What Would You Do?

[rwidman]

OK, here's the deal:

My slip neighbor, my wife and I saw him hit the second boat. We are "witnesses". The guy who hit the boat is a new slip holder at the marina with a pretty junky old boat.

The boat that was hit was a nearly new Ranger Tug with 15 hours on the engine and was in perfect shape. It is a brokerage boat from the dealership adjacent to the marina. I know the broker personally and we are Facebook friends. The boat has been sold but has not been picked up yet by the new owner. He has (obviously) seen the boat and it had not been hit when he saw it.

The damage was pretty minor, pretty much a chip but all three of us observed the contact and the hit left fresh fiberglass or gelcoat splinters which were still there. It was far from a police matter.

I messaged the broker about the incident and he messaged me back that he would look at it the next day.

The marina manager (Dockmaster if you will) was off on Sunday but the lady who answers the phone (also a friend) was there and I asked her later in the day if the guy who hit the boat reported it and she said he hadn't so I reported it to her to be passed on to the manager.

The reason I did what I did is, I know the broker and I would hope that other people at the marina would report someone hitting my boat. Obviously, the guy who did the hitting should have looked at the boat he hit himself and should have reported this to the marina manager. I'm disappointed that he did not because the next time it might be my boat that he hits.

It was a bad day at the marina on Sunday. There were three minor boat wrecks and the fork lift driver took out 16 feet of metal fence.

I'm thinking of hanging old car tires all around my boat.

 

[rwidman]

...............

WesK refers to a marina manager. That person holds no legal standing in terms of enforcement but is an employee of the marina. That's to my contention that while some marina managers may diligently follow up, reporting it to a marina manager is reporting it to a third party and well short of reporting it to the owner of the boat.

The OP never used the term "harbormaster."

If you saw someone hit another car in the Walmart parking lot would you feel you'd done enough by reporting it to the store manager?

I'm not criticizing WesK as he came here asking, but simply saying in my opinion telling the marina manager isn't enough to insure the owner of the boat gets the information and that they get it in such a form as to support a claim against the operator of the boat that hit them.

Taking it one step further. Let's take it to court. The marina manager's testimony would in many cases not even be admissible as it's hearsay. With a document written by the OP at the time of the event and a photo taken at that time, it might fit an exception.

Think if you're the insurer of the guilty party. Your client says he didn't cause any damage. A third party who did not see the accident says that someone else told him that your client did cause it. Are you going to pay? No.

I've seen this play out in parking lots too many times. The insurer of the victim just pays under comprehensive and doesn't even try to pursue it further. But it does show as a claim made by the victim and is subject to a deductible as well.

Let's not get carried away here. I'm assuming the cost to repair the boat is under $200, probably under $100. It's not going to court.

It's not like Walmart, the guy who hit the boat is a slip holder. The manager can evict him if he doesn't pay up. And I did report it to the broker because I know him and know how to reach him.

The manager is not a direct witness and he doesn't have to go to court. My wife and I and the other slip neighbor are witnesses.

I didn't post to ask what to do, I did what I believed was right at the time. I was just asking after the fact what others would do.

It is my hope that the marina manager will question the guy who hit the boat and make him understand that he needs to report any accidents involving other people's boats no matter how minor. Of course, that should be automatic for anybody but too often it's not.

 

[BandB]

OK, here's the deal:

My slip neighbor, my wife and I saw him hit the second boat. We are "witnesses". The guy who hit the boat is a new slip holder at the marina with a pretty junky old boat.

The boat that was hit was a nearly new Ranger Tug with 15 hours on the engine and was in perfect shape. It is a brokerage boat from the dealership adjacent to the marina. I know the broker personally and we are Facebook friends. The boat has been sold but has not been picked up yet by the new owner. He has (obviously) seen the boat and it had not been hit when he saw it.

The damage was pretty minor, pretty much a chip but all three of us observed the contact and the hit left fresh fiberglass or gelcoat splinters which were still there. It was far from a police matter.

I messaged the broker about the incident and he messaged me back that he would look at it the next day.

The marina manager (Dockmaster if you will) was off on Sunday but the lady who answers the phone (also a friend) was there and I asked her later in the day if the guy who hit the boat reported it and she said he hadn't so I reported it to her to be passed on to the manager.

The reason I did what I did is, I know the broker and I would hope that other people at the marina would report someone hitting my boat. Obviously, the guy who did the hitting should have looked at the boat he hit himself and should have reported this to the marina manager. I'm disappointed that he did not because the next time it might be my boat that he hits.

It was a bad day at the marina on Sunday. There were three minor boat wrecks and the fork lift driver took out 16 feet of metal fence.

I'm thinking of hanging old car tires all around my boat.

You took it to the extra step by contacting the broker directly.

Unfortunately many people won't do the right thing and you found out the owner of the boat that hit the other is one of those.

I hope days like this are not common for your marina. I've never witnessed such a day at any marina. Is it that difficult to navigate or are there a lot of poor operators?

 

[rwidman]

..................... I hope days like this are not common for your marina. I've never witnessed such a day at any marina. Is it that difficult to navigate or are there a lot of poor operators?

It's primarily a dry stack marina with about 50 actual wet slips (and a couple hundred dry stack spots). In many cases, the dry stack boaters are new or inexperienced boaters who don't understand wind and current and don't understand that while cars steer from the front, boats steer from the rear.

There's more than a 2 knot current perpendicular to the fairway at maximum tidal current.

So it's both of the above. Personally, I enter and leave as close to slack current as possible.

Most of the "boat wrecks" are minor but not too long ago a guy got his bowrider sideways in a slip, gunned the throttle and went over a dock and hit the bow rail of a boat in the next slip. Then, as he slid off the dock, he backed into another boat and damaged it.

 

[dhays]

This P.C, crap make me want to throw up!
There is no question here what the hell is the matter with you people?
He needs to step up!

To which "PC crap" do you refer?
I don't know but what do you think is the matter with us people?
Who needs to "step up" and what would that stepping involve?

 

[Island15]

Being so afraid of hurting someones feelings! When someone does something that we all know is just not right we need to stand up and and say something. If we offend them by trying to help them do the right thing and they get mad I really don't care. They have already proven that they are someone I don't want to have as a friend!

Sorry I just wish people would just do the right thing!

 

[MYTraveler]

Easy. Do unto others . . . If my boat got damaged, I would sure want someone to tell me who did it. Conversely, if I lacked the character to do the right thing, I would be glad that someone forced it on me. Similarly, if I was misinformed by my crew, I would be glad it got corrected.

 

[dhays]

Sorry I just wish people would just do the right thing!

I agree with you there.

 

[BandB]

I'm sure you've all heard stories like this, but this has actually been done many times, by many different people.

Driver scrapes the side of a parked car while backing out of adjacent space in parking lot. A couple of witnesses. The driver asks if they know the owner and they say no. So, he says he'll write a note and he takes pen and paper, writes, and leaves it under the windshield wiper blade, before driving away. Owner comes out that evening and sees note saying, "Sorry I hit your car. Witnesses think I'm writing a note leaving my information."

Now, in today's world of cameras, a dangerous strategy. I had an employee hit while parked in a garage. The manager went to the camera, got a photo and the license number, culprit was subsequently caught.

Either way, we can't assume someone will do the right thing.

 

[Benthic2]

If I had purchased a new boat that was left at a marina until I could pick it up, I would expect my boat to be taken care of. When I found the "chip" I would expect the marina to repair it and it would probably come out of their liability insurance....which raises the cost of your marina fees. Someone is going to pay for the damage...and if its not the responsible party, it could be you through higher marina costs.

 

[BruceK]

Someone hit the front of my car overnight in the marina carpark. Fractured the grille surround, $550 just for the part, and marked some paint which mostly polished out. No note no report no nothing. Probably only the culprit saw it happen. C`est la vie.

 

[Peter B]

Let's not get carried away here. I'm assuming the cost to repair the boat is under $200, probably under $100. It's not going to court.

It's not like Walmart, the guy who hit the boat is a slip holder. The manager can evict him if he doesn't pay up. And I did report it to the broker because I know him and know how to reach him.

The manager is not a direct witness and he doesn't have to go to court. My wife and I and the other slip neighbor are witnesses.

I didn't post to ask what to do, I did what I believed was right at the time. I was just asking after the fact what others would do.

It is my hope that the marina manager will question the guy who hit the boat and make him understand that he needs to report any accidents involving other people's boats no matter how minor. Of course, that should be automatic for anybody but too often it's not.

Wes, I'm with you on this. Not sure why so many want to make a federal case out of everything, but some appear to. Personally my impression is everyone agreed it should be reported, (which you did), and just the method and to whom differed, as it would, based on knowledge of the particular marina.

There is no real comparison with having one's car bingled and no record left. In a marina incident, where there are witnesses, and the culprit is known and the marina has leverage, there is no need to involve police. Just the marina advising the owner of the damaged boat, the ID of the boat that hit his, the owner of that vessel, and the names of the witnesses who saw it, (should that be needed - virtually never, because the offender is usually so sorry and contrite and keen to make good), and the incident ends there. As you said..."let's not get carried away..."

 

[BandB]

Well, I hadn't heard the $200 price tag and didn't know you could even get a boat waxed for that much less any work done on one. If he chooses to repair it himself that's fine, but not what he's required to do.

 

[rwidman]

................ Just the marina advising the owner of the damaged boat, the ID of the boat that hit his, the owner of that vessel, and the names of the witnesses who saw it, ...............

Not the names of the witnesses who saw it. Just "several people witnessed this accident and reported it". Giving out the names could lead to hard feelings and possibly retaliation.

 

[rwidman]

Well, I hadn't heard the $200 price tag and didn't know you could even get a boat waxed for that much less any work done on one. If he chooses to repair it himself that's fine, but not what he's required to do.

The broker is a boat dealer and has connections. He can get a good price on the repair but that's not the point. The point is, a (new) slip holder hit another boat and did not even care to look for damage, much less report it. I'm not thrilled having this guy three slips away from my boat.