What should I do? (Ethical advice)

[SnappingTurtle]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

I think you have three choices.

1.give them back the boat, along with a bill for all your out of pocket expenses, plus an fair hourly rate for all time spent, up to this point in the restoration. Including phone calls and e-mails.*
2.threaten to take them to small claims court for the release of the legal documents required for you to register the boat, as they promised to do, before turning the boat over to you.*
3.just give them the boat back, and feel like you got screwed.

*talk to your attorney first

I spoke to a friend who is a attorney, about this, and those were his suggestions.

 

[Shizzy]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

here is how I see it.

#1 your time and materials are gone.

#2 they changed their mind, they need to come get it. I dont care if its 1 block of 20 miles, its not you problem. Send them a letter certified mail (keep a copy) stating they need to come get it by a certain date or storage fees will be added.

#3 any dents or holes that "magically" appear while the boat is sitting at the end of your driveway were not caused by you.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

I say,,, if they push the matter and you don't want top deal with it anymore.

Find a couple of your buddies and hand deliver the boat back to the university, I bet the attorney's desk would make a nice boat stand Of course you should saw it in half first for easy handling...

 

[Ret USN CPO]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

Your labor is worth a lot, don't you think?

You bet it is...at LEAST $85 an hour around here for service work on a boat. And don't forget the 20-75% mark up on parts and materials. Of course good glass work could go even higher.

As for not wanting to get the sports guy in trouble, it doesn't look like he is being man enough to stand up for a decision he made.

If they do want to pursue this further, and you are going to let them come to your house and pick it up so they can scrap it, then you should go ahead and help them out by cutting the boat into small enough pieces that they can easily haul it away in the trunk of a Pinto. Still charge them for your time and materials, but throw in the "dismantling" as a freebie.

I can't believe an institution of higher learning who more than likely charges 10's of thousands of dollars a year for one student to attend is so worried about a $100 piece of garbage that was sitting around for three years...I smell fish.

My vote goes with everyone else's...That is your boat, and if they want it back that bad they need to contact your lawyer. Whether or not the recreation dude had the authority to sign that waste removal permit is not YOUR concern. That should be decided by the University and the courts.

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

If anyone is interested, I thought I'd let you guys know whats going on. I got a voicemail the other morning from the Rec Sports Head letting me he tried to do everything in his power for me to keep the boat, but "the boat needs to be put back ASAP". He also wanted me to give him a call ASAP to make sure there weren't going to be any "problems". At this point, I was still pondering the possibilities of keeping the boat and repainting it...etc, so I didn't call him back because I still was planning on hanging onto the boat. I awoke the next morning to another voicemail from him letting me know that he didn't see the boat back there yet. At this point, I was starting to feel harassed. I decided to give him a call and see how long this was going to continue. He immediately answered the phone by letting me know he was sorry but that I "needed to just go ahead and put the boat back...OK?" I let him know that I borrowed a truck to transport the boat and wasn't going to borrow another vehicle and use my gas to fix his problem. I told him that if somebody from the University wants to come out, I'll even help them load the boat. He sounded frustrated and eventually just told me somebody would be contacting me to come get the boat. Click. That has been two days ago and still no calls. I'm hoping that it just blows over and I'll just hang on the boat, but we'll see. If I don't hear from somebody by the end of the month, I'm just considering the boat my property and getting on with giving this boat a new life.

Bad move. You just made a verbal contract with them, enabling them to come pick up the boat anytime they want to this year. At this point, you'd have to wait an entire year before you could guarantee they had no more right to pick it up, but at this point, that's the position you're in. Of course, you could make a good legal fight for it after a month, but they could well end up with it.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

Let them make an "official move" not phone calls or verbal. He said she said means nothing legally. Keep the disposal certificate in a very safe place and make some copies of it. Keep the boat in a very "safe place"
I bet none of this would have happened if they released it to a scrap dealer.

 

[joed]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

It comes down to
1. How much work & $$$ did you put into the boat
and
2. How badly do you really want this boat.

It may not be worth the aggravation.

 

[pduquette]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

If I were to give it up - it would be sans dataplate and hin ....they wont need them when scrapping....

 

[trussmonkey]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

hey lester !
If you are going to just give the boat back and you have a waste removal agreement
just call the sport rec guy and tell him that you will be dropping off the cut-up pieces of the boat or if he wants to pick up the pieces they will be sitting at the curb for the recyclers to pick-up

another option is to figure out what your state requires to get a H.I.N. for a homemade boat, since the boat you got from the school is not really the same boat you have (is been repaired and or altered)

last thing, write up a storage, transport, and repair bill. include a hefty charge for your time and a mark up for any materials. if they do come to pick up the boat make sure they sign the bill and pay the bill before given them the boat back

 

[KeyWestBoater]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

Wondering what finally happened...

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

I agree with others that this is beginning to sound like someone had "dibs" on the boat. Whatever the reason, however, it also sounds like the school is behaving very badly.

Additionally, it sounds like you don't want to give the boat back, and have become annoyed at what is going on. That being the case, perhaps its time to fight back. Since you have a document that should suffice to establish your current legal ownership of the boat, you might be able to deal with the title issue.

Maybe its time to call the Athletic Director to tell him that you will not return the boat, and that you expect the school to provide a valid title, signed over to you, within 10 business days. As for what to do if the school won't cough up the title, I think you have a couple of options. One is, of course, small claims court, but I think there is another option that might get a quicker response. I would consider telling the school that, if they don't act in good faith and provide the title, you will go to one of your local news stations with the story. "Action Reproters" love this kind of thing, and your story would probably get interest just because it is somewhat unusual. My guess is that the school will fall all over its self to help you, if they think they are going to get a bunch of bad press over this.

 

[KeyWestBoater]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

Just wondering what finally happened...

 

[pduquette]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

Can anyone in Lester's nieghborhood hear the sound of a cut-off wheel on aluminum ? He must be busy! or out fishing

 

[bootle]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

It beats me as to why in hell that you did not in the first place tell them that the boat was being used by you and others for target practice.

 

[lester]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

Alright guys, I almost forgot about this thread and can catch you up on what happened. I hadn't received a phone call or email about the boat for almost a week since I told the Rec Sports Head he can send somebody to pick it up, so I was thinking he was blowing smoke and I was just going to hand on to it. The whole point of this project was to fix it up, title and register it and give it to my father for Christmas as something he can just tool around in while fishing our local river (he always wanted a jon boat). I checked my email about 9 days since the phone call and there was an email from the property management director that was willing to send out one of his "guys" to come pick it up at my earliest convenience. I called the guy and sent up a time, all the while still a little ticked off at the situation, and the guy showed up. I told the guy what happened (he was a boater) and he apologized while we loaded into the bed of his university truck. I turned around to head in and "feel screwed", but he told me to hold on. He turned around with a blank University check and asked me how much I would assume I had spent on fixing the boat including labor. I was shocked as no one had mentioned this to me before. I showed him my receipts, calculated a small labor fee and then the guy even threw on an extra $50.00 at the end for the truck I had to borrow and the gas. Even though it was no boat, I felt like the University was at least trying to make right on this deal. I cashed that check the next day and got a phone call for the Rec Sports Head. He told me once again how sorry he was and that he was up to his neck with the school lawyers about this. He sincerely (now that he had the boat back) seemed empathetic. He thanked me again for helping him out and let me know that the Crew team is currently using a 2001 Alumacraft 14' in working condition that will probably be switched out at the end of this next season, and he told me that he will do everything he can to get that boat legally to me when they switch out. I immediately thought "not again....", but he told me that this time he would get everything put through the university lawyers first, and even take care of all of the registration paperwork and present me with the official title in my name before I pick that one up. Anyways I'm not holding my breath. Overall though I feel like this situation was a good learning experience for all involved. Hopefully I will be able to get my father a jon boat one of these days....and actually be able to keep it. Thanks for all of the advice guys. I didn't feel to screwed after cashing that check. We'll see about getting that other boat...I'll keep you guys posted...but I'm not going to move a damn thing until I have a green paper in my hands saying that I am the new owner of that boat. Thanks again for all of the advice.

 

[KeyWestBoater]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

I'm glad they paid you for your time and materials. I'm sure you would have liked to have kept the boat but it might have been a hassle getting it titled and registered.

I'm sure you will get a good jon boat for your dad. There's a lot out there, look at Craig's List.

Merry Christmas!
KWB

 

[Tyme2fish]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

I know you are disappointed in not keeping the boat but it does seem that at least 2 people at the school know what's legal isn't always what's right.
I think you came out of it alright.

 

[ToothDocNick]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

Glad to hear that this kind of worked out for you. Sounds like you may have made a good friend in the Rec Sports Head. I think he truly feels sorry for all this and it wouldn't surprise me to hear from him when this boat comes available (as long as the lawyers can get it right). At least it wasn't a total loss and you were compensated for your efforts.

 

[aspeck]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

What a saga, but at least the university did the right thing in paying you for your time, effort, and expense. Good on them, and it sounds like the Rec Director is going to treat you right also!

 

[mickjetblue]

Re: What should I do? (Ethical advice)

Boat transfers require a title transfer, and a legal process to put that into effect.
This post will help make others aware of the pitfalls of an "informal transfer",
without a legal title transfer at that time.

I am mostly impressed with the nature of all posts related to this, since
nobody asked about the name of the school of concern. Everything was
kept conceptual, and not personal, except to give you some encouragement
and support.

It is likely that staff from the school caught wind of the post, and that
encouraged them to make things right with you for your costs.

I'd check the used boat listings in your area for a jon boat, if you're still
interested. The school would probably appreciate that, too.

Some things are best learned from, and forgotten about.
No pun on the school intended...