What Happens to a Totaled Boat?

[TheThunderbird]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

These guys who suggest you take the money and run are probably right but the term "Constructive Total Loss" (CTL) is a legal term used in the insurance industry. The term "Constructive Receipt” is a legal term in commerce. In this usage the word “constructive” means you didn't really receive the money but you benefited by it anyway. “Constructive Total Loss” means it may not be an actual total loss but we (the insurance company) say it is because we don't want to screw around with you and the people necessary to do the repairs.

The repairs may be simple or complex, they don’t care, they just want to pay you and get rid of you. Especially since they have enormous claims coming out of Irma and Maria and don’t want to have to mess with individual boat owners when they have whole fleets of charter boats to negotiate with. And surveyors get paid the same regardless.

My boat in Nanny Cay was first judged to be “CTL” but guess what, after I viewed the photos from the vantage of 50 years of experience working on boats I told them “I don’t think so.” They came around and she is under repair right now; she remained upright and afloat though out Irma but endured gelcoat scrapes, scratches, bent lifeline and other stainless tubing from being rammed by other boats (luckily small ones), broken windows from flying debris and bent props, but nothing seems terminal.

Good luck.

for everyone's clarity, there is no structural damages in your report, just expensive cosmetics :-)

[Brewgyver]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

(snippage)
My boat in Nanny Cay was first judged to be “CTL” but guess what, after I viewed the photos from the vantage of 50 years of experience working on boats I told them “I don’t think so.” They came around and she is under repair right now; she remained upright and afloat though out Irma but endured gelcoat scrapes, scratches, bent lifeline and other stainless tubing from being rammed by other boats (luckily small ones), broken windows from flying debris and bent props, but nothing seems terminal.

JM, nice to hear it! It would be interesting to know the total cost of repairs v. the pre-storm valuation of the boat, once all is said and done. Good luck with the restoration!

[Olddave]

Just remember that when it comes time to sell, it will always be a boat that was written off during Irma.
Dave

[SteveSadler]

This question just math. What is actually broken?
My Gulfstar 50 suffered structural damage on a passage, breaking bulkheads free from the hull. It took 2 days of grinding and glassing in reinforcements to fix it stronger than new. Get a bid from a yard to do the work and if its more than its worth, forget it.But if you just want to walk away let me buy it!
If its uninsurable, thats fine as you don't have anything invested in it.
Liability ins should still be available.

[DenverSailors]

Originally Posted by SteveSadler

This question just math. What is actually broken?

My Gulfstar 50 suffered structural damage on a passage, breaking bulkheads free from the hull. It took 2 days of grinding and glassing in reinforcements to fix it stronger than new. Get a bid from a yard to do the work and if its more than its worth, forget it.But if you just want to walk away let me buy it!

If its uninsurable, thats fine as you don't have anything invested in it.

Liability ins should still be available.

Steve,

I would love nothing more than for you or someone else on the Forum to take advantage of this situation.

I can send you the pictures I have of the hull and the riggers report indicating the mast is bent (but can be salvaged with a coupling(?).

The Perkins 4-108 was overhauled in 2015 and, again, was not submerged (she was on the hard) so pickling is moot.

Time and distance (ok, I admit it...some fear, too) are going to prevent me from undertaking the task.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

These guys who suggest you take the money and run are probably right but the term "Constructive Total Loss" (CTL) is a legal term used in the insurance industry. The term "Constructive Receipt” is a legal term in commerce. In this usage the word “constructive” means you didn't really receive the money but you benefited by it anyway. “Constructive Total Loss” means it may not be an actual total loss but we (the insurance company) say it is because we don't want to screw around with you and the people necessary to do the repairs.

The repairs may be simple or complex, they don’t care, they just want to pay you and get rid of you. Especially since they have enormous claims coming out of Irma and Maria and don’t want to have to mess with individual boat owners when they have whole fleets of charter boats to negotiate with. And surveyors get paid the same regardless.

My boat in Nanny Cay was first judged to be “CTL” but guess what, after I viewed the photos from the vantage of 50 years of experience working on boats I told them “I don’t think so.” They came around and she is under repair right now; she remained upright and afloat though out Irma but endured gelcoat scrapes, scratches, bent lifeline and other stainless tubing from being rammed by other boats (luckily small ones), broken windows from flying debris and bent props, but nothing seems terminal.

Good luck.

If he had said that the deck and topsides were all scratched and scraped up but otherwise the boat was functional and solid, it might mean that having them redone was going to be more costly to the insurance company than just paying off the owner.

This is a case where a DIY job might make sense. Worst case you have a functional boat with some ugly repairs for very little money.

But the OP said there was major structural damage. If that is't fixed correctly, it can be a safety issue and there is a very real chance the OP winds up dumping a lot of money into a boat that is not functional at the end of the day and good luck selling it.

This is not a good case for an inexperienced owner to try and fix it.

[anacapaisland42]

Did it......forget it!!!!!!!!
Bill

Originally Posted by DenverSailors

Our 1981 Gulfstar Sailmaster 39 was knocked off her stands by Irma in St. Augustine a week after we bought her. I met with a marine surveyor last week who believes she will be “CTL” (Constructive Total Loss). The hull is “fractured,” the boat “twisted” as she fell, and the mast bent such that it is a total loss.

It took a us many, many months (years, really) to find her, and the only time we floated her was alongside Captain Bill of BoatUS as he towed her from the seller’s dock to the yard for a bottom job; I bonded with her mostly in my dreams.

I understand that if she is totaled, the insurance company will write me a check, and offer me the opportunity to buy her back for virtually nothing.

I would rather be sailing than sanding, I have next to no experience with fiberglass (though I’m sure Don Casey can show me the way!), the Perkins 4-108 was overhauled in 2015 and has low hours since, and I live 2000 miles away.

What would you do?

Keep her, dig in, get it done, and keep the dream alive?

Walk away?

What happens to boats like this when they are auctioned?

Thank you in advance.

[JeffH]

Take the money & buy another sailboat you can love. There's another Gulfstar Sailmaster 39 in Sandy Hook, NJ, asking price $45K. You would much rather be sailing!

[SteveSadler]

I see a consensus here that those with no experience in boat repair say walk away. Those who do understand the process say keep the free boat.
None of us are qualified to say what it takes to fix it untill we've gotten a professional opinion from a yard that can fix it. Thats what they do for a living and can offer the best advice.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by SteveSadler

I see a consensus here that those with no experience in boat repair say walk away. Those who do understand the process say keep the free boat.

None of us are qualified to say what it takes to fix it untill we've gotten a professional opinion from a yard that can fix it. Thats what they do for a living and can offer the best advice.

Not exactly. There are those here saying that, there are also those here who know what the pitfalls can be. Then throw in the OP’s physical proximity to the boat, it’s adding up to a mess.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by SteveSadler

I see a consensus here that those with no experience in boat repair say walk away. Those who do understand the process say keep the free boat.

This guy with no experience (only three total rebuilds that each involved a chainsaw) already said "walk away".

[SteveSadler]

Yes it could be a project not worth the time and expense. Or it could be a bulkhead needing reinforced and repaired professionally for $2k.
We'll never know until a pro inspects it.

[swampFOXX]

I have a Pearson 33 that was blown from the stands and totaled in a storm. It will have taken two years of working on it from time to time to get her perfect but it is a free boat. Reinsurring was not an issue, I'm in Maryland, not sure of that makes a difference

[Cadence]

JMHO The OP is miles away, if someone is willing to put the money up front to buy her and he can make a buck and someone might make money on the parts. Everyone makes out. However the cost of disposing of the hull is another story.

[Movinon1]

I am interested in finding a salvage boat, but in the 44'+ size.
Are there particular places that one may look to find salvage boats for sale?