I was involved in a collision with another boat while watching a Christmas boat parade last year, and both boats suffered quite a bit of damage. I believe that the captain of the other boat was at fault, but he refused to...
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 damaged in its slip during a storm last winter, when a cleat pulled out of the dock and my remaining tie up line parted under the resulting strain. Several months before the storm, I advised the marina manager...
Our Surveyor Missed Something: What Now?
May 29, 2008
Last year, we purchased a 40-foot sailboat, and we hired a marine surveyor to inspect the boat prior to the purchase. Catastrophe struck less than a month after we took delivery, when the headstay parted near the masthead and...
Do Foreign Boaters Have to Fly a Courtesy Flag?
May 15, 2008
We are the owners of a U.S.-flagged vessel, sailing around the world. We have always flown a new, correctly sized courtesy flag upon entering the territorial waters of a foreign country. The authorities in some countries...
How Can I Enforce a Lien in Canada?
May 1, 2008
I am a marine mechanic and I own a small boat repair company. Last year, I completed a fairly large job on a cruising sailboat and, when the owner failed to pay me, I recorded a lien notice with the Coast Guard. When I tried...