Stuck at marina. Marina is trying to kick me out

[Aquila44BRO]

Hello,

I have a blown transmission and was towed back to Marina. Marina is kicking me out. I cannot drive my boat safely and do not have a Marina near hat can take me. What are the laws that govern such an occurrence?

Best,
Bret Osborn

[wholybee]

If the marina says you have to leave, you have to leave. You can't just squat there, and they have no obligation to let you stay. The details of what they can do, and what legal actions they can take against you if you don't comply may vary by state or country. But I think anywhere, if you just stay there against their order for you to leave, you are in the wrong.

If other marina's are full, maybe there is an anchorage nearby, or a boatyard that you can go to to fix the transmission.

[boatpoker]

Sorry, don't know the laws in Thailand.

[barnakiel]

US specific. If the marina is owned by the govt or the local community. Then US laws (state / community specific).


If it is a private marina (a business) then the owner is free to make own rules - as much as they are not against state laws. These rules are available to you the moment you pay the berth (actually, before you pay too - otherwise you could claim unfair dealing).



If your boat is a sailboat, you are unlikely to claim based on an engine failure, eh? If you are a power boat, you are very likely in the position to demand 'time for repair' - likely the time required to get the machinery repaired. Days rather than weeks.


If the marina management moves your boat to another place, if there is any damage, they are in a hard place, so they are very unlikely to do so.


b.

[Montanan]

Of issue is whether your arrival was with contractual permission by the marina, e.g., you rented a slip, or whether you just showed up under tow and tied up without permission and agreed terms of stay.

If you just towed in without arrangements for arrival and stay, then that becomes similar to a trespass once the owner requests that you leave. And you would be obligated to depart promptly under the laws of jurisdiction the marina is located.

If you had entered into a rental arrangement then the terms of the contract would apply, including rights for termination.

You likely will be obligated to pay for your slip / dock usage at standard transient rates e.g., $ per length over all [LOA].

A few jurisdictions have laws regarding tenant rights for liveaboard leases but that is rare and it sounds like you are just a transient arrival not an established lease tenant holder of a slip.

Suggest that you arrange to relocate to a repair yard for timely repair and thank the marina for their short stay accommodation.

Many marinas do not permit major repair work to occur in their marina as it is disruptive. The terms of contract for renting / leasing a slip are usually detailed as to the nature of work that one can perform on your boat when it is located within a marina.

Good luck with the repairs and bon voyages.

[Franziska]

If you would share your location, people could more easily suggest alternatives.



If your boat is generally seaworthy, but you can not safely get to another safe port or anchorage before adverse weather sets in I'd think you might claim your stay as a port of refuge due to adverse conditions.



Now, if you have been there already for few days and for whatever reason could not fix your issue this might not work.
Of course you will have to pay the local rates for your port time. I see no chance to avoid that.



Could you get a used outboard as intermediate solution?
Good luck!

[CarlF]

Have you paid the marina for the slip?

Do you have the insurance coverage that the marina requires?

These are the two most common reasons a marina wants a boat to leave. Marinas have a constant problem with "dead beat" boats that don't pay for their slip. In both cases the laws are on their side. If neither of these are true in your case, what other reason have they given?

[JPA Cate]

In case this is a real problem, rather than a hypothetical....

It would help to know where you are located, so people with an idea of the area could make recommendations.

"Gender male", doesn't tell us anything about your skills. Should you be a talented tool wielder, you might also be a nice guy who could make a few friends, and maybe someone would tow you to a new marina, if there happens to be any nearby.

If you are trying to stay in a marina without paying, in Calif. they can have your boat chained to the dock, and they will get it in lieu of payment.

If you can pay and they still want you to leave, you will have to arrange for a tow and have the boat re-located.

If you have the tool skills, folks more knowledgeable than I will be able to talk you through a rebuild. You'll be able to download manuals and transmission rebuilds can be done by real people with good tools. If no experience, no matter what's possible, one can hire other people with experience to do the rebuild or replace for you.

Good luck with it.

Ann

[Fore and Aft]

Aquila 44Bro, if you're unwanted then trying to force yourself to stay is not going to work regardless of the law.
Engine failure is a bit of a cliche and I am sure the marina has heard it all before.
What sort of boat do you have and how would you describe your appearance. Rude as it is, but first impressions count.
Cheers

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Aquila44BRO

Hello,

I have a blown transmission and was towed back to Marina. Marina is kicking me out. I cannot drive my boat safely and do not have a Marina near hat can take me. What are the laws that govern such an occurrence?

Best,
Bret Osborn

you are claiming an emergency situation and asking what legal steps you can take?

My suggestion is for you to go to the management, explain your situation again (politely), telling them who you have engaged to repair your tranny and when the work is expected to be finished.

Does the marina have a "only authorized repair companies" policy? If so - are you using one of these?

Generally -- if you make your case politely and are able to guesstimate a date when you will leave - you can gain agreement to remain. People react better to politeness than they do to legal threats

[Letterkenny]

Just based on the username, if its an Aquila 44 don’t you have two engines?

[rognvald]

"If the marina management moves your boat to another place, if there is any damage, they are in a hard place, so they are very unlikely to do so." Barnakiel

Hi, B,
Not here in Florida. I had a slip in a Tampa Bay marina that had a truly disturbed marina manager who towed two boats with yearly slip contracts and anchored them in Tampa Bay without the owners knowledge when they were away when they refused, based on their contract, to leave after an argument with him. Both boats were in compliance and paid for the month before being towed without the owners knowledge. The rule in Florida is that a 30 day evacuation notice is required but few, if any, boaters are going to take this to court. I also witnessed a similar situation with a boat on the intercoastal on the West Coast when the owner complained to his dockmates and then to the dockmaster that he had a rat on his boat after a derelict houseboat came in for a bottom job. An argument ensued and the boat owner was immediately thrown out of the marina despite having two small children on board and no where to go. Laws and reality do not always jive. Buyer beware!
Rognvald

[windcastle1]

A “lot” of information missing here. You didn’t mention if you provided insurance information or if you had insurance. You didn’t mention if you made arrangements to pay for a slip while looking for a place to repair your vessel. Marinas are a business and are under no obligation to provide you “free” services. There is more to the story here that what has been provided.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by rognvald

"If the marina management moves your boat to another place, if there is any damage, they are in a hard place, so they are very unlikely to do so." Barnakiel

Hi, B,
Not here in Florida. I had a slip in a Tampa Bay marina that had a truly disturbed marina manager who towed two boats with yearly slip contracts and anchored them in Tampa Bay without the owners knowledge when they were away when they refused, based on their contract, to leave after an argument with him. Both boats were in compliance and paid for the month before being towed without the owners knowledge. The rule in Florida is that a 30 day evacuation notice is required but few, if any, boaters are going to take this to court. I also witnessed a similar situation with a boat on the intercoastal on the West Coast when the owner complained to his dockmates and then to the dockmaster that he had a rat on his boat after a derelict houseboat came in for a bottom job. An argument ensued and the boat owner was immediately thrown out of the marina despite having two small children on board and no where to go. Laws and reality do not always jive. Buyer beware!
Rognvald

A few years ago, I returned to my marina from an overnight sail on Flathead Lake, Montana and found that my slip had been occupied by a brand new wakeboard boat [valued at about $200,000]. I tied up to the fuel dock and went looking for the owner of the wakeboard boat at the nearby local restaurants, hardware store, motel, for a couple of hours with no luck. When I returned to the marina, I spotted the manager and asked him why there was a boat occupying my slip. It was a major holiday weekend, lots of boaters had arrived and I thought perhaps he had instructed someone to temporarily occupy my slip since it was vacant the previous day and night. The manager did not know anything about the trespassing boat but he became irked that someone had occupied by leased slip, and that I had gone to so much effort to try to locate the offender. It was going on dusk and the manager promptly jumped on a PWC he had just repaired and then proceeded to untie the wakeboard boat from my slip and he towed it out of the marina a short distance and let it drift off in a gentle breeze towards the north shore being about 28 miles distance. Wakeboard boats don't usually have an anchor aboard. Upon returning, he told me to remove my sailboat from the fuel dock and place it in my leased slip. I asked the manager what I should say if the owner of the wakeboard boat returned and asked what happened to the boat. The manager simply replied: "What boat?" and went on his way. No idea what happened to the performance recreational boat, likely was picked up by someone else motoring about the lake as an abandoned vessel and probably handed over to the Sheriff marine staff, or it may have ended up aground on the rocks of a shore or pulled by the current down the river towards the dam.

I later learned that if a trespassing boat is deported from the marina that the manager will drop the boats anchor so as to have it moored offshore and the owner will have to swim to retrieve it. But if the boat does not have a readily accessible anchor, he just sets them to drift if the wind is offshore. Being on an indian reservation and the marina being tribally owned, the issue would become a matter for tribal law enforcement and judiciary.

[rognvald]

Great story, Montanan!
Rognvald