A pontoon boat, filled with empty crab traps, lists at the dock on Middle River, its registration long expired. A mast of a newer sailboat, submerged at its pier, bobs in the waves, but its keel is mired in the river bottom. The beached hull of a long-abandoned powerboat has morphed into a creek marker.
Ted Miller, a lifelong Middle River resident, looks at the shore across from his waterfront home and points to these and other glaring examples of the growing problem of derelict boats in eastern Baltimore County.
"It's not so easy living along these waters," he said.
There are similar problems along most of Maryland's shorelines and waterways as year after year, boaters become overwhelmed by the cost of vessel ownership and go to great lengths to get out of their obligations.
As marine clutter grows, state and local governments can afford to remove only the most hazardous of the state's half-sunken vessels.
Unfortunately, there are few legitimate options to get rid of unwanted boats. It's relatively easy for the people who litter the shoreline to cover their tracks. Boats often change owners, and some have even taken chainsaws to their registration numbers. Often, the public gets stuck with the mess — and the cost of cleanup.
Bob Gaudette, state director of boating services, said his agents handled 130 abandoned boat inquiries last year and eventually hauled away 56, most of them unusable. He acknowledges that there may be many more such vessels in Maryland waters — unreported or sunk in deep waters and undetected.
He has answered several calls from harried waterfront homeowners who have suddenly found a random boat — owner unknown — tied up to their piers. One man abandoned his cruiser at an Inner Harbor marina last year and left the title at the helm, saying he just could not handle the costs.
"There are just under 200,000 registered boats in Maryland," Gaudette said. "You are talking about the terrible 2 percent of owners who irresponsibly abandon their boats. We do everything we can to get people to remove derelict boats, but our funds are limited."
The state, which has about 7,700 miles of shoreline, budgets about $250,000 annually for derelict boat removal. Baltimore County, with 175 miles of shoreline, typically receives about $30,000 from that fund and must choose the most problematic vessels for removal.
"We can't remove a boat just because it is sinking and has no value," said Candace L. Croswell, capital and operations manager for the county's environmental protection department. "And we won't spend taxpayer money, if we can find the owner."
Most abandoned boats have outlived their usefulness, Gaudette said, though he hasn't seen a major surge during the recession as some states have. But while the vessels may not be an immediate hazard, there's always the potential that they will create problems for boaters and the environment.
"We don't have the massive problems like Florida and New York, but we have a lot of these boats in coves and sunken in channels," Gaudette said. "As they break up — and they all will break up eventually — they are more than a visual detriment. You could be picking up the pieces."
Older, poorly maintained boats have no resale value, not even for their parts, said Barry Edmonston, owner of an Edgewater dealership. Some charities may accept a working boat, but the owner usually has to deal with transporting it.
"It is expensive to dispose of an older boat," Edmonston said. "Most of what is abandoned has little or no value. This is something that has always happened, and there is no good government program to stop it."
Boats can change hands frequently, making it difficult to find out who abandoned them. Investigators must devote time and effort to tracking owners, a task made more onerous if the registration number has been removed. Absent an owner, officials must advertise a description of the boat and its location and wait for a reply. The state has expedited that process with recent legislation that reduced the wait time after advertising from 90 to 30 days.
If investigators can locate owners, there are fines and court-imposed deadlines for removing the vessel. One Dundalk man, ordered to dispose of a 32-foot powerboat on Back River or face a fine and incarceration, set the vessel on fire. He is serving 90 days and will pay a $3,000 fine. Another man, caught trying to sink his boat in Bear Creek, will be in the county detention center for 18 months. Removing those two vessels ultimately cost the state more than $26,000.
"Maybe when the word spreads about jail and fines, owners will step up," Gaudette said. "Unfortunately, some more people might end up in jail because abandoning a boat is a totally irresponsible thing to do."
The harsh penalties are justified, given the danger posed to other boaters and the adverse impact on the environment, said Sgt. Art Windermuth, a Maryland natural resources officer. The volume of calls from the public has convinced Windermuth that the problem is widespread. He asked the public to remain vigilant for potential hazards.
"This is dumping on waterways enjoyed by Maryland residents and wildlife," he said. "We should all take it personally when someone infringes on our environment. A responsible owner takes care of the boat from beginning to end, including proper disposal."
In Middle River, Miller and others have repeatedly pinpointed locations for state and county officials hoping those hulks might be hauled away.
"The county has really dropped the ball with these boats that have been problems for years," Miller said.
A letter to Miller from the county Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management says, "We understand these vessels present a negative aesthetic impact to the community. Unfortunately, they have been a low priority for removal."
"It would only take one strong storm like Hurricane Isabel to push these old boats out into the channel," Miller said.
The county keeps several contract haulers on call and pays an average of $5,000 to remove a derelict boat, Croswell said. But costs go up if a contractor has to bring in cranes and barges. Some boat materials can be recycled, but many of the sodden remains end up in landfills — which accept only small craft that are stripped of engines and hazardous materials.
There are few options for disposing of larger boats.
Miller and Ken Higgins, seasoned boaters who cruise the rivers and creeks in eastern Baltimore County, know where owners have abandoned ships or cast a power cruiser or sailboat adrift to slowly spill its contents into waters where others fish, crab and swim.
"This is not just sad — it's an embarrassment for the boating community," said Miller.
Higgins, who lives on Sue Creek, can easily navigate his 20-foot Scout in the narrow waterways, many surrounded by newly constructed upscale waterfront homes. He can give the location, dimensions and make of most abandoned watercraft.
"I can name at least a dozen just around Middle River," he said.
Rick King, fellow Middle River resident and boater, called the growing number of derelict vessels outrageous.
"They won't let a junk car sit on the road, but a sunken boat can hang around for years," he said. "There are a lot more junked cars than boats."
Miller has lived in his home at the headwaters of Middle River for 12 years, and for nearly all that time he has battled the derelict boat issue. Most of his neighbors on the river are responsible owners who keep well-maintained boats at their piers. Many local residents swim in the shallower end of the river. The waterlogged beams of those three abandoned boats a few hundred yards away could break apart and create havoc for boaters and swimmers, he said.
"Where are the resources to rid the waters of these eyesores and hazards?" Miller asked.
Despite all his lobbying, he does not see the problem ending any time soon.
"This problem has gone on for years," Miller said. "People go into boating on a shoestring without realizing what the upkeep is."