Who Pays????

[ontherocks83]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

Practically every story that starts with "I hired a friend..." seems to end badly. The moral of the story being, if you have a job that you want done in a professional way, by someone that you have a professional relationship with, don't hire a friend to do it.

Along these lines I am even hesitant to have friends that are professionals in their field such as a car mechanic do work for me because if something needs to be fixed again, it is very awkward to ask them about a warranty on the discounted labor they gave you. Favors, assistance, and helping out are one thing but mixing business with personal relationships is always awkward and risky.

[boatman61]

Ya pays yer money (or not) and takes yer chances..

[steve77]

You say you went aground, but how hard of a grounding was this? On our boat there’s no way you could bend the prop shaft or the prop simply by going aground.

I would have your friend come over to the boat and the two of you realign the prop shaft, check the motor mounts and make sure they are tight, and then go for a test sail to see if the problem is still there.

Cheers!

Steve

[boatman61]

I believe this is a power boat and likely minimum keel possible..
Mind it would have to be a hard grounding at some speed for the props to be affected considering the length of boat.
Not advised in an alledgedly unmarked channel..
Slow should have been the proper course in which case the props should have been fine.

[steve77]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I believe this is a power boat and likely minimum keel possible..
Mind it would have to be a hard grounding at some speed for the props to be affected considering the length of boat.
Not advised in an alledgedly unmarked channel..
Slow should have been the proper course in which case the props should have been fine.

Okay, power boat makes more sense. Thanks!

[JC Reefer]

Not to beat a dead horse, but can you clarify if you hired, meaning paid and if the the friend is someone who is in the industry. Or if they are insured.

[boatman61]

I think he has long gone.. the OP I mean.

[SteveG58]

So I,m the friend. Please take my boat from here to there. Any damage you cause you pay for. Sure I say, not enough risk in my life anyway!
Different story if I borrowed the boat!

[ninethlife]

As a licensed delivery captain, I simply require the owner to put my name on his insurance policy. Insurance companies enjoy knowing a professional is aboard.

[KevinE]

Split it 50/50. You were to frugal to hire a professional, your buddy should feel bad for taking your boat somewhere it didn't belong.

Not sure what unmarked channel means? I assume you had charts on board?

Unfortunately this is the reason I don't like to borrow other people's things or lend my own things out...

[jzaraschi]

I am not a maritime lawyer, but from experience as a licensed "captain" who has done numerous deliveries over the past 20 yrs. it is a tough one to answer. Read your policy.

You could take him to court and prove that he operated the vessel in an unsafe manor or under the influence of whatever, but the price of a new shaft would be substantially less

My practice has always been to have the owner place me on their policy as an additionally insured, then you are covered no matter what happens.
If they know they made a error in navigation, I guess they could 'man-up' and pay the bill.
Or you could just not pay them, and argue you about it.
Good luck

[01kiwijohn]

I think you'll be stuck with it.
Next time, make sure your friend/ boat mover cum captain fella has a public liability umbrella policy that'll cover such indiscretions. ( He did decide to run the unmarked channel, and he was the captain, at the time).
It's really affordable and will likely save your friendship.

[Hardhead]

Originally Posted by ontherocks83

...mixing business with personal relationships is always awkward and risky.

Ain't that the truth. If one hasn't found that out, it's only a matter of time unfortunately. Good friendships are ruined forever by things like this. Just like discussing politics and religion, best to stay away if at all possible.

[BayouSailing]

They used to say there is no such thing as a stupid question.

Time to update the software, I guess.

For time beyond measure, the owner assumes all liability and for everything, even negligence. To assume otherwise is an admission that you didn't properly vet the captain nor crew, nor that you were up to the task yourself.

A true leader, owner, captain: would never ask another to do something they were unwilling or unable or incapable of doing themselves. Which means you knew the risk.

The queen was willing to gamble three ships on Columbus, unsure if he'd ever return. Why? There was that much potential for reward at the end.

To this, we all owe our heritage.

To quibble over a simple, soft grounding; too much idle time on someone's hands. Fix it. It is, after all, your boat. And your friendship.

[Boatguy30]

Very few if any delivery skippers would expect to pay either. Especially in an unmarked channel!