Sadly but, they are the rightful owners of the boat, and without a Salvage lien or anything written. Not much that can be done. Falls under my word against his. Which really equates to Joe doing alot of hard work for some dumbasses to renig on a verbal deal, and possibly get little or nothing. He is in posession of thier property and he cannot sell it, damage it in anyway or he can be on the hook for Neglegent Salvage according to the RCW's. All bussiness transactions need to be in writing of some sort with signatures... I hope the best for Joe, And he sould out the bums, that many on this board went out of thier way for, in tracking down the lost gear, and putting the finders in contact with the owners..... Some people just SUCK