Re: gave boat away and guy wants money back!
I we pretty much gave him the impression that it wasn't a good idea to return.
I figured that the marina saw a real fish and figured it was a chance to make a quick buck. If he was stupid enough to just drop it off at a marina, they must have figured he was dumb enough to pay for an estimate or more.
The thought also entered my mind that the marina may have just wanted the boat. Maybe someone there wanted it and figured he'd abandon it if the bill was too high?
When he picked it up, he said he was after a cheap boat that he could use for crabbing, I got the impression he'd toss in a piece of plywood and hang a small motor on it and use it in the back bays, not restore it. It was a neat old boat but nothing that special. I wasn't even sure who made it, just another no name runabout from the 60's.
The car he was driving was an off brand mini suv or 'crossover' type vehicle, maybe a Suzuki or something. Probably not that old but already well used looking. I lean more towards him being totally clueless than an outright scam artist. The bottom line is that I have no attachment to that boat, he can't even prove I ever owned it. I have a receipt for a boat with that general description from when I got it but that's it, nothing really legal.
I wasn't going to sign my name to anything when I gave it away. It's not a bad boat and to be made usable, all the guy needed to do was cut and fit a single sheet of plywood for a deck, and glass it in on the edges if he felt like it. The transom was plenty solid and the hull had no damage. It had no steering, lights, or any sign of an electrical system. The old motor was rope steered and the controls were dash mounted on a plate which I removed for future use. In other words, a bare hull. It didn't even have a bow eye or transom tie down loops, they were new and I used them on my boat.
I had every intention of cutting it up but since it was a solid hull that needed so little to make it usable, I listed it as a freebie. The ad only ran for about 6 hours, I got four calls, the second guy to show took it.
In my eyes, the boat was too small, and had too little freeboard for my liking but for a small guy it would be fine. Probably a better toy than fishing boat.
If he returns, I think he got the serious impression that he'd be hauled away. Even the neighbors that were here gave him a hard time and pretty much laughed at him. I'm sure he couldn't miss the fact that two were wearing uniforms or driving patrol cars. That alone should deter his return.
I never heard of the marina he took it too, it's not local, and not on the water. It was a carbon reciept hand written, not computer generated.
Just a scribbled hand receipt.
Maybe the marina is trying to do him a big favor and keep him off the water for his own safety. Too dumb to boat?
I gave several boats away on CL over the past few years, this was probably the best or most fixable one yet. I never heard back about any of them till this one. One even got completely restored even though we had cut parts off it with a Sawzall to speed stripping it. I even had one guy load a 19' boat hull on the roof of an SUV, and another drag one away with no trailer because he wanted the remaining hardware off it.
There's no court that would back up such an idiot, but I suppose he could waste a lot of my time trying. I wouldn't touch the guy but I can't say no one else wouldn't if he tried to sue.
A buddy of mine gave away a junk hull that was completely water logged and had several cracks a few months ago and it was found sunk in a nearby river a few days later. I guess the guy that took it decided he didn't want it and just took it to the ramp and let it go, it sunk about a 1/4 mile down stream and drifted ashore. He had no title or proof he ever owned it or had possession of the boat. We did go out one day and tow it to a public ramp so it wouldn't sink in the channel or become a hazard. He called the authorities and told them where the boat was and that it was a boat he gave away, nothing came of it and the boat was finally hauled away. No one had any info on the guy that took it other than the type of vehicle he drove.
Usually if a boat it complete junk, I just take it to the dump, it's not the much to get rid of one, most aren't more than a $20 bill or so and I don't have to worry about how I strip the boat and if anyone is going to want it.
I only listed this one since it was a nice hull with lots of potential. I figured it would make someone a good father/son project without too much work.
It was also small enough to put out for trash pickup after a few cuts with a saw.
I wonder if they warned him, and then he said "well it can't be very much, so go for it."
