"KLC Lewis" wrote
A boat which is in harbor, safely tied in its slip, removed from that slip
onto the hard, and then "salvaged" by a third or fourth party?

An issue with "safely tied in it's slip." Could be, or it could be
that insurance is voided in a named storm UNLESS the boat is hauled
out. Or the boat could be visited once a year and the dock lines are
old & frayed, etc etc.

We see a lot of that here.... people think of their nice boats safely
tied up, and all hunky-dory... the truth is that their roller-jibs &
biminis are getting trashed, the boat is growing 3' of gunk on the
bottom, and they are a hazard to their slip neighbors.

Boats that don't get sailed regularly just fade & crumble. It's a trap
of the lengthy (all-year) Southern sailing season. Up north where
boats get hauled out & stored carefully for the winter, they at least
get looked at twice a year.

.... I dunno,
but if I were the absentee owner and I had not been properly and legally
notified of losing my slip and some yahoo tried to claim "salvage rights"
on my boat, I would be more than a teensy bit peeved.

"Edgar" wrote:
Well, normally I would agree with you but from what has been posted I gather
that the authorities there are determined to have a clean-up and, having
many apparently abandoned boats to deal with, seem to be taking the view
that after all this time owners who have not contacted them have effectively
abandoned their boats and they feel free to scrap them.

Bingo

The owners might consider themselves lucky if they don't get slapped
with a huge disposal fee. Abandoned boats are a big PITA and very
expensive for the state or local authorities. Resale value on
'salvage' boats is always iffy and right now there is less than zero
demand.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King