Homeless Anchor out

[Tetepare]

Historically, well intentioned laws have often been used to cast a wider net while being ineffective at their original purpose. Seems this is the case too.


Presuming (I know, big presumption) that communities simply want to get rid of the derelicts, why not simply pass a law requiring liability insurance? No insurance, move on. Require that insurance info be posted in the window- no insurance info, boat can be towed.



Doesn't FL (et. al.) have registration requirements? In NYS boats (both registered and documented) are required to display an annual registration sticker. And for boats registered overseas which don't have the sticker, an exemption- assuming most derelict boats were, at one time, registered in USA. No valid sticker, move on or get towed and impounded.



Most if not all cruisers have some form of insurance, even European visitors. US boats can register with the state.



So I'm questioning wouldn't something so simple as either of the above work better than what's not working now?

[sailorboy1]

A lot of the Florida delict boat problem is that the boats aren’t even registered and no one knows who owns them

But it funny that they don’t require proof of insurance when registering your boat

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

A lot of the Florida delict boat problem is that the boats aren’t even registered and no one knows who owns them

But it funny that they don’t require proof of insurance when registering your boat

Treat them like cars. No registration, tow them in, impound them. Give receipt to "resident" and send notice to last known owner. 30 days later they go to auction. Those that don't sell get scrapped. A lot cheaper to scrap at a yard than haul off a rocky shoal later. And it's a short-term expense- once the derelict people realize they can't just keep doing it they'll stop.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

Treat them like cars. No registration, tow them in, impound them. Give receipt to "resident" and send notice to last known owner. 30 days later they go to auction. Those that don't sell get scrapped. A lot cheaper to scrap at a yard than haul off a rocky shoal later. And it's a short-term expense- once the derelict people realize they can't just keep doing it they'll stop.

the problem with that is many of them when bought at the auction ultimately end up right back in the anchorage .

[Discovery 15797]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

A lot of the Florida delict boat problem is that the boats aren’t even registered and no one knows who owns them

But it funny that they don’t require proof of insurance when registering your boat

In 2014 Washington State began a Derelict Vessel Turn-In Program.

The state also implemented laws to remove specific derelict vessels. Funding provided by levy on boat registrations. As of October 2019 approx. 878 derelict vessels have been removed.

WRT insurance...I suspect if the few insurance companies that insure private vessels were on the hook for derelict vessel removal they would get out of the marine insurance business altogether.

[sailorboy1]

How do you give a ticket when no one knows who and where the owner is? Why is this so hard for some to understand?

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

How do you give a ticket when no one knows who and where the owner is? Why is this so hard for some to understand?

What ticket? Take, impound, and scrap.

Good point on auctions, except buyers have to pay impound fees which are typically over a grand to start. Or a minimum could be set. The freeloaders don’t have a few grand, so they can’t just take off with a new “home”.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

Treat them like cars. No registration, tow them in, impound them. Give receipt to "resident" and send notice to last known owner. 30 days later they go to auction. Those that don't sell get scrapped. A lot cheaper to scrap at a yard than haul off a rocky shoal later. And it's a short-term expense- once the derelict people realize they can't just keep doing it they'll stop.

That is what they do in Panama City, they get a BiG orange sticker on them and about a month later they are towed to the city marina where they usually sat for awhile. Then on to disposal. I didn’t witness the disposal myself, just them disappearing from the Marina.
These were I believe the term is at risk vessels.
In Jacksonville, at least in the Ortega River it seems they wait until they sink, then what is above water gets the orange sticker.
And yes one assumes it’s a whole lot cheaper before they sink.
At least here in Jax they all have registration stickers, there are a few homeless types but they are outnumbered by derelict boats on private moorings, I suspect they belong to local residents that either grew old or lost interest, and the easiest thing to do is nothing.

However the real problem is further South, most anchorages have the appearance of junkyards, it’s no wonder why residents want the anchorages gone, I would too.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

That is what they do in Panama City, they get a BiG orange sticker on them and about a month later they are towed to the city marina where they usually sat for awhile. Then on to disposal.

Just like cars left on the side of the highway.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

You know this really isn’t much of a problem for cruisers. I don’t know how many days the last 3 years I’ve spent on the ICW and in Florida on anchor. But I’ve NEVER have any LEO come by and check me or anything. In fact last month was the first time even the Coast Gaurd has checked me and I’ve spent lots of time right across from different CG stations.

Cruising boats in my experience don’t have issues. Trashy boats being lived in do. And delict boats are a problem. It’s the boat rash and delict boats than are a problem and missing up the water use for the rest of us.

Everyone knows they do it but it's politically incorrect to admit it...

The police "profile". If you get them off the record, they will admit in a heartbeat that they know exactly who the cruisers are and who the problems are...they know very quickly. Usually the same day the boat arrives. They just aren't allowed to admit it officially.

We had the same experience in Florida...no one ever gave us a hassle and we ran the entire coastline from Alabama to Georgia.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Everyone knows they do it but it's politically incorrect to admit it...

The police "profile". If you get them off the record, they will admit in a heartbeat that they know exactly who the cruisers are and who the problems are...they know very quickly. Usually the same day the boat arrives. They just aren't allowed to admit it officially.

We had the same experience in Florida...no one ever gave us a hassle and we ran the entire coastline from Alabama to Georgia.

This is absolutely true. Florida police even told me this on more than one occasion when they used to stop to check everyone in the anchorage.

Keep your boat in good shape, clean and functioning and you won't have a problem. Look seaman like and not like the Beverly Hillbillies or a meth lab and you'll do just fine.

It's a non issue for cruisers. It's mostly an issue for people trying to live in a particular anchorage for life on a boat that doesn't move or can't move.

[Pelagic]

News report that city of Oakland is considering buying a cruise ship to house the homeless

There goes the neighborhood![emoji26] [emoji4]

Oakland considers housing the homeless on a cruise ship

https://www.foxnews.com/us/oakland-h...is-cruise-ship

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

News report that city of Oakland is considering buying a cruise ship to house the homeless

There goes the neighborhood![emoji26] [emoji4]

Oakland considers housing the homeless on a cruise ship

https://www.foxnews.com/us/oakland-h...is-cruise-ship

its an idea . Once a month they can tow it out to sea and just hose the feces over the side would be cleaner than Frisco .

[bobnlesley]

Originally Posted by Chotu

...It's a non issue for cruisers...

The issue for cruisers - or it has been for us - is that oftentimes we've been unable to use an anchorage because it's completely filled with junker-boats. Similarly word passes around the cruising community regarding those anchorages which whilst not completely filled with resident junker-boats do suffer from a security/theft problem emanating from the resident fleet. Then we also get impacted by some of the efforts the local communities make to reduce the junker-fleets; I recall the being an issue in Miami Beach (fortunately just a few days after we'd passed through) a few years ago when you could anchor still, but there was a ban on landing your dinghy anywhere.

It's not just a North American problem, as we've come across instances around Europe, the Caribbean, South & Central Americas and now here in the Pacific, though in the USA more than elsewhere, it's more often work-related than elsewhere: Those waterfront towns & cities need to 'import' bartenders, waiters, dishwashers, whatever, to service their tourism businesses, but the pay rates are such that those workers can't afford the local housing costs to live there themselves.

[Chotu]

@bobnlesley, I agree. On that side of the issue it is a problem for cruisers. Your fellow boaters in an anchorage are often quite sketchy in Florida. Theft is rampant and it's like living in a trailer park on the water showing up to these locations. Substance abuse (usually alcohol) is all around.