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keepondancin · 31-10-2013, 16:50

You will be on the hook for the tie up, but you can probably negotiate the charges with the boat sitter. If he is a local, not an ex-pat, you just need to be very logical in your negotiations, and you stand a chance on reaching a settlement. Don't know where you are, but you may want to go back, and boat locals remember yachties and how they were treated.

barnakiel · 31-10-2013, 17:44

I think a good long term boatsitter is a rare bird - you would want someone with many and diverse skills, and such people may be able to find better paying jobs elsewhere.

I think, with a big boat, it pays to have a permanent skipper/first mate onboard. With a smaller boat, I would lay her up.

b.

haiqu · 13-11-2013, 18:34

Geez, dude. I left my 30'er anchored in the Brisbane River eight weeks ago to go back to Sydney. The guy in the next boat had both my number and my brother's number. A week after I left my brother informs me that he got a call saying it had washed up onto mud flats and was "high and dry." Brother tells me he'll take his tinny down and move it. Still not done.

You can't trust ANYONE with your boat. Sorry.

Good thing she's a bilge keeler otherwise I'd hate to imagine the damage.

scotty c-m · 13-11-2013, 18:51

I agree, lesson learned, pay up. Only thing I might add is to make sure that you get a reciept that is marked "All charges, paid in full" before you pay out any money. People are more motivated before the money changes hands.

Oceandeep · 18-09-2014, 21:59

Can you submit a Yelp for these boat sitters? It would be nice to let others know who the good guys and the bad guys are out there,

**JPA Cate** · 19-09-2014, 00:07

Ocean deep,
This post was last November, but it would be good to know anyway.

Basically, one cannot trust many people to look after your boat well, and paying for it -- rather than exchanging labor or favors -- never seems to work well. ...Maybe someone will chime in here with positive experiences? Hope so.

A.

ianjoub · 19-09-2014, 05:41

Baseball bat, kneecaps .... THEN start negotiating the bill. I bet he won't want a dime at that point.

**weavis** · 19-09-2014, 09:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by ianjoub

Baseball bat, kneecaps .... THEN start negotiating the bill. I bet he won't want a dime at that point.

Not nice Mr Ian.
Definitely not a CruisersForum recommendation for dealing with the problem.

Greenhand · 19-09-2014, 11:30

I live aboard in a San Diego marina and have neighbors I have only seen once since May, or even less. When a stern neighbor's boat spewed bilge water, I kept my eye on it, but was confident he would be back within days. However, when the boat two slips over suddenly started spewing bilge water almost non stop, I went to the office and had them call the owner. Of course, if their batteries had been dead, I wouldn't have noticed.

Sitting in the slip isn't usually the problem, it is getting everything working again after it has been sitting for a few months.

Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

**JPA Cate** · 20-09-2014, 13:51

The real subject of this thread (I think) is twofold:

1) how can you tell someone will do what they've contracted to do?

2) what lawful recourse does one have when the contract is unfulfilled, or is, but not to your satisfaction.

Anybody got any good ideas?

socaldmax · 20-09-2014, 16:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

The real subject of this thread (I think) is twofold:

1) how can you tell someone will do what they've contracted to do?

2) what lawful recourse does one have when the contract is unfulfilled, or is, but not to your satisfaction.

Anybody got any good ideas?

I suppose one could write the contract with very specific terms of what is expected, what they are to do in each scenario, and what the recourse is if any one of the conditions are not met. Unfortunately, most people can't foresee all of the potential problems, or write the perfect contract.

I have a million stories of how someone totally screwed up, or said the absolute wrong thing to the wrong person, or completely missed the entire point of a contract, so I won't even start.

Let's just say nothing surprises me any more. Absolutely nothing.

JeffH · 10-04-2019, 08:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenomac

We had the same experience last winter while in the Med. ... Otherwise, the boat gets hauled out and parked in a secure, gated and guarded storage yard... well worth the peace of mind and much, much cheaper in the long run.

Even that is no guarantee. My friend left his 44’ catamaran ashore in a marina in Honduras he had used before. 9 months later she was stripped down to the engine; they even got the bilge pumps. The yard said, so sorry. A (1 or more?) Honduran lawyer would not take him as a client.