A "free" anchorage that isn't free.

Talk about Big Brother.

markpierce said:

Talk about Big Brother.

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Big Brother is involved in all business transactions, protecting against fraud and crime. A very simple one is auto mechanics being required to give estimates and get approval for any additional work. Intrastate movers are one who before Big Brother would double and triple bills and hold everything hostage.

Washington on the 65' over 40 years old has spent a lot of money with derelict fishing vessels that fit that description. Millions that the residents of the state have paid. Those are the most common boats to be left at marinas until they sink. That's what the one I saw chopped up and put in the dumpster was. Many of the fishing vessels being sold as potential recreational trawlers, just spend some time fixing it up and upon further examination the boat is so structurally unsound that it's cost prohibitive to even try to fix.

Good discussion. But one question: With all the damaged boats from the hurricanes you would think there would be "boat junkyards" somewhere. Where are they?

Fletcher500 said:

I had our boat parked in front of the yard this summer for repairs. The next morning a trashed sail boat was tied up to mine, no fenders. All ID marks removed. It's fairly common here in SD.

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Interesting. So do you become the stuckee to scrap it or is there some other way to get it taken away?

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Good discussion. But one question: With all the damaged boats from the hurricanes you would think there would be "boat junkyards" somewhere. Where are they?

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Here’s a picture Jack, Sailor of Fortune, took on Sunday in Key West. He’s towing 2 barges of Irma boats to Mobile, AL to be crushed.

That's a sad cargo.

Donsan said:

Interesting. So do you become the stuckee to scrap it or is there some other way to get it taken away?

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The guys from the yard pulled it off my boat, parked it elsewhere, and called the Harbor Patrol.

In Mission Bay, near San Diego Bay, there is an area near the Harbor Patrol/Lifeguard office that always has a few derelict vessels tied up. They sit for a period of time, then eventually get taken away to the scrap yard.

I paddle in the bay a few days per week. Last month I saw a good sized sail boat on the beach. It was the same guy who kept me up half the night when I was parked at the SD guest dock. He and his partner beached it so they could scrape the 2 inches of growth off the bottom.

As noted, I don't generally have an issue with most of these guys, but some of them are a real PITA.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Good discussion. But one question: With all the damaged boats from the hurricanes you would think there would be "boat junkyards" somewhere. Where are they?

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Not really. There are scrappers who demolish and scrap as quickly as possible and then there are a few who dabble is salvage vessels and have their own yards with lots full of various degrees of junk. Some use the off season to work on them and keep crew busy. However, they do not take the worst vessels.

Establish the owner, make it a Coast Guard responsibility exclusively. Due Dilligence legally with laws in place, charge their IRS account with a bill. Interest charged at a very reasonable prime rate, nor robbery like student loans.
I am sure lots of reasons can be conjured up not to do this, but a healthy amount would be recovered. 3% bad actors is NO justification for 97% being severely punished.

Coast Guard? I dont think they have ANY jurisdiction whatsoever. All they can do is report them as hazards to navigation to the ACOE.

They can prevent them from getting underway if considered a manifestly unsafe voyage, but beyond that...not much they can do unless leaking oil/fuel.

Mule said:

Establish the owner, make it a Coast Guard responsibility exclusively. Due Dilligence legally with laws in place, charge their IRS account with a bill. Interest charged at a very reasonable prime rate, nor robbery like student loans.
I am sure lots of reasons can be conjured up not to do this, but a healthy amount would be recovered. 3% bad actors is NO justification for 97% being severely punished.

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Not CG. State issue so not IRS in any way. Doesn't matter what rate of interest or what other charges you make against someone who is judgment proof. Persons who abandon derelict vessels generally have no ability to pay anything. No healthy amount to be recovered, just a lot of money to be spent trying.

A car never gets to the point of a zero or negative value. There is always the scrap metal value and it can easily be put on a truck and hauled to the scrap yard.

Not so a boat. While a sailboat may have a lead keel that has some value, a typical power boat can reach the point where the cost to haul it off gives it a negative worth. This is when the owners abandon them. Most responsible people sell or give them away before they get to this point.

Some people buy or accept the title to these boats with the idea of fixing them up without realizing the cost to do so. Others are homeless and would rather stay on a boat than under a bridge.

It would certainly be cheaper for the government to tow them away before they sink but many governments don't seem to care. And once they sink they are no longer an eyesore so they don't care.

aboatman said:

It would certainly be cheaper for the government to tow them away before they sink but many governments don't seem to care. And once they sink they are no longer an eyesore so they don't care.

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It's not caring. It's having the authority to do so.