boat use or abuse...?

[fmf]

Ok, so I am going to start this off with the disclaimer of "yes, I know this is a dumb question" but I would like some feedback. Some friends of mine have a boat they keep at their other friends dock at their house during the boating season. My friend has been a little edgy lately concerning this situation... it seems the unspoken deal was that those that own the dock could use the boat for their own use while the actual boat owner was not using it, I guess they spend a lot of time together on the boat so pretty much the cost of gas gets split evenly between the boat owner and the dock owner. My friend was complaining lately that the friends who own the dock always seem to have other people (friends and family) over who are there to use the boat and she feels that possibly the arangement is being taken advantage of. She herself has never brought other friends and just her immediate family a couple of times... Any thoughts on this or any of you in a similar situation?

 

[tommays]

Re: boat use or abuse...?

i would be finding my OWN dock space this can only end badly and allready sounds FUBAR<br /><br />i have a friend with dock space in greenport and he let J-24 owners use it FREE and people who you would never expect if from realy raked his generosity over the coals by doing things like haveing there guests use his house bathrooms<br /><br />(the boats have a head get it pumped idiot)<br /><br /><br />i think you can figure how this ended <br /><br /><br />tommays

 

[POINTER94]

Re: boat use or abuse...?

Tough to know what to do except stay a mile away from this one if you can. This sounds like it could snowball out of control and make for a real nasty situation.<br /><br />People are neat how they feel about favors and deals. I had a mechanic friend help me years ago with an unreasonably low bill for some series work. I use him to this day and tip him. I don't expect him to cut me a deal now that things are better. I don't shop him and I never question a bill, ever. <br /><br />All deals are subject to common sense. I don't know what the particulars of this situation are, but I always error on the side of being conservative (surprise anyone out there?) regardless of the situation. If the deal isn't a deal, I as the boat owner, would not entertain the same deal next year. Or I would pull the boat for service and tell the home owner that I think I would like to keep her in the drive for some upgrades. End this deal with equal concern for all parties involved. Give the homeowner the chance to cut a similiar deal with someone else more gulliable.<br /><br />BTW, glad to see new members. Welcome

 

[scotty c]

Re: boat use or abuse...?

what is fubar ?<br />i like the sound of that word and i think<br />i may just use it if i know what it means ?

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: boat use or abuse...?

It's an achronym.<br /><br />F*****<br />Up<br />Beyond<br />All<br />Recognision

 

[Braxton]

Re: boat use or abuse...?

i would go get my boat. you can be polite and tell them you need to service it and that may buffer any hard feelings. besides it may be a good idea to service it anyways, good luck.

 

[Braxton]

Re: boat use or abuse...?

Pointer94 i went back and read your post i think we have the same idea. more savagable to be nice about it i think. and i like the idea of saying id like to keep her in the drive for upgrades.

 

[Ron G]

Re: boat use or abuse...?

A diseaster whating to happen,Most people like that dont know anything about driving a boat,seen to many sitiuations like that here with pontoons something always gets tore up or damaged get it back home.

 

[waterone1@aol.com]

Re: boat use or abuse...?

This situation needs to be stopped ASAP ! Mooring for a boat does have a value, but from what I have read, the value is now backwards. Just go to any harbor that rents boats for the day, then compare that figure to what it costs to moore a boat......10 times difference. Tell your friend to get their boat out of there before some real damage is done, or worse yet, someone is hurt and they want to know who to sue .

 

[craze1cars]

Re: boat use or abuse...?

Again I'll throw out a little insurance expertise...<br /><br />There's lot of potential here to have a total stranger driving your friends boat, without his/her knowledge, who has no knowledge of boats whatsoever. Yet they are permitting this even though they don't like it.<br /><br />So guess who gets taken to the cleaners when that total stranger chops someone's leg off with the propeller?<br /><br />Your friend, as he/she allowed the situation to be possible whether he liked it or not. His/her insurance company would have a field day with this situation and would certainly make huge effots to deny the claim, and would likely succeed depending on the wording in their policy...then your friend would have a massive lawsuit with no coverage to back him up.<br /><br />That boat needs to be locked up until firm rules put in writing between the parties sharing this boat, with the insurance company copied into the written rules and the policy premium adjusted accordingly based on the specific people who are listed to have permissive use of the boat, where it is docked, etc.<br /><br />Shared boats are not uncommon and insurance companies realize this...the concept iteself is not a problem and they will have a way to write this policy with a list of permitted users/drivers. But a boat that is sitting out there available for all kinds of people to use at their leisure is a horrifyingly dangerous risk.

 

[dajohnson53]

Re: boat use or abuse...?

fmf (original poster): I think I understand you to be saying that the boat owner and the dock owner have an agreement that dock owner can use the boat in exchange for providing docking. Now, the dock owner is letting others use the boat, people that the boat owner doesn't know and doesn't want to be using his boat.<br /><br />If I were the boat owner I'd either take the boat back and keep it trailered (or find a commercial mooring), or talk to the dock owner. It is perfectly reasonable for boat owner to have concerns about strangers using the boat - not only for liability purposes, but simply because he doesn't know or trust their boating skills or habits.<br /><br />I had a similar sitution, but with a canoe. I needed a place to store a nice, new Old Town canoe for a couple of years while I lived in a differnt town. My friend and main canoing partner (who I trust completely) had a house with room and didn't own a canoe. I told him that he could use the canoe anytime he wanted and I felt perfectly comfortable with this - we'd done weeks and months of cumulative paddling and I know the guy like a brother. Unfortunately, he wasn't thinking straight and was letting other people use the canoe as well - people I didn't know and who's skills I didn't know. I found out when I was visiting him and one of his friends (who I didn't know) stopped by and borrowed the canoe. I let it slide at that moment to avoid a scene, but later I simply told him that I didnt' intend that people I didn't know use the canoe - because I had no idea what their skills were or what their intention would be if they lost or damaged it. Since I had no other options at that time for storing the canoe, I couldn't use the strategy of just diplomaticaly taking it back or moving it (which is what I probably would have done instead of talking to him). I think he understood my concerns and had one of those "what the HE11 was I thinking" moments. We're still close friends.

 

[Perfidiajoe]

Re: boat use or abuse...?

This is like a married couple's problem, they're both right, & both wrong, getting in the middle makes the outsider wrong. Both sides have thier bones of contension, sounds like the honeymoon's over, better for all to move on.