It had three isata fransene itallian diesels.The boat would run all day at 90 +.I am sure of this I was Ken Kramers apache marine electrician for 7 yrs. designed and installed in all boats including Bens 92 Ft gardner designed motor sailer.His first off shore boat was #69 and converted from a cafe racer by Ton Evanes plus other riggers and I wired the conversion.I think it had aranson drives.

The 92' motor sailer was named the "Apache Princess". Not many even know about her. The inside was absolutely beautiful, wasn't she? :drink:

Excuse me, Mr. Hijackers. Anyone have a progress report on the allegedly hot parts and missing boat?

Any update on this one?

The insurance company meet with James Harpold on 03/17/11, and has been awaiting his signed statement of events which has been in the hands of his attorney since 03/24/11. The insurance company contacted the attorney and visited his office a few times, no response as of two weeks ago. That's the last status update I have.

Matthew Schmahl
 

Please permit this message to clarify the circumstances, while simultaneously apologizing to all for my delinquency in attending to OffshoreOnly.com. Due to other commitments it is a challenge to visit and read all the posts. I am one of the persons involved in unraveling the misfortunes of the Apache named Running Bear. As you know the vessel was reported stolen in March 2010 while temporarily located at a closed concrete contractor's former office location in Royal Palm Beach FL. The claim against the vessel was paid by the insurer to the owner(s). More recently in mid March 2011 and within hours after some advertisements surfaced in OffshoreOnly. com involving the engines and related equipment, some dedicated and knowledgeable members of OffshoreOnly.com notified me. (Thanks again, the assistance was very helpful). The circumstances with regard to the engines, sterndrives and related equipment are clear. The person who placed the advertisement on OffshoreOnly.com, James Harpold, had purchased the engines, sterndrives and equipment in good faith and without a hint of notion that they originated from a boat that was reported stolen. He and his associates were immediately helpful to our investigation and have provided very helpful information that sheds light on the circumstances in their totality. In that James Harpold had acquired the engines, sterndrives and equipment in good faith, paid good money, and had no idea the equipment originated from a stolen boat, it was not within the realm of equity to challenge an ownership issue regarding the engines and sterndrives. James Harpold has since maintained regular contact with me and is oontinuing to assist in the investigation. In discussions I know that recently James Harpold sold the engines, sterndrives and equipment to another person located in South Carolina. Obviously the person in South Carolina is familiarized with the events and just like James Harpold, he has no involvement in the circumstances of the theft of the boat and he also acquired the engines and sterndrives in an entirely legitimate transaction. I will pay more attention to keeping all of you informed, and yes the roll out will take months. Meanwhile, we all know where the engines and sterndrives are, can anyone tell me where the hull and the trailer are? Again, all of you have been exceedingly helpful. Thanks and regards. Matthew Schmahl.

Good to hear! Thanks for the update. And to James, if my speculation caused you any undo frustration I am sorry, there were some things that needed to be clarified. Just as I didn't want my friend holding the bag, I'm glad that you didn't wind up screwed either :)

Matthew,

Very good post. If only all threads about stolen items could offer clear insight, we could save many the hardship of speculation.

James,

Glad this has been cleared up. One can only imagine the rush of panic you felt when reality of the situation came to light.

In general, I am confused how the photos fo the items for sale had the hull next to them. Were they photos from when James originally purhcased them? No answer really needed if it is not for public consumption yet.

Again, thanks for the update.

The hull and engine hatch were clearly in the background of pictures posted in the advertisement. I would start there.

Agreed!

+2, everything is right there in the ad pictures!!!


Also, and this is not to cause wakes, but if the engines and drives are 100% known to be from this boat (and they are) do these recently sold parts (or proceeds) not legally belong to the insurance company at this point since they've paid a substantial claim on them??? Seems to me it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference if someone knew they were buying/selling stolen goods or not, they legal belong to the insurance company. These key parts are just as valuable as the hull itself, if not more so and the insurance company paid out a claim for them... :confused:

You know the old saying... If it looks like sh1t and smells like sh1t, then it probably is..... Or the other saying about the duck.... lol

The one about if it quacks and sh1ts like a duck, it probably pee's and fu@ks like a duck too? :drink:


Still waiting for some insight regarding some of the above questions and observations.

Where did the pics come from that were used to advertise the engines and drives? The boat was clearly in the background! This doesn't seem like a tough case to crack!

And since the insurance company already paid a claim on this boat, why do they not care about the potentially most valuable part of this thing... the engines, drives, etc? Sure seems to me that legally they should have ownership of the parts or the proceeds from those sales, yet they don't seem to care about them... all they care about is the dead carcass???

This entire thing is really, really odd!

1) How does Mr. Harpold get away with selling stolen goods, regardless whether he didn't know they were stolen and

2) How does the person he sold the stolen goods to get to keep them?

Good questions.

To me i think it would depend on the Time frame. if the engines and drives were sold the day before the repo/theft then yes they are stolen goods. if they were sold a few months before with the intent of a repower and then things went south, then there was no intent to defraud. Dollars to doughnuts it is time frame which would show "intent"...

I liken this to a situation where a dying parent puts the house in the childrens name at the 11th hour to defer tax/penalty. there are laws stated for time frame for such transactions...but that is just my common sense take on it :D

Timeframe is an intersting way of looking at it.
but from the sounds of it boat was in storage, was stolen, and stripped of engines and drives etc --- which were then sold (with pics of said stolen boat in back ground)
Stolen property is just that stolen.
There must be more to it than is being said?
Or are all those stripped out hulls going through the Repo yards in the right? and taking their engines out because it is just the hull that has the numbers?

Good point. But it begs the question, was the photo taken when the parts were legitimately removed from the boat during a repower which occured before the hull theft and then the photos subsequently re-used when buyer decided to sell the parts.

If that is the case, then the seller deciding to reuse the original photos was not the best decision.

u guys would all be on the other side of the fence if you were the guy that, unknowingly bought stolen parts and paid for them in good faith. now u have to GIVE them back to the insurance company??????? you would all be very willing to return them for no money right guys????????

Agreed, but the ultimate decision maker was the insurance company and they made a decision based on facts that they are content with. I like the fact that they didn't roll someone else into it like the whole national marine fiasco that left good people paying for boats they really didn't own.

2 key words-- TIMEFRAME and UNKNOWINGLY

I Agree also on the "they didn't roll someone else into it like the whole national marine fiasco that left good people paying for boats they really didn't own."

true, i just think the guy should atleast have a chance to keep the stuff if he really is innocent

If thats the case and the insurance company is willing to pass I would like to get a letter from them stating that to have for future.

Who knows what database those parts are listed on as stolen ?
Someone down the road goes to sell something and a serial number pops up as stolen....what a mess.

yeah that would seem like the right way to do it. let the insurance company eat, cause we all know how they love paying out. also different states have different laws. connecticut doesnt require any serial numbers for motors, drives, etc.....just the hull ID # is good enough.

My $.02 worth.

I was involved in a similar situation where a piece of my machinery was stolen by an equipment broker then resold. Since my particular industry is a relatively small world, it was only a matter of time before I found the machine and the person who bought it from the broker that stole it from me. I was told that since the person that bought the machine did not know that he was buying stolen machinery, this made him what is known as a "bonafide third party purchaser". What I learned was that even though I knew where the machine was, and knew who had it, I had no legal recourse to take posession of it. The only recourse that I could take was with the broker that stole the machine. Unfortunatly, by the time I got to the bottom of all this, the broker was already in jail for other crimes, and I was unable to get any compensation. The machine was not covered by insurance, and I am still making payments on the money that I borrowed to buy the machine. At least this guy got his insurance money. I hope this shed a little light on how the system works.

FYI.............

http://treasure.craigslist.org/boa/2619305690.html

89 - 41' Apache - $40000 (Palm city)
Date: 2011-09-26, 9:53PM EDT
Reply to: [email protected] [Errors when replying to ads?]
89 - 41 Apache, Kevlar hull, beautiful boat with perfect paint, ready for power...??

Funny how it looks like it had been covered up in a bush setting.... Kinda like it has been hiding for a while.

OH BOY!!!!

Hey, it's been 6 months, it should be all forgotten about by now, right?...:rolleyes:

Wow.

Bottom Left is the seller.
http://www.sovereignmarine.biz/About...n-Marine-Group

The drama of this boat...

I highly doubt it was indeed reported stolen through the police then a private investigator is the only one looking for it. Doesn't work that way.

Police enter a teletype based on the hin. If the boat turned up somewhere it would be impounded until the owner has been contacted, whomever that may be. Any parts stripped from the vehicle after the fact are also stolen property and would be subject to the same proceedure, whether or not sold in good faith.

Purely speculating, I suspect the boat was going to be repo'd, the owner knew it and stripped the boat took photos then and listed the property sometime later.

The PI added the stolen part (Guessing)
to add urgency and taint the parts for sale for prospective buyers. That way, his client (The lender) gets the majority of the asset back.

Long explanation, sorry.

Now sell me the boat for 10k!!!

No engine hatches, water in bilge up to the tanks...nothing is in the boat. Would not reply and let me know if the seller had title. Best of luck to whomever makes the play. Tribal graphics, really?

Interesting take on it

Head for the hills:eek:

.................................................. ...................the water in the bilge bothers me only because you don`t know how long its been sitting in there + knowing there are no motor covers or any real cover + my boat when ever its out of the water i pull the plug .+ keep the bilge nice . But it just looks like a little i n between the center stringer, shouldn`t cause any problems. I am not a fan of tribal graphics but this boat i really liked, the seller has the title in his name .

Then buy it:coolcowboy:

.................................................. .................................................I am considering it , For the price he offered it to me at , i would like the motor hatches , if he comes up with them, ( they are supposed to get them .) then i just might .

Can someone post the photos from the sales site? I don't want to sign up and get their spam emails.

J- Bonz post 103 has the pics already up -- as he usually does!