LEGALITIES!!

Here's the story. A friend of mine fished a 14' jon boat out of the river about 2 years ago. Now it's in my back yard. What do I do? I want to do it right and legal. Also if it belonged to someone who is still aching over their lost boat I would want to reunite them with it. I mean I'm really excited about the idea of building this boat and having it to run the waterways with, but do not need any bad kharma following me around either! All I can make out is the HID, the registration numbers are so far gone I can only really make out the state. Any help greatly appreciated.

If you can make out the HID, that should be enough for your DMV to find out who the last owner was. Not sure if they could tell you who it is due to privacy laws, but they might be able to contact them directly, then put them in touch with you.

I guess it just depends on how helpful they want to be. Either way, the HID should lead you back to the last registration.

Skidz

Josh,
Nice to see someone taking the high road on a deal like this. I would have a hard time not just trying to register as an abandoned boat. It's possible an insurance company has already paid off a claim on this. In that case you could probably have it for pennies on the dollar. Anyway, Kharma is real - you don't want that kind of trouble on the water.

I'd also check with the DMV just to be on the safe side. Was it retrieved from deep water, or was it fairly accessible?

It had washed into a sand bar, half sunk it the sand, but completely submerged. It took some work. It just seems to me there should be some kind of salvage laws. I know there are entire companies based on doing nothing but hauling out wreckage from oceans and claiming their treasures. Also the whole insurance thing, after 2 years at least (who knows how long it was in the river before my friend found it) I'm sure if they had insurance they've been paid and probably bought a new one. I'd hate to have to give up my only chance at boating bliss to someone who has already been reimbursed. Of course again, it's not my property to decide what to do with neccessarily. I guess it's just like the old saying goes, if you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's yours. If not, it never really was!

keep your head up,patients is a virtue,she'll be yours,good luck

X2

joshrbarker said:

Also the whole insurance thing, after 2 years at least (who knows how long it was in the river before my friend found it) I'm sure if they had insurance they've been paid and probably bought a new one. I'd hate to have to give up my only chance at boating bliss to someone who has already been reimbursed. Of course again, it's not my property to decide what to do with neccessarily.

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If there was insurance and it was paid it is now the property of the insurance company - as well as possible evidence in a crime. You really need to take some steps to determine who was the last lawful owner - again, if you have the HIN that would likely be on record with the DMV

Hate to see you jammed up for have stolen property in your possession.

Agree with taking the high road. It sometimes takes a little while for the benefits to kick in, but you will always, eventually be glad that you did the right thing. Even if its not until you have to explain it to your maker. Besides, the longer I live, the more I'm convinced that karma (or something close enough to be the same thing) IS a part of the equation and karma will not hesitate to bite you in the ***.

Josh, you might want to contact both the DMV and DNR to see what they can do. Better to give it up before you sink any money into it or the peace of mind knowing it is your boat. Sometimes boats just loose from the dock or washed away in high water. I'm pretty sure if the insurance company owns it now, you could get it legal pretty cheap. Good Luck!

Josh, Seems Like The Only Way You Will Be To Get This Boat Into Your Name, Is To Take The High Road In Determining The Previous Owner. If TDMV or DNR Find The Person, He Should Have The Title. If It's The Insurance Company, They Will Be Able To Provide You With Claim Settlement Documents To Get It Into Your Name. Finally, If No One Can Identify The Previous Owner, You Are Then Well On The Path To Full And Proper Boat Ownership.

Full Speed Ahead ! =D>

P.S. In What County Or City In Kentucky Are You Located ?

After Katrina, this became a hot issue down here. The way it worked before Katrina down here was: You had to make reasonable effort to contact owner. If no luck, you salvaged the vessel, the insuance company or owner would have to pay you salvage and storage fees to get the boat back. Most of the time they would just sign it over to you as long as there wasn't a lot of money owed. After Katrina, the laws changed due to the 1000's of boats floating every where. We had literally had dozens of brand new aluminum boats in the marsh around where I work. People were taking 1 or 2 every day. I wouldn't because I would have gone to jail with my luck. The people contacted the marina where they came from and they said that the insurance company owned them. So they contacted the insurance companies and they said that would not pay salvage fees so they sent them salvage titles to all of them. On the other hand, there were several people go to jail for doing the same thing.

Take the high road and get it done right. You really have no choice due to you need to register it unless you keep it on a private pond.

I live in Boyd County Kentucky. And I'm calling the county clerk's office today. I searched all weekend online and all the government sites just circle around and around placing responsibility on another site! Just like in person! Ha! Thank you everyone for the help! I'll let you know how it goes!

The clerk isnt going to do anything for you. You have to call the DNR or DMV whoever registers the boats in Kentucky. There are a few memebers on here from Kentucky that can point you in the right direction.

Your on the right track man. When I bought my house there was a motorcycle left in the garage. After talking to the county clerk i then had to place a ad in the paper looking for the owner. Then after a few weeks I was able to start the process of getting a new title made. Took a while but wasn't all that to hard to do, I would assume it would about the same for you but who knows.

Pruitt1222 said:

Your on the right track man. When I bought my house there was a motorcycle left in the garage. After talking to the county clerk i then had to place a ad in the paper looking for the owner. Then after a few weeks I was able to start the process of getting a new title made. Took a while but wasn't all that to hard to do, I would assume it would about the same for you but who knows.

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I stand corrected.

Simply do a title seach with DNR. They will be able to pull up it's history. Most states will share that information with you. Good luck

Boats in Kentucky are registered at the County Clerk's office (tags/titles/licenses), same place we have our vehicles registered. It's like one-stop shopping, lol. I've registered my vehicles, boat, and boat trailer all at the same time.

Yeah, the beauty of the commonwealth! Our systems are unlike any others. But I wouldn't wanna live anywhere else!

Waterwings said:

Boats in Kentucky are registered at the County Clerk's office (tags/titles/licenses), same place we have our vehicles registered. It's like one-stop shopping, lol. I've registered my vehicles, boat, and boat trailer all at the same time.

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That's awesome. We have so many different agencies it makes my head spin. Wish it was like that in Gawga.