South Carolina Abandoned Boats

[LTGoshen]

From the New York Times Business
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — Boat owners are abandoning ship.
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Brett Flashnick for The New York Times
Gary Santos, a Mount Pleasant, S.C., councilman, checks a state notice on a forsaken sailboat.


They often sandpaper over the names and file off the registry numbers, doing their best to render the boats, and themselves, untraceable. Then they casually ditch the vessels in the middle of busy harbors, beach them at low tide on the banks of creeks or occasionally scuttle them outright.


I think, "I can" by law clame one of these vessels by means of lawful interprise? Any body see why not. Instead of letting boats go to waste. I have seen some loose from the hook, that have not been looked in on in months. I would just love to spend weekends taking care of and sailing a free boat. They sent me the form today.
Let me what you think.
Have a great day

http://www.dnr.sc.gov/boating/forms/pdf/affidavitinst.pdf

[DSDman]

yes you probably can. However, you may be hit with property taxes, sales taxes and any other fee's the locality might find to place on you that have not been paid. Once you register it you will then own it and be responsible for its removal/disposal if you can't fix it up. Also if it did have numbers on it and the original owner showed up with paperwork you might be in a legal fight to keep your free boat. Hate to put a bunch of work and effort into a boat just to have someone show up and claim it.

[S/V Alchemy]

Look up the word "lien" and get back to us.

[LTGoshen]

Originally Posted by DSDman

yes you probably can. However, you may be hit with property taxes, sales taxes and any other fee's the locality might find to place on you that have not been paid. Once you register it you will then own it and be responsible for its removal/disposal if you can't fix it up. Also if it did have numbers on it and the original owner showed up with paperwork you might be in a legal fight to keep your free boat. Hate to put a bunch of work and effort into a boat just to have someone show up and claim it.

I understand. I would do everything in my power to find the owner first. I would check for leans. I just hate to sea a great little boat watse away here in Beaufort with out an effort to put her to use. I would almost be willing to work out a labor for sail time deal if I could find the owners out. Heck!! theres like 5 or 6 in the Beaufort city mooring field alone, not to mention a lot up the other creeks and rivers around here. I wander if I can find out the tax thing befor I start the process of taking one over? Thanks for your help.

[cabo_sailor]

I'm not sure how it would work for those boats abandoned on the water but I know my marina has given away abandoned boats in the past. I'm not sure of the exact procedure but a marina operator might be able to tell you. Some years ago there was an abandoned Columbia 26 in the do-it-yourself yard. The owner of the yard told a fellow if he would get it out of there, he could have it. The guy completely stripped it inside and out, did some fiberglass repairs to the hull and rebuilt the interior using a bunch of stuff from the nautical flea market. They found an old abandoned set of bimini bows and his wife sewed up a new bimini and sail cover. All in all he spent about $400 plus sweat. A year later he sold it for $4k. Now it seems to me that he couldn't have sold it without a clear title. Somehow there was a procedure that the marina could follow to seize the boat (for back bills) and obtain title that they were able to pass on.

Since no municipality wants their waterways cluttered up, I would think they would bend over backwards to have you take over one of the derelicts. For that matter, Wooden Boat magazine usually has a section in its classifieds of boats that are free to a good home. That is, of course, if you don't mind a wooden boat.

By the way, the guy with the Colombia named her "Lil' Repo".

Rich

[knottygurl]

anything not paid after 30 days of invoice is considered to be leined by either storage fees or mechenacis lein.
The operator then files in small claims and if the owner does not appear or answers and says keep it in place of said money the operator can then apply through the court for new title and the usuall registration.
If the owner did come back for it, they would have to re imburse you for all expenses plus the original fees in which it was seized for.
I have obtained trucks like this and just got a boat the same way, I paid out the storage lein and took possession of the court papers awarding the bearer clear title.

very easy very cheap, all told took 3 months from start to finish.

[motion30]

Traveling down the ICW it seems S.C has more then their share of abandoned boats in in myrtle beach where the warterway is narrow

[DSDman]

If the boat has a number or if the engine has a number, any number, South Carolina DNR probably has it in their database. They keep the stuff forever, if it were ever registered in SC. Thanks to the good Ol' South Carolina personal property tax they keep track of most of that stuff. I junked a vessel years ago and they still send me the occasional tax bill for it. I also rebuilt one of my father-in-laws old boats he had not used in years and as soon as I gave the vin number off the motor they wanted back taxes and registration fees just cause it had been in the state.

[LTGoshen]

16) Watercraft/Outboard Motor - Found/Abandoned


To title or register a watercraft or outboard motor that has been found, abandoned or where proper paperwork cannot be obtained to issue a clear title then you will need to complete an Affidavit In Support for Application for Title for Watercraft/Outboard Motor.

1. S.C. Law prohibits the sale or purchase of watercraft or outboard motor without a valid title issued in the seller's name to assign over to the purchaser at the time of sale. If you purchase a watercraft and/or an outboard motor without a title then you will need to obtain the proper chain of paperwork from previous owner(s), along with the fees and then you will need to complete an Affidavit In Support for Application for Title for Watercraft/Outboard Motor.
2. Affidavit In Support for Application for Title for Watercraft/Outboard Motor can be obtained by calling Boat Titling and Registration at 803-734-3857 for information and a form.

So I called the number above, I explained that I wanted to take possession of a abandoned boat in Beaufort County. The lady told me the process. I had to get the hull Identification number and / or the Stat DNR # on the side of the boat then, I am to call her back with these numbers. She will look to see who the last owner of the boat is and if there is a lean on the vessel. If knot she would forward the information over to their investigative unit for a simple trace for the owners. When the investigation is complete and the officer files his report. While this is going on I should complete the “need to complete an Affidavit In Support for Application for Title for Watercraft/Outboard Motor.” Form found on their web-site. Once this comes back “ Clean” I can apply for a abandon title in my name.


Sounds like a plan I am going to try it and I will report back to yall on the process and how well it works.
Cheers

[LTGoshen]

O.K its been done and the work is complete. The Boat with all the trimmings $2,500 And I did it as prescribed with the exception I did the due diligents and found the owner. he sold me the boat. He was in his 80's and done with it. Prase god. I did it.

Please read the story and let me know your thoughts.
S/V East Coast Lady

[DSDman]

Great to hear it worked out for you. Have fun on that boat!