POINTER94
Vice Admiral
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2003
- Messages
- 5,031
My brother took a new job and had a going away party on lake geneva friday night and asked if I could bring my boat and give some rides to some of the attendee's. I of course agreed to help and I launched the boat and enjoyed a great day on the lake and stopped over at chucks to enjoy the festivities. After giving tours of the lake to some of his co-workers and a romantic night with Ann, we decided to take out the boat around midnight. <br /><br />It went south from there. We had a brand new winch strap break about 4 inches from snug. Jury rigged something to get it real close and pulled out go head home. Then a tire went flat. Spent 3hrs. waiting for a service vehicle to stop out and help. Finally, after a very concerted effort by my insurance co. we abandoned the boat in a hospital parking lot. It is now 3.30am. I was too tired to make it home so I went to my brothers house to rest. Yep locked up tight as he was spending the night on his boat out on lake geneva. As he was selling his house there was the hidden key in a lock box. In an incredibly rude action I called him on his cell and got the combination to the box. (Thanks Greg) I was truely exhausted. The police were helpful, the insurance covered almost all the charges and busted butt to try and help, Reed Marine who picked up the boat and convinced me to do additional work while the boat we in their shop, was not only helpful but flexible in their assistance. <br /><br />Net net on the deal, four new tires, a saturday of sleep, new leaf springs, a buff job for the boat, a new winch strap using aviation cable and a bottle of dishwashing liquid in the truck to assist the winch in sliding the boat up the bunks on the trailer, and a bunch of $$$ and I should be made whole by next weekend. I am also going to put a spare tire on the rig to assist should this ever happen again.<br /><br />Nobody injured, and a lesson learned I would have to think that I got away pretty clean. But I am still tired here on Sunday, and a bunch of money into something I thought was in perfect shape is enough to make someone take up tent camping. Thankfully I don't like tent camping as much as boating. <br /><br />I would encourage anyone who trailers a boat any distance to get roadside trailer insurance. It was invaluable to me in this instance. I have a 6000lb boat and trying to fix a tire alone in the middle of the night is far more difficult than it would look at first blush.
