Beach bumming

A creaky houseboat drifts aimlessly in the California Delta. A cannibalized sailboat beaches near a crowded wharf in Santa Barbara. An old fishing skiff washes ashore on a popular beach near Los Angeles International Airport.

From Sacramento to the Mexico border, abandoned vessels are cluttering California’s beaches, marinas and waterways. They spill diesel fuel, block navigation channels, disintegrate into shards of wood and glass on beaches and pollute wildlife habitats.

Derelict and discarded boats are so prevalent that state lawmakers are considering a bill to help local agencies auction or dispose of decaying watercraft.

The state Department of Boating and Waterways offers grants to help local agencies haul away old boats. Since 1998, the agency has helped pay to remove 470 vessels at an average cost of $3,000 per boat.

But to save tax dollars and turn up the heat on negligent owners, Assemblyman Joe Canciamilla (D-Pittsburg) introduced a bill to allow authorities to dispose of an abandoned boat after 45 days, instead of the current 90 days. Castoff boats litter parts of Canciamilla’s East Bay district. The bill, which would double fines to $3,000 and force owners to pay towing and storage costs, cleared the Assembly and awaits a vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The abandoned boats are not the sleek craft that cut a wake at the San Diego Yacht Club regatta. Many of the vessels are 20 to 50 years old and decrepit.

“These are boats that just kept going down the food chain,” says David Johnson, spokesman for the state boating department.

Harbor masters and law enforcement officers presume that most boaters abandon vessels during hard times or because they decide it is cheaper to dump the boat than maintain it. In many cases, they say, owners anchor the boats offshore and never return rather than pay a salvage company $4,000 or more to haul it away.

“Sometimes people think buying a boat is exciting, but it turns out to be a piece of junk and falls apart,” says Dusty Krane, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors.

Storms or strong winds often push abandoned boats onshore, where they become a nuisance for beachgoers and the responsibility of local agencies. Authorities try to identify the owners using registration numbers emblazoned on the hulls, but often fail because the Department of Motor Vehicles records are incomplete or the owner cannot be located.

Ditching boats is a serious problem on the California Delta, where officials say miles of winding waterways and sheltered inlets make a perfect dumping ground for dozens of boats.

Sometimes homeless people live in them, drifting with the currents until the vessel sinks. In many cases, officials leave sunken boats unless they pose a hazard to other vessels.

In Santa Barbara, dozens of boats drop anchor in a “free-mooring zone” just east of tourist mecca Stearns Wharf. Mick Kronman, harbor operations manager for the city, calls that stretch of ocean “a parking lot for derelict and unused crafts.”

Last year, Kronman says 28 boats sank or ran aground on the nearby beach. He says the city plans to issue mooring permits as early as winter to keep better track of boats.

“The thing is, they keep coming,” he says of the abandoned boats. “It’s like a wave and a wave.”

Meanwhile, Kronman photographs the grounded hulks. He’s seen a 25-foot sailboat missing a third of its hull on the port side, and a 20-foot powerboat stripped of everything of value, including the motor.

“It’s an absolute hazard to the public,” he says.

At Dockweiler State Beach, near Marina del Rey, abandoned boats wash ashore nearly every month.

During eight months in 2003, records show Los Angeles county officials discovered and removed nine boats, including a catamaran that washed up on Christmas Day, a 26-foot Ericson sailboat that spilled onto the beach in pieces over several days and a stranded 13-foot skiff named Aleluya.