Squatter On Your Mooring Ball ( Canada )

[rockbottom]

Originally Posted by Canibul

okay, since none of you guys have been in the situation either, I was going to suggest planting something illegal ( bullets?) on the boat and tell the police you noticed it when you went aboard to try to find out how to contact the owner.

basically, from your description, I am betting that if you make it uncomfortable for him he'll move to someplace out from under police scrutiny.

Assuming you don't get what you want from from the Harbor master, of course.

If you have a police friend or coastguard member you can try to run them off. I have paid tenants 1-300$ to vacate flats on land who allready were 3-4 months in arrears of rent. It can literally take months for a civil court eviction and the landlord never gets the free attorney as the tenant often does qualify. If your afraid of "comebacks" dont try to "frame up" a squatter as i witnessed the "cutting loose" of several large poweryachts at a private dock in carribean after tenant was "run off" for non -payment.Boat owners who had nothing to do with the "eviction" suffered costly damages when their yachts went careening across the harbour into other boats at anchor. Noone was ever arrested for this costly act of vandalism and the guilty one is probably drinking colibras in mexico as i type this. Bad karma to make enemies with anyone who has little to lose. Their "comebacks" revenge can be the worst, horrible deeds on this earth.

[Elysium]

WOW! Thanks for all the quick replies!!

Just after posting the original message I contacted the RCMP to get their opinion, and have left a message with the local Marine-focused Constable.

As for the Harbour Authority, unfortunately in Canada this is a dead end. Except in very specific cases, their powers typically end with the last board on the dock facilities. That is the case in Tsehum. (I did call to just make sure.) The Authority knew about all kinds of 'problem' transient people in the bay, but none seemed to match with the boat currently on my mooring.

Regarding the comment on Foreshore Lease - No I didn't submit this application as it comes with a cost and is not required. The mooring has been inspected and approved by Transport Canada for compliance issues. I may have taken on risks and hassle, but I don't feel that I wasted my money. A nice summary of the regs can be found here:

Mooring Buoys and Anchoring on the B.C. Coast

Delmarrey and skipmac - totally agree with you regarding kindness. Like my wife suggested - If you get him on the phone, just keeeep him talking.
Me getting irate with him won't solve this.

Jd1 - The Camper Man actually approached me earlier when I was taking measurements at the mooring for a ring cover. He was respectful and wanted to rent it. I declined...

Will let you all know when I hear back from the RCMP. The Harbourmaster says that they really do want to make an effort to help those of us who are trying to be compliant.

Cheers
Mike

[Jd1]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned - seems that tying up a boat and abandoning it is a favorite method of old boat disposal here. If it's in bad enough shape then the owner might actually not care what happens to it (although why leave a phone number)

[nwdiver]

Have the RCMP call from their office line, its comes up RCMP if he is monitoring his calls. Look up the registration of the boat and see if you can find the owner and get permission to remove it.

All said pissing off a transient is not a good idea.

[Capt Phil]

Having grown up in a far less gentile era on the BC coast, I would wait until the dead of night, raining and foggy, try and raise the owner aboard and if no response take the derilict under tow, out into the Straits, pop a couple of through hulls and stand by while she sinks to the bottom so no one hits her and quietly return to my marina slip for the next 6 weeks or so. No fuss, no muss, no fuzz and no comebacks. The days of waiting for harbor authorities, RCMP, etc., to solve all our marine problems should be over... cheers, Capt Phil

[Elysium]

Right Jd1! I would think the person is still around. The mobile is still active, just turned off. Certainly if it were abandoned the RCMP could find the owner through the number. You'd have to be pretty dumb to......wait......

[Capt Phil]

Gosh... 15 minutes have gone by and nobody flamed me yet! Amazing, Capt Phil

[Kettlewell]

In New England you call up the harbormaster on the radio and the boat is usually gone within a few hours. Sometimes the harbormaster takes it himself other times they will call Sea Tow who will take it and bill the party. They take it to a marina where it is tied up and starts incurring dockage fees. If the person doesn't show up to reclaim and pay his bills the marina usually hauls it out and then auctions it off for payment. In your case what I would do is use his anchor and drop it for him in some reasonable spot. That type of fellow isn't the type likely to be able to take you to court, and what would be the argument? You evicted him from your private property doing the best you could to secure his vessel. It isn't your responsibility--it is his.

[Elysium]

Haha! ....I'm going for Respectful here Phil, remember?

Too many problems to count with that one - boat may not totally sink becoming a hazard to nav, someone would see you in that busy harbour, likely there would be all kinds of pollutants on board, and of course...
totally ILLEGAL.

[HappySeagull]

Originally Posted by Elysium

Hi,
I recently bought a mooring ball in busy Tsehum Harbour, BC. My boat wasn't immediately tied onto the ball as I have a slip in a marina for another two months....but before I was able to custom make a cover for the attachment ring someone tied up!
It is a near derelict boat that looks to have a 'society-dodger' as an owner. Filthy, nearly everything broken, food and garbage strewn all over down below. You all know the type...
I have been out to it twice looking for the owner, and the phone number graciously posted on the hatch boards (below the words "If Sh-* Gets **-*ed" is for a cell phone that has yet to be turned on and has no voicemail. I did slide a note through the hatch boards asking him to move on.

There are some obvious suggestions on what I could do here, but I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar situation, and how was it resolved? The RCMP aren't exactly going to be able to help me on this I don't think...

Key thoughts:

• This guy likely has little or nothing to lose.
• My name and phone number is marked on the ball (along with "PRIVATE"), so he knows who I am.
• Moving him to another empty ball is not exactly fair to my neighbour...
• Cutting him loose is not an option. The boat would be destroyed on rocks and there is nothing stopping him from vandalising me when I get on the ball.

Thanks in advance
Mike

....I'd like to know why throwing your garbage in the water, tied to a buoy, makes the area your private property. Sorry, but You are the one dumping trash. If that fellow wants to anchor there, he has every right to do so. When your boat is tied to it, your garbage is an anchor holding a vessel, but as soon as you leave it, you can't expect anybody coming in to treat it as though it's a ghost-boat. ....there wouldn't be anywhere to anchor whatso-ever if that were the case. If I were there, I would tie up to it and were you to come-by, I'd ask you to remove it, so I can anchor, without fouling your underwater trash.

[nwdiver]

Capt Phil

Out on the west coast of the Island we would cut a hose and open a seacock and look puzzled if asked.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by HappySeagull

....I'd like to know why throwing your garbage in the water, tied to a buoy, makes the area your private property. Sorry, but You are the one dumping trash. If that fellow wants to anchor there, he has every right to do so. When your boat is tied to it, your garbage is an anchor holding a vessel, but as soon as you leave it, you can't expect anybody coming in to treat it as though it's a ghost-boat. ....there wouldn't be anywhere to anchor whatso-ever if that were the case. If I were there, I would tie up to it and were you to come-by, I'd ask you to remove it, so I can anchor, without fouling your underwater trash.

Wow............Really, I don't know what to say.

[Jd1]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

Gosh... 15 minutes have gone by and nobody flamed me yet! Amazing, Capt Phil

Are you nuts ???? You'd have to make sure there are no oils or fuel or what have you !

There, is this hot enough for you ?

[cburger]

Originally Posted by HappySeagull

....I'd like to know why throwing your garbage in the water, tied to a buoy, makes the area your private property. Sorry, but You are the one dumping trash. If that fellow wants to anchor there, he has every right to do so. When your boat is tied to it, your garbage is an anchor holding a vessel, but as soon as you leave it, you can't expect anybody coming in to treat it as though it's a ghost-boat. ....there wouldn't be anywhere to anchor whatso-ever if that were the case. If I were there, I would tie up to it and were you to come-by, I'd ask you to remove it, so I can anchor, without fouling your underwater trash.

Looks like you found your squatter

[Jd1]

Originally Posted by HappySeagull

....I'd like to know why throwing your garbage in the water, tied to a buoy, makes the area your private property. Sorry, but You are the one dumping trash. If that fellow wants to anchor there, he has every right to do so. When your boat is tied to it, your garbage is an anchor holding a vessel, but as soon as you leave it, you can't expect anybody coming in to treat it as though it's a ghost-boat. ....there wouldn't be anywhere to anchor whatso-ever if that were the case. If I were there, I would tie up to it and were you to come-by, I'd ask you to remove it, so I can anchor, without fouling your underwater trash.

.... oh boy, it takes all kinds I guess ....