Finding boats

[The_Sloth_man]

Anyone got the low down of bost salvage, or what ever you want to call it?

a while back me and a friend came across a boat that was beached upon some rocks. it had been there for a while as kids had smashed in the windows and the hull was smashed open on the rocks.

we allways joked about takeing it away on his 4x4 and fixing it up, as my GF dad had a boat building company 15yrs ago and has the know how for fixing it and we really want a boat to fish off even if we had to use paddles to get off shore.

so what happends to boats like this, this boat had been there for over 6 months that we knew of.
do they get classed as abandoned after a certan time and it's free game?

last time we went to this fishing spot the boat was gone, so it had to go some where, are there boat wreacking yards where abandoned boats get taken like abandoned cars?

[finga64]

good question :-?
dunno really

[Darryl]

A few years back i had the same thing happen down on the Gold Coast, all i did was rang the water police, they in turn said that if i was to bring the vessel to there holding yard and sign a few forms that after 3 months if know one claimed it that i could have it.

However, if say 12mnths down the track the actual owner found you in his boat you had a moral obligation to meet him half way in regards to ownership. For example if he wanted it back he would have to pay you for all the work you have done to it, and also the parts you have bought for it.

This is how it USED to be, not sure now.

[Noelm]

went through a similar thing some time back, found an upturned canoe in the river (a good canoe by the way) dragged it out, took it to the local police station and filled out some forms, about 4 months later they called me to come and pick it up, I did just that, and some time later my son was paddling along in it when a guy called him to shore, he went over and the guy asked if he could have a look under the little foredeck, he did so and said it was his, he had engraved his License number under the deck, after some rather heated words about stealing HIS canoe etc, we called the Police station and were told to come down there, they produced all the docos on how it was we had it and stated in a kind of way that it was ours and it was up to us what we did with it, thinking what it would be like to be in his shoes we not so gladly gave it back to him, but the goose never even said "hey gee thanks for that" he just whinged about how it was his and buzzed off, turns out someone had stolen it from his yard months before we "found it" but he never bothered to report it.

[Gummtree]

Similar story to Noelm. Mate ( many many years ago)found a dinghy washed up high and dry. He did the right thing and rescued it. Beached it in front of his place and kept an eye on it. Put the word about the place but no takers came forward. He then ran an ad in the local rag. Still no takers. After about 6 months, he figured that the man above had gifted it to him so he cleaned it up, painted it and the first bloke he ran into afterward was the original owner who, like Noelm's goose, would not listen to reason and that the mate had not stolen it. Goose promptly contacted the police and the mate got charged. (Convicted as well as he did not report finding it to police) My advise, like Noelm above, make sure you do it with the full knowledge of the local boys in blue, at least that way your butt is covered.

[masterdusky]

Not sure when it becomes fair game BUT... a lot of boats are rebuilt bu insurance companies and sold off again.... ull see there ads in magazines etc....

[boatboy50]

Hey Guys,

Same deal. When I was young, sitting on the porch over the canal, we saw a young guy racing up the 6 knot canal at full speed in a 12ft wingboat.

We yelled at him but he kept going. Next day sitting on the porch we noticed the same boat, now motorless, drifting down the canal with the tide.

Dad and I jumped in the tinny and grabbed the boat, bringing it back and putting it on our beach, tied to the jetty.

A week later we called the water police, who then came by in their 7m Sharkcat a week later and grabbed the boat. We filled out the paper work and sent them on their way.

Four months later we got the call, it's yours if you want it. Come and get it! Did I ever! It was my first boat! I repainted it, reglassed it and generally cleaned it up, putting a motor on it later on. Me and my mates had heaps of fun in that boat and eventually sold it a couple of years later for a tidy profit ;)

If you do find something, report it and go through the process. It does pay off!

Regards

Darren

[Dirtysanchez]

Absolutely as above, my mates Dad lived on the waterfront and after every storm a tinny / tender would float by half full, obviously detached from a yacht somewhere.. He would go through the motions as outlined above, ended up over about 10 years he outfitted all his sons / sons in laws with their own crabbbing boats.. ;D

Hmm, he never scored one for me though :(