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What Happens To Old Grp Boats?


VetChugger

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As good a place as any VC.

Well I read the article and found the journalism right up there with the EDP. Lots of "It might"s, "It Could"s, and "It's possible"s

It freely admits that little research has been done on the subject, then goes on to inform us of the impending doom soon to be upon us.

It goes on to say that it's not just the GRP breaking down but also the lead based paints used to protect hulls, failing to go on to say that this was true of any painted hull irrespective of the material the hull was originally made of.

The article asks few questions, shows little in the way of evidence to support it's attention grabbing headline but makes many unfounded statements and implies just as many more.

Yep, Just like the EDP.

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10 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

The article asks few questions, shows little in the way of evidence to support it's attention grabbing headline but makes many unfounded statements and implies just as many more.

Entirely right but it has opened the debate and that can be no bad thing. 

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What happens to old grp boats ?

ours is 42 years old and she is loved and cared for , and will continue to be so for many more years to come .

I would have thought a more important subject to worry about in today’s society would be to question what is going to happen to all the dangerous , toxic batteries once they are no longer functional and are discarded , leaking their harmful deadly chemicals into the earth.

This rapid move to electric powered vehicles poses a very worrying future for the environment  

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For me the article does mention other hull materials and paints used over the years and I would like to think that many chemicals of the past are no longer used however they are still relevent to the article looking forwards. I disagree that little evidence is shown if you take into account the evidence based on the small amount of research carried out thus far. 

Neither do I feel the problem should be laid at the door of the BA, being a world wide problem it is for enviromental agencies. Correct me if I`m wrong but wasn`t there a idea or scheme regarding grinding grp down and using it in tarmac road surfaces? This would of course need a serious filteration system in place and would be costly to set up but once up and running might be answer to the problem.

Regarding batteries, the making, charging of them and ultimately disposal is worthy of its own thread.

 

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10 minutes ago, OldBerkshireBoy said:

I disagree that little evidence is shown if you take into account the evidence based on the small amount of research carried out thus far. 

Surely the latter leads to the former?

The article talks of Lead (I assume from paint) Copper (I assume from antifoul) and plastics/oils from everywhere. but the headline questions "what happened to old GRP boats?"

If there is a problem with old GRP, then fine. Lets look into it and discuss the options...BUT... I still see pleasure cruisers and dinghys as luxury items, and the Guardian as a left wing newspaper., Ok, that may cloud my view but there it is.

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Surely when we have JCB’s with long reach arms that can chew up an average building and car crushers that can turn a transit into a 3’ cube surely there could be something made to dispose of the boats? I’ll bet when they’ve chewed up a few there’ll be companies chomping at the bit for the mountains of granules left. Mixed with concrete? Fashioned into bricks with some amalgam? It just needs somebody with the time place and money to set up the business because it’s not just boats it’s cars and fairground rides spring to mind as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Norfolk Broads Network

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22 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

Surely the latter leads to the former?

The article talks of Lead (I assume from paint) Copper (I assume from antifoul) and plastics/oils from everywhere. but the headline questions "what happened to old GRP boats?"

If there is a problem with old GRP, then fine. Lets look into it and discuss the options...BUT... I still see pleasure cruisers and dinghys as luxury items, and the Guardian as a left wing newspaper., Ok, that may cloud my view but there it is.

Ok, to me there is a reasonable high level of evidence shown in relation to the resonable low level of testing done, does that help? Whilst I agree the inclusion of lead and other metals mentioned in the article does not correspond directly to the headline question it does help to show why the research needs to be carried out unless of course grp boats have none of these materials in them.

I`m not going to comment on anything after the word BUT. :default_hiding: 

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18 minutes ago, OldBerkshireBoy said:

I`m not going to comment on anything after the word BUT.

Yes, That's fair enough. An "agree to differ" point perhaps.

I do find myself wondering if the hulls at least might be salvageable, being less governed by fashion. is it possible to relaminate a hull with heat and pressure? .

 

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1 hour ago, OldBerkshireBoy said:

Neither do I feel the problem should be laid at the door of the BA,

Perhaps the Chichester Harbour Conservancy, along with Southampton University, might be better suited for the job. Nevertheless the BA is the local harbour authority and it does have an increasing problem with abandoned boats, we also have the University of East Anglia on its doorstep. I wouldn't expect the BA to do any research as such but if it wants to do something worthwhile, rather than masquerading as a fictional NP,  then it could start the ball rolling amongst similar bodies and authorities. Yes, it is a world wide problem, it is also a local one. This is one for the British Marine Federation as much as any one. A levy on all boat production and sales could finance future research. 

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59 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

Perhaps the Chichester Harbour Conservancy, along with Southampton University, might be better suited for the job. Nevertheless the BA is the local harbour authority and it does have an increasing problem with abandoned boats, we also have the University of East Anglia on its doorstep. I wouldn't expect the BA to do any research as such but if it wants to do something worthwhile, rather than masquerading as a fictional NP,  then it could start the ball rolling amongst similar bodies and authorities. Yes, it is a world wide problem, it is also a local one. This is one for the British Marine Federation as much as any one. A levy on all boat production and sales could finance future research. 

Sure the people you mention can play a part however because it is a world wide issue so it has to be much bigger acencies appling the pressure to make it happen. I had thought of raising the issue of levies myself but decided against doing so,  yes the finance will have to come from somewhere.

Please leave BA and National Parks to one side for once.

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3 minutes ago, Cheesey69 said:

Problem is, although a lot of hulls are out there, not enough to recycle into a viable business for the long term

So living in fantasy world, say the finance were raised to build a couple or a few recycling places around the world, what then, would that not work?

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1 minute ago, OldBerkshireBoy said:

So living in fantasy world, say the finance were raised to build a couple or a few recycling places around the world, what then, would that not work?

It is surely reaching a point when the solution is no longer fantasy. I would have thought that the USA would have been, out of necessity,  world leaders. Their society is a far more disposable one than ours, they have a huge grp boat population that will inevitably need disposing of. Whoever does what it is a question of priorities, perhaps best tackled now rather than when it is forced upon whoever.

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4 hours ago, CambridgeCabby said:

ours is 42 years old and she is loved and cared for , and will continue to be so for many more years to come .

I'm not aware of any current research into the longevity of grp boats. I remember research by a Swedish fishing tackle company into the probable life of a grp rod, this was back in the 1960's, and forty to forty-five years was what they came up with. Non of my 1960's rods has failed me, yet. 

Back to boats, I am aware that there are emerging problems using modern resins on old hulls which suggests that whilst the hulls themselves have the potential to last and last  there may be a problem in repairing or refitting old hulls.

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The problem with disregarding articles from sources that are perceived as biased is that unbiased sources are as rare as hen's teeth.

Ultimately of course the reader makes up their own mind, factoring in the source.

To my mind the article raises interesting questions and suggests further research based on limited and inconclusive early indications from small scale enquiries.

To that extent it could have legitimately come from any source and is worthy of notice.

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The EU were clearly concerned about old GRP craft a decade ago there are a couple of papers from around 2011 but I don't they really had an answer.

I think a proper disposal route needs to be set up possibly using an approved Energy from Waste Plant & a chain from the effected areas with approved (and maybe subsidised) breakers with sufficient advertising to ensure a constant supply. 

There are also numerous abandoned caravans around that may even have sufficient value in recyclable material to part cover the cost of breaking.

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9 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

Re the potential life of a grp boat I think that the following link is worth a read:

https://www.godownsize.com/fiberglass-boats-durability/

 

It`s a bit lightweight, kind of thing found in a Haines buying guide for me (the car people, not the boat builder) Written by a guy more used to amercian RV`s.

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1 hour ago, OldBerkshireBoy said:

So living in fantasy world, say the finance were raised to build a couple or a few recycling places around the world, what then, would that not work?

The cost of moving them around the world both in energy and money just won’t pay. 
In real terms, how many hulls are there disregarded? 
Even if there are a 1000 around the Uk less than a year you will be unemployed 

I used to load fragmented steel from cars at Tilbury on to ships bound for China and the pile was truly massive many thousands of tonnes and it needed to be to make it worthwhile 

No easy answer but maybe better vessel registration to an owner a bit like a log book for cars is needed

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