Broken mooring....Do I have to pay?

searaycruisn

searaycruisn

New Member
Nov 10, 2006
242
Old Saybrook, CT
Boat Info
2000 380 Sundancer
Engines
CAT 3126
Last summer I pulled into a public harbor and hooked on to a mooring. That night...the wind kicked up, and the mooring chain broke away from the base of the mooring (http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21662&highlight=block+mooring). Turns out the mooring was a private mooring (although it was not marked as private).

Today I get a registered letter in the mail from the owner of the mooring demanding about $750 to replace the mooring ball.

Am I liable for this? Should I forward the letter to my insurance company?
 
Last edited:
Last summer
Click to expand...
And they waited this long to send you a letter to pay up ??, I'd tell them to kiss my you know what. :smt021
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm not trying to be a jerk - but you broke someone's private property, right? (wind or no wind, you were using it without permission when it broke) If you dented someone's car in the local shopping mall parking lot, would you leave a note or drive off?

Did you converse with the owner in the summer? How did they get your name and address to send you the letter?

Is there something else at play with regard to a private mooring in a public water? Is there something legal that would remove your responsibility?

Again, not trying to bust your balls, (no pun intended), but paying seems like the right thing to do.

My $.02...
 
Last edited:
I believed I was hooking on to a public mooring, since it was not marked as private. Also, the mooring broke (I believe) due to its deteriorating condition. I did not brake it by using it inapprpriately, or running it over (or hitting it in a parking lot).

They got my name off of an incident report that I filed with the harbor master.
 
Maybe you can negotiate with them if it was deteriorated and just kick in a few bucks...
 
Eric, Don't pay it. They are looking to get something for free !!. They probably knew it was junk to begin with and now its time to get a new one from you. :smt021
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My point is if it was a public mooring and it broke, would you pay for it if it broke while you were on it? Because it was not marked as private.
 
Since there was a
harbor master , did you check in with him before you tied up.
My feeling is if you broke it you should pay for it.
but if you broke a piece of crap you should replace it with a piece of crap. i would pay percentage of the price of new equipment
 
The "harbor master" is the same 18 year old kid that runs the pump out boat. I did not check in with him when I pulled in. I suppose that had I tried to locate him, he would have informed me that it was a private mooring, but I think the owner should have marked it as private.
 
It doesn't matter whether the mooring was public or private. If you were unsure of it's status, it was your responsibility to check with the harbor master to make sure it was available.

Was this mooring set off, or somehow different in appearance than the other moorings in the area?

When did the mooring break? As soon as you tied up to it, a couple hours later, or longer?
 
I just read the original story in the link you just posted. Wow. What a scary night that had to be.

Back to your original dilemma, if it was me I would see if I could work out a deal with the owner of the mooring. Obviously, the extreme weather contributed to the broken mooring and your semi-disaster.
 
Sfergeson,

Would your answere be different if this was a public mooring? i.e. would you think that if a public mooring fails the boater should replace it?
 
It was not possible to tell the condition of the chain under the ball. The shackle on the bottom of the ball failed.

Let's see what others think...
 
If you had paid to use it and it failed you would expect to be compensated for your boat damage. If it did not have a boat rating size on it, it could have been for a dingy. You tied to an unknown bouy and it failed. I would start with finding out what you are replacing. If it is one that is designed for your size of boat I would say you are paying for more than you brock. Pay for what you brock not what the owner wants.
 
Personally, I would pay it; at the least I would talk with the owner, discuss how and why the chain broke, and come up with an equitable settlement.

Was there any indication that it was a public mooring ball; why would you think it was there for anyone? Was it marked on the charts that this was a public mooring field and the balls were maintained by the city? If not, then it was a private ball.

I'm not saying I've never poached a ball, I certainly have; but if the ball broke while I was on it I would feel obliged to pay something.

I'm not passing judgement, just replying with how I would respond.

At the end of the day, is the $750 going to really hurt you that bad; or will the negative situation that will likely evolve be more detrimental than the $750?

Jeff
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,116
Messages
1,426,334
Members
61,028
Latest member
ddbyrd329
Back
Top