Question: During their regular monthly service on my boat, my dive service broke the threaded studs that are used to secure one of the zincs to the hull. This would normally be a minor fix, but the studs are molded into the...
David Weil has been the proud author of the “Ask a Maritime Attorney” column in The Southern California Log Newspaper and Sea Magazine since 2006, with over 300 installments of the column. We have provided links in this section to those articles, covering a wide range of topics of interest to the California maritime and boating communities.
Question: I am in the process of buying a boat and I’d like to know more about the Coast Guard Abstract of Title. What information is listed on the Abstract, and is it available for all boats? My lender was unable to...
Ask a Maritime Attorney: What is my liability?
July 28, 2022
Question: I operate a boat rental business in California, and a customer who claimed to be a maritime attorney advised me that if a jet ski hits and injures someone, the owner of the jet ski may limit his liability to the...
Question: I recently received a letter from my marina, asking me to sign a new rental agreement which they are calling a “license” (the previous agreement was called a “wharfage contract”). Can you explain the legal...
Question: I am helping a friend buy a boat by loaning him a fairly large sum of money. I have been a private lender in the past for people who invest in cars, homes, and commercial real estate when they did not qualify for...