19,000 lbs of lead !!!

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Condensed long story... a good friend invited me to go open ocean saling last weekend and upon ariving at marina (where he tied up his boat the night before on a "borrowed" mooring), we discovered that his boat was "on the rocks" ... literally!, (they had a very strong gale the previous night). After much drama and to-do with lots of helpers we saved the 22' boat (with only a basket ball size hole in the side)....

A retired lobsterman was a huge help.... and in talking to him, I learned that he was given a steel hulled sail-boat that was destined to be scrapped, as he thought he could refurbish it. After surveying the boat carefully, he concluded that it was beyond his means and ability.

But......

He discovered that the keel was packed full of 1 lb. lead ingots. 19,000 of them!

He sold the ingots for $1/lb. and then scrapped the hull.

So how come I didn't meet this guy earlier in the summer?

I'd be in casting heaven :neener:
 
He got premium price for the lead, since it's alloy isn't known. I can currently buy wheelweights for $.50 a pound from a scrap yard.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
I have had the option to have 2 sail boats 'keel lead'. The problem is what to do with the leftover fiberglass and where to cut it up? These ain't wood and I live in a area where I can't burn leftovers.
 
Boat keel 'lead' is typically any alloy that will melt at a reasonable temperature and can be cast into ingots. It might be pure lead, monotype-hard, or anything in between, including contaminated with zinc.

I would approach this source of lead with my eyes wide open and test a small quantity before I bought any large quantity of it.
 
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