Free Boat

[flitemdic]

Yup, got my C22 on a marina repo for, well, next to nothing anyway. And, unlike some of the free boats out there when this thread was originally written, mine was in good enough shape to take out on the lake same day. I've been slowly making it a new 40 year old boat over months and months- but most of that is sweat equity and a learning experience. You don't say where you are, but with the downturn there are a ton of "marina queens" around our lakes and the ICW here in the central and south west. "work the phones" is well said.

[Fishingguy101]

Can any one help me out Im looking for a boat preferably free that I'll be able to take out on the lake doesn't have to be nice just do the job. I'm 17 and would appreciate the help. If anyone has a boat they r trying to get rid of I'm your guy, you can message me at my number is 916 505 3303 Thank you so much

[tomperanteau]

To the OP:
Thanks for the post. A lot of abandoned boats out there that could be homes to sailors that have no money, but a need for a place and some food.

Too bad this thread had to be hijacked by people that have no interest in the subject, but enjoy propagating their own garbage.

[hellosailor]

Tom, many of us have found abandoned boats to be worth substantially less than the cost of the match to set them ablaze. No doubt there are some perfectly good ones that have been abandoned for insurnace fraud and other reasons, but the vast majority? Are holes in the water and no one wants to get stuck with the disposal bill, or the wreck on their property.

If you think there really are good prospects out there, I suggest you start a 501(c)3 organization to locate, move, and match abandoned boats with people in need of them. Everyone will thank you, for removing the hulks and creating the housing, and you should be able to make a buck on it at the same time.

That's assuming the boats you think exist, really do exist in any quantity. One out of a hundred doesn't quite count, you still need to deal with the other 99. (And personally, I'd expect it is more like 1:1000).

[MoodyBlues]

Ambitious (& poor) sailor-2-B is looking for a restoration project in order to fulfill dream of owning a boat.

[tomperanteau]

They are out there. Look around at your local marinas for boats that they consider derelict. You may have to pay off a storage fee, but sometimes not.

[Hartley18]

..and with storage an issue for some people, by taking Tom's advice you'll often find a marina owner who is both helpful and happy for you to keep the boat right where it is so long as you're paying the rent.

It's a win-win: You gain a boat; he gains a paying customer.

[CapnBilll]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Nightmare, call all the marinas and storage yards in your phone book, then get some other phone books in popular boating locales.

Every boatyard has "yard queens" that have been abandoned in the yard, that are behind on storage payments. And in pretty much every state, the yard eventually files a "warehouseman's lien" and takes possession of the boat, after which they sell 'em off as cheap as they can, or pay to have them hauled off and trashed.

The ones that are worthless and have to be hauled away? They'll probably be glad to sell to you for a hundred bucks. Work the phones, your boat is out there.

One word of caution, not all marinas and boat yards negotiate in good faith. I was recently burned by putting money on a "foreclosed" boat, that after I paid for it, I was told that the title "paperwork" wasn't finished. Later I found out they had sold the boat to me without even starting the procedure to inform the owner, wait 30 days for payment, file a lien an the county, ...

While waiting over 6 months for them already holding my money and refusing to refund, (they held the "sale" as leverage against the owner to convince him to pay up).

The boat was stripped, by (disgruntled workers that didn't get paid yet?, the boatyard? the owner that knew he was going to lose the boat?...), after everything, and I mean everything was removed from "MY" boat it was destroyed by a hurricane , (the boatyard made no effort to secure it, but wouldn't let me move it to a secure location), that left it in the middle of the road smashed beyond all repair.

That was when the title was express mailed to me along with a bill for crane service to remove it from the road, and a bill for damages that it supposedly did to their facilities and other boats. (I tore it and the contract up and sent it back).

I could have sued for breach of contract, but the cost would have exceeded what I paid for the boat.

Lesson learned - insure title is clear and ready before putting down a penny. Insure the boat is ready for imediate delivery before paying, as soon as sale is complete, take title, and boat to another location, (possesion is 9/10's of the law).

[hellosailor]

"Later I found out they had sold the boat to me without even starting the procedure"
The devil lies in the details and in exactly what writings or witnesses you have. In many places that could easily be a criminal fraud matter, where all you have to do is call the local DS and file charges, free to you. If, of course, you can document a sale of goods to which they didn't have any title.