Protecting your investment

GH02050

GH02050

GreatGrady Captain
Joined
Aug 20, 2024
Messages
54
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Points
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Location
Marshfield
Model
Gulfstream
In image can speak a 1000 words...
Do you think these folks are worried about the skills of the captain who is not in his slip?
I would be utterly embarrassed if my slip mates had to take such actions.

marina-menice.jpg


I'm sorry but If you got twins hanging of the transom, and you still can't safely operate your boat in the marina, maybe this shit isn't for you. This boat (not in the photo) is a menace. He crashed into my pulpit with enough force to destroy my anchor (while i was sitting on the boat). The collision sounded like a clap of thunder and could be heard a few hundred yards away. I am amazed the pulpit was not hanging off the boat. Other than the anchor, I can't see any other damage, which speaks volumes for the quality of GW. My previous boat would have sunk on the spot, as I believe the impact would have torn the pulpit off. The boats in the photo with the 22in balls for defense have been hit, as have other boats on my side. I know the marina has spoken to the operator but the risk of damage to all around remains. I'm not sure how I can protect myself other than adding a 22 ball to my pulpit & I'm not even sure I would make that work.

I guess this is more of a rant than anything, but if you got suggestions on how to protect my pulpit, I'm all ears.
 
The solution is for the marina to move him to an outside slip withoiut a neighbor.
 
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I wish (as do others) this was an option, but it doesn't seem to be. If I get hit again, I will revisit this possibility. The worst part of this is, boats are getting damaged and nothing is said. I was there to witness the collision when he hit my boat. I got absolutely drilled while he was hard on the throttle trying to make a turn out of his slip. I didn't ask him to replace my anchor because I was buying a new one for the windlass but now I'm thinking I should have done so just so there was a price to pay for his stupidity. I was told by one of the guys across from me, his boat suffered damage that was never reported to him. He can't prove who did it but it's pretty obvious. Now every time a go down to my slip, I have to check for damage. Sucks.
 
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IF someone hits my boat, you can be sure I am going to be a complete AH about it, especially if they are inept at the helm. I would want their insurance info on the spot (which most marina's require boats to carry around here), and I would send a detailed letter explaining exactly how inept the "captain" is. If nothing else, the insurance company will drop them as a client, and maybe if you are lucky, the marina will throw them out for not having insurance.
 
Our Marina does 100% require you to have insurance. Without even commenting on the capt. skills, those 22" balls say it all. Having been onboard to experience the impact firsthand was unsettling to say the least. With all that said, I'm not going to go full AH on this guy (yet). He has been spoken to and I am hoping he can get a lesson. However, even with a lessons I do not expect this will resolve itself overnight. For anyone reading this... If you are ever in doubt navigating around other boats in the marina. SLOW should be your go to. If he hit my in slow motion, I would not even have given this s second thought.

I do plan to add a camera, but it seems like enabling any sort of motion detection is probably not going to work well at a marina.
 
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GH02050 said:
In image can speak a 1000 words...
Do you think these folks are worried about the skills of the captain who is not in his slip?
I would be utterly embarrassed if my slip mates had to take such actions.

View attachment 39640


I'm sorry but If you got twins hanging of the transom, and you still can't safely operate your boat in the marina, maybe this shit isn't for you. This boat (not in the photo) is a menace. He crashed into my pulpit with enough force to destroy my anchor (while i was sitting on the boat). The collision sounded like a clap of thunder and could be heard a few hundred yards away. I am amazed the pulpit was not hanging off the boat. Other than the anchor, I can't see any other damage, which speaks volumes for the quality of GW. My previous boat would have sunk on the spot, as I believe the impact would have torn the pulpit off. The boats in the photo with the 22in balls for defense have been hit, as have other boats on my side. I know the marina has spoken to the operator but the risk of damage to all around remains. I'm not sure how I can protect myself other than adding a 22 ball to my pulpit & I'm not even sure I would make that work.

I guess this is more of a rant than anything, but if you got suggestions on how to protect my pulpit, I'm all ears.
Click to expand...
Depending on what kind of guy he is, and whether he's incompetent because he's new or just doesn't care, it may be worth asking if he would like you to go for a ride with him so yo can give him some pointers.
Having twins is only helpful if you know how to use them. For a beginner it's more to think about and easier to get flustered.
 
He is not a beginner or at least not totally green. I know he had this same boat all last year but beyond that I don't know much about the guy. I'm 100% not going to be going for a ride with him or be giving him any pointers, beyond slow the fk down. It's ok to be flustered, it's even ok to bump into boats now and again. It's not ok to crash into boats on the throttle and then say nothing.
 
I can't imagine any legitimate marina would allow someone to moor their boat at their marina without having insurance on their boat, especially in the event of something like this happening, a fire, etc. There are tons of videos on YouTube about guys in marinas, docks, no wake zones, etc that for whatever reason go the wrong way on the throttles, slamming them forward instead of going into neutral or reverse, and then slam the boat into/up onto another boat and/or dock. I saw another video several months back where it was like the dude had autopilot on and clipped the bows of like 3-4 different boats as he was leaving/entering the marina and again just had to wonder wtf are these people thinking? I imagine it's incompetence, alcohol/drugs, simply not paying attention, being on their phone, or maybe even E. All of the above are factors into the equation. This is one of the many reasons why I won't moor my boat in a marina, even just overnight. If you're stuck having your boat at a marina and have no other options, as mentioned above I'd look into a camera/security camera(s) on your boat so that if someone hits your boat, damages it or takes something from it... at least you'll have some idea who it is. Especially if you can see where they ended up docking their boat, or where they walked off to, etc. I'd also imagine that most legitimate marinas likely have a multitude of security cameras as well, but probably wouldn't give you the video if something happened. Instead, I'm guessing they'd probably give it to the police, if a report was filed. But yes, it is absolutely infuriating to have nice things and constantly be worried about someone else damaging or stealing them. Then, if you weren't there to witness the event or don't have video of it and can't get their information, you have to report it to your own insurance company, with the possibility of having to pay a deductible and/or your insurance rates going up. It's no different from driving on the freeway, at least around here, tons of people on their phones, not caring or paying attention, drifting into your lane or simply just making a lane change without looking. Then they give you the finger or get upset at you, when they almost caused an accident.
 
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I actually love keeping my boat wet slipped at the marina. I don't love this situation but I am doing my best to navigate. The marina does require insurance. I actually do have the video of him smashing into my boat. It was captured on a SeaTow camera which I saved. I did not pursue the owner for the damaged anchor so the video is sort of meaningless. Like a said, I was sitting on my boat when it happened, which is probably the only reason why the owner returned to apologize. I did not know the history of this boat until after it happened. I've since learned a lot from others who have seen some previous shit. Knowing what I know now, I would have 100% demanded he replace my anchor or I would have filed a claim against his insurance.
 
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That's what I'm saying, if you weren't around the guy might not have bothered stopping, leaving his insurance information and so forth. If there wasn't video of the incident and there was thousands of dollars in damage to your boat... it would likely be on you to cover it, if you didn't know who hit the boat. As mentioned, some cameras and/or security cameras would likely not be a terrible idea. Good luck.
 
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