damaged cabin side

[Ally]

Yesterday evening, a fibreglass cruiser was trying to moor in the slot next to our boat in the marina. Presumably because of the wind he ended up sideways and rammed our boat so hard, 3 times, that our 30kg dog fell off the sofa! (I have a Mel Davies steel tug style)(boat, not dog!!)

Because his bow is higher than our gunwales, and that was what impacted us, it hit us on our cabin sides, and I have to say I am amazed at the damage. It has dented the sides where it hit, and of course taken all the paint off in those places down to bright steel!!

The impact not only knocked the dog flying, but banged us hard into our neighbour on the other side, who was 'using his facilities' at the time, and nearly went flying too!

I did get a sort of apology.......and his details.

Now my boat was originally spray painted. I don't know what the paint is as it was done before I bought it. She is about 6 years old. The paint has faded some.

If it were to just have the dents filled and paint touched up I think it would stand out like a sore thumb. The chances of being able to match the current paint colour are unlikely.

I feel that the side should be re-painted, covered by his insurance.....is that reasonable? It has effected all 3 colours on the side, the damage being towards the front of the cabin and again just aft of the side doors.

Then again, if one side is re-done, the rest won't match up anymore...........

 

I'm still gobsmacked a plastic can damage a steel boat so much! And then...why take it out on such a windy day? and why try to moor in that slot to start with? he has his own mooring on the marina! anyway...I digress...

 

Arggggggggggggg!!

[Proper Job]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune

 

If it were me, i'd be looking at taking the boat to a boat yard/builder to get it properly assessed for repair.

 

Trying to make dents in 4mm(?) steel invisable is very difficult irrespective of the subsequent paint job.

[WotEver]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune

 

If it were me, i'd be looking at taking the boat to a boat yard/builder to get it properly assessed for repair.

 

Trying to make dents in 4mm(?) steel invisable is very difficult irrespective of the subsequent paint job.

Seconded on all points.

 

I'll just add that your proposition doesn't sound unreasonable to me.

 

Tony

[Liam]

If that was me I'd be on the phone to his insurance company straight away if you haven't done it already. This wouldn't be to start shouting 'claim!' but to inform the company there has been an accident/incident.

[GSer]

I think it is reasonable to expect the damage to the steel and paint work to be repaired, however i'd expect the claim of a complete paint job (both sides) to fall on deaf ears, they may perhaps ask you to split the cost of the repaint if agreed to.

 

The only way I suspect they might be forced to pay all the bill, would be if you could prove the boat was immaculate (brand new condition) before the incident.

 

I was 'lucky' that when my old boat was hit by a cruiser, it hit the side doors rather than the steel work.

[Guest Quo Vadis]

Yesterday evening, a fibreglass cruiser was trying to moor in the slot next to our boat in the marina. Presumably because of the wind he ended up sideways and rammed our boat so hard, 3 times, that our 30kg dog fell off the sofa! (I have a Mel Davies steel tug style)(boat, not dog!!)

Because his bow is higher than our gunwales, and that was what impacted us, it hit us on our cabin sides, and I have to say I am amazed at the damage. It has dented the sides where it hit, and of course taken all the paint off in those places down to bright steel!!

The impact not only knocked the dog flying, but banged us hard into our neighbour on the other side, who was 'using his facilities' at the time, and nearly went flying too!

I did get a sort of apology.......and his details.

Now my boat was originally spray painted. I don't know what the paint is as it was done before I bought it. She is about 6 years old. The paint has faded some.

If it were to just have the dents filled and paint touched up I think it would stand out like a sore thumb. The chances of being able to match the current paint colour are unlikely.

I feel that the side should be re-painted, covered by his insurance.....is that reasonable? It has effected all 3 colours on the side, the damage being towards the front of the cabin and again just aft of the side doors.

Then again, if one side is re-done, the rest won't match up anymore...........

 

I'm still gobsmacked a plastic can damage a steel boat so much! And then...why take it out on such a windy day? and why try to moor in that slot to start with? he has his own mooring on the marina! anyway...I digress...

 

Arggggggggggggg!!

Take lots of pictures of both boats especially close-ups. Make sure the time and date is recorded on the photos, and get a statement from your neighbour while it's all fresh in the memory

Hope the insurance companies do right by you.

Ian

[GUMPY]

If that was me I'd be on the phone to his insurance company straight away if you haven't done it already. This wouldn't be to start shouting 'claim!' but to inform the company there has been an accident/incident.

Unfortunately most insurance companies will do bugger all unless they are notified by the policy holder........

[gbmud]

Does it not work like motor insurance? You tell your insurer who then gets the repairs done and claims the costs back from the third party? Unless there an accepted alternative protocol that is where I would start. After all, you pay your premium every year, get them to do something for it!

 

As far as painting goes, I expect that, like a damaged car, they will spray the repair (on a car up to a door shut line, wing join etc) in the original paint and then cut and polish the rest of the car to match. I can see no reason why this would not work on a boat too, though how long the result looked good might be a different matter.

 

Chris

[LEO]

Hi,

 

Sorry to hear of your damage.

 

Surely you notify your insurance company of the problem, and make a claim, notifying them of the insurance details of the other party involved.

 

They then process the claim and hopefully recover your excess and their costs from the other party.

 

Action by yourself can predudice your claim.

 

As has been suggested, pictures are very useful.

 

This assumes you have full comprehensive cover, 3rd party cover makes life more difficult and you will have to process the claim yourself - best of luck.

 

Happy Boating

 

Leo

[Teadaemon]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune.

 

You certainly have a claim against him, but the chances of getting a complete repaint paid for are about zero. The purpose of insurance is to put the insured party (in this case you) back in the position they were before the incident that resulted in a claim, no worse off and no better off. In cases where for whatever reason this is not possible, a concept known as 'betterment' comes into play. You admit yourself that the paintwork was faded, and in any case it's six years old, so if you were to get a complete repaint you'd be in a considerably better position than you were before the collisions. I would suspect that if you want a complete repaint, the best you might get out of their insurance company is a 50/50 split of the costs.

 

Assuming you have comprehensive insurance, probably best to let your insurer know what's happened and let them get on with it, if you're third party only then it'll be up to you to get in touch with the other party's insurer and deal with them.

[Smelly]

The revenge of the tupperware!

[Ally]

My insurance is comp. BUT, on informing them, they say I have to write to him and tell him to contact his insurance to tell them I hold him responsible. Apparently it's not like motor, and I shouldn't contact his insurers myself......that seems to me though to be having to trust in his good will and conscience. The office tell me he's a 'good guy'......but I don't suppose he's ever bounced his boat off the office 3 times at force!!

[mrsmelly]

Yesterday evening, a fibreglass cruiser was trying to moor in the slot next to our boat in the marina. Presumably because of the wind he ended up sideways and rammed our boat so hard, 3 times, that our 30kg dog fell off the sofa! (I have a Mel Davies steel tug style)(boat, not dog!!)

Because his bow is higher than our gunwales, and that was what impacted us, it hit us on our cabin sides, and I have to say I am amazed at the damage. It has dented the sides where it hit, and of course taken all the paint off in those places down to bright steel!!

The impact not only knocked the dog flying, but banged us hard into our neighbour on the other side, who was 'using his facilities' at the time, and nearly went flying too!

I did get a sort of apology.......and his details.

Now my boat was originally spray painted. I don't know what the paint is as it was done before I bought it. She is about 6 years old. The paint has faded some.

If it were to just have the dents filled and paint touched up I think it would stand out like a sore thumb. The chances of being able to match the current paint colour are unlikely.

I feel that the side should be re-painted, covered by his insurance.....is that reasonable? It has effected all 3 colours on the side, the damage being towards the front of the cabin and again just aft of the side doors.

Then again, if one side is re-done, the rest won't match up anymore...........

 

I'm still gobsmacked a plastic can damage a steel boat so much! And then...why take it out on such a windy day? and why try to moor in that slot to start with? he has his own mooring on the marina! anyway...I digress...

 

Arggggggggggggg!!

 

Hi

 

A few years ago I had a new narrowboat and moored in Tewkesbury marina which has loads of airfix kits parked in it and one very windy day said airfix kit lost control, it was only a piddling thing about 25 feet long and weighed about as much as a crisp packet but it dented the cabin side and sprung off some lining !! They were ok about it ( No choice ) but the damage was caused by the very pointy end of said airfix kit that had a metal bit sticking well proud of the plastic and that was what did the actual damage.

[Guest]

Lots of images and get on the insurance company straight away. Surely you report this to your own insurance and put it in their hands? If the existing paint is faded/worn/whatever, I am sure they would ask for a "contribution" from yourself if a full repaint is required..

 

Edited to add: Never underestimate the strength of a plastic boat.

Edited September 14, 2011 by Guest

[steelaway]

If that was me I'd be on the phone to his insurance company straight away if you haven't done it already. This wouldn't be to start shouting 'claim!' but to inform the company there has been an accident/incident.

 

 

 

I hope its not Saga!!

 

Surely your insurance company will claiming the costs from the cruisers insurance company?

 

Alex

[Ally]

nope, seems not unless he doesn't act himself..........

 

oh, no, it's not saga!! (not QUITE old enough for that yet!)

[bizzard]

Perhaps he's not insured,although most marina's insist upon it.

[gaggle]

Is the dog ok ? Bump the whiplash claim in for the dog and yourself and you can then have a great re-spray all over with ghange out.

[steelaway]

nope, seems not unless he doesn't act himself..........

 

oh, no, it's not saga!! (not QUITE old enough for that yet!)

 

 

 

I'm sure that if you get an estimate to him for a few grand he will get his a**e in gear and contact his insurance company

I could be that kind of cost just to repair it to as it was.

Remember this damage will reduce the re-sale value of your boat

 

Alex

[Ally]

ah,,,poor puppeh is reduced to a shadow of her former self,

No, she's ok I think, but was restless all evening, and if she had been 'home alone' at the time it would actually have been quite distressing for her!

She's was bit jumpy if the boat bonked the pontoon though. I think our neihbour is toying with a claim....whiplash whilst on the loo!!! That'd make them smile!

I am all too well aware it could come to a lot more than it looks like it should do to start with...these things generally do!

[cheshire~rose]

I am really sorry to hear about the damage, it is so frustrating, especially for someone who takes a great pride in their paintowrk. I also hope the dog and your neighbour have recovered from the shock!

 

With regard to the paintwork and this does depend what colours need touching in - with cars it is much simpler - a spray painted car - even if it is paintowrk hat is 6 years old - can usually be "blown in" over the affected areas. The paint shop will mix the colour to suit the current colour of the vehicle which, depending how faded it is, can be several shades different to the original colour it was painted. (Red paint is however a law unto itself and is a devil to match!) depending how well polished the paintwork was prior to the damage it might be necessary to machine polish the entire side or at least a larger area of it to "lose" the repair as often it is a case of the paint being flat (losing it's shine) due to age as much as fading. A reputable boat yard should be able to recreate the same standard of repair carried out by a reputable car accident repair specialist.

Other peoples comments with regards recording everything and taking lots of photo's are of course very relevant. Do not feel you have to use any particular repairer your insurance suggests. They may well be very reliable and do a perfectly good job but insurers sign up repairers and then pay them a lower price because they sent the work their way. This does not always benefit the industry and often the smaller repairer will take more pride in the work as they do not have to turn so many jobs through in order to make the same money - so ask lots of questions and have it repaired where you feel confident it will be done to an acceptable standard and do not sign it off as acceptable until you have inspected it thoroughly in a good light.

All the best with it

[David Mack]

Household insurance policies usually don't cover you for sets of items - so if you wreck an armchair the policy will payout for a new armchair, but not a whole three piece suite. By the same token you can't expect to get your whole boat painted just because part of it has been damaged. So as the householder has to live with a mismtached suite, you may have to live with mismatched paintwork.

 

That said, since on your own admission the old paintwork is tired, this might be an opportunity to get the boat repainted, with the other boat owner covering part of the cost.

 

Your insurance almost certainly requires you to notify your insurer, whether or not you make a claim. The other guy caused the damage and he is responsible for the cost of making good. If he is insured, and if his policy covers this particular circumstance he may be able to claim that cost from his insurers, but that is between him and them. You do not have to deal with his insurers, or use their approved repairers or accept their valuation of the damage.

 

David

[Ally]

The parts affected are green and red, one area cutting across green, cream and red. It is the red, as usual, that has faded. The boat was well polished and waxed whilst we were out over the last couple of months, so she is quite shiny and fresh looking on the cabin sides at the moment (didn't get round to the bow!)

As I think I put earlier, I have contacted my insurance and they have told me to write to the other guy for him to contact his.

I am getting witness letters (I think!!) and photo's.....at least the shiny-ness shows the dents and paint loss up well for the photo's!

I will be happy for it to be correctly sorted and put to where it was before, but hey, should they offer me a full job................who would I be to say no!!

 

We can but dream!

[Midnight Rider]

I'm at a loss to understand how major damage can occur in a marina, particularly plastic to steel.

 

I've been blown arround a lot of marinas ---or my boat has, for those with mucky minds --- including the dreaded Barton Turns.

 

The worst that should happen is that you get blown sideways into another boat & in most cases it won't cause major damage. To hit another boat 3 times seems careless in the extreme.

 

Saga insurance can't get many claims for this sort of thing because you don't pay an excess on marina accidents.

[sebrof]

Is the dog ok ? Bump the whiplash claim in for the dog and yourself and you can then have a great re-spray all over with ghange out.

 

It's because some dishonest people do this, that we all have to pay higher insurance premiums.