SARASOTA COUNTY — A motorcycle crash put Tom Krehl into a coma, and when he came out of it he learned that someone had taken away the 47-foot sailboat that was his pride and joy.

Krehl, a shipwright at a boat repair outfit, discovered that the "Mysticlady" had been re-registered -- and then apparently sold -- by the owner of the warehouse where had kept it for about four years.

The warehouse owner, John Olson, said he sold the boat to recover money he lost when the company Krehl worked for, Full Circle Marine, abandoned a lease and left numerous boats and junk behind to clean up.

Now Krehl, 53, is suing Olson to get his boat back, accusing Olson of stealing it while rumors circulated that Krehl was brain-dead.

"I was just heartbroken," said Krehl, who says he spent 19 years rebuilding the boat. "This isn't something you buy and sell like a commodity, this is blood, sweat and tears."

Olson said he did everything according to the law, that he is running a business and has a mortgage to pay.

John Beale, owner of Gloria Rector Vessel Documentation Inc. in Lakeland, said there are protocols for taking over a documented boat left on a property.

"As long as those were followed correctly, the landowner has every right," Beale said.

But that includes notifying the owner in writing, something Krehl said never happened.

Krehl bought the Kenner Skipjack almost two decades ago for $5,000, and estimates he has put $80,000 and uncountable hours into customizing it, inside and out.

Everything is curved and laminated, the hull is black and the deck has a dramatic curve.

The renovation was 90 percent complete, said Krehl, who never had a chance to launch the Mysticlady.

"It looked like a pirate ship," Krehl said. "I was going to try to get my captain's license and take a couple out on it on a sunset cruise."

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