Totaled boat

How do you guys think this incident will be handled?

A good friend of mine took his boat to a very reputable boat shop to have a lower unit replaced. Owner struck an object and tore up the unit and insurance approved a claim. The dealer replaced the LU and one of the mechanics took it out on the water for a test run. The owner arrived at the dealership and was told his boat was being tested and would be back shortly. He then noticed an employee get a call and he sounded like it had hit the fan somewhere . The employee was seen loading a bunch of straps and lines into his truck and he took off in a hurry. The owner became suspicious that something had happened to his boat so he drove to the ramp only to discover his boat upside down being towed towards the ramp. The boat sustained extensive damage and will probably end up being a total loss. This boat is one of those really, really ,fast ones. Owner recently traded in his optimax 250 2 stroke and replaced it with a new 300 4 stroke

Do you think the dealer is obligated to replace the customers boat?
Anyone with any experience with this kind of situation?
Or will the owner have to rely on his own insurance?

It will likely take both parties to cover the total replacement.

owner should have insurance

So it’s a really, really fast one, guess it’s a Ranger?

Depends on insurance company, it they know someone other than owner was driving may not be covered. This may be a lawyer up situation.

The boat shop’s insurance should cover the loss.
The boat owner should get a check.

I want to see the video. This day and age, someone had bound to have caught it on their phone.

Holy chit!!!!

Should be akin to garage keepers liability. The shops insurance should cover it.

We would cover it out of pocket or insurance at work. But I really wanna know what kind of boat this is more then anything

Not an insurance expert but sounds like another claim on his insurance to me. While it’s an odd story for sure this is the reason we pay for and carry insurance in the 1st place. It is for the “unexpected”. If the insurance company wants to recoup/share/defer expenses(and they will) they can go after the dealer and his insurance company.

The shops insurance is primary and the owners insurance is secondary. If the shops insurance does not step up then the owner needs to file a claim with his company. They will then take care of the insured and subrograte the shops company to recover the amount that they pay out and the owners deductible.
rd

+1.

Want to see upside down really, really, fast one.

Did anyone else notice in the video how the trolling motor prop statrted spinning when the boat reached 90mph? I hae never been that fast nor would I even if the boat was capable. CRAZY!

Wind speed indicator

100% on the shop and their insurance. Anything short of that will end up in court.

That was the "Red Alert" signal and they didn't heed the warning!

Owner definitely needs to contact his insurance company and let them KNOW what happened. They may want to intervene early in the process. But I agree that the ultimate responsibility lies with the shop.

AGREE!!!!

Wow.....I can’t imagine the level of mess this will create

I just wanna know what kind of boat it is. Usually an Allison or Bullet only ones u can hook that hard to flip over. That goes back to over trimming with someone driving who shouldn’t of

One questions will be raised during the process of settlement. Was the boat coast guard rated for a 300 ?

Wont matter, it was in the dealers hands so its the dealers problem.

Probably... Anything over 20' is rated as Unlimited by USCG rules... My Bullet doesn't even have a rating plate on the boat... Dan

I've heard this story, or one identical to it. Assuming it's the one I'm thinking of, it was a Bullet, and was in a river.

This is how it gets handled, regardless of the reason for the damage. This type of negotiation goes on all the time in P&C Insurance. Obviously if there is negligence on the part of one of the parties, that will get sorted out as well. This is the main reason that once a person drops off a boat or a vehicle at a repair shop, it's there until the repair is done.

I saw my TM prop spin several times when I owned a Stratos with a "hot" outboard. It would run lower 70s, and if I had sufficiently calm water conditions running into a wind, the effective airspeed over the TM prop would be higher still, resulting in TM prop spin. I had several passengers comment on it - they thought my TM had turned on by itself.