can the boat yard legally keep the boat?

B

benlui

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 Jun 2008
Messages
440
Location
Caribbean-South IRL-East Coast UK and everywhere e
Visit site
A person i know, owes the boat yard some money for storage. No more than 2k i think however, they have been writing to him for payment now for some time. over a year or more. He has not paid them up to date, and now they are sending him letters saying that they are going to sell the boat to pay for the outstanding fees. In my opinion, i think they are within their rights to do so, but i wanted to see what you guys think? The boat also "again" in my opinion worth in excess of 12k, and the fees are only under 2k. But, they have along with the letters they have been sending him sent a valuation of 4k. Why have they put such a low valuation on the boat? I think it is to justify them selling it. ............... I was also told when down there several weeks ago, if i gave them 4k the boat was mine!
 
I cannot quote the law but I have seen notices on boats to the effect that if the bill is not paid the boat will be sold to cover the debt.
if it a part of a contract then there may not be any reason to sell at best price and i estimate that the £4K is £2k for debt and £2K for eth solicitor and broker. At that price it will sell
 
If your matey is occupying the yard's premises and not paying his bills, for some unstated reason, what do you and he think the yard will do, especially if neither of you replies to demands for justified (?) payment?

If the payment is not justified we assume he would say so, and take recovery measures to secure his property?

If you leave the yard no option, it will follow the natural course, send a final demand, issue a warning of intention to liquidate, and, failing all other reasonable courses of action on your part, will then liquidate.

Any residue from the sale will remain your mate's property, but he will have to apply for it, and I suspect costs attaching to the action forced on the yard will be eye-watering.

Seems avaoidable, doesn't it?

PWG
 
I bought a car once from a mechanic, where the customer had not paid his bill/collected the car.
I checked it out legally 1st, the mechanic was entitled to sell it to cover the debt.
I applied for a V5 from the DVLA no problem

MVP
 
I shouldn't think the law in Ireland is much different from Scotland or England. My contract with the marina/yard where I keeep my boat is quite clear about what will happen if I don't pay my bill. If your friend hasn't paid storage fees for over a year I would think he is very likely to have his boat sold from under him, so to speak. If it's 'only' a couple of Ks of euros or sterling why doesn't he just pay the bill?
 
The only qualification I would add is that I suspect the yard would have an obligation to sell at a fair price (and pass the excess to the defaulting owner). They can't sell a £200,000 boat for £2,000 just so they can recover their fees. By the same token, the owner can't insist on getting £12,000 for a boat that is only worth £6,000.
Tell him to pay or he might lose his boat. If he really thinks it is worth £12,000 he is better to sell it himself and use the money to pay the yard.
 
its all written in the contract he signed with yard
its one thing to imagine some things worth 12k but quite another to realise that amount
the yard will have done their bit and sent warnings to that effect they are clearly going to sell at £4k
firstly, because that's what they value it at considering present climate
second, condition of the boat, if charges not paid chances are no ones looked after it for two years, it may cost thousands to get the boat back in reasonable condition
so good luck to the yard they are not in the wrong
people should pay what they owe

offer em £3

cheers
Mick
 
[ QUOTE ]
The only qualification I would add is that I suspect the yard would have an obligation to sell at a fair price (and pass the excess to the defaulting owner). They can't sell a £200,000 boat for £2,000 just so they can recover their fees.


[/ QUOTE ]

Quite right in theory but I've seen receivers sell things off cheap to their pals / spouses, and even if they dont then who is to decide what is a fair price since the yard can put timing into the equation. Finally what something is worth in a fire sale is altogether different from what you may be willing to pay in the open market.
 
The yard are not obliged to get any price for the boat but can auction it and see what it goes for - why doesnt he pay the bill ?

What about the marina having to chase him for the money -
 
An interesting situation a few years ago at the marine where I was based at the time. Old wooden boat worth very little and owner had not paid the storage fees. Yard contacted the owner whom they knew quite well and he did not pay up. Result - boat was stripped of anything worth keeping and it was burnt.
 
I agree with everything your all saying. Im blue in the face from telling the owner to pay the bill. but he is being stubborn with the issue. Thing is, ide hand over 4k for it in a heart beat as it is a lovely boat, needs some washing now after being idle and ide say the sails are in bits, but given the current market, it is well worth more than 12k. Only problem is, as i know the owner, its not worth me getting involved in buying it, it wouldnt look good on my part if i were to buy it. I cant stand people who wont pay bills. Being self employed myself, i can understand the yards position on this.
 
I can see why you are reluctant to get involved. Couple of suggestions.

1. Offer the owner £4k (or more) for it to take the problem off his hands. If he says no

2. See if you can get his permission to tell us where the boat is and what it is. That might at least create a bit of interest and get him a better price. A bit on the edge in terms of forum rules but in the circs....
 
The yard where I lift out (Malta) has a very prominent sign in their accounts office, saying, "NO CASH - NO SPLASH".

Although they do include a clause in the contract, more or less in line with the warning that if money is left owing, the boat is deemed to have been abandoned - and reserving the right to sell it - they do obtain a Court Order before proceeding with a public call for offers. They then deduct what they are owed from the money obtained; any balance is held for eventual payment to the ex-owner, should he ever turn up.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I That might at least create a bit of interest and get him a better price.

[/ QUOTE ]

Interest? I'm hooked! What's the boat and where?
 
No they have a LIEN on the debit, but no ownership of the boat. Without the owners consent they cannt sell the boat for the debt.
 
I'm no authority but was under the impression that the yard would have to go to court and get approval to do this. I may well be wrong! but once they have the approval(there's probably a latin word they use for it) they can sell it for whatever they want...
 
[ QUOTE ]
No they have a LIEN on the debit, but no ownership of the boat. Without the owners consent they cannt sell the boat for the debt.

[/ QUOTE ] How does the lien get turned into possession, I thought a lien was constructive ownership as defined by the terms and conditions.

I have known some yards and marinas to be very cavalier with unpaid for boats. I've seen them sold for far less than they were worth, without advertising. I've known boats to be liberated of much of any decent equipment and so on. Not sure what would happen if someone took them to court.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

EugeneR
Help with getting sold boat data
Replies
8
Views
547
Tranona
T

Share this page

Top