CLEARWATER, Fla. — It’s no surprise — Hurricane Helene and Milton left a frenzy of damage behind in their wake. That even includes boats.

What You Need To Know

  • Boat marinas have seen an uptick in the amount of boats being brought to them for resale

  • Workers at Clearwater Marine say some people are trying to sell damaged boats, by cleaning them up and making it look like there are no issues
  • "Hurricane boats," as the workers call them, are vessels that have been damaged in storms with some pretty telling signs that may often go unnoticed by the typical buyer
  • It’s caused a little extra work for people in the boat business — work that is necessary to keep these vessels running safely

At Clearwater Marine off U.S. 19, boat after boat has been brought into the shop, but not all look, or operate, the same.

“People (are) trying to slip by with cleaning stuff up and making it look like the boat has no damage or issues and trying to sell it to us,” said lead technician Justin Siew. “That’s where we come into the picture and we go through the boat and find all of the little things they’re trying to hide from us.”

“Hurricane boats,” as Siew calls them, are vessels that have been damaged in storms.

“It has caused us a lot of work, but it has caused us a lot of problems ... with these hurricane boats that we’ve been finding,” he said.

They have some pretty telling signs — signs that may often go unnoticed by the typical buyer.

“You can tell that this was in some sort of accident or rubbing up against a pylon right here as you can see wood and everything in there, rubbing along a dock during the hurricane,” says Siew, while observing a recent boat the marine just took in. “Obviously, this boat stayed in the water. They didn’t take it out and as of that, all of this would have to be replaced, which, in turn, could lead into replacing these.”

It’s caused a little extra work for people in the boat business. Work that is necessary to keep these vessels running safely.

“I think we’re really doing a good thing here for these customers in trying to protect them and their buying needs,” said Siew. “Making sure that their dollar is what they’re getting out of their dollar.”