Abandoned boats

And I thought we had a problem with abandoned cars in our neighbourhood:

From the New York Times:

They often sandpaper over the names and file off the registry numbers, doing their best to render the boats, and themselves, untraceable. Then they casually ditch the vessels in the middle of busy harbors, beach them at low tide on the banks of creeks or occasionally scuttle them outright.

The bad economy is creating a flotilla of forsaken boats. While there is no national census of abandoned boats, officials in coastal states are worried the problem will only grow worse as unemployment and financial stress continue to rise. Several states are even drafting laws against derelicts and say they are aggressively starting to pursue delinquent owners.

The Leichhardt Council rangers rang today to say that a car I reported abandoned in their patch last week will be towed shortly.  I thought they had to give owners 30 days notice before removing a vehicle, but they said it's only 72 hours if the registration has expired.