George, You've obviously never dealt with the Navy. I could ask them, but they'd tell me that any boat that ever belonged to the Navy still belongs to the Navy. They would tell me that any Confederate boat belongs to the Navy. They would tell me that any boat that the Navy ever captured belongs to the Navy, and that any Navy boat that was ever captured belongs to the Navy.
Have you ever watched the evening news, when the reporter asks for a comment from a lawyer? And the lawyer tells the reporter that not only is his client innocent, but was on his way to church after having come from feeding homeless people at the shelter, after which he was heading over to donate blood, etc etc etc? I've always wondered why the reporters waste their time and ours talking to lawyers. So I'm not going to waste my time talking to the Navy.
I'd like to get a response from a disenterested party, who could possibly give an unbiased answer. Is scuttling a legal act of abandonment?