Question about salvage law

[nightfighter]

Pulled a dinghy out of the surf this morning. Is in good shape. Has no identification on it.... I have it tied to a granite post above the high tide line in front of a private property. Most likely came from up the coast, like Cape Ann. What is my next step? (before someone, other than the owner, scoffs it up...)

[FISHING_FOOL]

Collect the boat. Bring it home and call the harbor master and tell him you have a dinghy and if anyone comes looking for it to give you a call. More likely than not no one will find it and it is yours. I asked my father in-law who is a retired harbormaster and he said that is what he would do.

[MakoMike]

Take the boat home. No numbers no i.d., Its yours.

[nightfighter]

Thanks for the replies. I loaded it in my box truck, with the help of my son, and brought it home, where it is sitting on the Grady's trailer. It is a Walker Bay sailing dinghy. Pretty nice. Will give the harbormaster a call tomorrow.

[UserRemoved1]

hey that's my boat!

[UserRemoved1]

[Raven]

not much different than property found and turned into the police station
where the owner has 30 days to claim it or it's finders keepers

[bloocrab]

Had a dinghy returned to me the same way Rosss......I was told that it got untied, (although I really think some youthes' (a cousin Vinny exurb) took it for a paddle and never tied it back up)....but anyhoots, the harbor master heard that some lunatic was looking for his 'stolen' dingy and luckily, he ended up finding me.

So yeah, try the Harbor Master route or whoever runs the show at the closest marina.

[Typhoon]

How about a 30 ft sailboat thats been washed up in the marsh in Wollaston beach for 2 days.

Do I have salvage rights on that if I pull it out of the marsh?

[beamie]

Though maybe legally in a Maritime Law sense salvage rights apply I often find it disturbing that people resort to these laws on the "small" sense. IMHO Salvage Maritime Law was written for big cargo ships in peril dead in the water.....not dingies, conter consoles or 30' sail boats that unfortunately broke away from thier mooring due to gear failure or foul play.

Just do the right thing and make some phone call to a few harbormaster shacks and yacht clubs, if no one calls you back from now till the end of the season its yours.

[Typhoon]

Originally Posted by beamie

Though maybe legally in a Maritime Law sense salvage rights apply I often find it disturbing that people resort to these laws on the "small" sense. IMHO Salvage Maritime Law was written for big cargo ships in peril dead in the water.....not dingies, conter consoles or 30' sail boats that unfortunately broke away from thier mooring due to gear failure or foul play.

Just do the right thing and make some phone call to a few harbormaster shacks and yacht clubs, if no one calls you back from now till the end of the season its yours.

It was more out of curiousity. It's been there for 2 days and no one seems interested. If it were my boat, I'd be down there 24/7.

It obviously broke away from the mooring fleet at Squantum Yacht Club.

[Mr. Sandman]

I agree, some folks stretch the intent of the law to fit their requirements. I am not referring to the dingy you found as I am sure if someone claims it you would return it....and I bet if you go over to the yacht club and mention it you will find the true owner and he will thank you. I remember when a guy bought a brand new boat, around 30' or so he didn't know squat about boating, he drove it to the black dog restaurant and took his family for dinner. The boat was not tied up properly and had no numbers on it. (I know, the guy is a goon) the boat drifted away from the dock on to the beach of a nearby homeowner who was licking his chops to claim it as his. Cops, EPO, uscg and all kinds of folks got involved in the controversy. Sure, fine the fool for not having numbers on the boat and negligence of not tying it up...make him take a boating course, what ever but in no way should the boat automatically become the property of the persons beach it washed up on.

Salvage laws are complex, some of the towing guys are experts the loopholes in the laws...there are subtleties between hard grounding and soft groundings, be careful . From what I have heard, they can up owning your boat without you knowing about it. That said, I know little boat maritime law so as always..."your mileage will vary"

But I do know that it is aways better to do a good deed than stick it to someone

[nightfighter]

Just doing the right thing and paying it forward.It's what I would be hoping for if I had lost it. I know someone will be looking for it. It's a $1300 dinghy.... Harbormaster notified, and he checks in with others in neighboring towns. As I said, where it washed up (ocean side) leads me to think it came from north and east of here, as Marblehead sticks out into the bay like a penninsula. I'm thinking it will be claimed by the weekend.

[FishermanTim]

Now on to the "dark side" of the finding and returning of losy gear....
Make sure that whomever claims that the boat is theirs can identify it properly.
Did it have any registration or model numbers displayed?
Are there any unique marks or features that only the owner would know about?

I say this ONLY because just as sure as there are good people in this world that seek to do the right thing, there are dirtbags looking to wrongfully claim a stake that isn't theirs.
(Think back to when a wallet is found. You wouldn't state how much money was found in it so that ONLY the rightful owner would know how much they lost.)

[nightfighter]

Spoke with him in between pump outs. No one has reported one missing.... He said to hold on to it, that would mean he would not have to store it for a year.

There was a World Cat turtled on its mooring, and there were 3-4 foot swells rolling through inside.