Can You Recover a Boat Without Papers?

Yes, you can recover a boat without papers, but it's far from simple!

An abandoned dinghy on a riverbank, a boat stranded on the beach, or a magnificent sailboat left for dead in an old warehouse — any passionate boater would want to get hold of one and give it a new life. However, it's not that simple: recovering an abandoned vessel that belongs to someone else — whether it has been abandoned for 2 months or 5 years, whether new or rusted — is considered theft and is punishable by law.

We review the different scenarios for recovering a boat without papers in this article.

1. A Brief Reminder of What a Compliant Boat Means

It is possible to recover a boat or even a sailboat without papers or registration plate. However, without any documentation it is impossible to register the boat, which means it cannot legally navigate.

First, it is helpful to explain what a compliant boat with all necessary papers means, to highlight the importance of those documents.

First of all, it is important to know that since 16 June 1998, with the first recreational craft directive, all pleasure craft placed on the market within the European Union must carry the "CE" marking, which attests to their conformity with safety requirements defined by the decree. This legislation applies to all pleasure craft from 2.5 to 24 metres in length.

Before 1998, pleasure craft were approved by the maritime authorities, the CNSNP (National Commission for Nautical Safety and Prevention) and the AFNOR standards.

Thus since that date all vessels except those designed for competition, kayaks, boats built before 1950, or boats intended exclusively for racing, must be accompanied by the CE marking and other specific documents:

• The ECD (European Declaration of Conformity), which commits the manufacturer to the conformity of the boat with current legislation. Note that this is an essential element for registering a boat, without which you cannot navigate legally;

• An owner's manual which provides all the information necessary for safe operation. It also allows you to learn more about installation, maintenance, normal use of the boat and risk management and prevention.

Then, to identify a pleasure craft, again several documents must be present on the boat:

• The manufacturer's plate, where a set of data about the boat's manufacturer must appear, including the "CE" marking, the boat model, the year of manufacture, the serial number, and the name of the notified body;

• The WIN number (Watercraft Identification Number), the boat's identification number. It provides information about the manufacturer and the year of production.

2. Make Sure You've Checked Everything

If you decide to recover a sailboat, all these documents will be necessary for its legality since it is essential to have them in order to later facilitate its registration.

Before taking any steps, make sure you have thoroughly inspected the vessel to have any hope of registering it. The more documents you find, the simpler the process will be.

First, we advise you to make a complete tour of the sailboat and hope to find the manufacturer's plate somewhere on the hull.

Then check whether there is a WIN number.

Finally, if you find the marking you will know whether it is a boat built before or after 1998.

3. Recovering a Sailboat Without Papers Is Not Simple!

However, if you have no luck and there is no document on the boat, we will assume it is a pre-1998 boat — and that even the maritime authorities of the time did not approve it, nor know its origin. In that case, even the maritime authorities of the era did not approve it.

Several possible scenarios:

• If there is only the manufacturer's plate with a known owner: this is not straightforward, as there will be no administrative record of it. You'll need to contact the owner to get them to transfer the boat legally;

• If there is the manufacturer's plate but the owner is unknown: you'll need to contact the maritime authority to check if the boat has ever been registered;

• If there is a plate but the owner is deceased, you'll need to look into the estate by contacting a notary;

• In the worst case, if there is truly no document on the sailboat and the owner is unknown, nothing can be done except the PCA (Post Construction Assessment) carried out by a body notified to the European Commission. For information, a boat without a manufacturer's plate and without CE marking is a boat without papers, and therefore has no right to navigate.

So to be able to recover it, you'll need to carry out a post-construction assessment and have the boat evaluated by the ICNN (Institute for Certification and Standardisation for Nautical Sports) on its stability and buoyancy. You'll also need to draw up an ECD (written declaration of conformity) to the requirements of the third directive of 2013 (2013-53 EU).

We're talking about the PCA — an operation that aims to guarantee full compliance with the regulations of the 2013 directive. However, this operation is costly and time-consuming, as it involves an inspection followed by certification of those same points.

A word of advice: unless this is the sailboat you've always dreamed of, don't get bogged down in time-consuming and costly procedures. Sometimes it's simpler to start with something new!

4. A Boat Always Has an Owner

There are various ways to try to find the owner of the paperless sailboat in question. We advise several solutions for finding the owner:

1.

Try to make direct contact with the owner

You can start by placing a letter with your contact details and your intentions inside the vessel and hope to receive a response about the owner's willingness to hand it over. You should protect your letter from the elements by placing it in a plastic bag, for example, and sheltered from the rain!

You can also, if the sailboat is in a harbour, contact the harbourmaster's office. You may be able to get information about the owner and find out whether they are aware of a transfer project for the paperless sailboat.

2.

Contact the maritime authority

Then, while explaining your intentions to be as transparent as possible, you can contact the maritime authority. Send a letter like the one described above and ask whether it can be forwarded to the owner if they are known to the boat's administration. Add to that a covering letter with a stamped envelope explaining the situation.

Do not ask them directly for the owner's contact details — the maritime authority is not permitted to provide these, and above all you risk encountering nothing but an exception.

3.

Use the internet and social media

You can also harness the power of social media. Don't hesitate to join our Facebook community! We have created a Facebook group with nearly 8,000 members! Join us on the group Bateaux naviguant très rarement à donner ou vendre (bateaux "ventouses") by posting a photo of the sailboat — perhaps through word of mouth someone will have information about the official owner. Not to mention that on this group you'll be able to browse numerous listings of boats to give away or sell at competitive prices. So don't wait to find your dream boat!

4. Always Stay Within the Law!

It may be that all these steps prove ineffective — the important thing is to always stay within the law. It is important to remember that a sailboat always has an owner, and that taking possession of it without going through the proper legal procedures would be considered theft. So take your time, follow the steps described above, and stay patient: the right opportunity will come!