If you're a classic boat aficionado with a boat built in 1974, or earlier, and your classic measures over 65 feet in length, then you had better pay attention to a new law, House Bill 2457, which took effect last month.
These new rules, initiated by the state Department of Natural Resources, and probably well supported by the U.S. Coast Guard, are a response to the issue of derelict vessels. According to the state's Derelict Vessel Removal Program figures published earlier this month in the Kitsap Sun, about $8.3 million has been spent removing hundreds of abandoned boats since 2003, with less than 1 percent of that cost being recovered from those boat owners.
So what's new? First of all, when you sell your boat your buyer will need to show proof of purchasing at least $300,000 in insurance coverage on the vessel. However, you are allowed to sell to a buyer who does not have this insurance, but beware. If, down the track your buyer didn't buy any coverage, or you didn't check (or can't prove checking) and your former boat becomes abandoned, a derelict or a "public hazard", then you, as well as your buyer, have a serious liability problem.
$300,000 coverage is not an unusual amount with most marine insurance policies, but simply getting any coverage is a challenge, especially with wooden boats, which leads to the second concern, the seaworthiness of the boat you hope to sell.
When you sell your big old boat, you need to provide your buyer with a marine survey report detailing the condition of the boat as well as it's estimated value. This could also be a U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection. If the report finds that the vessel is not seaworthy and that the anticipated cost of repairing is more than the value of your boat, then your only option is to sell for scrap or else to a professional for restoring her.
Interestingly, existing owners are not, under the law, required to have insurance. However, your marina is required not only to be fully covered itself, but also to ensure that your vessel (unless you're only a guest) is properly insured. Most marinas are well on top of this, and have been for some years. I only know of one, in the Olympia area, where as recently as last October did not require tenants to prove that they had marine insurance.
While no doubt there are many commercial vessels that fall into this category, there are not so many recreational or private ones; the Classic Yacht Association's Pacific NW Fleet counts less than twenty on its roster.
All in all this is good legislation, and prudent boat owners will see the necessity for it. If you're a boat owner in this category, or a marina operator, it would be well worth your while to check out the actual House Bill 2457.
Kitsap Sun photo is of the century-old tugboat Chickamauga which sank in Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island, October 2013. The vessel was not insured and with the state spending $55,000 to raise and remove her, and an unknown cost for clean up by the USCG for leakage and pollution.
