of the burden of demurrage costs.
Lifespan of GRP boats
When the first GRP boats came onto the market, experienced boat builders were very sceptical and predicted a maximum service life of 20 years. In the meantime, the oldest GRP production boats are 65 years old. The material has proved to be more durable than expected. At least the GRP hulls. However, the appearance and technology age until a refit is necessary at some point, which is often not economically viable. If the sandwich core is also damp or wooden parts are rotten, then at some point there is no longer a boat on the jetty, but floating hazardous waste that is not so easy to dispose of.
Our BOOTE test boat experienced a similar fate: the FourWinns Horizon 180 was used for testing for years and ended up on a pitch behind the shipyard almost 13 years ago, where it slowly faded into the natural vegetation. Then it was time to get rid of the boat. After removing the engine and seats many years ago, however, it was just a hull that nobody wanted to turn into their project boat.
Scrapping a boat
The search for a waste disposal company turned out to be complicated. We kept coming across offers on the internet, but after several enquiries, they turned out to be less than reputable. After all, we wanted the boat to be disposed of properly - and not end up in a field somewhere after paying the disposal fees to a service provider.
On the Internet we come across the Company AES scrapping with headquarters in Berlin. After a brief description and a few pictures, we receive an estimate for the disposal costs of 650 euros.
On the agreed date, the two-man scrapping team is in the harbour at eight o'clock in the morning. The trailer they have brought with them seems small, but it should be enough, because our boat will be cut up on site, which will take the whole day. "Dismantling on site is always the cheapest solution," explains Mr Kremer from AES-Entsorgung. "We always try to do this if it's possible in terms of space and compliance with regulations. Otherwise, we first have to transport the boat away to cut it up on our premises. Of course, that creates additional costs."
"GRP is hazardous waste"
Of course, the material cannot be put in the yellow bag afterwards. "GRP is hazardous waste," says Kremer. The problem with glass fibre reinforced plastic is that the components - resin and glass fibres - can no longer be separated and recycled. The calorific value is also extremely poor and it burns with a high ash content and a lot of residue. However, there are companies that mechanically shred the sheets in order to use them as a coal substitute in cement works or to mix them into sand in small pieces. However, the majority of the GRP parts are simply incinerated. "To do this, it has to be cut into metre pieces before being transported," says Kremer.
First of all, all foreign matter is removed from our FourWinns, such as the rubbing strake and the windscreen frames. There is not much left on the hull. Then the team uses an electric foxtail to cut an opening in the stern to make it easier to work from there. Next, the transom and bow are cut off. The sides can then be cut off just above the chine. Finally, the underwater hull is added.
But the FourWinns is stable. One saw blade after another becomes blunt and has to be replaced, saw blades costing a good 100 euros. "It's hard to estimate that beforehand," says Kremer. The day before, they had dismantled a rotten wooden boat with a GRP coating. "The blades went through it like butter."
Scrapping costs depend on many factors
We want to know how much it would cost to scrape a complete 10-metre boat. "I estimate around 2,000 to 3,000 euros," replies Kremer, but adds: "It's hard to make a general prediction because it depends on many factors. For example, whether it has to be removed first. The prices for GRP disposal also vary from place to place and day to day, similar to the price of scrap metal." At the moment, a tonne of GRP costs a good 400 euros.
"The boat also has to be dismantled into all its components: The engine out, the tank emptied and cleaned, the insulation and wooden parts removed. Everything has to be disposed of individually." A laborious task that takes a lot of time. It can quickly take two or three days. "Of course, we also try to earn a little money by recycling parts and keeping the disposal costs lower. But in practice, it's not easy because many parts are difficult or impossible to sell."
Also interesting:
French association deals with disposal of GRP boats
The disposal of a boat is therefore a problem that will become ever greater with the growing number of new boats. It is not without reason that our European neighbours have also been dealing with this issue for many years. The French Federation of the Water Sports Industry (FIN) has set up the APER organisation as an association of boatyards and importers, which has also been dealing with the disposal of GRP boats since 2019. According to a study, there are up to 50,000 unused boats in France alone, 70 per cent of which are motorboats. By 2024, 25,000 boats are to be disposed of. The costs of this will be covered by contributions from APER member companies and additionally subsidised by a portion of the boat tax levied in France. Owners can register their boat for disposal using an online form and only have to pay the transport costs. A good solution, but one that is not on the cards in this country. Anyone who experiences for a day how laborious it is to dismantle a GRP boat that is only six metres long will understand why it is not cheap.
