# Abandoned boat help



## team_rover (Apr 17, 2008)

I'm looking to salvage an abandoned boat. The boat is an old wooden boat and has been sitting on the bottom in about a foot of water for the past 5 months or so. I'm curious as to the legality of salvaging a boat. The owner can not be identified as there is no HIN or license number. The boat has been completley stripped, and I'm pretty sure the owner is not comming back for it. I just want to make sure I do this the right way. Anyone know anything about the legality of doing the salvage. Thanks


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## team_rover (Apr 17, 2008)

thanks billybob, the boat is actually in AL waters. I have contacted marine police and I keep getting the run around, no one can give me a straight answer.


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## fishnfool (Oct 2, 2007)

it's not by chance the one in Mobile Bay is it? It started out on one sand bar and drifted to another on a real high tide. It's been on the bottom for several months there but I can't tell much about it. An older sportsfisherman from what I can see.


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## team_rover (Apr 17, 2008)

yup that's the one


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## team_rover (Apr 17, 2008)

any advice??


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## 38bat (Nov 23, 2007)

This was on another post by Bamasam but I would give the guy a call. Sounds like he can likely help you! JOE

"On a side note I asked the girl that called a question and she didnt know the answer so she connected me with Captain John who is the owner of Orange Beach, Pensacola and Destin Seatow and he was a great help and seemed truely interested in helping me. He is very knowledgable on salvage and wreck laws and said if anyone ever has any questions whether you are a sea tow member or not to give him a call. He gives about 3 seminars a year on salvage laws and said he would be happy to do one if it were set up. It was really nice to find that you can talk to the actual owner and Captain John even gave me some advice on what to ask my insurance agent regarding what they will cover on my policy should I ever need it."


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## fishnfool (Oct 2, 2007)

> *team_rover (4/17/2008)*any advice??


no advise but that things gettin' deeper in the mud every day I drive by it. I thought she was glass hulled........I'm not so sure I'd even make the effort for a wood boat that's seen that much water intrusion. Looks like maybe an old egg harbor or something though, might be worth a shot if it's not hurt too bad.


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## team_rover (Apr 17, 2008)

yea, it's gettin worse every day. from what I can tell it's a Norseman classic 48 circa 1960, it looks like it was kept up pretty good untill she was left. it's a wooden hull with a fiberglass wrap. I wanna get it out before it's too late, but don't want to face any fines or anything for moving it.


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## 38bat (Nov 23, 2007)

Sounds pretty cool, let me know if you need help!


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## fishnfool (Oct 2, 2007)

heck, it floated across that channel(or maybe bounced as shallow as it is) so you might be able to get a couple of good pumps and float it out of there on a decent tide. The biggest thing is just seeing what other damage there is. No telling what's hurt from other people messing with it. Good luck....wish I could help float her.


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## team_rover (Apr 17, 2008)

does anyone know of someone who could haul this beast on land about 10 miles? from what I can gather it weighs about 48000 lbs.


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## sniper (Oct 3, 2007)

With all the water that has seeped into her veins how can you ever stop the rot and get rid of all the water?


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## fishnfool (Oct 2, 2007)

from what I gather, a lot of these boats were built using juniper or cypress and it WILL dry out with no rot. He may have to go back in and caulk the hull but if there's no serious damage it'd be worth a try.


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## delta dooler (Mar 6, 2008)

Ive been on that boat, I managed to "salvage" 600' of anchor line off it!


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## bamasam (Sep 27, 2007)

<TABLE border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=bluesubhdr>Capt. John Ward</TD></TR><TR><TD class=maintext>11130 Lillian Hwy</TD></TR><TR><TD class=maintext>Pensacola, FL 32506</TD></TR><TR><TD class=maintext></TD></TR><TR><TD class=maintext>Dispatch: (850) 492-5070</TD></TR><TR><TD class=maintext>Office: (251) 980-5070</TD></TR><TR><TD class=maintext>E-mail: [email protected]</TD></TR><TR><TD class=maintext>Working channel: 16/8</TD></TR><TR><TD class=maintext></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


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## bamachem (Oct 2, 2007)

i drive to/from mobile every day for work and occasionally i'll take the bayway (typically drive the causeway - much better drive) and i've wondered about the story behind that boat for quite some time. IIRC, it was on the bar back in september when we moved down and i remember when it floated to the other bar - i was thinking "WTH, it floats but nobody has salvaged it yet???" it seems like it would be worth getting some pumps in it and getting it on dry ground. it would be heavy as hell until the wood dried out though. best bet would be to dry-dock it for a month or so before trying to move it from the coast to work on it. that way you would loose thousands of pounds in water weight and you'd have a chance to really determine the scope of the work required.

i'm really surprised that it's just been abandoned there. where did it drift from? what's thename on it - does it have one? i'm curious if it drifted up on a south wind from somewhere south in the bay....

i imagine that thing has been picked over pretty heavily though. i'll bet anything worth any money that's not submerged has been plucked.


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## delta dooler (Mar 6, 2008)

its been there since Katrina


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

If that boat is wood with fiberglass over it it would be useless to salvage it for reuse. The wood swells and the fiberglass doesn't swell, when it dries out the fiberglass will seperate and you will have a real problem. I have seen wood boats that were covered with fiberglass andnot submurged that the fiberglass seperated from the hull one the Sea Queen is on the bottom offshore because of seperation. Leave it alone!!


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## oldflathead (Oct 3, 2007)

Having "salvaged" 13 boats since hurricane Ivan, I will share that some are not worth the effort. I am regularly offered abandoned or unwanted boats for free, but usually respond that I would not take the boat if the title and $5,000 cash were given to me. They are a lot of work! Over half the boats I received were stripped of useful items, cut up and hauled to the dump. I did accept one 43' Chris which could have been a beauty as it was constructed with lapstrake mahogany planks, but little or no profit potential. I gave it away.

Now, about wooden boats, they can be beautiful if well maintained,$$$$$. Remember Noah constructed the Ark from wood.

I have eight boats, only one is wood, a 14' Whitehall skiff which I love. Otherwise all of my boats are right and proper plastic or aluminum, much less maintenance. 

Wood is for tooth picks, termites and boaters in love with an old classic.

I have some float bags, hookah, portable air compressor, 2" & 3" pumps and have raised several boats, but my health problems preclude my physical assistance, however, for a few Sam Adams I could come over with my gear, advise and watch while I sipped a Sam.

Tom Vandiver, PM or call 850 572 1225


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## need2fish (Oct 2, 2007)

Man....thanks for finding my boat!Glad to knowit wasn't stolen after all (thank god for insurance).Been looking for itsince the companyChristmas Party. I was wondering why I woke up all wet and smelling like the bay.


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## pappastratos (Oct 9, 2007)

Hey, how about a pic of this ? I would like to see it !


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## fishnfool (Oct 2, 2007)

> *pappastratos (4/23/2008)*Hey, how about a pic of this ? I would like to see it !


I'd have to stop on the east end of the bayway to take a picture and you really can't tell a lot from there. It's about two miles south of I10 on the est side of the bay where the last semi-deep channel runs out towards Fairhope. At one point it was on the east side shallows and a big tide came in and it floated over to the west side and grounded again. It gets lower in the mud every time it rains etc, so the condition is probably pretty rough right now. At one point it was probably VERY salvageable....and worth it.


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## team_rover (Apr 17, 2008)

We've decided not to try to salvage this boat, I still hate to just see it rot away. I've discussed the legal issues of the salvage with a maritime lawyer. Unfortunatley to do it the legal way it will cost quite a bit of money. I still can't locate the rightful owner of the boat, to get a bill of sale. So if I were to just pull it out, which I would love to do, I could be held liable for the damage. So unless anything happens soon, it's not gonna happen. And next time I'm fishing up that way, I'll stop and take some pics to post.


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## bamachem (Oct 2, 2007)

i stopped by the shell station in daphne last friday and snapped this pic. it's a couple miles away, so this is as good as it gets for pics w/o being on the water...


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## bamachem (Oct 2, 2007)

i happened to have my other camera with a better lens with me this morning, so i stopped by the shell station and snapped another pic...


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## fishnfool (Oct 2, 2007)

man, what a waste of a nice hull. She's sitting lower by the week. Wallowing a hole in the mud I guess. It wouldn't take much to float it out on a good tide I bet if you could pump her dry and find where the water came in from. Probably nothing to it.


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## pappastratos (Oct 9, 2007)

It is/was a nice boat. Are there no registration #'s or a hull serial # ?


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## 8 is enough (Oct 6, 2007)

What happened to it. Did it wash away during Fay or today from Gustav? I just drove back from Mobile and the boat was gone. I know it was there a couple of weeks ago.


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## haworthfloors.com (Mar 9, 2008)

Trust me on this one... you do NOT want the headache of fixing a boat like that up!!! you can buy one that works WAY cheaper than fixing a "fixer upper".


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## pappastratos (Oct 9, 2007)

Yeah, lots of things to repair, not just a soft floor ora re-power,,, but EVERYTHING !!! Ity would be cool to know the history of the boat. Iamintrigued by the history of ships.


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## GrandSlam (Oct 22, 2007)

Gustof took care of this one. The bow stem & part of the transom are still there, along with the two old style 671 Detroit's that were still half exposed as of yesterday. The fwd deck & a section of the bow are above the I-10 bridge, on the west bank of the Blakely River. The bridge & upper deck are about a mile or more to the north. Sorry to see it go like that.


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## missdacoast (Sep 14, 2008)

Shame, from the pics it "was" a nice boat...........and with the 6-71's bullit proof too...........Oh well the sea claims another one. :angel Brian


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