Although Winter Is A Long Way Off,

if you are of a nautical nature,

and fancy taking on a winter project, this could be the auction for you, Ireland’s inland water authority will auction off 31 boats seized from canals and rivers across the country,

included in the catalogue are cruisers, speedboats, yachts and narrow boats,

the boats were abandoned by untraceable owners or else their owners failed to buy permits for them and did not retrieve them when they were seized, most are motor cruisers made for inland waters but the selection also includes barges and speed boats, yachts and a former trawler, several steel-hulled vessels have fared well and fibreglass construction has preserved the structure of most of the others, but living quarters, engines and internal fittings are either absent or in need of a complete overhaul,

Waterways Ireland stressed the sale was only of derelict and abandoned boats and said owners could have reclaimed them, some had done so. “Owners have the opportunity within a specified period of time – 42 days on the Shannon and 30 days on the canals – to claim their property,” a spokesperson said, the boats are being held in a storage yard in Athlone where a viewing day for prospective buyers will be held on July 14, buyers must submit a bid in writing by July 30, for look at the catalogue have a look here, just think buy one of these now and by this time next year it could be all aboard the Skylark!