hello everyone,
I have been a long time watcher of the forums for years and finally decided to sign up. I know there are lots of great, very knowledgeable members here and my hopes are that someone can point me in the right direction where to go from here.
So here is the back story. Owned the boat 5+ years. Its been used some and when not in use its parked in storage up until about 1.5 years. the storage facility when under and i good friend who has a fenced in back yard offered it up for storage. I was very grateful as my wife and i live in a condo with no secured parking area for boats. I work in the auto repair business and i have been working every weekend with no time to take the boat out but knew a day would come (currently) when my schedule would open up. In exchange for free storage i encouraged my friend to take the boat out with his family and little girl to enjoy it. The way i saw it, the boat would get run from time to time and help keep mechanical problems that develop from lack of use to a minimum being a 2 stroke engine. All well and good. The boat has been running great with no mechanical issues. The boat is old and nothing fancy but i really liked and enjoyed using it. Saved for many years to afford it. 1988 Wahoo CC, 2001 150 johnson.
The individual used the boat many times, no problems at all, kept it clean, even put new tires on the trailer for me.
So i get a call about 2 month ago. As the story goes he was using the boat over a weekend in Mt. P. Left the boat over the weekend at another friends house tied up to a dock in the water. I do not know this 3rd party. the boat is a trailer-boat and not set up to stay in the water. This particular weekend ended up having heavy rains. Im sure you can imagine where this story is going. Luckily, no one was hurt. Which i am very thankful for. From the story, it left tired up and unattended, filled with rain in the deck and the water had no where to go. From there i can only imagine that it drained into the anchor and
Has this friend offered to “take care of it” or something along those lines? Morally I would think that would be the thing to do. Morally…Not necessarily legally.
I assume you did not have insurance on it? I know this sucks bad but it is probably going to be a life lesson. You allowed him to use the boat. Crap happens.
I am a mechanic as well and I gave up counting how many “friends” I have lost over money owed to me. I think the guy should stand up, be a man, and pay for repairs.
I think that court would be a waste of time and money. I have a few friends that i let borrow my boat. I made 100% sure that my insurance covers the loss even if I am not operating it.
I have worked years of side work and saved for my rig. I can empathize with you on the situation. I hope the best for you but fear the worst.
Hydra-Sports 22 Bay Sport
225 Rude
14’ Stumpnocker
15 Rude
I take it that you didn’t have insurance on the boat. FYI, loaning your boat to a friend without liability insurance was sorta setting yourself up for a liability lawsuit if he or his family had been injured or if he had been involved in an accident, either on the water or on the road.
As far as the loss, it’s your boat and you loaned it to him. Same as if he wrecked your car, it’d be your responsibility to continue making payments on it or pay for repairs. You could possibly sue him for negligence in small claims court for damages, but it may depend on the kind of bailment arrangement you guys had.
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad
Equipment:
190cc Sea Pro w/130 Johnson
1- 18 year old ( has decided being with parents isn’t cool)
1 - 15 year old (still does not mind hanging with the 'rents)
1 - wife (The Warden)
Wow, I know you feel sick over this, I can understand that completely.
I’m not sure that a lawsuit will be what you will benefit the most from. You have to decide whether your friendship is more valuable to you than the price you’d get for the boat. A lawsuit won’t likely help you get your boat back to original condition, and it certainly won’t do anything about the anguish you’ve had (it will add to it, not take from it).
I speak from experience, I’ve been hosed pretty badly by friends because of negligence-- one time in particular, but I cannot go into detail on the public internet, except to say that you learn a persons true ethic when money is involved. I found peace to be far more precious than lawsuit and conflict.
… The Cross of Christ is the anvil upon which the hammer of evil wore itself out.
Personally, I’d let it go. It’s just a boat.
I value my friends more than I value my boat. If you value a boat over friends, in the end, you’re alone on your boat.
Mako 1901 Inshore-Honda 130
10% of the people catch 90% of the fish.
Not sure how long you had it over there but it sounds like you enjoyed having fee free parking and having someone else keep up the boat for a little while. That’s fine, but the possibility of several scenarios like the one you described should have gone through your head. If you were so concerned about the boat all the time that it made you sick you should have done something else with it. I think the guy should help pay for some of the repairs and offer his time to do so. I wouldnt expect him to pay boat mechanic fees though. Your both equally responsible, but at the end of the repairs you get to keep a boat and he gets nothing out of it. SO i would expect to pay the great majority of what it cost to be repaired.
Legal fees could eat up a big portion of any settlement you might win. Plus, he might not have the money to pay even if you won a settlement. And that would likely end the friendship. I’d sit down with your friend and say something like, “Hey, this is going to be an awkward conversation, but we need to talk about what happened to the boat.” Then let him know that you can’t afford all the repairs and that you think it would be reasonable to expect him to pitch in to help. After you have your say, let him have his. Y’all may not solve everything, but that is the way friends resolve conflicts, IMO.
13ft Whaler with 25hp Johnson
If you’re lucky enough to be fishing, you’re lucky enough.
You are between a rock and a hard spot. Its not about who is more important a friend or a boat. Boats at sometime will let you down, a true friend will never let you down. If this guy is your friend he would step up to the plate and do the right thing or at least try. Maybe I’m just old school and thats the way my parents raised me to be. Thats also why I wont let anyone use my boats.
A wise man once said “Do as I say not as I do” Good advice when I tell you that.
Much thanks to everyone and there thoughtful responses and insight. i can not thank you enough for the help. I fully intend on helping in anyway i can afford, with the understanding that its even repairable. Im trying to ignore the signs of a “good friend” that is now hard to get a hold of. But i fear as many of you pointed out that im probably up the creek on this one. If not repairable, you may find a waterlogged wahoo for sale soon.
I am open to any other ideas out there.
Again, thank you for all the response. This is a great message group to belong to providing a wealth of valuable knowledge.
If the motor was underwater very long in salt and it was not immediately taken care of when retrieved, the engine is probably a total loss. I wouldn’t put a dime into repairing it. It will never be right. Have a few beers with your friend and go in half on a used engine. The boat should be fine except for electrical connections. Water shouldn’t hurt a boat hull.
Stuff happens
Edit: And oh yeah, after you get a new engine, get a good bilge pump
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Sucks that youre in this situation, but youre going to need a place to work on it.
Go visit your friend if he doesnt answer the phone. Bring your PB blast, some electrical connectors and crompers.
Don’t blame him, just tell him its time to get started fixing it. When you run to the store for parts, have him ride along.
Hopefully he’ll open his wallet, if not, try to get some of his time and energy. Something is better than nothing, and a real friend should want to be back there messing with your boat anyway.
if the engine isn’t locked up, the block can easily be salvaged
take out the spark plugs
get a heavy duty electric drill with a socket adapter and a socket that will fit the flywheel nut
trim up the engine
the switch may not work, but the trim motor will, its made to be underwater run 12 volts straight to it.
pour transmission fluid in all the cylinders
turn the motor over by hand slowly at first.
then while spraying lube (wd-40 etc) in to the intake of each cylinder, spin it over with the drill
before doing this, drain all the carb bowls, and disconnect the fuel pump.
there will be some water in the fuel.
do this for several days in a row
if yopu don’t keep turning it over, it will lock up.
then try to find a matching motor that is blown up, cheap. that way you can use all the electrical parts off of the donor motor
if the engine isn’t locked up, the block can easily be salvaged
take out the spark plugs
get a heavy duty electric drill with a socket adapter and a socket that will fit the flywheel nut
trim up the engine
the switch may not work, but the trim motor will, its made to be underwater run 12 volts straight to it.
pour transmission fluid in all the cylinders
turn the motor over by hand slowly at first.
then while spraying lube (wd-40 etc) in to the intake of each cylinder, spin it over with the drill
before doing this, drain all the carb bowls, and disconnect the fuel pump.
there will be some water in the fuel.
do this for several days in a row
if yopu don’t keep turning it over, it will lock up.
then try to find a matching motor that is blown up, cheap. that way you can use all the electrical parts off of the donor motor
I can't use this information on my boats but... DANG... this sure seems like it could help some guy in a lot of trouble. Got to give it to chris V and a couple other guys in the boat business for sharing some knowledge that can only come from many years of first hand information. Good on you chris (and to the others). :wink:
if the engine isn’t locked up, the block can easily be salvaged
take out the spark plugs
get a heavy duty electric drill with a socket adapter and a socket that will fit the flywheel nut
trim up the engine
the switch may not work, but the trim motor will, its made to be underwater run 12 volts straight to it.
pour transmission fluid in all the cylinders
turn the motor over by hand slowly at first.
then while spraying lube (wd-40 etc) in to the intake of each cylinder, spin it over with the drill
before doing this, drain all the carb bowls, and disconnect the fuel pump.
there will be some water in the fuel.
do this for several days in a row
if yopu don’t keep turning it over, it will lock up.
then try to find a matching motor that is blown up, cheap. that way you can use all the electrical parts off of the donor motor
I can't use this information on my boats but... DANG... this sure seems like it could help some guy in a lot of trouble. Got to give it to chris V and a couple other guys in the boat business for sharing some knowledge that can only come from many years of first hand information. Good on you chris (and to the others). :wink:
