Abandon boats, what options does the marina have?

[kito]

I checked out some marinas Friday on Lake Norman. All had a few abandoned boats but one in particular had 5 lined up on death row. It was obvious that the owners hadn't been there in years and haven't paid there slip fees. I guess the fees exceeded the boat value so the owner just leaves it. I asked the marina owner, why don't he sell or donate them. He said it was too many hoops to jump through to do that. Question is, if the boat owner abandons his boat at a marina does it not become property of the marina? What I would do is strip the boats of anything of value and scrap them.........or tow it to a deep section of the lake and put a couple slugs in it's hull and sink it. It was amazing to see these boats still floating anyway.

 

[KD3PC]

It all depends on the law of the state, where the boat is abandoned. Some states have copious hoops for the marina owner or such to go through as the owner in NC told you.

Almost all states require notification and a waiting period, IF it can be done at all.

Welcome to the US litigious society.

IMO, if you don't pay your bill, the unit is the marina owners, almost all marinas have rental paperwork that says that when you first check in....but you need at least a lawyer ($$) to attach the unit.

The idea of towing it to a deep section and sinking it, is not a good one. Especially for the homeowners on Lake Norman....they would be quite excited if anyone was to do so.

 

[kito]

I was just kidding about the sinking idea. Especially if gas and oil are involved. There are areas on the lake over 100 feet deep. They would make a nice place for the fish though.

 

[Jackdaw]

Almost all states require notification and a waiting period, IF it can be done at all.

Welcome to the US litigious society.

An interesting comment. Are you aware of a state or country that makes it easy to take possession or depose of another persons property?

 

[Kings Gambit]

An interesting comment. Are you aware of a state or country that makes it easy to take possession or depose of another persons property?

I'm not sure it's state; might be municipal authority if the boat is in a municipal marina. They don't seem to have a problem impounding the boats b/c they have law enforcement working with them. Long Beach Municipal Marina has yearly auctions of boats impounded from there. Can sometimes get a small sail boat, maybe up to 30 ft or so, for only a few hundred dollars IF you can move it that same day of purchase to a location outside the marina.

 

[Brian D]

I'm not sure it's state; might be municipal authority if the boat is in a municipal marina. They don't seem to have a problem impounding the boats b/c they have law enforcement working with them. Long Beach Municipal Marina has yearly auctions of boat impounded from there. Can sometimes get a small sail boat, maybe up to 30 ft or so, for only a few hundred dollars IF you can move it that same day of purchase to a location outside the marina.

Yep, friend of mine purchased a 32 footer and had it shipped to Washington State. The boat was in much disrepair, but he wanted it for a restoration project. Don't know how much he paid but he was very happy. So I guess it wasn't too much.

Here in Oceanside, abandoned boats get pulled over to the impound dock where they sit (float) for a very long time. I don't know what happens to them. I think they are eventually sold to a disposal company. I have never seen a notice of auction. But maybe I missed that notice.

 

[cmiles3]

In Oklahoma, the process is the same as a mechanic's lien process that a wrecker towing & storing a vehicle may start. After a waiting period, notification of the owner, public notice, & maybe one or two other attempts to collect, the mechanic may apply for title to the vehicle & sell it at auction for the amount owed, plus reasonable expenses. Generally the recovered amount for boats is pennies on the dollar for marina fees owed.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Yep, friend of mine purchased a 32 footer and had it shipped to Washington State. The boat was in much disrepair, but he wanted it for a restoration project. Don't know how much he paid but he was very happy. So I guess it wasn't too much.

Here in Oceanside, abandoned boats get pulled over to the impound dock where they sit (float) for a very long time. I don't know what happens to them. I think they are eventually sold to a disposal company. I have never seen a notice of auction. But maybe I missed that notice.

Yeah, I was there last week on the end-tie at I-dock for two nights; so got a good look at the impound area just across the way. Only a couple of boats there that I saw. We risked eating some food at the Jolly Roger--definitely "rustic"! Some very nice folks on I-dock ran us to the closest Smart & Final so we could resupply for the ensuing trip to Two Harbors @ Catalina.

 

[CaptChuck]

Several years ago I purchased an abandoned boat from the local marina. It was a 37 foot all steel boat. The marina had not been paid storage for several years they got a lien on the boat and sold it at auction. I paid $1,000 and put another $3,000 into it. Sailed it for 5 years on Lake Erie and sold it for $4,500. No problems with the purchase except I had to have the NY State police examine the boat to prove there was no hull number (it was a hand made boat). Once that was done they issued a hull #, I registered the boat and sailed away.

 

[shemandr]

I'm a sucker for dreaming about those boats on derelict row. I think with just some love new adventures lie ahead. So far I've resisted the temptation. I may have acquired an age for which I wouldn't be able to do it anyway. But those lonely girls tug at my heartstrings. There was a wooden one at Brewer's when I was there the other day. I almost asked my wife to pick up a board and smack me on the head until I couldn't remember what I was thinking about. Far less painful than getting involved in that!

 

[kito]

I know what you mean Shemandr. This marina had 5 boats just hanging on to dear life. It's like there on life support........portlights broken out, cabin boards missing and taking on rain water. Way to much work to save, for me to deal with anyway. I am sure the batteries are dead and the pump is not working. Kind of like a dead tree.....takes a while to fall. Very sad.........

 

[markwbird]

Boat Auction

That surprises me. I think maybe the person you talked to is not well informed. Most marinas have every right to seize your property if you get behind on the slip fees after the reasonable amount of trying to get ahold of you. Out here in Cali the marinas have auctions pretty regularly to get rid of abandoned boats. It does not make sense that it should be that difficult. A boat is a toy not a necessity.

 

[justsomeguy]

That surprises me. -snip- A boat is a toy not a necessity.

To some, to some.

 

[Roadking Larry]

The number of near-derelict boats at the marina never ceases to amaze me. I've only been there a couple of years but there are any number of boats tied to a slip that haven't been touched in years. Some take on water and get pumped out by the marina as needed to keep them afloat but the lines are in tatters and on some the sails have been left to rot in the sun. We had a period of torrential rain recently (lake is still 18'+ above normal) and one boat sank at the slip, the scuppers had clogged with debris and the cockpit fillled and then filled the boat. as long as the owners keep the slip rent up they stay on the dock. There is even a fairly new-ish Hunter 33 that is growing lichen on the decks. Either sail 'em or sell 'em, it's sad to watch what could be or might have been decent boats just rot down.

 

[Indysailor]

I don't get it either. It's certainly cheaper to scrap or donate a boat than it is to keep it in a yard, paying fees. And keeping it in a slip? I suppose the answer is that to some people a few thousand a year or whatever that would cost is inconsequential. But certainly, it's not in the best interest of a marina to look like a boat graveyard.

There are probably fifty boats on the hard at our marina and a good third of them I'd say are not seaworthy. But we're a club, not a marina, and I think our fees for storage are not a real disincentive to leaving a boat behind. Some have proposed changing the club rules to state that boats must be used or moved, with something like a year or two for project status or for other circumstances that necessitate not using the boat for a time.

 

[kito]

Most of the derelict boats are abandoned, meaning owners not paying slip fees. The marina doesn't know what to do with them. I guess the marina takes their time and money to keep them afloat since a salvage operation would cost them. I was at a marina on Kerr Lake that doesn't put up with that BS. They keep them for a short while, then tries to sell them. If they don't sell then a salvage company takes them, strips them down and the boat is put in a grinder. It opens up these slips for paying customers.

 

[Ron20324]

I thought they all ended up as flower beds in front of the marina offices?

 

[kito]

I thought they all ended up as flower beds in front of the marina offices?

Or Seafood restaurants.

 

[YVRguy]

I live on an ocean inlet that forms a perfect urban anchorage (False Creek). Boats from all over the world stop in here for a few days or sometimes weeks. We used to have a serious problem with derelicts clogging up the anchorage. They always seem to be the same sort of 24 sailboat, often with no sails visible and rarely any signs of life. They got to be a real eyesore. The city and the govt of Canada had a jurisdictional issue on who and how to deal with the derelicts and for what seemed like years they took advantage of the limbo. Finally it was resolved and the boats were forced out.

These days they all anchor just outside False Creek in English Bay where it is more exposed. We regularly have Northwest winds that blow directly into the bay. Once or twice a month the wind will pick up over night and the next day a couple of the derelicts will be washed up on the shore of English Bay like whale carcasses with onlookers swarming all over them like fiddler crabs. Soon after they are removed. A rather ignoble end for a boat.

 

[thinwater]

Another common problem is that the boat has a negative value. The marina does not want to take procession, they just got suckered with it.

One of the few times I feel sorry for marina owners. At least an abandoned car has scrap value.