Experience (and proof) for insurance?

[RayRodriguez]

Originally Posted by Calif.Ted

some companies offer a small discount for a safe boating course.
It would be helpful to have some one teach you how to handle a larger boat under power docking. I learned to motor on a 43' boat, after which a 30' boat feels like driving a Honda.

Thank you. That is a valuable data point. Someone else mentioned that somewhere. Maybe it was a PM. And, even better, I think that I have the safety course covered.

I did not assume that my dad taught me everything, nor that I remembered all that he taught me. After I moved to Florida, I took ASA-101 & 103 as a fill in the blanks and refresher. And I am pretty sure I know where that little log book is.

Until late December I anticipated retirement in 2.5 years. I was planning on sending the wife to ASA 101 & 103 some time between now and then so that she has some experience in slightly bigger boats herself, and to fill in the blanks from what I've taught her on the O'Day.

Some of my sudden urgency comes from the fact that my employer made me a too-good-to-refuse early retirement offer (which I have accepted) that will go into effect April 1st. I'm out 2.25 years before I expected...

... so my timetable is all messed up and I'm flailing about.

Oh, part 2...Yep, docking was my biggest worry / anticipated thing to practice. Stopping the motion of 16 times the mass than I am used to.

[mvmojo]

My first sailboat was a 42' ketch. Minimal sailing experience prior to that except for a weekend course at the Annapolis sailing school and a week bareboat charter on a 25' sloop. I got insurance through BOAT/US and I don't recall them asking anything about experience. I've been insured by several companies since then and switched from sail to a 50' trawler. Never once been asked about experience.

[Capt Phil]

When insuring our own vessel the insurance Co asked me to document which boats I have owned and any claims I might have made.
In my delivery Co all the insurance COs wanted to see was my skippers license and length of time at sea on various vessels. Same went for brokers who engaged me to get a boat from Point A to Point B.
Phil

[CMO Tashina]

Ray, the best way to overcome anxiety about docking any boat is simply to just go out there and do it, over and over, and by and by, unless you're really unlucky, the fear vanishes with experience.

Back in 1995 I owned and sailed a 22 foot O'Day without any prior experience and simply loved it. Then in 2018 I bought a 28 foot Morgan Out Island and fretted and fretted about taking it away from the dock because it weighed four times more than the O'Day and was six feet longer and because its previous owner was afraid to take it from the dock because of prop walk.

And so the boat and I sat at the dock until I hired a captain to go out with me the first few times and managed to convince myself that docking a 28 foot boat was not vastly different from docking a 22 footer. Besides, the boat I took ASA 103 on was 30 feet and no problem to dock. You'll do just fine. And as others have said, insurers want to make sure you can handle the boat, hence questions about your past experience. If you have very little experience, they take that into account by increasing your premium to cover their increased risk. Happy sailing, guy!

[Shrew]

Every insurer I've had has asked to provide experience. It's self-reported. No logs or sign off like the hours for a USCG certification. It's just size of vessel and length of time. They let me go back to family boats my father owned when I was a teen.

The insurance on our first boat accepted my wife's 'Safe Boating' certificate, but would only list her as a secondary operator.

The insurance requirement for a captain is a legitimate one, just not common. I've known folks who bought a boat and were required to hire a captain for the relocation. It becomes more common as you go into larger boats, particularly with less experience. It's simply not common for a first-time boat owner with no experience to start on a 60-foot vessel.

I wouldn't expect an issue with 30-35 ft boat.

[Seasic]

One insurance company asked me for a letter of competency by which I had to pay a USCGC for an hour lesson $130 to get this letter but the next company, geico thru boat US did not ask for this, so maybe depends on the insurance company.

[RayRodriguez]

Originally Posted by billknny

He is full of something all right. Does he have brown eyes?

This is total nonsense.

LOL. I will take that as a vote of support. Well, at least I was hoping his situtation would not apply in my case ... but I didn't know where exactly the line in the sand would be. Sometimes stupid questions get stuck in my head and I can't sleep until I find an answer.

Since he does own (a rather large) boat and my DS-II is automatically covered under my homeowners (and thus I've never even applied for "marine insurance") I thought it best to not publicly contradict him. People who do stuff like that annoy me. Just like people with no children offering parenting advice. Better to keep my mouth shut and be thought a fool than open it and remove all doubt.

To my mind his situation and mine are very different. I did sail with my dad once or twice a month May-Sept from about age 2 to 18. Then on a few other-peoples-boats, then owned the DS-II for 10 years. And I was looking at a boat well under $100K.

He "loved the sea." (He went on several cruise ships.) He thought the sailboats he saw "out there" were pretty. He watched a youtube video and was smitten. He'd never been on a floating object smaller than a cruise ship. But having (much more) money than brains, he dropped well over $400,000 on a big catamaran. 42 feet? 44 feet?

I absolutely understand an insurance company wanting a captain with him for a while. And he did that. And now he sails pretty well. Far as I know he's never run aground nor hit anything. Several times per year he goes out for a few weeks and then finds his way home. I guess it worked for him. Just because he's an annoying ass doesn't make him wrong about what happened to him.

So, in my overthinking way, I wondered where is the cut off between him and I? $100,000? $250,000? 26 feet? 40 feet? Like I wrote in another message, I know the USCG draws lines at 16 feet, 26 feet, and 40 feet. So I figured insurance might do the same.

I think I've found out enough that I'll sleep tonight.

Thanks everyone.

[RossD]

I just went through this with my recent purchase of a Bayfield 29. Although I have not sailed my own boat since the late 70s, I had no problem listing my experience on the insurance questionnaire, my initial boating class at 14 and my Coast Guard class in the 70s. I ran out of room on the questionnaire listing the multitude of boats, both sail and power. The agent was well pleased, they took my money, so assume the insurance company was satisfied also.

[FlyingScot]

Having moved from a 19' to 40' catamaran, I was required by Pantaenius to complete a 5 page sign off from a captain they pre-approved. It reminded me of Navy qualifications from my youth. Half was boat equipment and the other half sailing knowledge. PM me and I can send you a copy. We hired a cruising couple to spend 5 days with us to get signed off. They were hanging around locally waiting to head West, so they had time and could use the extra money for the cruising kitty. It worked out for both of us.

[wizoc]

When we sought quotes for a Catalina 425 Chubb required 50 hours with a licensed captain, Travelers 20hours and Britt none. The requested coverage was identical in all three cases.

[Siberian Sea]

So you buy a sailboat and sail it across the ocean, then someone over there asks you to prove your competency......... I’ve never really understood this

[RayRodriguez]

Originally Posted by Siberian Sea

So you buy a sailboat and sail it across the ocean, then someone over there asks you to prove your competency......... I’ve never really understood this

I've never sailed across the ocean. No one in this thread mentioned sailing across an ocean.

I have no idea what you are talking about.

[Calif.Ted]

It did just occur to me that I've had the same insurance policy covering different boats. I called once and said "I've sold my boat and want to cancel my policy until I get another". My agent said don't cancel it, just "suspend" it, we don't charge you for the time it's suspended, when you get another boat we just add the new one. So I've had the same policy for decades, maybe that's why I don't remember ever being asked.

[Peeew]

I bought my first boat this past year. 2014 SO469. Reputable insurance broker and company. A simple outline of my experience and insurance was easy and reasonable.

[JD-Odyssey]

My wife and I bought our Hunter 41 new in 2004 at the Annapolis Boat Show. Obtaining financing was difficult because we couldn't find an insurance company that would insure us. Our only prior experience sailing was with a Sunfish (and two classes at Annapolis Sailing school). BoatUS wouldn't touch us. Finally, someone mentioned approaching the Progressive Insurance company. Progressive looked at our driving records for the past 20 years and said we think you'd be responsible boat owners based on your driving records and insured the boat (at a much better rate and less restrictions than BoatUS, I might add). We weren't required to hire a captain or obtain additional training but we did this on our own. We spent three weeks with a captain who was also an instructor at Annapolis Sailing school. We did docking and sailing in all kinds of weather conditions, man overboard drills and learning the systems on the boat. It was money well spent and we learned a lot. After 14 years of ownership and living aboard, we're still learning a lot... some easy lessons and some not so easy, lol.