The death of my 340DA - Roof collapse at SMYC

unklbuck said:
Death of my boat? YOU got to be kidding me. INsurance will cover this, you'll end up with something guaranteed to better than what you had and you act like you just lost your precious pet.

I'd be rejoicing and trying to figure out how i could claim the whole enchilada.
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Can't say I agree with this point of view.... After investing so much time and effort into all of my endevours I can't help but be emotionally attached. I was even a little upset after selling my 260 even though I had my new to me 330 waiting. So, with that being said sorry to see the carnage Alex. Good luck with all the headaches you are sure to encounter on the road to recovery. Todd:smt009
 
tdschafer said:
Can't say I agree with this point of view.... After investing so much time and effort into all of my endevours I can't help but be emotionally attached. I was even a little upset after selling my 260 even though I had my new to me 330 waiting. So, with that being said sorry to see the carnage Alex. Good luck with all the headaches you are sure to encounter on the road to recovery. Todd:smt009
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Thanks man! Different strokes for differnt folks I guess. I would have a lot of compassion for people to whom such an event happens to, marina and boat owners just the same, as I was when this happend at the Lake of the Ozarks two winters ago. Remember.

There is no doubt that the best thing in all of this is that no one got hurt.

But some post here in the sense of "no big deal, get over it" and "your boat will be better after its fixed" and "it will employ people to clean up this mess" surpised me too. These are often also the folks who cry the loudest when something happens to them. I could not ebgin to think of responding in such a way when a forum member get damaged.

It's always easy to say when you don't have to deal with the damage and hassle now with potential legal battles evolving. Plus this will just add to increase everyone's insurance bill. There is no winning is this type os situation for anyone and it's not good. Anyway, on to more important things ...
 
Alex. I'm sorry to see that. It's awful. Yes, there are memories, hard work and sometimes sentimental strings that are tugged when something like this happens. I think Frank's take on it sums it up well. I also would be grateful that no one was hurt, it's metal, plastic and glass which is less important. I hope all comes around where you can get your next boat and the leg work to get through this is swift.

Best of luck.
 
I am sorry to hear of your lose Alex. Hopefully everything can be repaired ,if not totalled so that you can go through the process of finding a new one. Best of luck in either case. :thumbsup:
 
Alex......Sorry for your loss and tough and long process you will have to go through ahead......Please keep us all posted on the process and anything we can all learn from your accident......You might be able to help one person (or many) on insurance, etc. An accident like this makes me look into my own policy if we had a fire, etc at our marina......Good luck in finding a solution.
 
Sorry to hear of the situation Alex. Thank God nobody was there during the structural failure. I dont know what time of day this occurred but if it was daytime and nobody was there it is a miracle. How many of us flock to our boats during and after a snow event to check or clean up some snow.
 
Ouch... sorry for your pain. She can be fixed though. Just hope the insurance companies don't haggle and delay and the repairs can be done before the season starts up for you.

Good luck! Keep us posted.
 
Alex - you are sure right about your "different strokes" comment. It not only affected boats and marinas:

[FONT=arial,helvetica,geneva]Snow Collapses Dulles Jet Center[/FONT]

hangarcollapse.jpg


The huge snowstorm blanketing the mid-Atlantic has reportedly collapsed the roof of an FBO at Dulles and may have damaged or destroyed four aircraft, according to WTOP. It's also been reported that snow caused damage at Manassas Airport in Virginia. The roof of Dulles Jet Center collapsed about 8 a.m. Saturday after the D.C. area was buried under almost three feet of snow in some areas. Dulles Airport Manager Rob Yingling said there were five people in the building but no one was injured. He also confirmed four "private jets" were inside and that damage to the building was significant.


Photos and video on the NBC Washington Web site show the front of the building distorted under the weight of the snow.
 
That just makes my stomach turn looking at it! I'm sorry that happen! I'm surprised the roof structure was made from wood truss'? It looks bad but I'm sure once the debris is cleaned up it MAY not be. Thats easy to say if it's not your boat. I know I'd just want another boat. One of the biggest pains would be the time and hassle to make things right and maybe not necc the repairs themself.
 
Thanks for the kind remarks! I have made my peace with the sitauation. Nothing I can do right now. teh insurance adjsuter called today, so we'll see. Main effort on teh marina's part was to get power back to all the boats that were on a winter heat program adn weren't winterized to prevent them from freezing and further damage. We're not out of teh woods until they pulled the boats and secured them, but with 30+ boats it's overwhelming for the small marina. This was over half of their entire large boat slips.

This marina is the first marina on the lake and alomost 45 years old. This dock row is (was) the original structure buiilt in 1965. This slip row was actually build BEFORE the lake reached full pond for the very first time in 1966 after the dam was completed.

Alos troubling to see more damage being done at Dulles and elsewhere in the NE as the forecast now indicates another winter event from DC to New York. I hope it doesn't do more damage.
 
The Lake of the Ozarks folks were mostly back on the water in early summer. The biggest issue is the windshield and/or the radar arch. One boat in my area, their insurance paid for a new arch and the dealer (Regal Dealer now defunct) put a used arch on it and the owner didn't realize it until he went to install his camper canvas and none of the snaps lined up. But most of the folks were very happy with the repair, the one issue folks had at LOZ was glass in the cockpit carpet. The other issue they had with Steel docks was when they were cutting them, they had pieces of metal get on their boats underneath the debris and had rust spots on everything. My dock sank but did not collapse - we were 100 miles from LOZ. The one thing that would be nice is to upgrade the windshield from Aluminum to stainless if available and if the windshield is destroyed. Our friend with a Meridian had his boat fixed early in the season and it was too cold and the gelcoat shrank once the weather got nicer and it had to be redone. So, don't rush it. Personally, I would have a hard time looking at the boat like that. So, sorry because I know you put a lot of energy into maintaining your boat.
 
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Uuughh that sucks! Easy to say insurance will cover and you'll get new boat etc...but the legal hassles in a case like this wont make it so simple, Im sure :smt021

Best of luck, hope that in the end you get back on the water as soon as the season opens up.
 
fwebster said:
I disagree with Mike. With the amount of snowfall you guys got, the marina's insurance carrier, if they even have any, will claim the snow event to be an act of God. Most marinas have a very high deductible for customer claims so they self insure for the first few hundred thousand.

My hope is that you have an all risk policy on the boat and that the owners don't file bankruptcy so you stand a chance of coming out whole on the loss.

I am sorry you are having to deal with it, but be thankful that no one was injured and handle the loss of the asset like it is just a business decision. If the repairs are substantial enough, get the boat totaled if you can. I can't think of a better time in the economy to be looking for a new boat.
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I agree, Frank, that they're certainly going to try...
This is one of those "gray" areas of insurance litigation (I was a property and casualty agent in a former life).

One of the true "tests" of the "Act of God" defense is that the event had to be unforseeable.
If the location in question had NEVER seen the amount of snowfall that fell, they might stand a chance. But, I doubt that's the case, in fact. It seems much more likely to me that a 45 year old structure (Jeezus- built in '65- you gotta be kidding me) was severely neglected, never structurally repaired, and probably in a state of disrepair.

Generally speaking, if the "event" could have been avoided "by human prudence and foresight it cannot be considered the act of God" (from the case cited below). Since this seems to be small "mom & pop" marina, my money's still on bankruptcy.

Although there are several examples of good judicial definitions, the 1922 USA case of Woodruff v Oleite Corporation 192 NYS 189 is often cited:


"(S)omething which operates without any aid or interference of man, and when the loss occasioned is the result in any degree of human aid or interference, or if an act of human negligence contributed to the injury or, though the injury proceed directly from natural causes, if it might have been avoided by human prudence and foresight, it cannot be considered the act of God.

"It is a well-understood physical fact that in this climate water in the pipes in an unheated building will freeze and burst the pipes in the winter season. Ordinary prudence and foresight would have led the person in possession of the building to shut off the water and drain the pipes. Had this been done, the extreme and unusual cold would not have caused the damage. Hence the defendant cannot escape liability on the plea that the injury was caused by an act of God."


Same would hold for the structure being able to withstand a snow load. I hope every boat owner there has their own insurance...
 
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unklbuck said:
Death of my boat? YOU got to be kidding me. INsurance will cover this, you'll end up with something guaranteed to better than what you had and you act like you just lost your precious pet.

I'd be rejoicing and trying to figure out how i could claim the whole enchilada.
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While Johns words might not have been the ones I (or many of you) would have used to console someone. Try to understand the concept of what he is saying.
As for me, I am very sorry to hear of this unfortunate event. I hope that once the dust settles you will quickly get over your initial emotions of what I can only imagine are anger and sadness.
Maybe you will get lucky with the insurance and get into something you like better or a mod/upgrade for your boat that you can convince a yard to roll into the bill. there isnt much that happens that you can't roll over into a positive. I dont envy you the headache you will have until then. Take Care My Friend
Phil
 
Oh man, I'm so sorry! It hurts just to view the pictures. I hoping you're one of the first in line for repairs.
 
Okay brief update. To my surprise they already pulled the boat today from underneath the wreckage and shrink wrapped her. I was told that the arch is gone, the camper of course and the center part of the winshield. In adition ther is a four inch hole in the transom locker. The radar dome is actually said to be okay since the rafters hit beside it. I am trying to get her on the dry and in front of the shop first in line for repairs.
 
In my area when this happened - a boating friend had a late 90's Bayliner 2855 that had been crushed like this - insurance was able to fix it. They will not be totaling out these boats. In fact one that did sink a Regal 3780 Flybridge was repaired. I think it takes a lot before they total boats.
 
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