lovely boat ---about to be crushed in FL, due to incompetence. .

[MitchM]

the Facebook group Com-Pac Yacht owners just published a very sad story today . the owner of beautiful Com-pac 27 died in the FL keys. (Boot Key. ) the boat is now in possession of to FL Department of Wildlife, who is now threatening to 'crush ' this boat (instead of auctioning it off to pay whatever fees are outstanding. ) Note that when a person dies, a lawyer for the estate is appointed under the will, or by a court if there is no will. it is that lawyer's job (or the state of FL's Wildlife dept . job ) to sell off all estate assets, including this Com Pac 27, to maximize the assets collected for eventual distribution to the heirs (or to state of FL who gets all assets by law if no heirs can be found . ) instead, FL Wildlife now intends to 'crush this boat ' ! (the public FB group " sailboats looking for a new home' originally posted this info on its FB page , with the link to the FL wildife dept who intend to ' crush this boat. ' (Note Com Pac Yacht Owners assn is is a private group, you cannot look up its posts on FB.. )

 

[Terry Cox]

When boat owners around these precincts fail to pay marinas their due, they have a legal right to take ownership of the boat and will auction it off to pay for unpaid slips fees. Some times you can get a pretty good deal, if you're looking for a starter/project boat.

 

[dlochner]

Florida has some very strict laws about derelict and abandoned boats. I'm not surprised that the FWC is going to take the boat an destroy it. Realistically, the value of the boat after the cost of removing it from the water, storing it, and trying to auction it off, is very little. If the estate had interest in selling it, the estate should have moved more quickly to secure the asset. It is unfortunate, but that is the reality in Florida, especially in the Keys. When we were there a couple of years ago there were dozens of derelict and abandoned boats in Boot Key Harbor, which severely restricted an already crowded anchorage.

 

[shemandr]

Emotions and boat acquisitions don't mix.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Florida has some very strict laws about derelict and abandoned boats. I'm not surprised that the FWC is going to take the boat an destroy it. Realistically, the value of the boat after the cost of removing it from the water, storing it, and trying to auction it off, is very little. If the estate had interest in selling it, the estate should have moved more quickly to secure the asset. It is unfortunate, but that is the reality in Florida, especially in the Keys. When we were there a couple of years ago there were dozens of derelict and abandoned boats in Boot Key Harbor, which severely restricted an already crowded anchorage.

FL has to be strict. For someone who lived and boated there for nearly a dozen years, it was a good move to many of us when FL began getting tougher in the 1990’s on abandoned and derelict boats that accumulate all about. FL it seemed then and probably is now, the boat-bum capital of the country, not to insinuate that the deceased owner was one among them. But yes, it’s painful so see a thing of beauty cast aside and destroyed. BTW. Who is the “incompetent” party in your story?

 

[PaulK]

If the owner died and the state had to get a lawyer to execute the will (or the estate went into probate court because there was no will) it could easily take two years to come to any resolutions. A "beautiful Com-Pac 27" abandoned in Florida for two years with no maintenance or upkeep is not going to be in top shape. Are there photos, or a link that shows the boat's current condition? Florida is looking for revenue - they are not going to destroy something that they could get more from by selling.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Florida is looking for revenue - they are not going to destroy something that they could get more from by selling.

I doubt that revenue flow incoming would be a consideration here. From reading the OP, we, at least I, do not know the status of the boat when it was seized. Was it at anchor? Was it on a mooring or in a slip? Was the owner a FL resident or even a US citizen? Was it a live-aboard situation? Da, da da, da da? Probably many factors for consideration in this event. State auctions cost money and there many rules, and as I said, there are likely many “abandoned” vessels to deal with in FL at any one point in time, etc.

 

[Kings Gambit]

We have our boat in Long Beach Municipal Marina, a City-owned & operated marina. The marina conducts two public auctions a year of abandoned watercraft inside the marina, at least it has been recently. For those advocating auctions of singular items, I must ask whether you have ever attended one or participated in one? As a bidder here you might get a “good deal” on the price of some watercraft, such as kyaks. But generally the crafts, especially the boats, are in poor condition and in definite need of “rehabilitation.” Auctions are “as is”, so if you find a serious issue later there’s no bringing it back. You are also required to remove it entirely from the marina within a very few days; i.e., can’t keep it there. I am not sure what happens to the ones that do not sell. I don’t recall seeing any of the same vessels there at the next auction (but I don’t go all that often). I suspect they are transported out to the desert to be destroyed.

I expect that the marina receives positive cash flow over its cost to stage the auctions which take place in a densely populated area of the Long Beach waterfront where there are many people interested in boating, etc. However, I doubt it gets much remuneration matching its other costs such as lost slip revenue. I would hardly be surprised if the auction revenue did not cover even the cost to transport and destroy the remaining vessels, etc. Each location has its own local dynamics, I’m sure. I doubt one can make correct “at large” assumptions about the general “profitability” of auctions of abandoned watercraft, etc. After all, if there was much money to be had in these crafts, then they would not be abandoned.

 

[shemandr]

Driving back rom the keys yesterday I spied what I think is a J24 adjacent to the marina after Jewfish creek with the bow up on mangrove shore and the aft 2/3 in the water. I didn’t get a good look at it ‘cause the traffic wouldn’t allow. But it’s toast. The state of FL is trying to get these boats out of the water and into landfills before they are so expensive to retrieve. It’s better for taxpayers who get stuck will the bill in either scenario. It seems like good policy to me.

 

[PaulK]

I doubt that revenue flow incoming would be a consideration here. From reading the OP, we, at least I, do not know the status of the boat when it was seized. Was it at anchor? Was it on a mooring or in a slip? Was the owner a FL resident or even a US citizen? Was it a live-aboard situation? Da, da da, da da? Probably many factors for consideration in this event. State auctions cost money and there many rules, and as I said, there are likely many “abandoned” vessels to deal with in FL at any one point in time, etc.

We agree. Florida would not be planning to destroy this vessel if there was a chance of getting a better return.