The samboat.com team ran the survey, asking more than 1,000 UK boating fanatics, aged 18 and over, about the weirdest items they had found or left behind on a boat. All taking part either owned a boat that they rent out or had been on a boating trip in the UK or abroad within the past 12 months.
Initially boat owners were asked how often people leave items behind on their boat with two thirds (66%) of these respondents revealing that there is ‘always’ something left behind after people have rented the boat for holiday.
Relevant respondents were next provided with a list and asked to state what items they had found or left behind on a boat. When able to select all that applied, the following 10 items emerged as the most commonly left behind belongings:
- Dirty clothes – 79%
- Sunglasses – 75%
- Dirty underwear – 70%
- Bottles of alcohol – 65%
- Dirty towels – 62%
- Shoes – 53%
- Books – 47%
- Jewellery – 42%
- Pool inflatables – 38%
- A mobile phone – 35%
When asked to state the more unusual things that they’d found, or left behind on a boat, some of the weirdest items stated by respondents were revealed as follows:
- A box of dolls heads
- A cardboard cut-out of Kim Kardashian
- An urn of ashes
- A sports bag full of bibles
- A cactus wearing a wig
Alfredo Bernal, UK Country Manager at samboat.com, said: “Going on holiday, especially if you are on a boat, is an exciting experience which can lead to some pretty crazy antics. Some of the bizarre items left behind may have us scratching our head but I’m sure whoever left them behind had a whale of a time and I’m desperate to know the stories behind some of them.”
