Bidding a Ketch Farewell

How do you get rid of a rotting, 101-year-old tall ship that needs $1.5 million in repairs? One way would be to put it on EBay.

And that’s just what the Boy Scouts say they have done with Argus, a down-on-its-luck, 92-foot ketch that has been a fixture at the Scout dock on Newport Harbor since 1972.

“We’re testing the waters -- literally -- to see what sort of feedback we get,” said Charlie Abbott, director of the Newport Sea Base tall ship program, which teaches Scouts how to sail.

Argus needs work. It suffers from “iron sickness,” a malady that has rusted its bolts, leaving them flaking off chunks of metal. The ship’s frame is also weak.

“It’s like the ribs of your body being soft,” Abbott said.

The ship’s problems turned up during a voluntary Coast Guard inspection in February. The ship cannot carry passengers until repairs are made.

Scouting officials said they couldn’t raise enough money to make the repairs, so they turned to EBay on Tuesday. Abbott wants to lease a boat to keep this summer’s program afloat.

There’s no word on the asking price, but Abbott said the Scouts were hoping for more than $250,000.

The online auction has become a likely market for unlikely merchandise over the years, said Catherine England, an EBay spokeswoman. The site has about 89 million items on any given day, England said. Argus was one of the larger items added to Tuesday’s list.

“The rare, the random, we get it all,” she said. “It’s possible that other ships similar to this have been listed before.”

Despite Argus’ flaws, Sea Base officials hope the ship will find a buyer who will give it a total makeover. It would make a great amusement park attraction, or a stationary training camp for Boy Scouts, Abbott said.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be fully repaired as a tall ship,” Abbott said.

“We just need somebody with enough money to put it in a slip somewhere and give it new life.”

Officials also hope the boat’s listing will raise interest in Denmark, where it was built. Abbott says there are two tall ships there around the same age that look very similar to Argus.

“Maybe they’ll be interested in going online and buying back some of their history,” he said.

How do you transport something that big?

“It’s actually not as tough as you might think. There are ship transporting services, so that’s looking like our cheapest option,” Abbott said, adding, “and it’s not like the ship can’t sail.”