Dozens of dilapidated boats abandoned in Marina del Rey

Dozens of abandoned boats are piling up, sitting, or even sinking to the bottom of Marina del Rey.

"This isn't just a Marina del Rey problem, it's a state problem," said Capt. Sean McCarthy from the nonprofit Catalina Crew. "It starts with someone not paying their slip fee or they owe more than the boat is worth."

Sgt. Time Gannon with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Harbor Operation estimated that at least 40 abandoned boats are sitting in their impounds. He said a lot of the time people can't afford the upkeep. 

"I think some people think it would be really great to live on a boat in the Marina, and then a few months down the road they're like, wait a second," Gannon said. 

Gannon said that budget cuts, which caused the Surrendered and Abandoned Vessel Exchange to lose half of its funding, have complicated removing the boats. 

"It does need to go through the process," Gannon said. "It goes through the DMV, the entire lien process."

On top of the cuts, Harbor Operations can work with only one contracted vendor to remove all the boats, leading to a backlog. 

McCarthy and Catalina Crew hopes to help alleviate the buildup in Marina del Rey by raising money through private funds and donations to either remove or recycle the boats before they become an environmental hazard.

"Our goal, eventually, is to have people call us before it gets to the abandonment time," McCarthy said. "Some are hoarder-ish where there's a lot of stuff piled up."

Deputies said they are listening to concerns and working as quickly as they can. 

"There's a lot that goes into it," Gannon said. "It's not a simple process at all."