Trucker Bent Furling

[Celestialsailor]

Thank you SSS. I have it now. I left a message with the trucker that I had the information now and told him his policy carrier. So he knows I'm not BSing him. We'll see if that spurs some reaction...Thanks again for the help.

[hellosailor]

"I am willing to settle with this guy if he'd ever return my calls."
You may run into an additional problem with having no proof that you made a timely claim. So, send him a letter (with deliveryor signature confirmation, etc.) along the lines of "this is to confirm our telephone and email conversations regarding the damage to the furler on my boat...the repair quote is..."
I would diplomatically not mention insurance and out of pocket at this point, just create a record of the calls you've made and have the proof of delivery on the mail, so no one can come back at you and say "Well you didn't report a damage within 30 days, so you're barred".
You might also mention that you'd like to resolve this QUICKLY and amicably, so you don't also have consequential damages from the loss of use of your boat. That might motivate him. And get you back on the water faster.

[SaltSeaSailor]

I think diplomacy is the key, the burden of proof is on you and you may not have the preponderance of evidence necessary to win a lawsuit.

[Celestialsailor]

Well there's no way I'll go to court. I always hope that people doing business are of their word. I have some pictures and the boat yard in Ca., where the boat was delivered, to verifying that the furler was bent before they took it off. It's a thousand bucks and my peace of mind is worth that not to get tangled up in "the system". After all...that's why I have sailboats anyways.
I'll keep you posted as to what headway I make this week. Again...I am totally grateful for all your advice and support. It's been a hell of a year for me. I will start another thread in a month or so explaining that.

[Celestialsailor]

I called their Insurance co. and like I thought, they were very helpful, courteous and gave me a claim number. I feel confident if there is not a claim, then nothing will come of it and I will eat the repair. At least I didn't take it lying down. I received a slough of nasty e-mails from the Father of the so called company. He was just hoping I'd go away I guess.
His claim was that since I mentioned to him that on their website, they clearly show a Hunter 30 on their trailer with the mast on their cradle, I should have known better and made sure they put it there. Geeez...that's a stretch!

[hellosailor]

"I should have known better and made sure they put it there."
So, you should have been hired as the manager that they apparently neglected to send out with their trucker, huh? Tell the man you're available for hire, but of course, you can't work as manager unless you also bring on a supervisor. Gotta have at least 3 men to do any one job right.

[Celestialsailor]

But wouldn't the supervisor need an inspector. And would the inspector need a safety committee overseer? Then there would be the monthly assessor to make sure that the charges were fair and speaking about fair...wouldn't we need a employee civil rights coordinator and oh wait...wouldn't we need...

[Bradley]

The burden of proof on liability is on the trucking company. It is a bailment for hire situation. Really, non lawyers should refrain from giving legal advice.

The burden of going forward on damages would be on you. A very low burden.

[Cheechako]

I had my Rawson trucked from San Diego to Seattle in 1985 and ended up with a hole rubbed in the topsides of the hull and a deep goug/rub in the mast which had to be welded....

[Chief Engineer]

Just Curious...who took the rig down?

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Chief Engineer

Just Curious...who took the rig down?

Hi Chief...Tom's Point Marina, in Port Washington, NY. Another business which would not give me the name of their Insurance carrier. Since I was able to get the name of the truckers Ins. I felt that they would contact the yard and get any additional information of them to establish liability. when I talked to both the trucker and yard about the incident and who authorized what. The stories were so far apart, that someone is lying big time.

[Chief Engineer]

In my career, I have seen a number of very poorly done de-riggings.

Most commonly I have seen mast wires cut instead of disconnected.

Bent masts and damaged furlers are also very common.

Most of the time the guys that take this stuff out just think they are taking something apart and haven't a clue as to the stresses and structure of what they are taking down.

Sounds to me like another marina horror story.

You should perhaps contact your insurance company and "let their fingers do the walking"

[Celestialsailor]

Already done Chief

[Celestialsailor]

UPDATE:- It has been exactly 6 months since the trucker bent furling incident. I had found out that Lloyds of London was the trucker's carrier. They have done nothing! Their representative in Pa. has done nothing. It's not like I'm calling daily. More like every 10 days to their representative. He does not return phone calls and Lloyds returned one e-mail and that's it. Makes me wonder what the use of Insurance is in the first place. I'm really glad the damage was not worst. I left the damaged unit on the boat in the thought that it would be repaired pronto. I missed the entire sailing season. I won't next year!

[hellosailor]

Find out what your state insurance department has to say, or if this is covered by the ICC or some other federal ruling instead.

With conventional auto claims insurance, I think most state laws require the carrier to respond within 30 days to a WRITTEN claim, and if they fail to do so they may simply have to pay it.

Problem here is that you've got interstate commerce involved, which probably changes the rules, and if you haven't filed a WRITTEN claim, they may simply be jerking you along past the time period in which you can file one.