Question: I was recently stopped by the Coast Guard after leaving a waterfront restaurant in my boat. I was given a sobriety test by a member of the Coast Guard crew, while others searched my boat from bow to stern while...
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.
Ask a Maritime Attorney: The boat I was contracted to do work on is being foreclosed on but I haven’t been paid yet, what do I do?
March 24, 2022
Question: I am a boat mechanic and I have been working on a project to re-power a 70-foot motor yacht. The job is almost complete, but I just received notice that Federal Marshals have seized the boat on behalf of a bank to...
Question: Last year I completed a major structural repair to my boat after another boat crashed into us during a race. I am now preparing to sell the boat and I am wondering whether I need to disclose the collision and the...
Ask a Maritime Attorney: I won a judgment in court, can I use the vessel to receive the money I am owed?
February 24, 2022
Question: I won a $25,000 judgment against a boat owner in state court. The boat is registered with the Coast Guard, and since the judgment is related to a business dispute I’m not sure if I can use the boat to satisfy the...
Question: We own a large motor yacht, and we almost lost her last year when the propeller shaft broke in half during a voyage to Mexico. The boat would have sunk like a rock if the rudder had not stopped the broken end of the...