The calculation of a salvage award will determine an amount that is a percentage of the current post–salvage value of the boat. If the case involves a quick tow, off a sandy beach with no surf, the award may be in the neighborhood of five to 10 percent of the value of the boat. Hooking up an abandoned boat and towing it back to port would probably qualify for a higher percentage, since the degree of danger for the rescue vessel would be a little higher.

Higher amounts are awarded under more stressful circumstances. A strong onshore wind on an exposed rocky point, where people are risking their lives, will lead to a very high award. Regardless, awards that exceed 60 to 70 percent of the vessel's value are extremely rare, and an award will never reach 100 percent of the boat's value. Unfortunately, the process does not involve a clear and objective calculation, and as a result, salvage claims frequently end up in court.

COMPENSATION, NOT WINDFALL

This is not just an academic discussion. Boats encounter significant risk every time they leave the dock, and there is always a risk of sinking, even when tied to the dock. It may be rare to find a million dollar yacht adrift offshore, but people find unmanned dinghies and other small boats all the time. A passing boater who helps to save a boat in peril, whether adrift on a calm sea or being driven onto a lee shore, is entitled to be fairly compensated for their efforts. "Fair" compensation, however, should not amount to a windfall.

The fate of Peter Halmos 158–foot yacht Legacy has been the subject of many stories since Hurricane Wilma pushed the vessel aground two years ago on a federally protected reef near Key West. Halmos has spent years working with engineers and salvage companies to float the boat back out to sea. During that time he's lived aboard, protecting his yacht and its belonging from "modern day thugs," he told Vanity Fair, who have arrived on inflatables with the intention of stripping the ship of valuables.

What's the bottom line? There will never be a circumstance that will allow someone to simply walk away with a boat, even if the boat appears to have been abandoned. "Finders keepers" is not a valid legal principal, except in rare instances when the property has been abandoned for so long that it has been effectively "returned to the state of nature."

This may be possible in the case of an ancient, long–lost shipwreck, but even then, the rules of salvage would be applied if the vessel's owners (or more likely, the modern affiliates of the vessel's insurance company) come forward.