A windy day at the cabin

A windy day at the lake brought an aluminum boat to our dock (it's the boat on the left). The laws of the high seas state that if a boat is found unattended, that boat belongs to the sailor who finds it. At least that's what our former, both moved away and dead, next door neighbor said. He moved because his cabin was wiped out by an avalanche. One day a boat floated to our mutual cove. The neighbor took the boat and he and his boys immediately got to work repainting it. This being the 1940's, I am sure it was a cute or perhaps beautiful wooden boat. Eventually the boat was discovered by the rightful owners. Mr. Clifford, that was the neighbor's name, claiming the laws of the high seas, refused to give the boat back. I do not know how the issue was resolved. But now that I am in a similar position, but with a dented aluminum boat that hasn't been registered since 1990, I have some ethical questions to wrestle with. First, I doubt Echo Lake can be called "the high seas," but can I claim the boat anyway? Also, I am not sure that the law of the high seas really says you can keep any boat you find, but can I claim the boat anyway?