RK GND
THE LOG | April 30 - May 13, 2021 | 5
THELOG.COM
LEGAL ADVICE
ask a maritime attorney By David Weil
California’s Boating and Fishing News
Founded in 1971 NO. 1153
What is the protocol for buying an unregistered unfinished boat?
APRIL 30 - MAY 13, 2021
W R ITE TO: P.O. Box 1337 Newport Beach, CA 92659 (949) 660-6150 (800) 873-7327 Fax (949) 660-6172
E DITO R I A L /CR E ATI V E (949) 660-6150 Staff Editor Jordan B. Darling (949) 503-7654 jdarling@goboating.com Staff Writer Lindsey Glasgow (949) 503-7690 lindsey@thelog.com Graphic Artist Julie Hogan Production Artist Mary Monge Contributors J.R. Johnson, Catherine French, David Weil Publisher Duncan McIntosh, Jr. duncan@thelog.com Vice President and General Manager Debbie Brock dbrock@duncanmcintoshco.com Operations Manager/ Sea Magazine Editor Jenny Scroggins seaeditor@goboating.com
QUESTION: I am considering buying a 39-foot sailing yacht that was
built from a kit on a vacant lot. The boat was never completed or put in the water, and it has been stored on private property since the death of the owner five years ago. The property was recently sold, and the new owners of the property would like to get rid of the boat to make room for the house that they plan to build. Unfortunately, no title paperwork appears to exist for the boat, I don’t think it has ever been documented or registered, and there is no hull identification number. Under these circumstances, can the property owners legally sell the boat to me? If I go forward with the purchase will I be able to document the boat with the Coast Guard once I’ve completed construction? ANSWER: The purchase of an unfinished boat that has never been registered is similar to the
purchase of any other type of unregistered personal property. If you buy a refrigerator at a ga-
Dog Aboard
rage sale you don’t really know whether the person selling the property has the right to sell it, so you look at as much of the surrounding information as you can, and you pull the trigger if you think it all looks ok. For a boat, the biggest questions would involve how and why the boat is unregistered, and whether the circumstances of the sale are such that the person who is selling the boat appears to have a legitimate right to sell the boat. The most significant risks faced by a potential
buyer would be that the person selling the boat is fraudulently in possession and therefore has no right to sell it; and that the real owner will show up some day and claim that the purchase should be voided. For the most part this is not a legal inquiry. It is instead a research project that the buyer must complete through investigation of the surrounding facts. For our reader, the purchase seems pretty safe. With all due See ATTORNEY page 11
Is your pet as avid a boater as you? Send The Log pictures of your four-legged first mate. Email your photo, contact information and a description about your pet and boat to thelogeditor@thelog.com
A DV E R TI S I NG S A L E S (949) 660-6150 Fax: (949) 660-6172 Susanne Kirkham-Diaz (California) (949) 503-7693 susanne@goboating.com Daniel Voet (California) (949) 503-7679 dvoet@goboating.com Felice Lineberry (Northwest) (949) 503-7692 felice@goboating.com
CL A S S I FI E D A DV E R TI S I N G (800) 887-1615 Jon Sorenson jon@thelog.com
S U B S CR I P TI O N S E RV I CE S (800) 887-1615 circulation@seamag.com
TH E LO G O N LI N E A N D N E W S L E T TE R S thelog.com
B OAT S H OW H OTLI N E (949) 503-7536
A Paw-some Cruise Mate Sadie Lou, an Australian Shepard, cruises on Dan and Michelle Ramirez’s 40-foot Carver in San Diego bay.
Newsletters For the California boating newsletter and FishRap Newsletter, go to thelog.com The Log, San Diego Log and FishRap are registered trademarks of Duncan McIntosh Co. Inc. Copyright 2021, all rights reserved. No part may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Log, PO Box 1337, Newport Beach, CA 92659. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: One year, $39.00 by third class mail. Subscriptions are transferable but not refundable. Call us at (800) 887-1615. The Log is published every other Friday and distributed throughout Southern California.
Pup-noculars Friends might recognize this pup on the lookout. Even though she can’t see as well as she used to, Toto, a 17-year-old border terrier, keeps an eye on the water. Mike and Linda Haakenson said she has gone to every local island on dive trips.
