Hollis Select Board Transparency Archive

Dear Dwayne, Tammy, Town Select Board, Town Manager,

After you requested that I sell the boats that have been damaged while continuing the work to dismantle the barn, I placed advertisements for the boats.

I cut down and removed weeds around them, and I moved the boats so that I could pull ahead the *Alacrity 19* with the blue hull. This makes it accessible for anyone who is interested.

I went up to get this boat near Skowhegan, Maine several years ago. I was disappointed to find that its starboard keel had been damaged. I assumed the damage resulted from water entering the hull and reaching the keel, and then freeze-thaw cycles that split the keel, as you see it now. I drove all the way up there with a trailer set up specifically for that model, loaded it anyway, and brought it home, intending to repair the keel. I still believe it is repairable.

My priorities are quite different now, and I would definitely have passed on it today. I do have a couple other boats with issues like this—though not as serious—and I believe those are also feasible to repair.

I have also posted advertisements for several other boats that are ready to sail. The boats are positioned, the ads are posted, and as Dwayne suggested, this is a good time of year to sell them.

However, my sailing friends tell me the current market for sailboats is not good, and that it can be difficult to give boats away in many areas. I’m not sure why that is exactly, but perhaps finding mooring spots has become more challenging, and the cost to transport, store, and maintain boats has increased—along with so many other expenses.

I have also included a site sketch plan (see attached image) showing the idea mentioned in an earlier email, which was one of the benefits that led me to decide to take the barn down.

The plan shows the existing driveway extended back through the footprint of the removed barn, and beyond by about the same distance. It would provide a storage area for boats—along with a small camper and utility trailer—farther from the road, and it would reduce the visual impact of the boats. If needed, it could be screened with additional plantings. The west front yard would be restored to lawn.

This would create space not only to store the boats, but also to work on them on a hard gravel/crushed-stone surface, without weeds and brush growing up around the boats, as happened this year. It can be difficult to move boats and keep the area mowed when they’re in soft soil.

Even though I cannot control the erratic boat market, I can complete the barn removal and create this driveway extension and storage area. I expect to be able to repair those damaged boats and find new owners for them. I do want to reduce the number of boats I have and complete the barn, shed, and house projects so I can have more time to enjoy the boats, as I have in the past.

Sincerely,

Jim Della Torre

403 Hollis Road

[email protected]