Am I Now In Possession Of Stolen Property?

Recently i was launching my boat at a local lake to do some fishing when i noticed a seventeen foot hydra sport bass boat half sunken and tied to a fence close to the ramp. Being the curious person i am I went over to investigate. It tuns out this abandoned boat was scheduled for removal by the city and the owner could not be contacted, according to the ticket on the steering wheel. I decided i cant let a good boat go to wast so i started taking things of it like the seat pedestals steering cable and bilge pumps. As i was stealing the city guy in charge of boat removal came up from behind me and asked me what i was doing on some one else's boat. I replied, "uh just looking around" (with wrench in hand). He said "from what i can see your trespassing and steeling" he spoke as if i was in deep sh**t. I said "I haven't stolen any thing yet, but i am guilty of defacing property and trespassing." He said "Im not here to write you up, but i could. Im here to check if this boat still needs to be removed." He told me it takes the city's money and his time to haul these boats out and when they cant find the owner like in this situation the boat is destroyed within ninety days of removal. He said "You need to take this boat." Given the fact that a week earlier i turned eighteen and this guy was hinting to me that if i didn't take the boat there would be charges made i didn't have much of a choice. I removed the boat and its now at my house. The officer said he was going to keep this off the books because what we both were doing was illegal. SO MY QUESTION IS: AM I NOW IN POSSESSION OF STOLEN PROPERTY? Im afraid if one of my neighbors reports my new boat and the authorities run the numbers ill be in trouble and i cant tell them the story i just mentioned because how can i prove this city worker guy pressured me into ti taking it. As i see it my options are: take all the tags of the boat and keep it. Call the police and explain my self. or do nothing and maybe Im making a bigger thing out of it than needs be. Also i need to know how to get registration for a boat if i keep it.

[mydauphin]

Psst don't tell anyone. Erase all info on paint. Sand it, paint it.... Register it as home made 14' boat. I don't know if this most honorable advise but it works...

[Boston]

Ild call the authorities and tell em the whole story and make it clear you are willing to bring em the boat for 90 days if at the end of that time you are still the only one claiming it
its yours
but Ild dam sure call em or you might just find yourself in trouble
they probably wont make you caugh up the boat anyway
but play it safe
honesty is the way to go

[PAR]

Don't remove the FL numbers, or any of the other ridiculous advise offered, you'll just be compounding your problems, with additional charges like fraud, registration falsification, etc.

The city worker will not admit to your and his agreement that you "just take it", so you only have one option, make up a new lie or deposit boat the in a new location (not in the same city), preferably in unincorporated county land. Who's to say it was equipped with the accessories you removed when the next round comes along (a county employee is forced to remove it).

This way you have some parts, which you got at a "swap meet" or garage sale with no receipt (and is a common occurrence that can't be traced), but most importantly you've gotten out from under a boat that will be very difficult to re-register without the previous owner providing a bill of sale.

No Fish and Game officer, inspecting your "newly created" boat will believe you without pictures and more importantly receipts for the materials in it, so don't even try. They've been down this road a dozen times with people trying to con them into thinking they built a Bayliner Capri 17 that's had it's stickers and HIN cut off. Please, they're not that bright, but also not that stupid.

It is possible you could re-register the boat, but it's not an easy process, intentional so, other wise stolen boats would be everywhere.

Remove what you want, then dump the boat (not legal) or drag it to the land fill and pay to have it ground up.

Abandoned boats can be legally claimed (in Florida), by filing a "Found Property Claim" at the local sheriff's office. You then have to run an ad in the news paper for a specific amount of time. If the owner doesn't claim it in 90 days, then you can apply for a title transfer (not a guarantee) as the "finder". Then you have to have Fish and Game come out and inspect the boat, at which point they will verify the HIN and if it's suitable to put back into service. At this point (and some more paper work) you then contact the Department of Highway Safety for a title.

I've done this several times and it's not a pleasant experience, if you have difficulty jumping through local and state regulations, paper work and the general hoops in the process. With me it's not so bad, I know the officers that are involved, they know me and the process goes fairly smoothly.

[masalai]

On Par's suggestion, remove the tags (as the worker will not admit) then say "found" and don't mention tagging or the worker and lodge a "found property claim" - less detail the better - it was drifting.... although may have been tied - no evidence either way....

[balsaboatmodels]

Well, there is this, for whatever it is worth, adjusted for current exchange rates:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/bu...nted=1&_r=1&em

Boats Too Costly to Keep Are Littering Coastlines
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — Boat owners are abandoning ship.

A couple of quotes from article:

They often sandpaper over the names and file off the registry numbers, doing their best to render the boats, and themselves, untraceable. Then they casually ditch the vessels in the middle of busy harbors, beach them at low tide on the banks of creeks or occasionally scuttle them outright.

The bad economy is creating a flotilla of forsaken boats. While there is no national census of abandoned boats, officials in coastal states are worried the problem will only grow worse as unemployment and financial stress continue to rise. Several states are even drafting laws against derelicts and say they are aggressively starting to pursue delinquent owners.

In South Carolina, four government investigators started canvassing the state’s waterways in January. They quickly identified 150 likely derelicts.

“There are a lot more than we thought there would be,” said Lt. Robert McCullough of the state Department of Natural Resources. “There were a few boats that have always been there, and now all of a sudden they’ve added up and added up.”

California is taking a more benign approach, with plans in the Legislature for a boater bailout of sorts. Under a law proposed by State Representative Ted Lieu, owners of marginally seaworthy vessels would be encouraged to surrender them to the state. If they abandoned the boat, the bill would double the fine to $1,000.

[PAR]

Do not tell them it was adrift. This falls under a different jurisdiction (Fish and Wildlife), requires different paper work and you usual have to "declare salvage" rights. You don't want to even go there. Do as I recommended and you'll stay out of jail, do as others from other states or countries and you'll end up liable for a bunch of hurt.

[icefang45]

Sailor here take it from along time on the water. get rid of the thing. your 18 your Giulty....or listen to BOSTON,you dont want to be floating around on someone elses boat.

Im going to dump it. I don't want to because its illegal and wrong but i didn't want to be put in this situation either. I cant turn my self in cause my story sounds like BS and im not gona commit fraud. im not a criminal. for the record i don't usually steal things and this incident with taking parts of an abandon boat is not exactly full blown stealing. thanks for all the advise especially par.

[Boston]

I think honesty is always the best policy
if you want to keep it go in tell em what happened
they will see the honesty in your face
realize your age and know you didnt know any better
and probably help you through the process
but compounding the problem by trying to clandestinely ditch the boat makes you a criminal as guilty as if you actually had stolen it
whould you get caught in the act your screwed
stay honest
do the right thing
go with what your heart tells you
keep it or loose it but do it legally
take it to have it ground up
or go fess up and dont even remotely be dishonest about it
my bet is you will end up with a boat in the long run
B

I'm not going to be made an example of. it seem like weekly you hear a new story of cops busting some kid for getting a bj in a car and he gets 5 years. heck ill cut the thing in fourths and haul it to the dump before i volunteer to to take my turn at the chopping block.

[Boston]

well if it were me and I felt like I wasnt going to be able the just tell it like it is and get away with it then Ild dice it up into minuscule pieces and spread it out in a few public dumpsters
as long as you dont overload a dumpster they could not care less
hell Ive gotten rid of hole houses this way from time to time

best and at least you meant well
B

[PAR]

Mike you can claim the boat, you just have to jump though some hoops. The state would actually prefer you "claim" it then have them deal with it. Make a few phone calls and see how much they'll make you want to jump. Don't lie to them, tell them the truth, that the city asked you to take it (claim it). Call the local sheriff and see what they want you to do. It's not the first time they've handled this issue and it saves the county the money of pursuing the real owner themselves.

[Frosty]

Yes you do have stolen property. If your story is true yet unlikely as I dont believe an official would ask you to take it as its not his.

Even though the owner can not be contacted it is still owned by him.

[watchkeeper]

Frosty old son, your wrong. In all US states ownership is reliquished if an item is abandoned but not the responsibility for that item. The law cannot enforce ownership but it can and will enforce responsibility ie correct disposal etc.

In Mark's case the vessel is abandoned, the authorities would demand or prosecute for disposal expenses if they could locate the owner. I agree with the majority of comments Mark, if your nervous speak to your local head of waterways or police. You did 'them' a favour!!