Boat Held Hostage By Marine Transport Company

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by kiwitrucker

At this point I am hoping we get to find out the end of the Saga. Has this a#%&@ delivered the boat?

Why do you think the trucker is an a#%&@ ? Maybe he's just a d%$#@ or s$&%#/.


I do hope we hear a happy ending soon. At least it's now one down, one to go.

[Dansante85]

Although I am not the OP I need to update you guys as Steadley had my mast and it may well have been on the trailer with Creole-Belle's boat at some point in this saga. I was informed yesterday by the Sparcraft rep in Seabrook that Steadley did finally after over a month deliver my mast and gear. Still no idea where it has been all of this time. The mast is apparently unharmed despite Steadley slitting open the plastic wrapper a couple of weeks ago. I wish I could say more at this time but I am sure you will all understand that further comment will have to wait until a later date. A lot went on behind the scenes that wasn't posted but I think it is safe to day that this forum and the Sailing Anarchy Forum played a part in the recovery of my property. BTW, there is a lot more posts on Sailing Anarchy by persons with first hand knowledge of Dan Steadley so if you are in need of new informaton I suggest you join Sailing Anarchy. They have different areas of interest but just click on the top one which is also titled "Sailing Anarchy". Then look for the thread I started called, "Has anyone seen Dan Steadley, he has my mast". I think you will immediately notice the contrast in tone on Sailing Anarchy to this forum but there are a lot of interesting posts there with info on Steadley not posted here. Thanks again for your support and help. Now let's get Creole-Belle his boat back!

[Sir Rondo Normal]

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

Right...

Further to the subject of weight, which of course is at the heart of the matter. The vast majority of trailers have air gauges on them. The trucker knows what they should read and they are used for the purpose of weight distribution (deciding where on the trailer the load should go) and as and indicator of total weight. Next step (if you're not confident enough to hit the gov't scales) is to go to a private, certified truck scales and pay $5 or $10 to get a print out of your individual axle weights and your gross weight. These can be used as defence against a ticket from a gov't scale, should one occur.

This truck is not a trucker, he is a scammer.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by Capt Wraun

Further to the subject of weight, which of course is at the heart of the matter. The vast majority of trailers have air gauges on them. The trucker knows what they should read and they are used for the purpose of weight distribution (deciding where on the trailer the load should go) and as and indicator of total weight. Next step (if you're not confident enough to hit the gov't scales) is to go to a private, certified truck scales and pay $5 or $10 to get a print out of your individual axle weights and your gross weight. These can be used as defence against a ticket from a gov't scale, should one occur.

This truck is not a trucker, he is a scammer.

And the guy who lied about the weight of his boat and took it to a place without a scale is a what?

[Christerart]

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

And the guy who lied about the weight of his boat and took it to a place without a scale is a what?

Tropical,

I was about to answer this silly a$$ post of yours but I have a pretty good idea *you* *are* in fact the trucker in this thread so I am not going to.

And if you are not - if you haven't been able to grasp what has been said here over and over, then perhaps you should sit down and have someone explain it to you. Clearly something is missing here.

It just boggles the mind you are still trying to defend this guy - or smear the OP.

Amazing.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

And the guy who lied about the weight of his boat and took it to a place without a scale is a what?

I have no idea how much my boat weighs other than what is in the factory brochure. I could calculate the weight of water/fuel etc and take a guess at what the other stuff on the boat weighs. But I don't know if that is correct.

Didn't the OP basically do this (he did the way I read the beginning post)?

How many people truly know how much their boat weighs? The weight the shipper says this 34' weighs is 20% more than what my 43' boats weighs according to my boats data sheet.

Since we all know that travel lifts don't measure weight well just where does one take their boat to get weighed?

[CeesH]

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

And the guy who lied about the weight of his boat and took it to a place without a scale is a what?

Please explane, WHO LIED from day one about almost everyting?

tropicalescape, you make yourself immortal.

CeesH

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by Capt Wraun

Further to the subject of weight, which of course is at the heart of the matter.
SNIP

While weight is certainly a significant issue I am not sure it is at the heart of the matter.

Certainly at SA and to some extent here post on both sides of the issue have indicated this trucker seems to take on some jobs knowing the delivery date is based on minimizing deadheading by storing cargo and picking it up when combining loads at destinations close to each other allows lowering expenses.

Think of how USP works. They put a bunch of stuff on a truck and then start delivering so some peeps get their package at 8:00AM and some guys get their package at 8:00PM, or in the worst case the next day.

To me this is the heart of the matter. Lots of customers think a trucker puts a load on his truck and drives straight to the destination. For a trucker it makes sense to drive a little bit out of the way and pick up more cargo which will produce additional revenue.

So the real heart of the matter is when does "a little bit out of the way" become too long a delay in delivering the customers goods.

Realistically truckers will always try to reduce deadheading and large companies have a huge advantage here because they transport so many more loads to and from so many more places. Smaller truckers are limited in how many loads they have to choose from. Not to mention breakdowns, drivers leaving, or other problems play havoc with scheduling for both small and large companies.

Lets also keep in mind the trucker in question is suppose to have seven trucks according to some posts. He also has multiple trailers and multiple locations to store both trailers with and without loads.

I suspect in this case lots of things went wrong. First there never was any intention on the trucker's part to pick up the boat and drive it directly to the destination. When other issues surfaced things just started to pile up and it was easier to leave the boat on a trailer parked somewhere and make money on other jobs. All of the sudden the delivery date had really slipped, there was an irate customer or two (maybe more) and the problem of delivering the boat simply got out of hand.

Now both the trucker and the OP are faced with only very bad options and I would bet no one winds up happy with the result.

[Christerart]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

I have no idea how much my boat weighs other than what is in the factory brochure. I could calculate the weight of water/fuel etc and take a guess at what the other stuff on the boat weighs. But I don't know if that is correct.

Didn't the OP basically do this (he did the way I read the beginning post)?

How many people truly know how much their boat weighs? The weight the shipper says this 34' weighs is 20% more than what my 43' boats weighs according to my boats data sheet.

Since we all know that travel lifts don't measure weight well just where does one take their boat to get weighed?

As stated by several posts - I think the nearest commercial *certified* scale the trucker could have gone to - *should* have gone to immediately after loading - was what 11 miles - or was it less?

Either way - it was less than 30 minutes away. Any experienced trucker would have done this. I can't tell you how many thousands of $$$ I spent on weight tickets in my trucking days. The times I went straight out on the interstate without a weight ticket were few and far in between.

[Dansante85]

Tomfli has nailed it in my opinion. One thing to add though - everyone calls this guy a "trucker" which I think conjures up a certain image in most people's minds. At least in my case he was driving a large pickup. So maybe we should start now by more accurately referring to him as a "pickupper".

[Christerart]

Originally Posted by tomfl

While weight is certainly a significant issue I am not sure it is at the heart of the matter.

Certainly at SA and to some extent here post on both sides of the issue have indicated this trucker seems to take on some jobs knowing the delivery date is based on minimizing deadheading by storing cargo and picking it up when combining loads at destinations close to each other allows lowering expenses.

Think of how USP works. They put a bunch of stuff on a truck and then start delivering so some peeps get their package at 8:00AM and some guys get their package at 8:00PM, or in the worst case the next day.

To me this is the heart of the matter. Lots of customers think a trucker puts a load on his truck and drives straight to the destination. For a trucker it makes sense to drive a little bit out of the way and pick up more cargo which will produce additional revenue.

So the real heart of the matter is when does "a little bit out of the way" become too long a delay in delivering the customers goods.

Realistically truckers will always try to reduce deadheading and large companies have a huge advantage here because they transport so many more loads to and from so many more places. Smaller truckers are limited in how many loads they have to choose from. Not to mention breakdowns, drivers leaving, or other problems play havoc with scheduling for both small and large companies.

Lets also keep in mind the trucker in question is suppose to have seven trucks according to some posts. He also has multiple trailers and multiple locations to store both trailers with and without loads.

I suspect in this case lots of things went wrong. First there never was any intention on the trucker's part to pick up the boat and drive it directly to the destination. When other issues surfaced things just started to pile up and it was easier to leave the boat on a trailer parked somewhere and make money on other jobs. All of the sudden the delivery date had really slipped, there was an irate customer or two (maybe more) and the problem of delivering the boat simply got out of hand.

Now both the trucker and the OP are faced with only very bad options and I would bet no one winds up happy with the result.

Yes, this often happens with LTL (less than truckload) freight.

But this was a *sailboat* - no way he could haul another boat on the same trailer(s) - perhaps a couple of masts - but then this scenario doesn't work so well.

EITHER WAY - No responsible serious commercial trucker would have handled the situation this way - none.

You are responsible for performing according to the contract - or your word.

This guy did not - in any way shape or form.

[cheoah]

Right Christerart, if not just to cover your ass, gotta know what your load weighs. NC DMV is always looking for revenue

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

And the guy who lied about the weight of his boat and took it to a place without a scale is a what?

This is really getting a little old.

DOT rules put the responsibility of load weight on the trucker, not the shipper. It also puts the responsibility of knowing the load weight on the trucker. There were plenty of private scales close to the pick up location and DOT weigh stations as the boat was transported. If a DOT weigh station had concerns about an over weight issue they would have stopped the driver and required problems be corrected before the driver could continue. If things go to court point a finger at the OP is not a winning argument.

As other's have posted the OP's estimate of the boat weight seems to go along with the specs for the boat. It is easy to justify the OP's estimate of the boat weight. Even if the weigh estimate was wrong it seems more like a mistake than a lie.

My position has always been (given the facts we do know) this is more of a civil matter than a criminal matter (but it could escalate to criminal if things are not settled). The problem for the trucker is at the most basic level he was suppose to deliver a boat in a reasonable time frame and get paid for it. The time frame is getting dangerously close to being unreasonable.

[Christerart]

Originally Posted by cheoah

Right Christerart, if not just to cover your ass, gotta know what your load weighs. NC DMV is always looking for revenue

true, but then they all are..=*^)

Do you remember the "good 'ol days" when every time you entered Missouri you had a good chance of getting a ticket? I always did with one of my trailers - I was 6" over length, even closed up so short I couldn't make a turn..=*^)

The scale guys would *always* come out with the tape in their hands when I got on the scale.

$50 every scale in Missouri...

[Dansante85]

Back to Tomfl's post about the trucker likely trying to maximize revenue with multiple loads - I knew at the outset that he was picking up another mast at Sparcraft. Didn't know about the boat. I thought the plan was to swing by Seabrook, TX and drop off my mast and on to California. Reasonable. So when he called me on the day after the pickup and said that he was going straight on to California, I was not happy and tried to dissuade him. But as he promised to have my mast in Seabrook by the following Tuesday or Wednesday no alarms went off for me. Of course then he started with the trailer problems story on Sept. 28, 2012. Things went off the rails when on Oct 10, 2012, I texted him demanding the location of my mast and he refused to tell me. ALARMS!!!

Let's imagine a different exchange for a moment. Let's say that I ask him where my mast is and he comes clean with me and tells me that he was carrying other loads with my mast and that his trailer is broken and that he can't get it fixed (no money, no parts, whatever). So he tells me that his trailer with my mast is at XX location and that he really can't say when he will be able to deliver my mast. He goes on to say that he is very sorry and that if I want to come get it myself that when he is able he will refund my money. If it had gone this way I think most of us would have been unhappy but perhaps more understanding. Yeah, I know, that's not the way it went.

But I do have my mast now. The OP is not so fortunate. I guess Steadley doesn't have a trailer large enough to further transport Creole-Belle's boat so it seems to me that Steadley should just tell Creole where it is and let Creole arrange for transport and then Steadley can pursue his "I was lied to" argument in the courts, although I would have to say it has not gone over very well in this court of public opinion.