New Boater - is it normal protocol for a marina to not cover damages from dock hand?

[chriswheat]

It never ceases to amaze me how much advice/wisdom this forum offers in less than one day! Yes, you are responsible for your boat and sometimes bad stuff happens beyond your control, but it's still your boat. In situations like this I typically write it off as a learning experience and thank the marina for their help (whether they did or not). Good will put forth has paid big dividends to me years later and I haven't come across a marina that I felt was trying to take advantage of me. It looks to me like the two halves of your strut don't line up quite right, as well as showing pink/weakness. If your prop shaft wasn't aligned properly it would put undue stress on the strut making it susceptible to breaking under the slightest of sideways force. How old is your boat? Be sure to check your alignment after strut replacement. And also check any bronze thru hulls for similar degradation.

[boatpoker]

We never let anyone touch our docklines. As a single engine we know that anyone pulling a line will screw us up royally.

A true occurence - Coming in at a steep angle we know a short burst then reverse will pull us in. Guy on the dock reaching for our bow rail
Me - Please dont' touch the rail or the line.
Him -I got it.
Me - Please don't touch it.
Him - I got it.
Me - Don't touch the f***n boat.
Him - He grabs the bow rail.
Me - Hit reverse which swings the bow out
Him - Flys into the water
Me - A** H***, I told you not to touch the F**n boat.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by sanibel sailor

Bronze is however subject to both electrolysis (usually slow) and stray current corrosion (can be alarmingly fast.) All three give a pink color.

Electrolytic corrosion (often and erroneously called "electrolysis", which is a different electro-chemical process altogether) and stray current corrosion are different terms for the same thing.

BTW- to the OP; as mentioned before, your strut has undergone significant dezincification. My guess is that it wouldn't have broken due to the line wrap if this were not the case. In addition, your prop has suffered corrosion damage as well.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Electrolytic corrosion (often and erroneously called "electrolysis", which is a different electro-chemical process altogether) and stray current corrosion are different terms for the same thing.

BTW- to the OP; as mentioned before, your strut has undergone significant dezincification. My guess is that it wouldn't have broken due to the line wrap if this were not the case. In addition, your prop has suffered corrosion damage as well.

Good eye !

Tired of telling people that there is no such thing as "electrolysis" on boats.
As soon as I here the dock experts use that term I know they have no idea what they are talking about.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Good eye !

Eees my yob, mang.

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

We never let anyone touch our docklines. As a single engine we know that anyone pulling a line will screw us up royally.

Works the other way around too.

One of the first times, or perhaps the first time, I went out on a sailboat, we docked for the night at a tiny state park on Cayuga Lake East shore in upstate NY. There is a small basin surrounding a boat ramp lined up with free docks. A new sailboat motors in and approaches the dock at 90 degrees. I ask the skipper, do you need help? He says, no we got it. I nod and step aside. The next moment he crashes into a post shattering the navigation light. Then starts shouting at his daughter, who was at the bow even though there was nothing she could do in that situation. I remember I felt sorry for her, but as they say, you don’t chose the parents... By the way, those docks were the easiest to land to I ever encountered. The only place ever that I docked under sails without starting a motor. Not the first time, off course.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Lost Horizons

Works the other way around too.

One of the first times, or perhaps the first time, I went out on a sailboat, we docked for the night at a tiny state park on Cayuga Lake East shore in upstate NY. There is a small basin surrounding a boat ramp lined up with free docks. A new sailboat motors in and approaches the dock at 90 degrees. I ask the skipper, do you need help? He says, no we got it. I nod and step aside. The next moment he crashes into a post shattering the navigation light. Then starts shouting at his daughter, who was at the bow even though there was nothing she could do in that situation. I remember I felt sorry for her, but as they say, you don’t chose the parents... By the way, those docks were the easiest to land to I ever encountered. The only place ever that I docked under sails without starting a motor. Not the first time, off course.

I have a t-shirt that says ...
Be the Master of Your Own Disaster

In other words be responsible for yourself, rely on no one else.

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by SailSummerDaze

Boycott Georgetown landing

You don’t have to. Most likely you are already on their “do not let in” list. Which they probably share with other marinas in their network. I would.

[Souzag818]

Originally Posted by zstine

sorry, but don't expect the marina to do anything.. if you are really nice, maybe you can convince them to cover hauling the boat for repair, but that is a stretch.



I have had dock hands cause damage as well. I have learned not to ask for them and if they show up (or other helpful boaters) I just yell "We're good. We got this!"

Completely agree!!! I had a Tartan that I had spent 2 1/2 years redoing including spraying the hull. On my first trip, I was pulling into a guest dock and this woman walking the dock asked if I needed help, as I was single handing. I foolishly said yes, and she grabbed a bow line, and stood there! She didn't do any thing with it, or help fend off, and as the dock was shorter than my boat, by the time I had tied the stern line and ran to the bow, it had hit a couple times, granted gently, and she was just standing there talking about the weather, oblivious. It was the first scratches on my freshly painted boat. Since then I kindly refuse any help from strangers walking the docks...

[IslandInfedel]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

We never let anyone touch our docklines. As a single engine we know that anyone pulling a line will screw us up royally.

A true occurence - Coming in at a steep angle we know a short burst then reverse will pull us in. Guy on the dock reaching for our bow rail
Me - Please dont' touch the rail or the line.
Him -I got it.
Me - Please don't touch it.
Him - I got it.
Me - Don't touch the f***n boat.
Him - He grabs the bow rail.
Me - Hit reverse which swings the bow out
Him - Flys into the water
Me - A** H***, I told you not to touch the F**n boat.

I’ll take things that never happened for $500

[Fore and Aft]

I have never seen a broken strut in 29 year's of boat building and surveying. To tell you how strong those struts are last year a power boat here had a hard grounding and bent the prop and end of the 3 inch shaft about 15 degrees. The strut was removed and checked but was fine! I have seen a few bent struts, but my bet is if the strut was fine then the motor would have stalled? Surely if it happened the way you said it did then the shaft will be bent and possible gouge marks on the hull from the strut rotating at 1000+ rpm?
I think it's bad form to blame someone for your mistake.
Cheers

[SailSummerDaze]

Originally Posted by Lost Horizons

You don’t have to. Most likely you are already on their “do not let in” list. Which they probably share with other marinas in their network. I would.

You sound like a winner! Best wishes

[SailSummerDaze]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Electrolytic corrosion (often and erroneously called "electrolysis", which is a different electro-chemical process altogether) and stray current corrosion are different terms for the same thing.

BTW- to the OP; as mentioned before, your strut has undergone significant dezincification. My guess is that it wouldn't have broken due to the line wrap if this were not the case. In addition, your prop has suffered corrosion damage as well.

Thank you for the feedback - greatly appreciate your input :-)

Prop will be replaced next haul out

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

I have never seen a broken strut in 29 year's of boat building and surveying. I think it's bad form to blame someone for your mistake.

25 years in the hull cleaning biz and I've seen a few broken struts. Every single one was caused by deferred maintenance, just as is the case here. And not only did the OP blame somebody else for the damage that a responsible boat owner would have had the foresight to forestall, but he has gone out of his way to harm the reputation of a small business whose only crime was hiring a kid who unfortunately dropped a line in the water.

[taxwizz]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

If you look at the base of the strut, you will see that it has been pulled clear of the hull and bent. This surely would take some serious tension.