Two marina managers share their experiences helping to soften the blow and offer a dignified end when mooring lines are cast off for the last time.
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The topic of abandoned boats in marinas and related legal rights for marinas to assume ownership and take action, has been well aired over the last decade. Mieke Vleugels, co-owner of the Dutch marina Jachthaven Wetterwille alongside her daughters, offers a different focus, prioritising respect and personalised closure for the owner or surviving partner.
Mieke assumed sole ownership and management of the 400-berth family-run marina in 1996. She has seen generations of boaters enjoy the inland facility, located on the scenic Loosdrecht lake network, and is a proud recipient of the Blue Flag, Green Pennant and 5 Gold Anchors. Each customer is known by name and a boating community atmosphere is supported by a gym, dry-stack, paddleboard and boat rental, and bespoke accommodation.
Consequently, when a long-term berth-holder passes away and the boat gradually becomes neglected, Mieke and her staff prepare for the next steps.
“We often see that a remaining spouse lacks the skills and confidence of their partner and so interest in using the boat diminishes. The vessel represents happy memories, so they continue to pay their fees, but no longer come down to the marina. Gradually the boat starts showing signs of neglect and we’re obliged to charge for cleaning and basic maintenance, since pontoon neighbours start complaining.”
“At this point we decide that we need to close this chapter with all the good memories intact. I invite the owner for tea and biscuits and set aside the time needed for a difficult conversation. We steer clear of mentioning that the boat is going to be destroyed or shredded and merely explain that the boat no longer has any economic value and needs to be taken away.”
Mieke and her team then clear the boat, ready for transport. “We recognise that there will be items on board with emotional significance and owners often send us pictures of their trips, identifying cherished objects. If they are unable to return to the marina, we’ll drive out to take their belongings to them – these are all Dutch owners, so rarely more than a couple of hours away.”
The team removes the keel in-house, to keep transport costs down for the owner.
“Finally, we invite them to come and have a free boat tour in the electric rental motorboats to enjoy the lake, and most are generally pleased to accept this, finding a skipper to steer it.”
The process strengthens company culture, resulting in positive feedback from both customers and staff. “We of course discuss each case internally and it’s gratifying to see the team respond with enthusiasm, suggesting ideas for either extending the owner’s boating life or helping out with the best way to bring the story to an end.”
VY Nieuwpoort, Belgium
Maarten Desloovere oversees a very different dynamic, managing a vibrant, non-profit, 1000-berth coastal marina in Belgium. With its roots in a site dating back to the 1970s, however, some of the fleet in VY Nieuwpoort are now in their sixth decade. “Around 5% of the vessels on the hard (with some in wet berths), are neglected or abandoned.” With many sailors in our team and a strong youth sailing community in the marina, our preferred scenario is to see the boat extend its working life. This is of course not always possible, however.”
“The marina needs dredging each year, so abandoned boats in the water were dealt with quite frequently, but we have extensive hard standing with some 600 vessels spending winter on land, so the problem often centres around these boats. Brokers weren’t interested, since between the work required to make the boat attractive and a low resale value, there is scarce financial incentive. When we contacted owners or surviving partners, we noticed that having not visited the marina in some time, their perception of their boat, still shiny and glorious from its heyday, was profoundly different from the green and leaky reality. A large part of the problem was contending with that first hurdle.”
The backlog became such an issue that in 2015 the team set about proactively addressing this with a range of solutions, including recycling and organising boat auctions. “Recycling ticks a lot of boxes but is an expensive option for the marina, if the owner cannot be located or is unable to foot the bill. We found that boat auctions were only partly productive, requiring significant resources to organise and then attracting buyers, enticed by low prices and the romantic ideal of living on a boat, who weren’t really suited to ownership. One gentleman bought a boat at a very reasonable rate and asked for it to be put in the water since he was planning to sail to Amsterdam that very afternoon. After further discussion, it transpired that he had never sailed before and ‘was planning to learn on the way’. Needless to say, the purchase was cancelled!”
“This year, after reviewing the situation, one of the customer service team is now doing a fantastic job, dedicating time purely to contacting owners or their children to help facilitate the process of managing end-of-life boats. We’ve also teamed up with Straal, a local social enterprise, that learned about our efforts from national news coverage. They are a brother and sister team, refurbishing canal boats in Ghent and installing electric engines. A major element of their work is engaging diverse volunteers and promoting boat-sharing.
“Together we have managed to obtain some funding for a community project to refurbish an abandoned sailing boat, currently underway in the yard. An electric engine will be installed with the boat set to be made available on a boat-share basis, with days set aside for the contributing volunteers, our sailing school and berth-holders – all aimed at creating familiarity and confidence with using electric engines.”
“We’re delighted with this project and aim to scale up efforts in this vein over the next few years. It serves as a great vehicle for making boating more accessible, introducing new boaters and offering a sustainable solution for abandoned boats.”
