Abandoned Boats Auckland Costing A Fortune Apparently

[southernman 73]

https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/113486084/abandoned-boats-costing-auckland-ratepayers-thousands-of-dollars-annually?cid=app-iPhone&fbclid=IwAR2qgeDh_Zyhcp75p4wJ67k3W7CF6C4G3d8okqyxnirDOoG5f6h-0DzM5Ig

 

This concerns me, it gives the Council an excuse to remove moorings in the future.  

[MarkMT 68]

Because there was no boat ownership registration in New Zealand, it was impossible to say with certainty who a boat belonged to, Hayton said.

...

However, Auckland Council has recently approved an additional hike of $50 to mooring fees for this year, which was expected to cover the cost going forward

 

But surely there is registration of who owns/leases the mooring. Why not make them responsible for the costs rather than pushing them on to ratepayers or other mooring holders. What am I missing?

[1paulg 22]

This is a big problem on Waiheke - I assume one of the reasons why it has been left to get so bad is the cost of removing them is so much more than on the mainland

[wheels 544]

 

This concerns me, it gives the Council an excuse to remove moorings in the future.

For Auckland, one does not own the mooring site as such. You rent that from the Council Authority. You only own the tackle and can only sell the tackle. The Council has the right to tell any mooring holder to vacate at any time. Also, the mooring must be used. If it is abandoned, the council can remove the tackle.

This idea works really well as it means the cost of a mooring does not become horrendous such as they cost in the likes of Marlborough. Plus no Resource consent is needed, like is required in Marlborough.

 

But surely there is registration of who owns/leases the mooring. Why not make them responsible for the costs rather than pushing them on to ratepayers or other mooring holders.

Often boats have been abandoned and the owners may have left the country, area, or maybe died. The council try contacting via the last info held, but often have no success. Some boats have been left so long that they are close to sinking or breaking the mooring line. Thus becoming a hazard to shipping.

Does it really cost $30K to dispose of? Maybe in a few rare cases if the boat is large enough. When the cost of landfill it $200 per tonne in some places and the cost of getting the boat, hauling it, breaking it up, transporting to landfill is all added up, the cost sure rise quick.

 

[Kiwifish 30]

I think they would make cool tiny homes/sleepouts.

 

The council could giveaway the boat and subsidies the transport cost by say $2500. The boat can be “up cycled” into a tiny home or creative sleepout. It solves a few problems in one go.the councils cost will be at least halved, its win/win.

 

Obviously not very suitable for urban properties, more aimed at the lifestyle block type areas. They would probably comply with councils restrictions on minor dwellings fairly easily.

 

I would take one if this was on offer. Could a be cool “air bnb” with a point of difference.

[vic008 17]

As Mark says, why dont they bill whoever the mooring is registered to?

[cj! 19]

 They would probably comply with councils restrictions on minor dwellings fairly easily.

 

 

Not even close.

[Kiwifish 30]

Not even close.

That’s a shame then, be nice to re purpose them. What about the under 10m2 rule? Not sure what size yacht that would equate to?

[MarkMT 68]

Just call it a performance art installation.

[madyottie 82]

That’s a shame then, be nice to re purpose them. What about the under 10m2 rule? Not sure what size yacht that would equate to?

With most trailer yachts being around the 2.5 maximum beam, I'm thinking an old Merlin or Coronet would probably be oversized.

 

I guess a big boat could be cut into chunks the right size if desired

[Ex Machina 390]

Boats look sh*t out of the water but I guess if you buried them up to the waterline and had a walk thru transom it could work ...cheap Y88 would make a cool sleep out

[ex TL systems 63]

If its still mobile it should fit in council rules same as a caravan so it could be larger than 10 m2. You might be storing it on your land ready for sea level rise escapes

[cj! 19]

Put the keel in in a hole and it will be deemed not movable and therefore a building, not a vessel and will need to meet the Building Code. Keep it on a trailer and in navigable condition and you're probably golden. Of course, you may still need to consider setbacks and height restrictions.

 

Most councils in NZ, but not all, try and prevent people from using alternative dwelling options to live in as they don't want to upset any ratepayers that disapprove of anything outside their ideas of how things should be. You need to remember that in NZ housing is vehicle for wealth creation, not a right.

[Elenya 35]

As Mark says, why dont they bill whoever the mooring is registered to?

I wish it was that simple. Many of the old dungers we deal with have been left on someones mooring without the permission of the mooring owner. This is sometimes a person bludging and sometimes a mistake. A little hard to ping a mooring owner who happened to have someone dump a boat on their mooring. On the other hand why would the rate payer pick up the tab?

 

I note reading YBW.com forum that many are actually giving away servicable yachts as there is no resale value. This is sometimes exacerbated by mooring fees being due for another year.

 

Unfortunately of the few older abandoned boats we have sold most have ended up back with us a year or so later. There is generally little of value onboard, and to remove items such as port holes, fittings etc will cost us more than we would recover. A night on the hard before it is broken up sees some bits removed though.

 

My guess would be that we will see more of this issue as time goes on.

[Fish 0]

I note reading YBW.com forum that many are actually giving away servicable yachts as there is no resale value. This is sometimes exacerbated by mooring fees being due for another year.

 

Not just on YBW.com

You should read crew.org more, there are a couple of cases of this reported by the owners doing the giving away part.