Hire boat crashed into me :o(

[Rebsy]

Today a hire boat crashed into my boat. It was a real crash rather than a tap or scrape.

 

Everything went flying, vase broken, tea all over me and a scared cat. Even some paint came off the side of the boat as they continued to scrape along.

 

The drivers were drinking. I was very shaken by this. I have left a message with the hire company.

 

I know that everyone is entitled to their holiday and to enjoy the waterways but they have actually caused damage to my

boat which is my home. If it was a car then insurance details would have been taken.

 

What do others do in these circumstances.

[cotswoldsman]

Yes hire boaters and drink can be a problem as can boat owners and drink. I hope this does not turn into "have a go at hire boaters"

 

I must say it does amaze me ho people can bump quite hard into other boats and never even bother to apologise

[Heffalump]

Take it up with the hire company as you have, they will have good insurance, and if it was a stag or single sex crew probably have taken a hefty deposit.

[Chalky]

Had this happen to me last year. I'd been watching a hire boat for about 2 days and their navigation had been eratic. They'd gone into the back of a boat at speed one day the next they hit us very hard whilst waiting for a lock - they were lucky not to damage the rudder. They'd made no attempt to slow down, weren't drinking and had small children on board. I suggested to them that they were dangerous and if they were unsure how to control a boat then they shouldn't be out on the cut. They looked at me as if I was speaking out of turn! I reported them to the hire company who took details and said to contact them if there was any damage to my boat. The hire company said that they would call them and send out someone to explain to them how to handle a boat.

[Darren72]

Are you willing to tell us the boat hire company? If not any clues to work it out?? where abouts on the network did it happen?

[Guest]

Defo take it up with the hire co. Concerned - boat name and number will be needed to advance any counter claim of 'nowt to do with us guv' from the hirers along with ant witnesses

 

We are boating at the mo on the t and m and loads of hireters are about mainly canal time and Shakespeare line and all have been careful and considerate .

[Bimbly1]

Today a hire boat crashed into my boat. It was a real crash rather than a tap or scrape.

 

Everything went flying, vase broken, tea all over me and a scared cat. Even some paint came off the side of the boat as they continued to scrape along.

 

The drivers were drinking. I was very shaken by this. I have left a message with the hire company.

 

I know that everyone is entitled to their holiday and to enjoy the waterways but they have actually caused damage to my

boat which is my home. If it was a car then insurance details would have been taken.

 

What do others do in these circumstances.

I try not to shout but speak to the other party, take a note of the number and name of the other boat, plus hire company phone number. If I think that damage may have been caused, I inform the hire company, make a note of the conversation, confirm in an email if possible and get on with my day. Most people are very apologetic, a very few are not.

Sometimes I wish I had a Tazer

[RichardH]

Today a hire boat crashed into my boat. It was a real crash rather than a tap or scrape.

 

Everything went flying, vase broken, tea all over me and a scared cat. Even some paint came off the side of the boat as they continued to scrape along.

 

The drivers were drinking. I was very shaken by this. I have left a message with the hire company.

 

I know that everyone is entitled to their holiday and to enjoy the waterways but they have actually caused damage to my

boat which is my home. If it was a car then insurance details would have been taken.

 

What do others do in these circumstances.

 

We would expect to be told as soon as possible about an incident such as this as it is not acceptable.

 

I don't see the value of naming and shaming the hire company on the forum.

[ditchcrawler]

We would expect to be told as soon as possible about an incident such as this as it is not acceptable.

 

I don't see the value of naming and shaming the hire company on the forum.

Agree, its only worth following that rout it the hire company tell you to sod off.

[Tiny]

I have heard of crews being removed from hire boats for being drunk and ramming other boats. But from personal experience most hire companies I have complained to have beeen totally unhelpful, ignored my letters or, in one casse at Anglo Welsh Wootton Warne first suggested that I should have jumped on the offending boat and confiscated they keys then had the yob in the office march out and stand yelling at us to slow down as we moved off with the clown roaring with laughter at how funny he was.

 

We arrived at Rugeley one day and moored then found, two boats along some friends of ours in a state of shock. Shortly after they moored a hire boat moored a few yards in front of them facing in the other direction. One of our friends had noticed they managed this very well as he went off shopping leaving his wife making rag rugs under the cratch covers at the front. Meanwhile she thought the lot in front went shopping but very quickley returned and started there engine.

She was then thrown to the floor in a heap by and almighty collision which, it turned out was witnessed by the husband coming over the nearby bridge. What he saw was the crew of the hireboat rush back get on, just about undoing the ropes as the engine was started. Then the slammed the power full on and, with tiller straight drove into his boat in front.

In fact the curve of the bank meant they rammed just to left side of his boats nose and then continued to crash across the canal scraping the paint seemingly unbothered and just chatting away like this was normal. (He said these were a family with two junior school children and not a collection of single sex youths.) At this point he saw his wife's head pop out from under the cover to yell what was going on which they seemed to find funny. Meanwhile he was getting off the bridge to his boat yelling at them the stop the full forwards power and be sensible. By now they were across the cut yelling obsenerties his wife and now him as their boat bumped its way straight and they raced off past the moored boats.

Why they were now in such a hurry and so nasty is a mystery but our friends were left with a massive set of dents round the front of their boat and the wife with a large set of bruises including one on her head where she had hit the seat opposite.

My friend knew the name of the boat and the firm and phoned them once his wife was sorted. He got no-where. Thier attitude was that he must have proof it was their boat like photos of the actual crash and if he did they would want them checked for photoshopping! It was at this point we arrived travelling in the same direction as the hire boat which was lucky!

Our friend persisted with his complaint sending letters with photos of the damage but got nowhere - the yard offered him the address of their solicitors (and no I don't know what yard it was.)

 

I could tell other stories but one from the other end was of a boat yard chap who's bosses had two boats out with 19 on - one female. This lot were real yob types who deliberately did things to annoy others while generally mucking about and pleasing themselves where they moored at which point the males would head for a pub while the woman guarded the boats and repelled boarders if anyone arrived and tried to get ashore over the boats which would use the whole lock mooring on a waterway where there was no other place to get off to work the lock. Stories began to circulate about 'them'. Our own was leaving an lock only two have the two boats appear from who knows where behind and proceed to use this river section as a dogem card track with them ramming each other to noises of crashing crockery and god knows what. Boith were obviously going to overtake us and they started discussing how to ram us. We kept over as far as possible and, as they came nearer informed the steerer that if he rammed us I would kill him using a mooring spike. Amazingly, and maybe because the wife and I had picked up spikes and were smiling evily, they both passed us on the far side of the river - ramming each other - then offered to share the next lock with us. We declined and, as the waterway divided here, when they turned right we went left.

But getting back to the boatyard chap a number of people had contacted the boatyard and complained so when I passed, seeing the boats there I pulled over and asked if he had refused to return their damage deposite due to all the breakages. He confirmed that they had ruined a lot of stuff including even the cooking pots and total replacement bills ran to hundreds of pounds. But when the boats returned although he heard the complaints and had blacklisted the group he didn't tell them that and in spite of obvoius damage gave back their damage deposit as 'confronted with 18 big blokes and woman with a really nasty attitude' he had decided that discression was the best idea and the quicker they left the better!

Edited April 4, 2011 by Tiny

[Proper Job]

Photographs!

 

Anything like this happen and the first thing to do is grab the camera.

[canaldrifter]

Photographs!

 

Anything like this happen and the first thing to do is grab the camera.

 

You took the very words from my keyboard.

 

Tone

[Albert Smith]

There is existing legislation for persons being in charge of a vessel whilst under the influence of alcohol (or drugs). This was (I think?) implemented in 2009/10. In the case of an accident where injury to persons or damage to a vessel has taken place, that person may be taken to a police station and given a breath or urine test. As far as I'm aware the legal limit is around the same as for driving a motor vehicle. I'm unaware of the penalty, however its covered in the MCA legislation below (if anyone cares to dig it out). I am aware of one instant where a vessel hit a structure and caused considerable damage, the skipper was fined and sent to prison for 6 months after being found to be over the legal driving limit (for motor vehicles).

 

 

 

Inland Waters Small Passenger Boat Code

 

32 DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY

 

The operator should have in place a Drug and Alcohol Policy which should include a statement that no crew member is to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs while in charge of the vessel, or when preparing to take charge of the vessel.

 

Albert.

 

PS Although this is primarily for commercially operated vessels, it still applies to private vessels much the same as driving a bus (commercial) or driving a car (private).

Edited April 4, 2011 by Albert Smith

[Robyn]

We was moored near Chirk last year and had a Canal Boat Club boat hit us hard knocking everything off the shelves, including and expensive slr camera which consequently fell in the sink of washing up water (We was going to wash up soon, honest!) and subsequently got water damaged.

 

We shouted after the 3 girls on the boat who just ignored us, so we phoned up the hire company who asked us to put the details in writing with a photo of the damage to the boat (Surprisingly just a small dent and paint missing) along with the photos of the camera. We did this by email and include the witness telephone number, within half hour I had a call from the main person who deals with the claims who asked me to send them two quotes for repair or replacement of the camera and boat damage.

 

This was all sent to her the next day, she acknowledged receipt and passed it onto Towergate Marsden and 8 days later we had a cheque for £950 and an email of apology from Canal Boat Club.

 

The hirers did admit hitting us but said they did not think they hit us too hard, so maybe them admitting it helped us, but either way I am more than happy with the customer service we received. So not all hire companies are bad.

 

Cheers Will

[alan_fincher]

There is existing legislation for persons being in charge of a vessel whilst under the influence of alcohol (or drugs). This was (I think?) implemented in 2009/10. In the case of an accident where injury to persons or damage to a vessel has taken place, that person may be taken to a police station and given a breath or urine test. As far as I'm aware the legal limit is around the same as for driving a motor vehicle. I'm unaware of the penalty, however its covered in the MCA legislation below (if anyone cares to dig it out). I am aware of one instant where a vessel hit a structure and caused considerable damage, the skipper was fined and sent to prison for 6 months after being found to be over the legal driving limit (for motor vehicles).

 

 

 

Inland Waters Small Passenger Boat Code

 

32 DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY

 

The operator should have in place a Drug and Alcohol Policy which should include a statement that no crew member is to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs while in charge of the vessel, or when preparing to take charge of the vessel.

 

Albert.

 

PS Although this is primarily for commercially operated vessels, it still applies to private vessels much the same as driving a bus (commercial) or driving a car (private).

 

 

I'm sorry, but I think this is simply not true......

 

3.2.1 This Code is intended to apply to vessels operating commercially with a skipper or crew, and which only carry passengers. For the purposes of this Code, any vessel that is not a pleasure vessel is deemed to be operating commercially (refer to Annex 2 for a definition). Examples of relevant vessels include, but are not limited to, an angling or dive vessel operating in estuarial waters, a skippered sailing vessel taking passengers out on a lake, a water taxi, a hotel boat and a narrow boat on a canal doing trips in aid of a restoration project.

 

3.2.2 Vessels operated by proprietor’s clubs and associations, whether the operator is corporate, private or of a charitable nature, should comply with the Code.

 

3.2.3 The Code is not intended to apply to:

 

· Self-drive hire craft or bareboat charters (where there is no work activity being carried out by those hiring the vessel);

 

· Pleasure vessels, as defined in Annex 2 and the Merchant Shipping (Small Commercial Vessels and Pilot Boats) Regulations 2004;

Edited April 4, 2011 by alan_fincher

[gaggle]

Today a hire boat crashed into my boat. It was a real crash rather than a tap or scrape.

 

Everything went flying, vase broken, tea all over me and a scared cat. Even some paint came off the side of the boat as they continued to scrape along.

 

The drivers were drinking. I was very shaken by this. I have left a message with the hire company.

 

I know that everyone is entitled to their holiday and to enjoy the waterways but they have actually caused damage to my

boat which is my home. If it was a car then insurance details would have been taken.

 

What do others do in these circumstances.

The famous cup of tea ,was it hot just poured from a boling pan ,it normally is when anyone is complaining about another boat aqua planing past , must be the same for all incidents on the cut , maybe if we all stopped having hot cups of tea to hand no incidents could occur

[LoneWolf]

The famous cup of tea ,was it hot just poured from a boling pan ,it normally is when anyone is complaining about another boat aqua planing past , must be the same for all incidents on the cut , maybe if we all stopped having hot cups of tea to hand no incidents could occur

 

Indeed. we should also stop balancing expensive items over the washing up bowl, or anywhere they could crash to the floor

[gaggle]

I have heard of crews being removed from hire boats for being drunk and ramming other boats.I have heard the easter bunny brings choccy eggs , cant prove the story i heard is true , can you?. But from personal experience most hire companies I have complained to have beeen totally unhelpful,In five and a half years boating with thousands of hours on the engine i have not had the need to complain to a single hire company, been nudged once by a hire boat but so what , i wonder why you seem to have so many real or imagined causes for complaint. ignored my letters or, in one casse at Anglo Welsh Wootton Warne first suggested that I should have jumped on the offending boat and confiscated they keys then had the yob in the office march out and stand yelling at us to slow down as we moved off with the clown roaring with laughter at how funny he was.

 

We arrived at Rugeley one day and moored then found, two boats along some friends of ours in a state of shock. Shortly after they moored a hire boat moored a few yards in front of them facing in the other direction. One of our friends had noticed they managed this very well as he went off shopping leaving his wife making rag rugs under the cratch covers at the front. Meanwhile she thought the lot in front went shopping but very quickley returned and started there engine.

She was then thrown to the floor in a heap by and almighty collision which, it turned out was witnessed by the husband coming over the nearby bridge. What he saw was the crew of the hireboat rush back get on, just about undoing the ropes as the engine was started. Then the slammed the power full on and, with tiller straight drove into his boat in front.

In fact the curve of the bank meant they rammed just to left side of his boats nose and then continued to crash across the canal scraping the paint seemingly unbothered and just chatting away like this was normal. (He said these were a family with two junior school children and not a collection of single sex youths.) At this point he saw his wife's head pop out from under the cover to yell what was going on which they seemed to find funny. Meanwhile he was getting off the bridge to his boat yelling at them the stop the full forwards power and be sensible. By now they were across the cut yelling obsenerties his wife and now him as their boat bumped its way straight and they raced off past the moored boats.

Why they were now in such a hurry and so nasty is a mystery but our friends were left with a massive set of dents round the front of their boat and the wife with a large set of bruises including one on her head where she had hit the seat opposite.

My friend knew the name of the boat and the firm and phoned them once his wife was sorted. He got no-where. Thier attitude was that he must have proof it was their boat like photos of the actual crash and if he did they would want them checked for photoshopping! It was at this point we arrived travelling in the same direction as the hire boat which was lucky!

Our friend persisted with his complaint sending letters with photos of the damage but got nowhere - the yard offered him the address of their solicitors (and no I don't know what yard it was.)

 

I could tell other stories .I bet you could but one from the other end was of a boat yard chap who's bosses had two boats out with 19 on - one female. This lot were real yob types who deliberately did things to annoy others while generally mucking about and pleasing themselves where they moored at which point the males would head for a pub while the woman guarded the boats and repelled boarders if anyone arrived and tried to get ashore over the boats which would use the whole lock mooring on a waterway where there was no other place to get off to work the lock. Stories began to circulate about 'them'. Our own was leaving an lock only two have the two boats appear from who knows where behind and proceed to use this river section as a dogem card track with them ramming each other to noises of crashing crockery and god knows what. Boith were obviously going to overtake us and they started discussing how to ram us. We kept over as far as possible and, as they came nearer informed the steerer that if he rammed us I would kill him using a mooring spike.KILL HIM , WHOA Amazingly, and maybe because the wife and I had picked up spikes and were smiling evily, Like the joker in Batman they both passed us on the far side of the river - ramming each other - then offered to share the next lock with us. We declined and, as the waterway divided here, when they turned right we went left.

But getting back to the boatyard chap a number of people had contacted the boatyard and complained so when I passed, seeing the boats there I pulled over and asked if he had refused to return their damage deposite due to all the breakages. He confirmed that they had ruined a lot of stuff including even the cooking pots and total replacement bills ran to hundreds of pounds. But when the boats returned although he heard the complaints and had blacklisted the group he didn't tell them that and in spite of obvoius damage gave back their damage deposit as 'confronted with 18 big blokes and woman with a really nasty attitude' he had decided that discression was the best idea and the quicker they left the better!

Remind me not to share a lock with your boat. Boating is about calming down friend .

[Djuwenda]

I have heard of crews being removed from hire boats for being drunk and ramming other boats. But from personal experience most hire companies I have complained to have beeen totally unhelpful, ignored my letters or, in one casse at Anglo Welsh Wootton Warne first suggested that I should have jumped on the offending boat and confiscated they keys then had the yob in the office march out and stand yelling at us to slow down as we moved off with the clown roaring with laughter at how funny he was.

 

We arrived at Rugeley one day and moored then found, two boats along some friends of ours in a state of shock. Shortly after they moored a hire boat moored a few yards in front of them facing in the other direction. One of our friends had noticed they managed this very well as he went off shopping leaving his wife making rag rugs under the cratch covers at the front. Meanwhile she thought the lot in front went shopping but very quickley returned and started there engine.

She was then thrown to the floor in a heap by and almighty collision which, it turned out was witnessed by the husband coming over the nearby bridge. What he saw was the crew of the hireboat rush back get on, just about undoing the ropes as the engine was started. Then the slammed the power full on and, with tiller straight drove into his boat in front.

In fact the curve of the bank meant they rammed just to left side of his boats nose and then continued to crash across the canal scraping the paint seemingly unbothered and just chatting away like this was normal. (He said these were a family with two junior school children and not a collection of single sex youths.) At this point he saw his wife's head pop out from under the cover to yell what was going on which they seemed to find funny. Meanwhile he was getting off the bridge to his boat yelling at them the stop the full forwards power and be sensible. By now they were across the cut yelling obsenerties his wife and now him as their boat bumped its way straight and they raced off past the moored boats.

Why they were now in such a hurry and so nasty is a mystery but our friends were left with a massive set of dents round the front of their boat and the wife with a large set of bruises including one on her head where she had hit the seat opposite.

My friend knew the name of the boat and the firm and phoned them once his wife was sorted. He got no-where. Thier attitude was that he must have proof it was their boat like photos of the actual crash and if he did they would want them checked for photoshopping! It was at this point we arrived travelling in the same direction as the hire boat which was lucky!

Our friend persisted with his complaint sending letters with photos of the damage but got nowhere - the yard offered him the address of their solicitors (and no I don't know what yard it was.)

 

I could tell other stories but one from the other end was of a boat yard chap who's bosses had two boats out with 19 on - one female. This lot were real yob types who deliberately did things to annoy others while generally mucking about and pleasing themselves where they moored at which point the males would head for a pub while the woman guarded the boats and repelled boarders if anyone arrived and tried to get ashore over the boats which would use the whole lock mooring on a waterway where there was no other place to get off to work the lock. Stories began to circulate about 'them'. Our own was leaving an lock only two have the two boats appear from who knows where behind and proceed to use this river section as a dogem card track with them ramming each other to noises of crashing crockery and god knows what. Boith were obviously going to overtake us and they started discussing how to ram us. We kept over as far as possible and, as they came nearer informed the steerer that if he rammed us I would kill him using a mooring spike. Amazingly, and maybe because the wife and I had picked up spikes and were smiling evily, they both passed us on the far side of the river - ramming each other - then offered to share the next lock with us. We declined and, as the waterway divided here, when they turned right we went left.

But getting back to the boatyard chap a number of people had contacted the boatyard and complained so when I passed, seeing the boats there I pulled over and asked if he had refused to return their damage deposite due to all the breakages. He confirmed that they had ruined a lot of stuff including even the cooking pots and total replacement bills ran to hundreds of pounds. But when the boats returned although he heard the complaints and had blacklisted the group he didn't tell them that and in spite of obvoius damage gave back their damage deposit as 'confronted with 18 big blokes and woman with a really nasty attitude' he had decided that discression was the best idea and the quicker they left the better!

 

aaaaaaaannnnnd breathe.

I gave up reading that about 1/3rd of the way down.

[Rebsy]

Thank you all for your replies.

 

 

Yes, I do like a good old cuppa.. and really who would say no to a cup of tea and digestives???

 

Anyway to give an update:

 

I spoke to the hire company who were lovely. Offered some paint and invitied me to visit them so that I could see what training the hire boaters had before they took out the boat as I questioned how much instruction a person got before being let loose, I have not taken them up on their offer yet, but I thought it was a nice gesture.

 

My concern was that when I got my boat, I had a whole days training and even after that, I took everything so slow and I am amazed that with only an hours trainig that people feel confident in navagating a boat. Perhaps I was being over careful.

 

Currently my I am have been annoyed by the speed that boats travel and it is not only the hire boats the private boats go equally as fast.. But perhaps thats for another topic, or one which has been done to death.

Edited April 5, 2011 by Rebsy

[Tim Doran]

It probably has been done to death. I used to get all angry and irked by fast boats. Now i put a second moring line at the back of the boat at 90 degrees to the other line to act as a spring. This tends to hold the boat in place better.

 

Tim

[deletedaccount]

I got well riled up the other day. That bloody RAF boat was going along at full blast with a massive breaking wake. They didn't take kindly to having it pointed out either.

[Chickadee]

I went super slow when I first got my boat to. But maybe people don't understand how little control they have or what damage they can do when going to fast. I'd bet it would slow them down if one of there kids fell in when they hit something else.

 

I do go fast now when needed (like last week desperate to get home) but never dangerously or behond my control and never past boats or tight spaces/ corners. Some of the canal up by Brum was so low that the faster you tired to go the slower the boat actually went.

[deletedaccount]

I long ago stopped moaning about fast hire boats, it's par for the course.

 

But I reserve the right to go mental about people doing 8 knots.

[sociable_hermit]

I reserve the right to go mental about people doing 8 knots.

Quite so.

 

Why can't these people learn to pull over and let us past?