Boat Held Hostage By Marine Transport Company

[lostsheep]

Wow, posts are faster than I can type!!
They reloaded the boat onto another trailer, then. Probably because the first wasn't rated for the load. Regardless, the original driver should've refused the load once he laid eyes on it, knowing he couldn't move it.
No pay for him.
If the secondary unit can make the haul, they should be paid, but according to the original contract. That means the originating broker will pony up the difference.
the repairs are still the truckers responsibility.

[lostsheep]

On a lark, I called a name-brand boat carrier and gave them the Cliffs Note version.
He said to contact the FBI for it is probably a stolen vessel.
The OP gave 50% up front, and then the vessel disappears. It's becoming quite common in this economy. Particularly if you get on the 'net and utilize a service such as You Ship, a broker board.
Not good.
Hope it turns out better than it sounds.

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by lostsheep

On a lark, I called a name-brand boat carrier and gave them the Cliffs Note version.
He said to contact the FBI for it is probably a stolen vessel.
The OP gave 50% up front, and then the vessel disappears. It's becoming quite common in this economy. Particularly if you get on the 'net and utilize a service such as You Ship, a broker board.
Not good.
Hope it turns out better than it sounds.

I agree it does not sound good and hope it turns out well for the OP.

Not so sure the FBI would consider it a stolen vessel, and not so sure just how common stealing sailboats is becoming in this economy. Not to rain on anyone's parade but from the pix of the boat I am not so sure just how much it is worth in today's depressed boat market. Boats are not selling like hot cakes even if they have a clear title, and this one would be hard to unload.

Lets also remember this trucker does have some sort of paper trail and after the boat has not been delivered say a month or two after its contracted delivery date bonding agents, insurance agents, DOT agents, and perhaps even the cops may be looking for him

Quite frankly I think this trucker just got in over his head contracting for a job he could not fulfill and is not sure how to best get out of it.

[Captain Bill]

A friend of mine had his boat stolen last Feb. They found it dumped on the side of a dirt road out in the Everglades. It had been stripped of everything usable and left as an empty hull. There may not be a huge market for whole boats and the hull with its traceable hull number required for registration is probably too difficult to get rid of, but the contents apparently have value top the thieves. As I said in an earlier post, there's a very good chance that this boat is history. It's pretty clear this guy has been lying all along and now even his web site has disappeared. Call the police!!!!

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

It also states that if you still decide to sue me you will give me $50,000.00 before you sue me!
...

Niiccceee!!

I hope I can remember that.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by Therapy

Niiccceee!!

I hope I can remember that.

Stops them from even thinking about sueing me...Was not my idea ,some smart lawer in NY City came up with it ...

[JayCall]

There are a lot of usefule suggestions here, but the OP is out of his league trying to do this on his own. I posted before: go, now, not tomorrow not later, now to an attorney. Again, as an attorney I cannot offer legal advice here, but your attorney can and will. Your boat has been effectively stolen, you do not know where it is, you need to find out ASAP. An attorney can find the resources to locate the guy, his business or is family. A decent investigator can use vehicle registration records, business registration records, phone #'s etc. to find a way to contact the guy, either directly or through family. It should not be prohibitively expensive to get that done. An attorney can provide a simple ultimatum-(1) where is the boat?; (2) can you deliver it? (3) if not, turn it over to another hauler immediately or face theft/conversion of property charges as well as suits for damages. As an aside-if the boat is documented (seems unlikely), an attorney can walk into federal court and get a detainer in less than a day, and have the Federal Marshall's Service on the lookout for it. Take a break from this forum and get yourself to an attorney ASAP.

[Rocketman]

Originally Posted by JayCall

There are a lot of usefule suggestions here, but the OP is out of his league trying to do this on his own. I posted before: go, now, not tomorrow not later, now to an attorney. Again, as an attorney I cannot offer legal advice here, but your attorney can and will. Your boat has been effectively stolen, you do not know where it is, you need to find out ASAP. An attorney can find the resources to locate the guy, his business or is family. A decent investigator can use vehicle registration records, business registration records, phone #'s etc. to find a way to contact the guy, either directly or through family. It should not be prohibitively expensive to get that done. An attorney can provide a simple ultimatum-(1) where is the boat?; (2) can you deliver it? (3) if not, turn it over to another hauler immediately or face theft/conversion of property charges as well as suits for damages. As an aside-if the boat is documented (seems unlikely), an attorney can walk into federal court and get a detainer in less than a day, and have the Federal Marshall's Service on the lookout for it. Take a break from this forum and get yourself to an attorney ASAP.

I have to agree with JayCall, get an attorney now or be prepared to kiss your boat good bye. Might be to late already. Good luck.

[Cormorant]

Creole Belle -- I don't know how you've been in contact with the trucker (texts, phone, e-mail?) -- but if you have e-mails from him, sometimes by examining the full e-mail header you can determine his IP address, and with that sometimes you can determine his general location. Doesn't always work, but certainly worth a try.

Here's one web page spelling out the steps:
How to Track the Original Location of an Email via its IP Address

For much more info, you can Google "locate sender by e-mail header" or similar.

Good luck!

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Ya...for all we know it's in a 7/11 parking lot

Or worse: Kmart, where the world parks for free.

[tropicalescape]

Did you get your boat back?

[Samantha ann]

Anybody heard anything? Or have mods shut it down?

[Rocketman]

Have't heard anything, and since your post came through, it appears that the thread is still open.

[Celestialsailor]

Maybe he's been advised by the Lawyers not to say anything else.

[terminalcitygrl]

Originally Posted by minaret

I'm sure this guy is kicking himself plenty right now, he doesn't need you kicking him while he's down too...

Well said. Exactly what I was thinking.