Wrecks for sale in PNW?

[Alex Low]

Ahoy,

We are about to spend too much money on lead for ballast - as a hail Mary I thought I would try out the forum to see if anyone knows of any boats with lead ballast rotting away somewhere... beyond repair. Looking for boats on Vancouver Island, or the lower mainland.

Thanks,

Alex

[Stephen]

There's a couple of boats being broken up at the local boat-yard here. Not sure if the ballast has been pilferred yet - but I can have a look on tuesday.
Are you looking for pigs or will a big ballast keel work for you? How much are you after?

[seanz]

Ahoy,

We are about to spend too much money on lead for ballast -
Alex

Wait till next month?
The way things are going it might be cheaper.........

As they say 'Time is money', will all the time you spend recovering and transporting the lead be worth it? Factor in the 'disposal' of the rest of the wreck.

[pcford]

I ask you to be circumspect....this is one of the saddest tales that I know.

In the 70s, I helped a guy inspect a boat which he later purchased. I went with him down the Intracoastal Waterway. It was a beautiful, wonderful boat. An interwar boat of the highest pedigree.

The owner sold the boat to a friend and that friend let the boat deteriorate. Part of the deck has taken off and work ceased. It then remained open to the weather for some time. Then it was sold again. That person put it up for sale on a website relating to the class. My brother also loved the boat and was in a position to at least contemplate embarking on a restoration project. We made haste to contact the owner. He replied saying that it had been purchased by a European and was on its way to Europe. We were disappointed but gratified that the boat was going to be restored.

We were profoundly shocked that the owner had purchased the boat for its lead. He had build a plastic replica of the boat and could buy the boat and transport the lead to Europe for less than it would cost to make a new keel in Europe. I made the point strongly that I thought that he had murdered the boat for his own convenience. He replied saying that the boat had "several soft spots." It would be surprising if it did not.

Saddens me still. Don't you do the same thing.

[eleventhirtyfour]

Alex wouldn't put anything down to replicate it in snot, that's for sure.

[emichaels]

Wait till next month?
The way things are going it might be cheaper.........

As they say 'Time is money', will all the time you spend recovering and transporting the lead be worth it? Factor in the 'disposal' of the rest of the wreck.

seanz you are correct. Lead future prices have dropped 45% in the last three weeks. 1100 and change for a ton. Of course that is supplier prices. But if this holds for a few weeks you should be able to buy lead for around .75 cents a lb.
Keep an eye on the London Metal Exchange for the future prices. It takes about 3-4 weeks for those prices to trickle down to the bigger dealers/foundrys.

Eric

[Bob Cleek]

The knackers have all learned that lead is worth money. So have the scrap yards. Hell, even the "tweakers" are stripping copper, aluminum, and lead anywhere they can get their hands on it to sell for drugs. (Somebody ripped off all the aluminum bleacher seats from the local high school recently!) You aren't likely to find a lead ballast keel to be had for the taking anymore. That once was the case, but no more. Additionally, the eco-nazis have saddled us with so many "hazmat" laws that require "licensed" recycling and so on, your local tire shop can't even let you have wheel weights anymore... the new ones are steel, and the lead has to go to a licensed recycler. I'd expect anyone looking for any amount of lead these days is going to have to get it the old fashioned way... buy it.

Don't feel bad, though. If your building a boat, lead is the least of your worries. I was in WasteMarine last week and noticed they want $6.50 for ONE 5/16" silicon bronze hex nut!!! Looks like we'll be burning hulls for their fastenings soon enough.

[capt jake]

Have you looked north of the border? I found out after I had some chroming done that it could have been done for a lot less in Canada. I wonder if lead may be cheaper up there?

[eleventhirtyfour]

I was in WasteMarine last week and noticed they want $6.50 for ONE 5/16" silicon bronze hex nut!!! Looks like we'll be burning hulls for their fastenings soon enough.

I've got a bunch of 5/16" si bronze hex nuts I can sell you for $5 ea... think of the savings! :D
Just kidding, they're my nest egg.

[dennisbur]

Canada Metals on Annacis Island sells lead and various lead alloys. They will also custom make an alloy to your specification as long as you're ordering 1 tonne minimum. their minimum purchase is $50. Last time I checked they were asking $0.54 per pound of pure lead - far too soft for a keel. Have you tried collecting all the used wheel weights in your area?

[Alex Low]

Dennis.... if what you say is true, you better watch your mailbox for a big old bottle of whiskey.

I wonder if they would pour straight into our mold onsite?

I will post the results of tomorrow's phone call.

Alex

[dennisbur]

Dennis.... if what you say is true, you better watch your mailbox for a big old bottle of whiskey.

I wonder if they would pour straight into our mold onsite?

I will post the results of tomorrow's phone call.

Alex

Why thank-you. I look forward to it. However, I used to spend a lot of time at Pilot Bay; friends of mine had a cabin there. so if you don't mind I think I'll come over and we can swap stories of the "good ole days"

Cheers

[Alex Low]

Arrrgh. Unfortunately Canada Metals wants an outrageous $1.26 a lb!!!!

The search goes on.

[Alex Low]

Well, good news. We found a recycler that sold us 3,200 lbs of lead @ .35 cents a pound! We picked it up the same day - with haste.

http://www.alexlow.ca/lead.jpg

[jerry bark]

That seems like a good buy, did you check it with your geiger counter??

cheers
jerry

[Alex Low]

No Geiger counter... it is mostly pigs and lead flashing pipe, with a good smattering of fishing weights. They did a pretty decent job of keeping the bin 'clean'.

Alex