South Carolina Abandoned Boats

[CptBurt]

How would one file for a title on a Abandon vessel in south Carolina? I have heard some people pick up good vessels with some elbow grease and a few thousand dollars end up with a realy nice boat? Anybody done this or know how to do this. I thing there is a lot of dock-Masters with extra boats were the owners quit paying?

[captain58sailin]

Check around to the different marinas and storage/boat yards, they usually have periodic auctions of vessels that have non-paying owners, and there should be some kind of public notice of auction. Once the vessel is bought at auction all you have to do is file the new ownership papers, with bill of sale from the auction.

[CptBurt]

Thanks for your reply. I will do this in my local area to see if there are any.
It would be better for the inviroment if the boats were not abandoned. I for one, could put one back under way. I am not sure how the legal proceedures are on this matter. I will look for other threads on this matter.
Thanks again for your help.

[AllAboutMe]

Check with your state Marine Title Authority...they can tell you how to retitle abandoned boats legally.

[Lowcountry]

TONS of abandoned sailboats here in Charleston in the Ashley River. I WISH someone would lay claim to them and get them OUT.

[CptBurt]

Charleston, I was told had a lot of sailing vessels that could be claimed. I just need hull numbers according to the SCDNR. They told me to call them back with the #'s from the hull and the stat applied number and they would give me the last owner’s information. They told me to try to contact them. If that fails, to fill out a form and the will do a in-depth search for the owner. If they can’t find them at that point they will supply me with the paper work to file with state and then I would have to post it in the news paper. And then I would take possession?
Sounds easy? Has anybody done this? Could it be that easy?

[AllAboutMe]

The problem there is the advertising. It has to be advertised daily for a certain amount of time in two newspapers. The cost is rediculous .

I sold a boat in Maryland 5 years ago. A year later, it showed up in a creek in Charleston, scuttled. A man contacted me, because the person I sold it to never retitled. He had also sold it, and the boat was STILL titled to me. I went to my Dept of Game and Fisheries, got a duplicate title and sent him a bill of sale, which he signed and returned. I then sent him the title. He salvaged the boat and retitled it. So it can be done.
Probably easier to check for a South Carolina title and if it's not titled there, cut a fake bill of sale from a no title state, and retitle it in SC. Not that I'd do that, but it's one way to cut out alot of red tape. The boat's been abandoned, obviously it's unwanted..
The state can't afford to haul all of the abandoned boats out of the water. It costs them upwards of $7,000 a boat to pay someone to do it and then destroy the boat and take the remains to a landfill....on average. Make life simple.....

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by AllAboutMe

Probably easier to check for a South Carolina title and if it's not titled there, cut a fake bill of sale from a no title state, and retitle it in SC. Not that I'd do that, but it's one way to cut out alot of red tape. The boat's been abandoned, obviously it's unwanted..

Hmmm. Moral dilemma here. It's clearly not legal to do this - but is it immoral? It seems like you'd be doing the boat and the authorities a favour... How would the authorities in the area react to this?

[AllAboutMe]

About the same as a jaywalking violation, as long as it's not obscenely (sp?) obvious.

[dacust]

Hmmm. Sounds like a very bad idea to me.

You make up a false bill of sale, register the boat, put a few thousand dollars into it, along with how ever many hours of work. Then the original owner happens to accidentally see your handiwork. They didn't want the boat before, but now that's it's fixed up, "Hey, that's MY boat!". At the least you could loose the boat. At worst, you could be in jail. In Georgia I think it's called Theft by Conversion. Falls under the fraud statutes.

-dan

[Bloodhound]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

Hmmm. Moral dilemma here. It's clearly not legal to do this - but is it immoral? It seems like you'd be doing the boat and the authorities a favour... How would the authorities in the area react to this?

The law has nothing to do with morals or ethics. In the words of my first law professor, "The law is an ass". But it's illegal and could land you in trouble, even if you felt great about how you were helping the authorities. Possibly good motive, but Bad Idea.

[Kettlewell]

OT a bit, but I never understand why the south has a problem, or at least a perceived problem, with abandoned boats. In the Northeast if someone leaves a boat someplace and doesn't pay their bills it is seized by a boatyard or the town and then sold at auction or sometimes stripped and junked. Happens all the time, no muss, no fuss, boats are gone. In the south everyone seems to hem and haw and the boat stays somewhere until it sinks or washes ashore and then it's a problem. Maybe this is because in the Northeast many places have professional harbormasters who keep an eye on things and don't let these situations get to the point that the boats are hazards? I've personally seen boats being destroyed by boatyards that were abandoned, and I've personally talked to harbormasters who were in the process of getting boats out of the harbor that weren't being tended. This is a total non-issue in the Northeast.

[twoblocktom]

"The law has nothing to do with ethics or morals"......or right and wrong In most cases IMHO

[DiverChick71]

Find me a boat in the 30's that is ocean capable and I'll come and get it! I like your idea, AllAboutMe. I've never been accused of being all that moral anyway.

Before I get jumped and 40 lashes and sent down the plank, etc....KIDDING!!! (sorta)

[johnstonad]

Originally Posted by CptBurt

How would one file for a title on a Abandon vessel in south Carolina? I have heard some people pick up good vessels with some elbow grease and a few thousand dollars end up with a realy nice boat? Anybody done this or know how to do this. I thing there is a lot of dock-Masters with extra boats were the owners quit paying?

Yes. I think there are lots of dock-masters there. I hope I can find also.