A resident of Wales buys old decommissioned ships and repairs them. The last thing Simon Robbins purchased was the Harbour Defence Motor Launch, which was in the British Navy in 1943.
Simon purchased Harbour Defence Motor Launch on eBay for $9140. There are very few such vessels left, and they are in extremely poor condition. Most often they are disposed of, and this boat was waiting for such a fate.
The restoration will have to spend a lot of money, about several thousand dollars, and it will also take a lot of time – more than ten years.
Simon believed that his wife Gemma would not agree with such an idea. In fact, at first she was unhappy with the purchase of the boat, but then she got acquainted with its history and changed her mind. She felt sorry for the abandoned and useless vessel, which has such a rich history. As Gemma says, she was very touched by it.
In June 1944, in Normandy, the boat participated in a naval operation called «Neptune». After the end of the war, the ship was sold to the customs agency, and in 1970 it was converted into a motor yacht. Since 2013, it was no longer used and sent for write-off.
If Simon’s idea turns out to be successful, then a houseboat will come out of the boat, which will be designed for recreation. The couple publishes a video with the stages of restoration and the process of work on their YouTube channel.
