Boaters Jumping Ship in Troubled Times

Many boaters who bought their vessels during sunnier economic times are now regretting their purchases, and some of them are resorting to desperate measures, reports the New York Times. Facing hefty maintenance costs and docking fees, some skippers are simply cutting their crafts—often fully paid for—loose to drift along America's waterways. Others turn to scuttling and fraud.

When one Seattle man failed to sell his boat in a market awash with secondhand vessels, he drilled a hole in the hull and told his insurance company the sinking was an accident. He's going down for insurance fraud, but those who set their boats loose are wreaking havoc as well: They're both a navigational nuisance and an environmental hazard.
(More boat stories.)