Any law enforcement officer may inspect a junkyard, scrap metal processing facility, salvage yard, marina, repair shop, boat yard, dry dock, licensed business buying, selling, displaying, trading watercraft or outboard motors, new and used or parts of watercraft and outboard motors, or both, parking lots, and public garages or any other person dealing with salvaged watercraft or outboard motors or parts of them.

The physical inspection must be conducted while an employee or owner is present and must be for the purpose of locating stolen watercraft or outboard motors, investigating the titling or registration of watercraft or outboard motors wrecked or dismantled.

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 50-23-185

  • Boat: means a vessel. See South Carolina Code 50-21-10
  • Marina: means a facility which provides mooring or dry storage for watercraft. See South Carolina Code 50-21-10
  • Owner: means a person, other than a lienholder, who claims lawful possession of a vessel or outboard motor by virtue of legal title or equitable interest in it which entitled him to possession. See South Carolina Code 50-21-10
  • Person: means an individual, a partnership, a firm, a corporation, an association, or other legal entity. See South Carolina Code 50-21-10
  • Watercraft: means anything used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on the water but does not include: a seaplane regulated by the federal government, water skis, aquaplanes, surfboards, windsurfers, tubes, rafts, and similar devices or anything that does not meet construction or operational requirements of the state or federal government for watercraft. See South Carolina Code 50-21-10