The Damage

[cs]

As some of you may have read down in the bilge, we had a storm blow through and drop a tree on my boat. I was able to got out today and survey the damage. Other than the trailer being bent the boat appears to be in pretty good shape. All of the damage appears to be on the starboard side. The rub rail is spearated in places and some of the plywood is crunched.

http://a7.cpimg.com/image/57/65/19946327-2e51-028001E0-.jpg

http://a9.cpimg.com/image/C7/69/19946439-8213-028001E0-.jpg

http://a7.cpimg.com/image/15/6C/19946517-802f-028001E0-.jpg

Looks like I will be able to bring it this weekend. I still got to pull the trailer and see how she does.

Chad

[R.I.Singer30]

I dunno Chad looks like you should get an appraisal for repairs and contact your homeowners insurance.?

[cs]

I've thought about that, but on further investigation here is what I've come up with.

Replace 1 pass thru gate and one line pole. Restring about 30' of chain link fence. Repair 1' of fascia on the garage and repair and 1'x1' section of decking on the shed. And the boat repairs you see.

Turning this into the insurance ($500 deductable) would do nothing but drive my rates up.

My neighbor is the one with the most damage. Part of the tree came down on her garage caving in about 5 rafters and ripping out the power.

Here is the photos I have so far.

gustnado (http://members6.clubphoto.com/chad414100/1386688/guest.phtml)

Chad

[Mr. Know It All]

Chad.....I think you're making the right decision not to involve your home owner's insurance. It will probably save you money in the long run. It's awful to have this happen and I personally would be seriously bummed if a tree came down on my boat :eek: but you seem to be dealing with that OK and I think you know how to put everything right again. Sometimes when things look bad you have to look around and count your blessings that things weren't worse. Wish I was there to help you clean up pal. smile.gif
Peace----> Kevin in Ohio

[R.I.Singer30]

Home owner insurance is not like car insurance.For starters you should only be paying a couple hundred dollars a year for the insurance and the rates don't sky rocket like they do on cars.Just to call a fence repair person out to your property could cost you the deductable,then the repair to the garage and the boat shop(which you do) plus the trailer sounds totaled.Just a thought to look into .They may say that it was an act of god on you too.Good luck ,glad noone's hurt,Dan L.

[John Bell]

The big issue with homeowners insurance these days is that small claims will make it so you are not renewed at the end of your term. I would not suggest making any claim this small. In the long term it will cost you far in excess of anything you recover for this incident.

[Donn]

I thought it was your neighbor's tree. If so, your neighbor should foot the bill for repairs.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

I'm with Donn on this one. If it was the neighbor's tree and he has had significant damage to his home requiring him to get an appraisal and place an insurance claim. You might as well tag your boat and the fence on his claim.

[R.I.Singer30]

That's true .You said he had alot more damage so his insurance may be involved.So it's an act of his god. ;)

[John Bell]

AFAIK, unless the tree was obviously dead or diseased and the neighbor was negligent in not removing it, then his responsibility ends at his property line. We ran into this same situation a few years ago with a hurricane (Opal) and the blizzard of '93 and that's how all the neighbor's trees incidents were resolved. It's sort of the equivalent of 'no fault' for the home.

Think of it this way: were we resposible for non-negligent losses caused by trees on our property, every autumn would we owe our neighbors compensation for his time and expense of raking and disposing of leaves that fell into his yard from our trees?

[ 06-16-2003, 11:22 AM: Message edited by: John Bell ]

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

UM pssssssst wasn't your neighbor BORROWING your boat on his property when HIS tree fell on it smile.gif
Anyway the damage dose not look to severe so ya might just be best to make the repairs your self and save your policy for when you really need it

[cs]

I'm kinda looking at this as a not so gentle remineder to get to work on the weekender. smile.gif

Chad

ps One of the things that makes this bearable is that I get a chance to use my chainsaw some more. :D

[ 06-16-2003, 12:48 PM: Message edited by: cs ]

[R.I.Singer30]

"Nothing like the smell of two stroke in the morning" smile.gif

[cs]

My plan of attack is to laminiate the rub rail back on where it is spearated and to fill the crack shown in the second photo with thickned epoxy. I will than remove the damaged plywood and make a real thick epoxy/wood flour mixture and patch the area that is damaged.

Whatcha think?

Chad

[Bruce Hooke]

Considering that a tree landed on your boat it looks like you came out of it (or the boat came out of it) in pretty good shape.

I've heard bad stories about people who saw their homeowners insurance rates go up because they just called about a possible claim, but never actually filed a claim.

[Peter Kalshoven]

Chad,
Are you currently building a weekender, or have you just got the plans? If you've got the plans, if you think of it, could you bring them with this weekend? I'll be at the campground sometime Sat. Afternoon, so if you're going to be there Sat Nite, I'd love to take a peek. That's a boat my son and I really want to build.
Let me know.
Pete

[cs]

I'm currently building one. Here is a not so up to date photo.

http://a8.cpimg.com/image/86/C2/13584518-e400-028001E0-.jpg

I have both sides one and it is flipped over trying to get it ready to glass.

I am making a mental note to bring the plans with me.

Chad

[cs]

Well I've got the rub rail laminated back on and a patch on the busted plywood. So now I have this big ugly batch of goop that has to be sanded down and painted, but we are making progress.

Chad

[Mr. Know It All]

I swear Chad, you do more before 9AM than most people do all day. :D