T&T: Abandoned boats

[Lawrence Zeitlin]

The New York Times published an article on April 1 about abandoned  
boats.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/business/01boats.html? 
_r=1&ref=business

Apparently many owners who are "under water", i.e. have boat loans  
that are greater than the boat's value, are simply beaching or  
sinking their boats and swimming away. Identification marks and names  
are filed or sanded off so the boats can't be traced. These are nor  
derelicts. Many are surprisingly new or, if older, are still  
functional. State authorities that recover the boats scrap them or  
auction them off at very low prices. It might be an opportunity for  
would be boaters with a few coins jingling in their pocket to pick up  
a bargain. The problem is worst in the south east and in the north  
west. As the article said, "Boats are luxury items and today few  
people can afford the luxury."

Larry Z