Tag Archives: repossess a boat

Can I repossess a boat without a recorded preferred ship mortgage?

thp0m5n995Q: I loaned $62,000 to a boat owner and required him to sign a security agreement in the form of a Preferred Ship Mortgage. The collateral is a 50-foot motor yacht that is documented with the Coast Guard and currently moored in a marina in Los Angeles Harbor. The note and the mortgage are signed by the debtor, but his signature is not notarized. He missed several payments and he is now clearly in default. How do I go about repossessing the boat and selling it to help pay what he owes me? A: Our reader may run into some problems with his planned repossession of the boat. This appears to be one of those cases where someone handles a complex process by himself without consulting a professional, and as a result he missed a few steps along the way. Read the rest of the answer here, and protect yourself! 13:32