What to do with Abandoned Vineyard Boat?

[SOUNDBOUNDER]

My boat club went through a similar problem with several boats:

"The problem we have legally is that in order for the town to take control of the boat, we have to have it deemed abandoned — and the owner is not willing to deem it abandoned," Mr. Bugbee told the selectmen. "And there is no legal route we can take to force him to abandon his boat. As long as he continues to send letters that say 'I do not want to get rid of the boat,' we cannot take ownership of the boat."

Mr. Bugbee said the town does have alternatives, based on advice from town counsel David Doneski, an attorney with the firm Kopelman and Paige in Boston.

"Plan B is to have the town clerk write Mr. Lynch a letter stating that we have his boat, he owes this much money to pay for storage, and he has this much time to remove the boat, and if he does not respond, then there are options we can utilize to get rid of the boat," Mr. Bugbee said.

"If he does respond, and he doesn't remove the boat, we can take him to small claims court, take the $7,000, which is the maximum we can get in small claims, and have the boat delivered to wherever he lives and get rid of the boat that way," he added.

What to do with Abandoned Vineyard Sloop? | BoatingLocal.com


Abandoned boat in Tisbury is landlocked by legalities : The Martha's Vineyard Times

[LandLocked66c]

Looks like a fire hazard, just saying....

[hellosailor]

State laws will vary but usually there are options such as a "warehouseman's lien", a lien filed against titled vehicles that have been stored without the rents being paid. What the town zoming is, what the local laws are, whether the boats are in shared public commons or a paid mooring...

Somehow I suspect the only problem here is a lack of information. If the mooring fees have been paid and are still being paid, that lien option is out. But surely the exclusive folks in MV have laws regarding health hazards (from acucmulated bid guano) reckless endangerment, attractive nuisance, or other ways to go after something that appears very likely to become an environmental cleanup issue in the near future.

If they can't figure it out, they deserve to look at it every day.

[LandLocked66c]

Sure would hate to see it go up in flames, just saying... :wink:

[jimrafford]

Sad to see what was once a very nice boat headed for the landfill.
Jim

[SOUNDBOUNDER]

[travlineasy]

In most jurisdictions, the owner(s) of the marina, or storage facility, have a prescribed time period of non-payment before they can take legal action. This varies from state to state, but once that prescribed time frame has been met, then the next step becomes quite involved.

In most instances, a registered letter must be sent to the registered owner(s) of the vessel that essentially tells them they must pay the storage fees or the boat will be confiscated and sold at auction.

Usually, upon receipt of the letter the registered owner(s) have 90 days to respond. If no response is received by the deadline date, the storage facility must then petition the state department of Natural Resources Boating Administration to place a storage lien on the vessel, which takes approximately 60 days to obtain.

After obtaining the storage lien, the facility must then advertise their intent to auction the vessel in at least two newspapers published in the area where they previous owners reside. This must be published at least two months prior to the auction. If they still fail to respond and pay the current storage fees, the auction can take place at the advertised time.

The above is a broad synopsis based upon information I obtained from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Boating Administration, Florida Department of Fish & Game, State of California, and City of New York while researching a magazine article I had published more than five years ago.

Good Luck,

Gary

[LandLocked66c]

I mean, Michael Calabrese could probably help him get it moved! He has a flammable personality...

[SOUNDBOUNDER]

Meanwhile in Rhode Island:

The cost of removing 3 derelict boats from the upper Kickemuit River [in Warren, Rhode Island] could end up costing the town as much as $12,300.

Derelict Boat Removal Could Cost Town Plenty | BoatingLocal.com

[smurphny]

I would like to know where they come up with these outrageous numbers for disposing of boats. My estimate would be something like: 1 man 2 days (probably 1 day) with saws and crow bars= $300, 1 rental dumpster =$600.00, 6 chainsaw blades=$100, maybe lifting ballast onto truck to cart to recycler= a wash because 5000# of lead would pay for this op. An even cheaper way if they float: fuel to tow them out to a local offshore dumping (artificial reef:-) site= maybe $1000 or way less/boat if you could string 20 of them together.
Total: est. $50 to $1000/ boat.

Of course, with the boat mentioned by the OP, it is difficult to get anything on and off MV. This boat also obviously has value and tossing it in a dumpster would be unconscionable. The owner should give it to someone if he/she is not financially capable of keeping it so the boat is not totally destroyed by the little b$&*ards who broke the windows out.