I am researching the services offered by commercial assistance towing companies (such as SeaTow or Vessel Assist), and I am a little confused about the interaction between these services and the U.S. Coast Guard. Under what...
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.
My boat was out of the water last week for some bottom work and an insurance survey. My marine surveyor told me something about marine insurance coverage that did not make any sense. We were talking about insurance claims...
Shipyard liability release
November 8, 2014
My boat is listed for sale through a California broker and I recently accepted an offer from a prospective buyer. The offer is contingent on a sea trial and survey, which will require the boat to be hauled out of the water...
Using a California broker
October 25, 2014
A: The short answer to our reader’s question is a resounding “NO.” If the current owner of the boat sells the boat to someone else under circumstances described by our reader, he will have no grounds for legal action...
Purchasing a bank repo boat
October 13, 2014
I am in the process of buying a 40 foot motor yacht that was a bank repo. The broker disclosed that the previous owner was a couple years behind on his property tax payments, and I am concerned that the county may assert a...