Abandon boats, what options does the marina have?

[Calif. Ted]

Last I heard, San Diego used to budget $200,000 a year for disposal of derelict boats and it wasn't enough, averages is $2000/boat to scrap.
Orange County auctions derelicts annually in Newport, they recently towed the derelicts up there from Dana.
The auctions I've attended, including a couple in Oceanside, NOBODY bid on the bigger boats. Kayaks, dinks, and other small boats sold easily but the bigger boats were all too far gone for anyone to bite.

 

[StargazerP303]

Its always a joy to here the many stories about the LAW! The real law is what you(the Marina) and buyer (customer) make it. That is, in writing. If the law says the marina has to jump hoops.. Then the Marina's should create its own law's governing boats that owners don't respond to or have abandoned for not longer then 6 months. Marina's that just have the basic contracts for services loose in the end as you can see. However, If the marina's created a contract that transfers complete ownership and agrees to, then the marina has grounds to sell after the 6 month period if no response buy owner. Another words, if you keep up with your end then there's no problems. Fall behind you loose!

 

[Calif. Ted]

Its always a joy to here the many stories about the LAW! The real law is what you(the Marina) and buyer (customer) make it. That is, in writing. If the law says the marina has to jump hoops.. Then the Marina's should create its own law's governing boats that owners don't respond to or have abandoned for not longer then 6 months. Marina's that just have the basic contracts for services loose in the end as you can see. However, If the marina's created a contract that transfers complete ownership and agrees to, then the marina has grounds to sell after the 6 month period if no response buy owner. Another words, if you keep up with your end then there's no problems. Fall behind you loose!

So, I could park my POS in your marina, not pay you, and in 6 months it's your problem to dispose of ?

 

[rgranger]

I looked into the process of getting the title to an abandoned boat here in Virginia (I was helping out the marina owner where I used to have a slip). It was not really all that hard to do... I had to provide evidence that it had been abandoned.... send a notice to the last known address of the boat owner.... then put a notice in the local newspaper of last know address (classifieds) of my intention to claim the boat if the owner did not make contact... and wait (I think it was 10 days but I'm not sure).

 

[StargazerP303]

Yes you could jump the hoops! but why? All you have to do is have your customer agree to the yards contract and there is no problem's. Both parties agreed to transfer ownership well in advance. This gives the owner clear title to the marina. Now the marina can do anything it wants to. However, if the marina allows a POS in the yard then they deserve the problem with a POS. That's why so many marina's are owned by people that don't use there heads..or think outside the box..lol

 

[StargazerP303]

The bottom line here is this! If the Marina doesn't have the contract in place then Yes the have to follow Federal, State and local LAWS. but, If the Marina has clear title by contract then the marina can do as they wish. However, Let's say the owner has a boat lean from a bank or not clear title. It is the marina's contract that has to require loan company to agree with the statement. The loan company agrees in this case Mr. Rogers fail to meet any obligation regarding ... bla bla bla.. then the bank will take ownership and make good on Mr. Rogers outstanding debts. If the bank chooses not to do this it can release the marina from prosecution and let nature make its way! This would be the case of a boat $200k or more. The bank may want the boat for resale. In this case the bank would have to pay marina first to have a clean title.

 

[Tom G P-21]

In Massachusetts they streamlined the process for Marinas to get title of the boats so that they can sell/dispose of them.

http://www.mass.gov/eea/grants-and-tech-assistance/enforcement/environmental-police/boat-ohv-and-snowmobile-registration-bureau/abandonedlegilation.pdf

 

[Ken Cross]

Our marina has annual auctions and they seem to get rid of all the old junk. Having said that there are still plenty of unused poor condtion boats where they must be maintaining the moorage fees. I just can't figure why anyone would want to pay moorage fees for a boat that isn't seaworthy.

Ken

 

[Rick486]

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.

Huge threat for the marina is the boat sinking while at their dock. The environmental apparatchiks, Coast Guard, and local law enforcement would land on them heavily. So up here the marinas haul the abandoned boats even though that costs them but is less risk.

 

[StargazerP303]

I know if I was running a Marina I would say "Here is your contract, read and sign on the X!" No! Have a nice day and go find another marina.. The one's that don't sign the contracts, you don't want anyway...lol
Contract covers in the water at marina or on the hard. Your bill with marina over 6 Mo. and no pay! You loose.

 

[RolfP]

Saw this boat in Petersburg, AK. I don't get it, not the owner, the marina, the boat, nothing, this makes no sense, how could this exist like this....?

 

[rgranger]

Saw this boat in Petersburg, AK. I don't get it, not the owner, the marina, the boat, nothing, this makes no sense, how could this exist like this....?

That has to be a gag... Way too much green for it to be real. How? It would have to rain every day to keep that green stuff from drying out.

But it did make me laugh... thnx.

 

[Daveinet]

I'm thinking there is some issues if the Feds consider your boat a home. I pretty sure at that point, a whole bunch of protections kick in, which prevent the Marina from doing anything regardless of any contract that was signed.

BTW: That boat above looks like it has spent some of its life as a submarine.

 

[wufibugs]

There are a slew of problems not the least of which is personal property tax. I would guess that almost every county in the nation imposes a local tax or annual license/registration fee on boats. These build up over time. The County isn't in the boat disposal business so they let the tax and penalties build up. To buy the boat you have to bring the license current. May be more than the boat is worth by the time it is sold.
Seems to me the key here is timing. If you wait for the boat to reach arrive at the derelict anchorage or the auction block, the fees have largely overwhelmed the value of the poor beast. What my colleague did was walk the docks, take down the numbers on a passel of desirable boats that looked untended, and got the last known contact info for the owners from the County. He ultimately took a very decent 34' Carver off a disinterested owner's hands for a very few dollars and the slip fees, which either had not built up too severely, or a negotiated discount with the marina.

 

[mitiempo]

That has to be a gag... Way too much green for it to be real. How? It would have to rain every day to keep that green stuff from drying out.

But it did make me laugh... thnx.

Probably not a gag. It rains a lot up there - when it's not snowing. See below.

 

[RolfP]

My picture post was not a gag, i took that pictue, I really don't get it. Its the worst I've ever seen, and yes, it rains alot up there.

 

[StargazerP303]

Its always a joy to here the many stories about the LAW! The real law is what you(the Marina) and buyer (customer) make it. That is, in writing. If the law says the marina has to jump hoops.. Then the Marina's should create its own law's governing boats that owners don't respond to or have abandoned for not longer then 6 months. Marina's that just have the basic contracts for services loose in the end, as you can see. However, If the marina's created a contract that transfers complete ownership and agrees to, then the marina has grounds to sell after the 6 month period if no response buy owner. Another words, if you keep up with your end then there's no problems. Fall behind you loose! Any boater that doesn't like this deal.. Probably cant afford or care for the boat in the first place and also, probably know they are the type of person they don't pay bills on time. On the bank issues! It's the borrowers responsibility to pay the debt it owes for its loan not the marina. The bank has the right to recover the boat from the marina to sale it! However, Possession is 9/10s of the law. The marina does not have to release the boat till the bill is paid in full. Most likely, The bank will pay the bill to sell the boat. On a POS boat! The bank will, threw negotiations with marina release it to dispose of it after finance agreement is made with the marina for paying the bill.

So you see it all comes down to the marina being smart in its abilities to control it by way of a good contract with the customer. It's a win..win for both parties.

 

[kito]

It's been a while since I had a slip in a marina, but I would imagine it's already in the contract that the marina keeps possession of the boat until all past due payments are received. Problem is, the marinas are not in business to sell or scrap abandoned boats. Funny thing is, this marina that had all the abandoned boats was the only marina that offered 3 month leases. All others required full years payment up front or monthly payments plus 10% with monthly withdraws from your credit card.

 

[rgranger]

My picture post was not a gag, i took that pictue, I really don't get it. Its the worst I've ever seen, and yes, it rains alot up there.

That is amazing...

 

[Alan Gomes]

I'm thinking there is some issues if the Feds consider your boat a home. I pretty sure at that point, a whole bunch of protections kick in, which prevent the Marina from doing anything regardless of any contract that was signed.

BTW: That boat above looks like it has spent some of its life as a submarine.

Apparently not.

http://www.thelog.com/AskAMaritimeA...h-my-marina-2015-06-03T08-36-45#sectional=Ask a Maritime Attorney