Marina partially sunk my boat.

skibum

Well-Known Member
Jul 30, 2007
2,730
Perry Hall, MD
Boat Info
2005 Sundancer 260
Engines
496 Magnum HO
Well, my season is over. I used my boat last weekend to go over to Rock Hall. We came back Sunday evening and tied the boat up in the area to have her pulled out and put back on the rack. We left her floating there. Fast forward to Saturday (yesterday) afternoon. I called in for a launch on my way to the marina. I got there pretty quick and the boat was still sitting on the rack when I pulled into the parking lot. A friend of mine was there, so he asked me if I wanted to go up to the bar and have a beer with him while he had something to eat. I had a backpack and a couple of extra shirts that I wanted to take with me, so I went to the boat, put the swim ladder down, climbed about half way up and tossed them onto the back seat. I climbed down, put the ladder back up, and went up to the bar to have a beer with my friend and wait for my date to show up. I didn't notice anything unusual at the time.

Shortly after that, I saw them drop my boat in the water and tie her to the dock. I stayed at the dock bar for a little over a half hour, and then took a walk down to the boat. As I approached her, she looked like she was sitting in the water funny. The port side was definitely lower than starboard. As I got closer, I heard the alarm sounding. I hopped on board and immediately hit the bilge pump switch. I looked over the side and saw a steady stream of water coming out. I believe it was already pumping but I didn't bother to look before I hit the switch. I turned the switch off and the stream continued, so I'm sure the float switch was working. By the time the marina owner got the forklift into position, the water in the engine compartment was about 4-6" below the deck. The entire engine, with the exception of the top couple of inches, was under water. The step down area in my cabin had about 8"-10" of water in it. Fortunately, it was about 2" below the area that the cabinetry and refrigerator sit on, so none of that was affected. I think I only have carpet damage in there.

When they lifted her out, the problem was obvious. No drain plug. The marina swears that they do not pull drain plugs, which I am fairly certain is true. I've never seen them take it out before. I haven't had it out in months. I can only assume that someone went down there during the week to use their boat and needed a plug, so they took mine.

At this point, I'm assuming that all of the electronic parts in the engine compartment will need to be replaced. AC water pump, hatch lifter, battery charger, bilge blower, vacuflush pump motor, HWH, fresh water pump, trim tab and drive trim pumps, etc.. I'm not sure if water got in the engine or not. The marina was trying to get me to start it up, but I was pretty sure that all of the coils were soaked and I didn't know if water got in the oil, so I decided to not even try. I just had them put her on a rack and let the bilge pumps do their thing. By the time I left, both the EC and cabin were drained completely. My primary concern at this point is the engine. I know the starter and alternator were both submerged so they will need to be replaced. If by chance the water did not get inside of the engine, I speculate that all of the wiring harnesses, coils, etc will need to be replaced as well. The water also went into the bellows, so I'll probably need a new gimbal bearing too.

I'm 99.9% sure my insurance will cover this, unless there is a "stupidity" clause in the fine print that I don't see in my policy. I've been though it a number of times this morning and don't see any applicable exclusions. I sure wish I knew exactly how this happened. I'm sick to my stomach right now.

One last question, does this count as "sunk"? The deck never went under. The EC did fill up. Just curious.
 
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The marina launched the boat without the plug in it. Their insurance should pay for any and all repairs.

Agreed, but I would proceed with the first party claim then let them subrogate against the marina. Otherwise, the OP may be fighting liability for the rest of the season.
 
Perhaps, but to avoid alosing a no-loss credit on his premium, I would try to reach an agreement with the marina management on what the repairs should be and when the work will be completed. After making a good faith effort with the marina, then i'd file a claim for a soup to nuts rebuild and let the insurance company handle getting the boat repaired at a different repair service.
 
Dude. That sucks. So sorry.

You're welcome to come out with us anytime until you get it figured out!
 
Sorry for what you are going through. Hoping things are promptly sorted and most of the items you mentioned are functional.
 
I’d go through my own company and hope they total the boat.
They will go after the Marina’s company and when they get the money from them they’ll refund whatever deductible you had to,you.
They could possibly fix it as good as new, or they could fix it and you could be chasing gremlins forever and when you go to sell it the boat can show up with a huge claim becaus it partially sank which will severely devalue it and cause you problems selling it.
Sucks to lose a boat and have to look for another one but could suck even more if you keep it.
 
My contract with the marina has a line in it that says they aren't responsible for anything regardless of what it is that happens on their property.

Fortunately, I get my insurance through.NBOA. I'll be dealing with them. They being a broker, will deal with the actual insurance company for me. I suspect that the insurance company might have a different view of that clause in my contact. Either way, it's 100% not my fault, so I'll come out okay.
 
My contract with the marina has a line in it that says they aren't responsible for anything regardless of what it is that happens on their property.

Fortunately, I get my insurance through.NBOA. I'll be dealing with them. They being a broker, will deal with the actual insurance company for me. I suspect that the insurance company might have a different view of that clause in my contact. Either way, it's 100% not my fault, so I'll come out okay.

Smart move. That’s what you pay insurance for.
 
Is the marina supposed to check to see if your plug is in place? Do they remove them at all?

I'm thinking it's going to be pretty hard to prove that the marina is responsible for your plug being removed without proof of some type.

Is there any video surveillance of the storage facility?

Hopefully a good mechanic can dry things out, perform some fluid changes and recommission all the systems and get you back into the water.
 
I'm not saying that I think the marina took it out, but given that I hadn't been there all week logic would say that either the marina, another customer, or a prankster took it out. I'm not looking to blame anyone. That's not going to help. I wish he would have checked the plug before putting her in. He didn't. None of us know what happened. If they have video and it shows someone not on staff removing it, then they'll let me know. I wonder if anyone has ever won a mental anguish case against a plug thief? lol
 
My contract with the marina has a line in it that says they aren't responsible for anything regardless of what it is that happens on their property.

Fortunately, I get my insurance through.NBOA. I'll be dealing with them. They being a broker, will deal with the actual insurance company for me. I suspect that the insurance company might have a different view of that clause in my contact. Either way, it's 100% not my fault, so I'll come out okay.

I'm sure your insurance company will challenge that clause based on the marina's negligence. The clause works for natural causes, accidents and the like. But it's difficult to absolve you're own negligence. They should always check that the plug is in before dropping the boat. And after they drop, they should make sure the pumps don't come on and stay on. It's boating 101.
 
Not checking to make sure the plug is in before dropping a boat in the water is negligent on the part of the Marina employee. Securing that same boat at a dock and not noticing that the bilge pump is already running because the boat is taking on water just compounds that negligence.
I don’t think your insurance company is going to have a lot of trouble negotiating with the Marina’s company.
But other than recovering your deductible down the road, it’s not really your concern.
You pay your company for insurance, it’s a legit claim with no fault on your part, and they’ll pay you.
Hopefully they’ll total the boat for you.
That would be my only concern.
 
You'd hope the plug being RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM would be something the forklift operator would check. Guess not in this particular case.
 
I'll bet every one of us has had that "oh crap" moment in our boating careers -- "I forgot the plug." It's the boating god's initiation ritual. We learn quick -- check the plug, are the bilge pumps working. Seems these marina guys were oblivious.
 
You'd hope the plug being RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM would be something the forklift operator would check. Guess not in this particular case.
The outdrive blocks the forklift operator's view of the plug. He can't see it.
 
Have you guys never been to a boat ramp??.... Where owners are putting their own boats in the water?

I wouldn't blame the Marina... It might end up being their liability...But I wouldn't blame them or call them incompetent..

There is lots of stuff staring you in the face Wingless....that you don't see.

Lots!
 
All's well that ends well... I haven't been on the forum for a while, so here's the rest of the story.

The insurance company sent my boat to a local shop because my mechanic wasn't available. The good part was that I over estimated how high the water actually got. No water at all got inside of the engine. The oil had no water in it when they changed it. Starter, AC water pump, fresh water pump, and alternator were changed. Inside the cabin, only the lowest section was flooded. I thought it had 8-10" of water in there, but it turns out it was more like 2-4". They steam cleaned the carpet and I cleaned it again this spring. It looks better than it ever did before. The cushions in the mid berth got wet but fortunately Sea Ray put zippers on the covers and plastic wrapped the foam cores, so I just took the covers off and tossed them in the washer. All in all it could have been much worse. The insurance company paid more to move, survey, and clean the boat than they did in parts and labor for repairs. I had to pay my deductible. The marina didn't pay anything. I drove her back to the marina from the mechanic's and laid her up. Everything was fine.

I got a late start this year due to the weather being bad whenever I had time to go work on her. First splash was June 21st. Everything was fine except my steering had tightened up so badly that I needed to use both hands to turn the wheel. Not good for docking. I didn't feel like waiting to get it fixed so I got the p/n off of the steering cable and started calling around. I found one locally for $180 + tax. Amazon had it for $137 and free shipping with Sunday delivery for Prime members. I ordered it Friday at about 4pm and it arrived at my house Sunday morning at 10am. Shipped directly from Seastar. A buddy of mine and I installed it in less than an hour. The hardest part was getting the old cable out of the giant blob of silicone holding it in place where it passes through a bulkhead. Just for giggles I called the insurance company today. I told them what happened and that I believed that the cable went bad as a result of water getting into it when the transom assembly was submerged. They agreed and are sending me a check for the cable. Pleasant surprise considering they closed my claim last September. I just had to pay this year's premium, and there was no increase so no harm there.

I ran close to $300 worth of fuel through her last week and she ran great the whole time. My steering is tight, smooth, and precise. She wanders much less at no wake speed than she used to. I think the old steering cable had some play in it the entire 12 years that I have owned the boat. I'm knocking on wood right now because I am very happy with how the boat runs and feels.

BTW: If your rub rail has the gaps than many of us have had, do the repair asafp. The extra rigidity in the hull when the 2 halves of the boat are properly fastened to each other makes a BIG difference in the stability, handling, feel, and sound of the boat. I regret waiting as long as I did to do it.
 

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