Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

[TilliamWe]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

It's amazing how threads like this go to the crapper so quickly. If he damaged your boat in any way it's his responsibility to put it back like it was before he damaged it. And yes, even if that means buying a new rub rail for an old boat. Cars are no different...

You almost couldn't be more wrong if you tried. If you don't know what "indemnity" means, look it up. Noone owes anyone else "NEW" anything, in replacement of their "USED" stuff.
I can GUARANTEE you that if you hit my 2004 model car and my fender needs to be replaced, it will be replaced with a 2004 or 2005 model year fender, not a brand new one. That's how it works in 3rd party damages. So he does NOT deserve, nor will he get paid for a ""new" rubrail to replace his used rubrail. I don't care how "perfect" the rest of it is/was.

But as others have pointed out, how is someone else's boat so close to a guys' trailer as he's loading or unloading a boat?

To the original poster, turn this into your own insurance carrier and let them pursue subrogation, if it bothers you that much.
If you do the repairs yourself, sure your time is worth something. No more that 50% of the prevailing shop labor rate in your area. More like 25%. So if marine shops charge $100/hour, you might expect to be compensated $25/hr. But you don't get paid for any extra time it takes you, you get paid the time is takes a professional. I know that sounds tough, but that's how it works. You are not to profit from your loss.

 

[Challenger84]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

That really all depends on the design of the ramp. If it?s wide enough for two boats with a dock on either side then I don?t see what he did wrong.

I agree with you on that one.
If the ramp is suppose accommodate more then one boat at a time and he was on the opposite side of the ramp then it is totally his fault.

Now lets see some pictures so we can determine who's at fault.

 

[mlrman]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

Man, did I open a can o' worms with this post, LOL! It's been fun reading your replies, they are all over the place.

Here's what I did......I had already purchased a vinyl repair kit for a tiny tear in my boat's interior. After filling the quarter size hole in the rubber rub rail with silicone, I used some of the black colored repair material to match the repaired area's color to the rest of the rail.

A little spit on my finger to smooth everything out, and you can barely tell where the damage was.

I then used a grinding wheel on my drill to remove the gouge from the metal rail and sandpaper to smooth out the scratches.

I could tell the guy was embarrassed and felt bad about how he screwed up at the ramp, and I chalked it up as just "one of those things". No sense on messing with it further. Maybe I'll see him at the ramp again, show him my repair, and we'll share a laugh or a beer or both

Always entertaining at the boat ramp, huh??

P.S. I don't have pics, but it was the Clinton lake, IL Marina which is five lanes wide. I was in my lane, he was in the lane next to me. His trailer was too deep in the water, so his boat wasn't hitting the bunks.

Then his boat got cockeyed on the trailer and he panicked, hitting the throttle, which sent the back of his boat into the side of mine. My boat was on my trailer, his boat was perpindicular to his trailer when it hit mine.

 

[tswiczko]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

Manages a car dealership Hmmmm.
If you made the repair yourself and didn't involve the ins. company and kept both of your rates down then maybe he would pay for the material used and maybe even give you some kind of discount on car parts you need, you did say you like to keep your toys in good running order. Parts are sometimes expensive, and we could all use a break on the price of a repair even the ones we do ourselves

I have a friend back home who is a parts manager at a dealership and gets me factory parts at 10% over MANUFACTURE cost got a motor for my old truck for less than 5000 delivered with manufacture warranty Not a short block all I had to do was swap motors plug the harnesses back together and vroom. It had a new altrenator and powersteering pump mounted on it. not a bad deal if you ask me

 

[Challenger84]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

P.S. I don't have pics, but it was the Clinton lake, IL Marina which is five lanes wide. I was in my lane, he was in the lane next to me. His trailer was too deep in the water, so his boat wasn't hitting the bunks.

Then his boat got cockeyed on the trailer and he panicked, hitting the throttle, which sent the back of his boat into the side of mine. My boat was on my trailer, his boat was perpindicular to his trailer when it hit mine.

With the info you just gave I do believe it is his fault 100%!
Glad you took matters into your own hands and got your boat fixed.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

Man, did I open a can o' worms with this post, LOL! It's been fun reading your replies, they are all over the place.

Here's what I did......I had already purchased a vinyl repair kit for a tiny tear in my boat's interior. After filling the quarter size hole in the rubber rub rail with silicone, I used some of the black colored repair material to match the repaired area's color to the rest of the rail.

A little spit on my finger to smooth everything out, and you can barely tell where the damage was.

I then used a grinding wheel on my drill to remove the gouge from the metal rail and sandpaper to smooth out the scratches.

I could tell the guy was embarrassed and felt bad about how he screwed up at the ramp, and I chalked it up as just "one of those things". No sense on messing with it further. Maybe I'll see him at the ramp again, show him my repair, and we'll share a laugh or a beer or both

Always entertaining at the boat ramp, huh??

P.S. I don't have pics, but it was the Clinton lake, IL Marina which is five lanes wide. I was in my lane, he was in the lane next to me. His trailer was too deep in the water, so his boat wasn't hitting the bunks.

Then his boat got cockeyed on the trailer and he panicked, hitting the throttle, which sent the back of his boat into the side of mine. My boat was on my trailer, his boat was perpindicular to his trailer when it hit mine.

Good deal. Frankly, the fact that he gave you his (legitimate) business card tells me he was probably prepared to do the right thing, but didn't want insurance involvement. Perfectly understandable, IMO.

So, give the guy a call, tell him you took care of it and there're no hard feelings. Just bring the matter to a close. Heck, he might want to treat you and your S.O. to dinner or something.

My .02

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

Sounds good to me, in the end we all have bad days on the water. He probably expected a call about this situation. Maybe call and let him know it has been fixed, and no harm no foul. I would think any normal person would feel remorse for damaging another persons boat.

 

[Ki Ki]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

Personally, I would not have him pay unless he it's a major cost and he's willing to split it. Unless he was drunk or maliciously docking his boat, then I say let it coast. Boat ramps suck.

 

[Purecarnagge]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

I'd drop him a call and say its fixed and not to worry about it.

 

[TMoNeE]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

It was an accident, but it was still the other guys fault and he should cover whatever it takes to make the boat how it was before he hit it. If that requires replacing the WHOLE rub rail, then so be it.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

It was an accident, but it was still the other guys fault and he should cover whatever it takes to make the boat how it was before he hit it. If that requires replacing the WHOLE rub rail, then so be it.

Pay attention, the original poster fixed it himself, with very little difficulty, it sounds.

Maybe it wasn't such a big deal after all?

 

[TMoNeE]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

Pay attention, the original poster fixed it himself, with very little difficulty, it sounds.

Maybe it wasn't such a big deal after all?

Says the guy who told him to suck it up because "thats what a rubrail is for"

Well thats what the bumper on your car is for too but if someone bumps into your car and cracks the bumper im sure you arent going to chalk it up as "thats what its for."

Luckily the OP found a fix for it and it was no big deal, but it wasnt his responsibility to fix it, it was the guy who hit him.

I know thats hard to understand, so maybe you should "pay attention". The person who causes the damage, is responsible for fixing the damage.

Crazy logic I know.

 

[soaringhiggy]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

Tmonee

hope I never get in a situation with you or folks like you, very punitive when less will do and keep everyone happy

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

If he was at fault, you are entitled to recover your damages--but nothing more.

first you need to know the retail market value of the boat. Then you need to know how much the value of the boat was diminished. In other words, what are the craigs list prices for the boat before, and after, the damage? If it's an old boat, no matter how much you think it's wonderful, you don't get paid for a minor dent.

If you had a 15 year old Taurus with a perfect bumper worth $1800, and someone put a small dent in that bumper, you still have a 15 year old Taurus worth $1800. Live with it.

compare the damage (diminished value) to the cost to repair options (replace everything, just the metal, repair a section, buff out.) If one is close to the diminished value, that is what you get. But if they are all way above the diminished value, all you get is the diminished value.

Some courts would not give you damages unless you go and get it fixed first. Then you get the repair cost, but only if it's close to the diminished value. You take a chance, getting the rail replaced for $1000, if your boat only lost $50 in value. But hey, you got a new rail and you like your boat to look good.

If you go to court, you will not recover your time or, if you hire one, attorneys fees. You will not recover your time spent having it fixed (taking it to the shop, down time, picking it up, etc.) Only in rare situations might you get to rent a replacement while it's being fixed, so don't even think about it.

Legal rights aside, ask yourself this: if you or one of your children had messed up and done the same thing, would you pay to get it fixed, or live with it as "wear and tear"? If an invited guest had caused it, would you make him pay for it? Would you even let him pay for it? If not, let it go.

If it can't be repaired as a practical matter, and the guy is decent enough to offer you something, just say, "why don't you give me what you think is fair for me having a dented rub rail, and I'll put it toward repairs some other time?" He'll probably give you more than you would have asked for.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

Home Cookin thanks for trying to explain indemnity to guys like TMonee, but he's NEVER going to understand it. Just look at his screen name!

 

[bsktball55]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

Tomonee

hope I never get in a situation with you or folks like you, very punitive when less will do and keep everyone happy

With some of the responses I've heard on here I wonder if some of you people are the type that would hit and run or give false information if you ever hit someone. If you damage a person's property I don't care how old or what type of shape it was in, you man up and fix it back to its condition before you damaged it. Nothing pisses me off more than disrespect for someone else's property.

 

[soaringhiggy]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

no I'm not that way at all. If you read the treads you would see that the person gave information, was never contacted, the op fixed the boat, and sounds like he did a great job of fixing it. Others are well, replace the whole thing.

The op did right, in my estimation.

The stick it to 'em philosophy is one that I don't like.

Have no idea where you get the idea that I would give false information, or commit a hit and run, sorry you are past Pluto on that one.

 

[dave11]

Re: Boat ran into me, should I make him pay for damaged rubrail?

Man, did I open a can o' worms with this post, LOL! It's been fun reading your replies, they are all over the place.

Here's what I did......I had already purchased a vinyl repair kit for a tiny tear in my boat's interior. After filling the quarter size hole in the rubber rub rail with silicone, I used some of the black colored repair material to match the repaired area's color to the rest of the rail.

A little spit on my finger to smooth everything out, and you can barely tell where the damage was.

I then used a grinding wheel on my drill to remove the gouge from the metal rail and sandpaper to smooth out the scratches.

I could tell the guy was embarrassed and felt bad about how he screwed up at the ramp, and I chalked it up as just "one of those things". No sense on messing with it further. Maybe I'll see him at the ramp again, show him my repair, and we'll share a laugh or a beer or both

Always entertaining at the boat ramp, huh??

P.S. I don't have pics, but it was the Clinton lake, IL Marina which is five lanes wide. I was in my lane, he was in the lane next to me. His trailer was too deep in the water, so his boat wasn't hitting the bunks.

Then his boat got cockeyed on the trailer and he panicked, hitting the throttle, which sent the back of his boat into the side of mine. My boat was on my trailer, his boat was perpindicular to his trailer when it hit mine.

Good for you.

I've been boating a looooong time. *&%(&%&^$* happens. I have reasonably good handling skills. Wind, rain, current, tide, having my head up the wrong place, I have hit other boats and also been hit. Sometimes there was a little damage, sometimes not. Every time either I or the other guy offered to take care of any damage. I never asked or had to pay for repairs, of course it was always minimal.

I'd call the guy, tell him what I did, and ask him out for a beer. As was mentioned above, you may have made a new friend.