It is one of the more unusual business opportunities out there - take ownership of a 39-year-old wooden sailing ship that doesn't float and is a replica of the 400-year-old Deliverance that salied from Bermuda to the New World in 1610.

The ship has been a tourist draw since it was created and put in place on Ordnance Island, St. George's in the summer of 1968. In the past it has earned some income through admission fees of around $3 for adults, $1 for children to explore the ship.

But over four decades the rigours of rain, wind and humidity have been wearing away at the ship and it is now in need of around $175,000 to return it to a safe state of repair.

Any future owner will need to come up with finance for the repairs and the ongoing cost of maintaining the aging tourist attraction as well as paying the Corporation of St. George for the lease of land where it is sited. Then there is the question of how to make a viable income on top.

Impossible? Judging by the number of enquiries about buying the attraction since it was put up for sale it would seem that way.

There were two early calls to the Corporation, which is acting as a contact point for buyers seeking to reach owner Nick Duffy, but since then no further interest.

Without a buyer soon the ship will be pulled down because of concerns that it is reaching a stage of disrepair that could see it smashed apart by the next big storm or hurricane to hit the Island.

The last person to make a go of the attraction was Mr. Duffy, who from the mid-1990s used it as a tourist draw charging a few dollars for entry and combining it with a ticket office for fast boat trips in the Argo. That business was closed down and Mr. Duffy moved overseas to France.

So can something realistically be done to refloat the tourist attraction as a going concern?

Former town mayor and local businessman E. Michael Jones recognises that it will be a sizeable challenge for whomever takes it on.

"Perhaps there is an entrepreneur out there who could sell something there that does not detract from the replica," he suggested.

"If someone is going to be able to take it on they will have to find a way of justifying their investment and having staff there. Can it raise enough revenue for that? Perhaps a charitable organisation could do something."

The replica was built by the Junior Services League and while it was a stirling effort it remains an imprefect replica of the actual Deliverance. One option might be to scrap the ship and build a new, more accurate representation.

However, Mr. Jones said: "I'd be surprised if anyone would take it down and rebuild it as it would cost a lot more to do that."

Another businessman with knowledge of the attraction suggested the ship might be brought back up to scratch with the efforts of retired craftsmen fixing it up and he said he beleived it could be salvaged with new ribs and beams.

Former Corporation member Lance Furbert said he thought it would have been more of a tourist lure if the ship was a floating attraction, like the replicas in Jamestown, Virginia.

Sharon Jacobs, executive director of the St. George's Foundation, said: "We would love to see a donor step forward and restore it. To keep it open you need to have someone there. There could be an opportunity for a little store or something."

Mayor Mariea Casey is asking any potential buyer to get in touch with the Corporation urgently.