TOPIC: Need advice on old boats--junk?

My uncle passed away in January and left a lot of junk old junk cars, push lawn mowers, lawn tractor mowers, appliances, welders, tools, old car parts... on his 5 acre country property. A local farmer bought the place and is going to just torch the house and barn, bulldoze away anything that doesn't burn, and farm the land.

The barn is about to fall down by itself, and the house would need complete gut to the studs and almost completely rebuild anyway.

I've been helping my cousins clear out the junk and I've taken almost 12,000 lbs of steel to scrap so far. I get a few $ from the scrap for my trouble that pays for my gas, put new tires on my junk trailer and let me pay my son something to help.

I need some advice on two old boats out there. Both are fiberglass and sitting on decrepit trailers. Neither trailer has a jack or good tires. Rats have chewed up the lighting wiring.

#1 boat has Sea King on the stern and no motor attached. The tongue of the trailer hitch was buried. Somebody lifted it with a skidsteer and I towed the thing out into the open. I cannot put my junk trailer wheels on it to make it roll because it has 12" wheels and mine are 13". But is the boat or the trailer worth anything, or are they just junk?

#2 boat is a Crosby. It's larger than #1 and has a Johnson outboard motor on it. It's leaking rainwater to the ground in at least two places. The trailer is much more substantial than the smaller boat trailer with a large center beam. I also towed this one out into the open to get a better look at it. somebody has done some kind of butchery to the hitch coupler on this trailer and welded on a 1-7/8" coupler. Is the boat or the trailer worth anything, or are they just junk?

I can either remove any scrap metals like aluminum and wiring and tow the the boats to the city dump, or I can list them to sell as-is for somebody whose passion is restoring old hulks like these. I could put trailer jacks on them, new light kits and tires, but that's as much as I'd be willing to do to make the trailer sellable.

I can deal with whatever the case is and either sell them as-is or just take the boats to the city dump. I was career Navy but I was a submariner and I know absolutely nothing about small boats other than port from starboard and bow from stern. I'd hate to make the mistake of junking the equivalent of a rare 60s or 70s musclecar just because it has seen better days and has been sitting abandoned for years.

Kansas doesn't register or tag boats, and if boat/trailer combo is < 2,000 lbs then trailer doesn't need to be registered either. It's too bad neither boat is aluminum.

Somebody on another forum said look up the model of the boats. I'd love to do that but where would I find that information? Near as I can tell it has been obliterated by the elements, by wildlife or by human hands.

I appreciate any guidance.

Welcome to Fiberglassics !
To check the model of your boats, at the top of the page there is the "Glassic Library"
The Crosby looks like a 1964, the Sea King looks to be a 1958, because it's the only one with fins.

Now for price. That's tricky.... the less hardware on the boat the lot less you'd get.
The other part is desirability of the boat. If no one is looking for it ? no one will buy it.
Then there is condition. Those two boats look rough, so my feelings ? Someone with vision and a bunch of money to bring them back to life are the only folks would look for that, because they may have sentimental connection from when they were kids and remember riding in one.

Now for the economics: I'm sure if you take them to the dump you'll have to pay. And I'm guessing if you scrap the metal and trailers, it won't offset the dump fee ?

So if you have no need for them ? Try Craigslist or Facebook market place to sell them for a short time. if selling doesn't work, offer them for free and scrap the trailers. Or sell the trailers and get the boat for free.
From experience, I bought a 19 ft trailer for 350 bucks and had to take the boat that was on the trailer.
The boat was a piece of junk so I cut it up with a circular saw, and Sawzall and put in the trash for a month or two.
by the time I bought new tires chains and the like it was a 900 dollar trailer
I don't know what your timeline is but see what you can do ?
Doubt this helped, but it's getting you thinking ?

I agree, not worth fixing BUT someone will always take free and then it will sit collecting water in their yard.
Not your problem after they pull away.

In my city, if you have water/sewer/trash account, you get two free passes to the city dump per year. So no dump fee, and I happen to have a ton of old window glass from aluminum frame doors and windows, and fiberglass panels from some kind of door with aluminum frame. Farmer who bought my uncle's property also wants to get rid of the pile of old tires my uncle left around the place, so I can throw all of that stuff in one of these boats when I take it to the dump.
Then I'd probably tow the trailer to the scrap yard.

Long story but I can't get on Facebook. 20 years in the Navy and FB who's plugged into ID.ME says they can't verify my identity. I might try Flakeslist once I determine whether to sell or just junk the boats.

Too bad these won't have a lead keel ballast like the sailboat that a guy in Torrance CA was scrapping out and selling the lead about ten years ago.