What are the rules about acquiring

Some clubs have words in their rules regarding abandoned boats. There is also some useful guidance on the RYA website, copied below:

Abandoned Boats

The problem frequently arises where, for any one of a number of reasons, the committee of a club finds itself having to deal with a dinghy that has been apparently abandoned in the dinghy park, or a boat that has been left on its moorings for a long period of time, there being no trace of the former club member responsible for the boat.

Although the boat in question may be an eyesore, unless it has actually become a nuisance or a danger, those who interfere with it do so at their peril if the owner has paid all requisite storage, parking or mooring charges.

In the absence of any club rule covering abandoned boats, where the committee has ascertained that charges have been unpaid for some time, they should adopt the procedure laid down in Schedule 1 of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977:

1. Attempt to trace the owner by all reasonable means, eg. attaching a notice to the boat in a weathertight envelope in a prominent position, post i ng a notice on the club board soliciting information from the members as to the whereabouts of the owner and following up leads or information that may be forthcoming. The notice should identify the boat in question, state that it must be removed and specify the sum payable by the owner to the club by way of arrears of mooring charges.

2. If the committee fails to trace the owner having taken all reasonable steps to do so, then they are entitled to sell the goods, having first attempted to notify the owner.

3. A notice of intention to sell the goods shall:

(a) Specify the name and address of the club and identify the boat in question and where it is lying.

(b) Specify the date on or after which the committee intends to sell the boat.

(c) Specify the amount which is payable by the owner in respect of the boat and which became due before the giving of the notice.

The notice must be served in reasonable time before the proposed sale and, if a sum of money is due, not less than 3 months beforehand. The notice should be sent by registered letter or recorded delivery to the last known address of the owner.

4. The sale must take place at the best possible price. It would be as well to advertise the sale reasonably widely and a record of all advertising and of the details of the sale should be kept for six years, lest in years to come the owner should reappear and claim that the sale was rigged at an artificially low price.

5. The proceeds of the sale, after the deduction of legal costs, costs of sale, moorings charges and any others attributable to the boat in question, should be calculated and minuted by the committee. The proceeds should be deposited in a bank and retained against the eventuality of a claim by the owner within a period of six years for the net proceeds together with accrued interest.

The committee should consider introducing a new general rule. Despite the fact that a person may no longer be a member, the rules amount to a contract between club and each individual member and there is no reason on principle why certain rights and obligations under the contract should not continue, even after the expulsion or retirement of a member.

It is suggested that a new general rule should be included on the following lines:

'If at any time any mooring fees payable to the club by any member or former member shall be three months or more in arrears:

(a) The committee shall be entitled to move the boat to any other part of the premises without being liable for any loss or damage to the boat howsoever caused.

(b) The committee shall be entitled upon giving one month's notice in writing to the member or former member, at his last known address shown in the register of members, to sell the boat and to deduct any monies due to the club (whether by way of arrears of subscription or mooring fees or otherwise) from the net proceeds of sale before accounting for the balance (if any) to the member or former member.

(c) Alternatively any boat which in the opinion of the committee cannot be sold may, upon such notice as aforesaid, be disposed of in any manner the committee may think fit and the expenses recovered from the member or former member. Any arrears as aforesaid shall be deemed to be a debt owing to the club by the member or former member.

(d) Further the club shall, at all times, have a lien over members' or former members' boats parked or moored on '    the club's premises or club moorings in respect of all monies due to the club, whether in respect of arrears of mooring fees or subscriptions or otherwise'.