On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 20:01:21 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 19:43:25 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

Paul:
A salvage claim - what's the meaning? As if the disabled boat was found
abandoned?


In order to encourage all sailors to offer rescue to other sailors,
Maritime laws created "salvage" as an incentive. If you risk your own
boat, crew and equipment to help someone else, you can then claim
salvage. A hearing will determine, based on a number of factors, how
much of the salvaged boat you now own. Sometimes you get the entire
boat and it's contents. It is always a lot more expensive than what a
tow boat operator charges for simply towing you a few miles back to
your dock on a sunny day when you can't get back by yourself.

Even if you have an unlimited towing contract with an outfit such as
SeaTow, they can claim salvage if the situation is more than a simple
towing. In that case, your towing contract is meaningless. NEVER
accept assistance from ANYBODY without first clarifying whether or not
they intend to claim salvage. This includes commercial as well as
private parties. They are not required to automatically tell you -
it's up to you to ask. If they want to claim salvage and you are in no
immediate danger, you would be wise to stay on the radio and explore
other options. You might want to try and contact your insurance
company as well, if at all possible.

BB

That's nuts! It's like a tow truck driver claiming salvage because the roads
were icier than normal.

Yes, it is "nuts" but that's the way it can be. Check out this link:

http://www.boatus.com/towing/guide/salvage/

There are some general guidelines to determine what should be
considered a simple tow, and what crosses the line into "salvage".
What determines the line usually depends on degree of immanent peril,
or difficulty in moving the boat, but nothing is cast in stone.

Dave