FORT MYERS, Fla. — On Monday, Robb Webb, Owner of Edison Sailing Center in downtown Fort Myers said two of his boats that he reported missing over the weekend, have been found, but with essential missing parts.
“It's quite a problem because we really need the motors and the boats”
The problem of two missing boats is complicated for Webb, who Fort Myers Police said over the weekend reported the boats stolen, only to find them on Sunday in decent shape but missing their motors and portions of their dashboards.
“Trouble is, I can't even order a motor right now because Mercury motors are about a year and up for you to order one and get one in,” said Webb.
A trouble Webb said many others in his field are feeling.
Webb said delays are the reason he believes two vehicles hooked up to the boat’s trailers and drove them off the lot.
“I think people were looking at them because both the engines were fairly new,” said Webb.
On Monday, Webb said he was worried about having to cancel the center’s upcoming classes and large events if they don't get the boats back in the water.
“We have about 40 to 50 kids on the water every weekend we have our junior Olympic regatta that's sponsored by an Olympic committee it's coming up in October and we need these for rescue and safety boats,” said Webb.
The event in October Webb said plays host to hundreds of people and he says can't be done without his two safety and rescue boats.
“We need boats replaced by then,” said Webb.
Until then, Fort Myers Police officials told me both motors remain missing.
As for serial numbers that Webb says every motor has and could help detectives locate the missing parts, Webb is not optimistic.
“If somebody tries to sell them, they don't really look at the serial number but if somebody tries to get them worked on, there is a possibility we might get them back," said Webb.
A possibility, that could force Edison Sailing Center to depend on donations for a new motor or have to rethink how they plan to set sail in the future.
