1985 108' Broward, partial submersion during Hurricane Wilma, rolled over at her dock in Dinner Key and resold by insurance company for $300,000ish. New owner takes the vessel over to a yard on the Miami River, things don't go well between the owner and the yard. Vessel was in very, very repairable condition. Here she is before the damage... The owner gave up on working out a deal with the yard and repairing the boat then spent the last year marketing the boat for sale as a project. I drove by the yard last week and much to my surprise the vessel was being cut up for scrap!!!! WTF!?
I have the same feeling even when some rare cars are scrapped, also when functional but outdated TV:s and computers are destroyed. But this is reality today and when a repair is more expensive than a replacement, we are just a few idiots that care...
Broward never had a reputation as the best boat built, but they sure are pretty. What a shame. A few weeks back I was in a yard where a real pretty sailboat was meeting the same fate. Couldn't sell it and couldn't make the yard bill. Makes me wonder if the people try to sell it at a fair price, can't, and just don't think about selling at a give-away price before scraping. Can't imagine nobody would pay 10K for that Broward and bring her back to life.
I've heard two conflicting stories, one says that it sold for $4,000 and the other less credible source told me that the scrap man paid $20K for her. I'm inclined to believe the former.
I was on this Broward back in 1984. Originally she was Shona Boy 108ft Cockpit Motoryacht. The Boat was beautiful with a Beautiful Interior. Its a shame to this yacht being scrapped.
There is no conflict there, both stories might be true. Somebody got it for nothing and flipped it to make a quick $16K. Not everyone gets emotional about old junk boats.
Those older boats also can get mold infestations inside that can be very harmful to it's occupants getting people sick. The mold gets inside the walls and in the wood and it is next to impossible to really clean it all out. I am seeing this issue more and more as yachts are getting more and more age on them. Might be a good thing they scrapped her.
I saw her, a while ago back in July. She had some good damage on the starboard bow and side. She had a big hole cut in her side where the engine was and everything in the engine room looked to be beyond rebuilding. She could've been saved, but I guess someone figured it wasn't worth the effort. It's a shame. Supposedly it had already been sitting in the yard for a year or two. It sounds like someone could've gotten more money out of selling stuff on board andmachinery to get more out of her than $20,000.
I would have love to have restored that boat. Look what I have done to mine in the last year and it was in worst shape then that 108'
+2 on guilty. Our Broward became a 4-year labor love that was never really completed because boats of this age (of any age!) require constant maintenance, upgrades and the occasional martini-laced idea of adding a cockpit. Would I do it all over again? You betcha! Best times of my life were had on a Broward.
Nah, it was sold directly to the scrap man, the guy who sold it says $4k the scrap man says he paid $20k.
The areas you saw cut out were there areas that were damaged. Believe me, she was very repairable. It's all moot now as she's almost down to the waterline. I'll try to snap a pic tomorrow.
I agree, the rest of the boat looked to be very good shape. I did not go inside or look at the interior or above the rub rail. But the boat did appear to be in pretty good shape.
Sad ending. Seafari was a busy charter boat at one time as I recall. But with some many Browards around that you can pick up in running condition cheap, it doesn't surprise me that it came to that kind of end.
Yes , seafari.. She was at the end of pier 3 on the T head which is not where you want to be since it s directly lined up with the channel between 2 spoil islands She did some serious damage to the concrete T-head in the process. The other casualty from Wilma were a 60ish Bertie that went down as well, on the pier 4 T head Wilma wasnt a bad one, i stayed on my boat near the end of pier 7, we got about 90kts here but the surge was about 1 foot above the docks Sad but not surprising... Maybe if she had been repaired right Away before the used yacht market tanks it would have made sense but by 07 or 08 I don't see how the numbers could have added up last pics shows how high the surge was during the storm... the Ferreti stayed afloat but with significant damage to its port side
Pascal, great photos. The 54 Bertram named "ELY" has been repaired and now lives in Key Biscayne. I thought there was a better chance of the 54 getting sold off for scrap than the Broward!
Unfortunate to see that old girl go for scrap. While I'm a fan of the new boats of course, there is a place in my heart for old boats with classic character and beauty. But like Carl rightfully points out, they are a daily labor of love. We learned this with a similar Italian boat some years back. Sexy and reliable is a tough cocktail to mix. What is she worth up on the hard? All to the eyes of the beholder. Apparently, in this case, she was worth nothing more than scrap material.