Ask a Maritime Attorney - Page 57 of 66

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.

Should I Form a Corporation to Buy a Boat in Partnership?

November 13, 2008

If I buy a vessel in partnership with two of my friends and one of them gets in an accident, am I liable — as one of the owners — whether or not I am aboard? Should we form a corporation or an LLC to buy the boat? This is...

When Is a Licensed Captain Required?

October 30, 2008

The company I work for owns a 95-foot motoryacht that we use for entertaining clients and customers. I have been operating the boat myself during these events, but our insurance agent recently told us that the boat must be...

How Are State Sales and Use Taxes Connected to County Personal Property Tax?

October 15, 2008

We read your column in the last issue of The Log regarding the return to the “one-year rule” for the assessment of sales and use tax in California. We’re wondering, though, why the rule is connected to the assessment of...

Will the ‘90-day Yacht Club’ Tax Exemption Rules Ever Return?

October 2, 2008

I have heard that the law for the 90-day offshore delivery sales tax exemption has changed again, and that the exemption now requires the boat to remain outside of California for one year. What is the status of the law? When...

Do Rules of the Road Prohibit Singlehanded Boating?

September 18, 2008

I have a couple of technical questions about the Rules of the Road. My reading of Navigation Rule 5 suggests that singlehanding a boat is always dangerous. I know many people who singlehand powerboats of 40 feet or more in...