around here, just stopped hauling the wooden boats in their yards, as once they were on dry land, they would just walk away from them. If a documented vessel, It was a major court deal just to cut it up and canibillize it for parts like port holes, hatches, shafts, props, mostly anything brass or bronze for salvage. Then the dump fee's. Near us was a place called junk island,and then,not now, they would let you run it up on the beach, on that island that was rocks, or cahin saw it and tow it there, which we did. There was and old hand crank winch on it, so you could winch it up. There once or twice a year they would burn them. Great place to detect huh, 3000 billion nails there on the ground. Easy to seem them as it was just a big rock ledge.
Yeah, some of those old hulls looked great. I know we tried to rescue a lot of them and looks could be very deceiving. We would inspect them with a jack knife and see how far it would go into the woods we were concern about along the water lines, chimes, keels etc. Some of it was oil soaked, some rot, some worms, some your hand went thru it almost.
In many cases the fasteners were all shot, or worn. Clinch nails were big back then where you drive them in onthe ribs, then bend them over, buck it up with a big hammer while another guy on the outside hits a few more times to clinch it and lock it tight.
What was going on then as a lot of people were selling them off looking good with paint, but the boat was not sea worthy at all. Many after knowing they had been had, would just keep them at the docks for summer cottages. Cheap at then 300 to 500 a year dock fee, with water and electrics, smack on the water. Some of these were really nice old boats, big 45 foot range, that were really beautiful inside and out, but rotten below the waterline and to costly to fix for most. Insides were really plush, beautiful wood and brass. I lived on a lot of them at our boat yard almost year round. Again, many just left them at the end of the year and never returned, so you were stuck with it.
Some once they knew it was a bad boat would run it up on the rocks for insurance, burn them, hope a hurricane or big winter storm came thru from the Nor-east. Some evenjust had a friend come with them in their boat and just cut it adrift out in the long island sound after they good all the ID off it. Later, late 60's early 70's many were giving them to the hippies. They would tie them up somewhere, and make a pad out of it and live in it until someone drove them away. Usually look like it was burning when you came up on them in the upper rivers where they ran them aground but it was just them getting wrecked on weed. Cheap summer housing.
I still have a lot of old bronze and brass parts here. Propellers, steering wheels, with the nice wood work, port holes, scuppers, winches,
big brass rudders. My Dad had an old bus, its hear on the property now that he used to go to boat yards with all his hand tools and work on the nice old boats. He didn't just do any of them as he got older,he only worked on the nice stuff that deserve saving. He liked the old cat boats
the most, wide beam, slow moving but works of art. 2 of his are at the Mystic Seaport.
There was a big marina in Essex, CT that was taking them for along time for parts. Last time I took a bunch of stuff there he was still going strong. This was about 10 years ago. I kept what my Dad liked the most but he like me was, is a pack rat so it is easy to get out of control.
Fun way to grow up. Noak, CT was a graveyard for old big vessels and I can still see those 200 foot wooden hulls rotting away. They were up n the mud flats and marsh lands and we would go inside them catching blueshell crabs in summer. It was fun exploring them. To us they were pirate ships wrecked on shore. Looked like with a lot of just huge ribs sticking up in the air. Again, I have pictures here of them somewhere.
At the end, those old wooden hulls to most were just a hole in the water to pour money in, then to many, BOAT met, Break out another thousand. to those of us that really liked them, works of art, now slowly becoming a memory. These little snap shots are great that you post. Many today never saw them. They were work for sure, but them became almost human like, as you came in from offshore, and survived a big storm, or just a week of heavy seas. The sounds, the smell, they way they handled big swells in a following sea all became a part of you, or did me.
My father never got it out of his system and worked on them until he passed away at 75. What a lot of knowledge of how to work on these old vessels was lost when he passed on. I still have one of his old plank and rib steamers here, spoke shaves, tons or old hands tools that were just for marine work, that the had gotten from other old salts. Most have or are, going to the Mystic Seaport where others can enjoy them on display or use in their restoration shacks.
I see in your pictures the different types of planking, lapstreak, cobble planking, what looks like a couple of old square end Lhurs hulls with twin screws. That 6703 hull, the grey one looks like a down east hull,with the garboard planks ready to spring free from rotten nails,
The Gloucester Mass hull is a nice closeing picture. That place is sure loaded with boating history.
Yet, even in your pictures, you see fiberglass hulls now becoming the relics of the sea. I liked the old sail boats also. The maintence on them would break you fast unless one was holding heavy with $$$. We stopped hauling them first as the old lead keels were the first to seperate from the rest of the hull. Funny, we had one to go get one off a sandbar one day. He had been there about 8 hours and I dove down and it was deep in the sand. I told my Dad and he said it was not in our best interest to pull it off as it it might separate right there. He basically told us we didn't know what we were talking about. So we left but were listening to the marine radio later when a small sea tug offered to help in off. Pretty sure they were navy kids, running the smaller tugs out in the sound, that helped him. Lot of power, no knowledge of what happens when you pull one of those sideway stuck in the sand. Yupe twisted right off. I assume the lead keel is still there. I saw that happen with about 3 of those.... We stopped docking them because the hotel that was up behind us, didn't like hearing the rigging banging all night in the winds. I loved it, but they sure didn't. To me, sleeping on board, hearing the slapping of the water against the hull, call of the gulls, or tingling of rigging was music.
Take care...... George-CT PS< wow, regular magpie here.....
I am sure,there is storage due on these derelicts. Some look pretty good,don't they? Don't be fooled! Right George? Mechanical or Hull repairs are costly.Very costly. Yes it is a shame,to see them in this state,of disrepair. Its costly to just destroy them,time,dumpster fees,and lets not forget,Hazardous Waste disposal. Rj[attachment 60649 portmarine002.jpg][attachment 60650 portmarine018.jpg][attachment 60651 portmarine020.jpg][attachment 60652 portmarine023.jpg][attachment 60653 portmarine017.jpg]