my boat has a BIG hole in now

[Razgo-]

Well big enough for a concern. I think it may have been caused by the storm lastnight. There is a houseboat very very close to mine and may have run into my stern and ripped off the swim deck as well.

god i just want to cry! there was someone interested in looking at her with a veiw to buy this afternoon. but with all the rain this morning i called it off for another day to inspect. but it cleared up and i wanted to check on her anyway.

good news is batteries and solar panel is working very well. started and ran like a charm.

Just have to see if i am covered with NRMA fo storm damage now i guess.

there is a white buoy wrapped around my rudder/shaft also thats holding the boat sideways against all currents etc.., so it doesn't move an inch. its like its stuck on a sand bank its that wedged in place.

not sure what do do first.

ring NRMA? call a diver to cut the rope and investigate damage underneath? or just pretend i never saw it or even own a boat?

[wilcara]

Youch, bad kuck. At least it is above the water line.... I think that is a good thing???

[reelchippy]

Shit your hole is bigger than my boat:D:D

[Chimo]

Call your insurer, and IMHO then go for a cruise in the tender with a camera and see if you can spot marks on your suspect houseboat and get pics.

But ring you insurer quick smart.

Good luck is going your way to some extent, the boats floating and its all fixable. If it of any interest I know a guy who could probably do your repairs and certainly give you a quote if you wish.

Cheers
Chimo

[Razgo-]

Hi chimo, what is his business name and does he do underwater assessment? i need a diver to take photo's and cut the rope and see if any evidence of damage beneath the water line.

I have files a claim with NRMA and they said to get a quote and i have put it down as storm damage for now.

the swim deck was 1m long and 11' 6" wide or just under beam width.

[Chimo]

Razgo

PM sent

Chimo

[Razgo-]

I also looked at the houseboat for any damage but nothing was apparent. there were 2 dogs on the rear landing and a rubber duckie tied up to it. But no one would answer and could have been hiding onboard i dunno.

[CreelReaper]

Hard luck mate, I feel your pain. Hope it all goes well for you with the repairs and insurance.

Cheers

[Angla]

I really feel for you on the damage side. It seem so low to the water line that you are lucky to still be afloat.

I hope you get a speedy response from the Insurer and repairers. You may find more evidence on the platform when you raise that which will give you a clearer picture of who did it.

I would image it is a hit and run if someone has done this and run off to conceal their identity.

[tigermullet]

It's low act to damage property, especially a boat, and leave without so much as a note with name and contact details.

Where are you anchored? It looks like a spot to the north of Maas Marina, up near the Cabbage Tree ramp.

You should be covered by insurance but it is disappointing to have put in the amount of work (have been following the story of the boat) and then be left with more to do.

[Razgo-]

no, i am on a swing mooring coochie muddlo. the houseboat beside me i can't see any registered MSQ BS number. I will ring MSQ tomorrow to see if it is on a registered mooring. It may be covered by storm damage but have to wait and get a quote and send it off to NRMA.

what may have happened is that white buoy that doesn't belong to anyone has wrapped itself around my prop/rudder and held the boat in place so it can't move with the tide. so now when the houseboat swings around with the tide and wind it rams me.

its just a theory but the only one that makes sense as the houseboat is way too close to be moored there. when the rear was facing me i should have taken another photo as i could see inside the houseboat and was only maybe a few meters away from me. So a good storm could have pushed it onto to mine i reckon.

it kind of puts of selling her and also getting her around to rivergate marina.

[Razgo-]

This was the swim deck. not the most glamorous but it was functional and could hold 350KG no worries.

[tigermullet]

A real shame - that was a good looking and practical swim deck.

We had a problem of a mooring being placed too close to us a Jacobs Well.

A letter to MSQ sorted the problem out - they sent one of their barges, lifted the mooring and put it a further ten metres away. Good thing too because the distance between us was only 29metres, which was less than the sum of the lengths of the boats (allowing for short boat chains). Generally there might not have been a problem but in certain conditions boats will swing differently from one another.

Having a buoy float wrapped around your prop, not allowing a proper swing certainly would not have helped.

Good luck with the insurance claim - I cannot see you being knocked back.

[Zertyx]

Could this mean that one mooring is in the wrong place?
Or is one mooring in the right place and the other two are in the wrong place?
Unless it gets sorted,it will only happen again,i reckon

[finga]

I'm so sorry to hear that matey.
Things have to stop happening soon for God's sake.
If there's anything I can do just give a cooee.
Damn you've got some bad luck.

[SeaHunt]

There might be whats left of a small boat attached to the other end of that buoy and rope, sunk under the stern of yours.
Could be whats holding it in place, could still be bodies under there, i guess it happened a while back now so that is highly unlikely..:-/

[northernblue]

It's hard to imagine a houseboat doing that sort of damage without damaging itself.
I am inclined to seahunts proposition......but maybe with a bit less melodrama....

[Razgo-]

everything points to it being the houseboat. there was someone onboard but hiding and would not come out when i called out. later on they moved the houseboat to the other side of coochie.

I went back out and lifted the unregistered mooring via the rope all the way down to the chain and cut it.

There was no boat or dead bodies attached to the unregistered mooring.

it could have been a floating log too or maybe the mooring/buoy when caught on my rudder/prop it smashed itself up and down my swim deck until it tore it off before leaving a 3 foot square hole in the stern.

anything is possible but the houseboat was way to close to me and was anchored not on a swing mooring.

I still have to put a quote in for repairs under insurance yet to see if i am covered. the insurance assessor thinks it will be. It will be around the 2K to fix i reckon but hope to find out this week.

[Razgo-]

I'm so sorry to hear that matey.
Things have to stop happening soon for God's sake.
If there's anything I can do just give a cooee.
Damn you've got some bad luck.

Finga, I have you on a tentative booking to put your dial gauge on the v-drive system again when i figure out if i am ever going to get around to the Rivergate Marina as long as the offer is still open :)

Oh, i should give you a yell when it's in dry dock at samsons marina as thats where i think i will have the repair done. Or best to do it in the water anyway i think though....

[Lovey80]

Bad luck matey, one would think a fully insured boat would be covered for this sort of thing.................... Did the damage effect the antifouling at all ;) It may need to be put on a dry dock and done again under insurance ;)

Cheers

Chris

[Razgo-]

A real shame - that was a good looking and practical swim deck.

We had a problem of a mooring being placed too close to us a Jacobs Well.

A letter to MSQ sorted the problem out - they sent one of their barges, lifted the mooring and put it a further ten metres away. Good thing too because the distance between us was only 29metres, which was less than the sum of the lengths of the boats (allowing for short boat chains). Generally there might not have been a problem but in certain conditions boats will swing differently from one another.

Having a buoy float wrapped around your prop, not allowing a proper swing certainly would not have helped.

Good luck with the insurance claim - I cannot see you being knocked back.


Could this mean that one mooring is in the wrong place?
Or is one mooring in the right place and the other two are in the wrong place?
Unless it gets sorted,it will only happen again,i reckon

My mooring is new and was definitely in the right place. MSQ noted the other mooring when they did an audit last year but never did anything then. They also noted it was 14m away from my position.

That should have sent off alarm bells as my boat is 10m plus allow for about 2-3m slack on the mooring swing and there goes your 14m distance.

I spoke to MSQ the other day and he said it could be 6 months before they can get to it as they had no resources. So i did what was suggested and went and sorted it out myself.

it seems to be on the swing now. I will have to go down at different times to keep a check on it.

[Razgo-]

Bad luck matey, one would think a fully insured boat would be covered for this sort of thing.................... Did the damage effect the antifouling at all ;) It may need to be put on a dry dock and done again under insurance ;)

Cheers

Chris

unfortunately insurance assessors work for the insurance company and make sure you don't claim for anything you shouldn't be. This guy was a surveyor from the sunshine coast. you would think they would get someone closer?

He said when the insurance company rings him he will advice that i pay 30% of the swim deck cost because he felt it was not a professional build and unable to determine how old it was.

[chop duster]

professional installation or build quality? tell him to prove it?

[Razgo-]

Well thats the thing, it may not have been the most glamorous swim deck but it was very strong and useful. I was actually stunned that it was completely missing because it was so strong and could hold at least 3 heavy people on the back no worries.

And the insurance company will take the advice of the assessor regardless if he is right or wrong.
so not much i can really do about it.

The guy i am getting to do the work is scott trigger who did his time under pelican slipways. He is 4 years out and i saw his work on a 45 footer timber boat in his shed. He completely replaced the hull below waterline and it looked like it was just come off the showroom floor. very impressive work indeed.

In fact i asked him what it is costing the owner just to replace the bottom. he reckons about 15-19K. And that was impressive also! it told me my piddly little boat could have a whole new bum for probably under 10K if it needed it!

So i am looking forward to seeing more of this guys work. his hourly rate is rather cheap compared to most other tradies. not like the rip offs down at horizon shores. He said he gets a lot of work from horizon shores and i am not surprised at that :)

[chop duster]

Did you end up recovering the swim platform?
Has he seen it or is he going off some photo's you have dug up?

[Fishbait]

Just a question - do you need to lodge a marine incident form as well to MSQ for this? To loose a platform that holds 350kg, and put a hole in your boat - now thats one hell of a whack. I feel your pain here - maybe when the assessor hands you his card - you can hand him your solictors card for future follow up if things don't go your way? All the very best for your repairs, Cheers, Darren.

[Razgo-]

no he hasn't seen any photos. I have some somewhere that i will dig up. He has made assumptions by looking at where it was hinged and said the hinge he saw looked amateurist to him. At the time i was too sea sick to take much notice what he was referring too. He ended up nailing the timber i bought over the hole and glue i supplied.

It was a very choppy day that morning. so bad in fact that when we left the boat in my tinnie i felt a sudden pulling sensation drawing the tinnie backwards and as i looked to my left a wall of water almost swamped us. it looked to be well over 2m high and it came out of no where.

He read the original survey report so i looked though that and i didn't find any reference to the swim deck their either so i don't know how he made this assumption. I think he has gone on no proof on how old it is so will recommend i contribute a 30% toward it.

I will dig out the photo's though as i am sure i have detailed photo's of it somewhere.

[Razgo-]

I did discuss the incident with MSQ and no mention of needing to fill out a form was mentioned, so i really don't know.

[Tracker]

Razgo,
Just going by the pics it seems possible the swim platform was hit (or caught on other mooring) and swung around and punched the hole or tore the fittings out.When you replace it fit hinges to bottom so you can lift when not in use.
If platform was hit look for marks close to waterline on all boats in area,but my experience is ,if some toerag smacks a moored boat they nick off.
best of luck with insurance. I'm with the same mob so will be interested.
cheers

[northernblue]

Don't wear that 30% loss just because this bozo wants to impress the insurance company.
Keep argueing with the pri(k, you will wear him down.
On what basis does he form the opinion that your swim platform was an old ironing board, held in place by bluetac?

After all, IT IS GONE!!

Suggest that he prove that it wasnt a slab of highly detailed Teak, endowed with ornate carvings of your catches and favorite fishing spots.

We all lose when we claim on insurance, even if they did pay "100%", it never covers all of your expenses.
The harder you go at him the less out of pocket you will be.

[Razgo-]

No point in arguing with the assessor who is a surveyor by trade. He even said it's still up to NRMA what they will do regardless of what he says. He will recommend they pay but it's still up to NRMA.

I will just tell NRMA as far as i know the swim was new and just added prior to my purchase over a year ago.

If they don't cover it i can at least say well that's why i am changing insurance cover to someone else who will cover me properly.

I will be trying clubmarine on next renewal as i have had clubmarine before and thought they were ok. haven't ever made a claim before but i think they know more about boats than NRMA. just my opinion.

[Razgo-]

Razgo,
Just going by the pics it seems possible the swim platform was hit (or caught on other mooring) and swung around and punched the hole or tore the fittings out.When you replace it fit hinges to bottom so you can lift when not in use.
If platform was hit look for marks close to waterline on all boats in area,but my experience is ,if some toerag smacks a moored boat they nick off.
best of luck with insurance. I'm with the same mob so will be interested.
cheers

thats more than feasible and probably what happened.