# Yard Storage charges for toppled boat



## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

My boat was stored on the hard and tied down at a boatyard in the Caribbean but was hit by a double-whammy called Inga and Maria. Since the beginning of September she has been lying on her side, holed and partially dismasted, amongst other boats that are generally in worse condition. The yard has a lot of work to do removing sunken and flipped boats from the dock area and starting to work on the yard. I've only gotten 3 responses from them to date (first was a terse "contact your insurance company", second was a request for a recent copy of my insurance and third was a bill for "boat storage September and October".

I have no problem paying for services rendered, but I believe that paying full price while the yard just leaves my boat collecting additional damages is not a fair business deal. I don't have a copy of the yard contract here so cannot check the wording.

Has anyone encountered a similar scenario and what was the outcome? I've been debating sending a registered letter telling them that I want to haul the boat out in 2 weeks (I do plan on getting the holes made by the stands patched and motoring the short distance to a yard which will replace the mast/rig) and will then have a legal basis upon which to stop paying storage fees after that - since the yard won't be in a position to do that for a long while. This also leads me to wonder if, when the time comes, they are going to charge me to right the boat and put her on stands again.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Zan, I'm sickened by the thought of your boat in this condition. You may recall, we sailed past each other near the Thatch cut several years back. (well, I was sailing my bareboat, you may have had water spitting out the exhaust.  ) Just having fun, the fact that you single hand her is very impressive.

Unfortunately, I don't think anyone's experience is going to be relevant to the BVIs, unless it was there and under the same contract. It's not uncommon in the States for contracts to have exclusions for "acts of god", which would encompass a hurricane. The exact exclusion can differ.

Intuitively, every business in the BVI must be desperate right now. In those circumstances, I would expect it common for them to send the bill and hope it gets paid, even if it's not clear the client owes the money. But, as you've said, you'll need to review the storage contract and understand BVI commercial code law to know for sure.

I truly wish you all the best with this and hope you're back out cruising this winter.


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## 4arch (Jul 7, 2009)

The boat yards are inevitably going to have huge numbers of owners who walk away never to clean up their messes or pay another cent and sending huge storage bills to owners who want to do the right thing will only make that worse.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Zan - I'd heard that this had happened to you, but was hoping that it was just talk. I'm really sorry about this. And I hope you can get it sorted without too much hassle.

You really need to read that contract to know what you're up against. Any advice given here without knowing what's in the contract will be pretty useless. I have no idea what lien rights there are in BVIs - but between that, insurance companies coming into the mix where these yards will want to be reimbursed for costs even if the owners won't be covering them, and boat owners just walking away there are all kinds of things in play here.


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

I'm sorry for your loss.
My advice is to have your insurance company deal with the yard. They certainly have a lot more experience and clout dealing with boat yards that have their insured boats in them.
A registered letter or any other demand from you will fall on deaf ears; they have their own priority and as you mentioned, the boats on the hard are way down the list.
Most likely your insurance company will declare the boat a total loss, so if you want to retain her, you'll have to buy it back from them. That will almost certainly come with a caveat to remove the boat from the yard and the country asap, which might help you. Or not, as the boat yard will just cut it up and haul it away if you can't do so within their schedule.
Remember, the whole island is in dire shape and pleasure boat repair materials are way down the list of import items. Work boats and charter boats are more of a priority.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Really, really sad to hear this, Zanshin. I hope you can work through the challenges and get a good result.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

I too am very saddened and sorry to hear of your boat being damaged in these storms.

I have very little direct experience with the exact situation that you describe, but the closest that I can think of was when my boat was hit by lightning while on the hard and the insurance company paid the yard bill from the time I reported the strike, until the boat was repaired and in suitable condition to launch. 

With that in mind, I would start with your insurance policy to see what it says about coverage for storage during the period from damage to settlement. If your policy pays for storage, I would then contact the adjuster assigned to your claim at the insurance company and make sure that they are on board with paying the storage or whether they are going to push back in some way. If the adjuster is on board you should try to get a written memo to that effect.

In my case actually had to pay the yard bill out of my own pocket, then submit the bill and was reimbursed fully for any out of pocket expenses less the deductible. I was able to show the memo from the adjuster to the yard and so they worked with me a little. On the other hand I had been hauling there for years. 

Jeff


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Just rambling thoughts...

Boat prob not covered since it was in the box during an excluded time.
Not sure how that affects potential liability coverage, or if that would even be addressed. Then you have 3 parties...and lots of $s going towards that fight....nowhere..
Wording (or lack of) on storage contract would be key.
Financial condition of storage yard is key.
Finding somebody who can have an helpful influence over the storage yard owner's future opportunities (not limited to current biz) might be positive. 

Understand the limits and possibilities as best you can.


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## Rocky Mountain Breeze (Mar 30, 2015)

As has been stated, wording of the storage contract and your insurance coverage are your two critical details right now. If the yard does not include any type of safe storage qualifier you probably do not have an argument against them as well as your insurance coverage limits or exclusions. This will probably come across as crass, but it is not meant to be, but this can be a good learning experience as to what is important when you are shopping for services. Accepting the lowest prices usually doesn't give you the best results unless there is never a problem or dispute, but taking the more expensive option also does not guarantee a good outcome, which is why it is important to read and consider the fine print in any and all legal and binding documents or contracts. Good luck in your outcome.


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## capecodda (Oct 6, 2009)

A friend with a house on St John with only windows blown out (still has a roof) told me this week that getting materials in place, if he could find someone to do the work, is not possible.

I'm sure I'm an outlier here, but IMHO boat yards are horrible businesses. The guys I know around here who decided to own one did it because they were well healed boat owners who thought because of other business success they could do it better. All of them have reduced their net worth in the process.

I'd try to work with the yard and figure something out. I might even pay the storage if that got them to do something to protect my boat. 

I'm feeling bad for everyone involved on both sides of this one. Best of luck. 

I know, it's just a boat, but we all know that it's never just a boat. Hope this works out somehow for you and everyone in any sort of business in those stricken islands.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

It's terrible to see Zanshin like this. It's still a very new boat.
I'm so glad for Arnd that it appears repairable and hope the insides are not too bad.

Mark


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

A neutral reply such as "I am awaiting a response from my insurer, but in any case I expect to personally arrive at the yard by xxx and will ...at that time" might be all that is called for right now.

Without knowing the laws in that venue, without knowing the contract terms, it is impossible to say what is "proper", but at least acknowledging that you intend to take affirmative action and you're not going to take a dump on them, should help out a bit.

The logistics of everything, from room and board to repair parts, may be (duh?) incredibly difficult.


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## Telesail (Dec 28, 2011)

I feel for you. I am in a similar situation but on St Thomas. Obviously every policy is different but mine covers named storms while hauled out but with an increase in the deductible. In our case, the yard will also do a lot of the basic repair work, patching the hull and getting her into s state she can be floated to somewhere to have her mast replaced etc.

The insurance company requires us to deposit the deductible ahead of any commitment and we will pay the bills as they become due and be reimbursed by the underwriters. The charter company that manages her will do most of the repair work (which helps them recover economically and keep their staff employed and retained) and hopes to have the monohulls back working by December. Some of the cats were in Nanny Cay so may take longer (if they can be repaired).

Irma and Maria have created a situation that almost nobody dreamed of so I expect that decisions will be taken out of survival necessity rather than with an eye to long term relationship building. That said, the yard we are dealing with are focused on getting back up and running as quickly as possible.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Given the normal issues of oversize freight at 40' OAL...it may pay for someone on each island to try co-ordinating with one particular freight forwarder or shipping line, perhaps to set up a collection point (Miami? or a sparmaker at a mainland port?) where an entire "skid" of oversize masts could be cradled together and shipped in as one piece of deck cargo. Instead of each one coming at rack rate, or so many boats needing spars spliced.

Someone in the business "should" be thinking of this, yeah, but if you've been dismasted, maybe put the idea out there to the people who will be dealing with it. (Heck, even the insurers stand to gain by co-ordinating that.)


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Just heard yesterday of a Hylas 70 that was toppled at Gorda Yacht Harbor. They put the boats in a pit and still it was blown 30 feet off its stands, broke the mast and the keel. They were told it would be 6 months before it would be erected, because of everything in the way, just to get to it. 12-14 months before it could be splashed. It's mayhem and I feel terrible for everyone there.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Minnewaska said:


> Just heard yesterday of a Hylas 70 that was toppled at Gorda Yacht Harbor. They put the boats in a pit and still it was blown 30 feet off its stands, broke the mast and the keel. They were told it would be 6 months before it would be erected, because of everything in the way, just to get to it. 12-14 months before it could be splashed. It's mayhem and I feel terrible for everyone there.


... and when you look at the aerial views you know that this story is about to be repeated hundreds of not thousands of times... it's mind boggling, really.


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## JimMcGee (Jun 23, 2005)

Arnd my heart goes out to you, I know Zanshin is more than "just a boat". 

Unfortunately Irma and Maria were so catastrophic that "normal" doesn't apply. I'm hoping you have insurance and that your carrier has an adjuster who can get to your boat and push to get repairs started.

I've been down to our place in Marathon since Irma and I understand things are much worse in the BVI's. Even if you can get her to another yard, parts and repairs may be an issue.

I wish you all the best and hope you and Zanshin are back on the water soon.

Jim


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## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

It looks like my question is moot as the yard is now in a position with a crane to get "Zanshin" righted again. The crane costs are very significant (many thousands of dollars!) but at least the boat will be on her keel and in a position to get repairs started.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Good news... much sooner than I'd have expected!


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

That's great to hear. Few seems to be getting news like this. I'm sure it's impacting pricing, but it seems worth it to prevent further damage. 

I hope you're having a favorable insurance experience. All the best with getting Zanshin back on the water.


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## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

I wish, in retrospect, that I had insurance coverage during the hurricane season. My self-insurance account is taking a beating already, way before I even start repairing the boat.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

That's heartbreaking. I suppose there is a savings over the years from not having it. The cost of repairs will have to exceed the sum of all those saved premiums before it hurts. At the least, I hope it doesn't hurt too much. Best to you.


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## Rezz (Oct 12, 2012)

Arnd, I'm so sorry to hear of the damage to your boat. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading through your blog and living vicariously through your adventures. 

On the other hand, congratulations on getting your boat righted! I do hope that your repairs go quickly and smoothly. Best of luck, and our thoughts are with you.


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## Rhapsody-NS27 (Apr 8, 2012)

Zan, sorry to hear your boat got damaged. Hope there's no more hiccups along the recovery process to get fixed back up.


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## JimMcGee (Jun 23, 2005)

Arnd, I don't get back to SailNet much these days. 

I was talking to someone here in the Keys today about how they're still dealing with their insurance company and it got me wondering how you made out.

I hope you're aboard Zanshin and all is well,
Jim


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