Marine consignment stores

We are in Punta Gorda, staying at the dock of our good friends for a few days. This morning, he walked out to the boat (as I was taking care of a small issue at the top of the mast) and invited us to a marine salvage store that he and his neighbor John were going to. Anna declined but I agreed and 20 minutes later we were ready for an adventure.

As a cruiser you are always looking for a deal on marine parts. A marine consignment store or a marine salvage business is just the ticket to that deal. These places are normally filled with all kinds of small (and sometimes large) items that make up a boat and it’s all at good price (when compared to new). That’s the good news, the bad is that they are also filled with piles of castoff bits and pieces of junk, some half a century old (if not more) and you sometimes half to wade thru bins and piles and buildings full of this junk to find the one small item that you might need. Well, that’s what we found when we arrived at Don’s Marine Salvage.

I have never seen so much stuff (most of it useless) in my life. Piles of masts, sheds full of propellers, trailers and racks filled with tanks, trailers full of bits and pieces of teak, used boat trailers piled on top of one another, fields of engines, buildings bursting with transmissions, racks filled with every type of aluminum extrusion conceivable, more SS tubing bent into boat bows than I believe there are boats and much, much more.

 

 

We spent several hours wading thru the acres of used parts yet didn’t find one thing that we couldn’t live without (this is a strange thing for a sailor to say). In the end, even though we found nothing that we couldn’t live without, it was an enjoyable trip there and back filled with good company and interesting conversations. For you see, sometimes it’s the journey and not the destination that makes the adventure and that’s what cruising is all about.