Tornado Dallas, TX - 12/26/15 - Lost my boat!

[douglee25]

I haven't posted here in a long time, but I used to be an active participant until life got in the way. I used to attend the AC meets for several years, so I knew quite a few of you. I'm sure Turtle (Mike) still has some funny pictures he'd post if he could find them.

Anyway, I left the PA/NJ area several years ago and have been just outside Dallas, TX in the meantime. Job changed, life changed, and here we are. I took the boat with me to TX in hopes to eventually get back to boating once I setup some roots again.

Fast forward to last Sunday 12/27/15. I'm in PA for the holidays and I wake up and start reading the news on my phone. I come to a story about a Tornado that hit Northern Texas. I think no big deal because they are a every month occurrence now that I've been in Texas. I keep reading the story and I find where it hit the hardest and it's literally at the intersection right where my storage unit is located. My heart sank. I called the storage owner and no answer. He lived on site, so this was somewhat concerning. I tried again 15 mins later... still no answer. In the mean time I started looking for aerial shots and this is what I found....


Here is the before. The boat is circled in the lower left corner. I had two storage units circled in the upper right from the move.

Here is the after from the aerial shots I found online. I felt sick. At the same time I felt selfish because I found out 11 people lost their lives and here I am worrying about a dumb boat and my home contents.

 

[douglee25]

I continued to look for pictures the next couple of days online since I still wasn't in Texas. I start seeing my belongings in pictures on the news...

Here's my Chevelle. I can't make out anything else in the other unit in the picture. It must be buried.




If you go directly across the picture to the corner of the building that is still intact, then go directly right where the debris is, that's where the owner lived. Completely turned to rubble now.

 

[douglee25]

A few days later I got my boat insurance surveyor down there. Here's a few pictures he sent me.


The boat is a total loss, luckily I had an agreed value policy, so I'm in a good position with the boat vs. my contents. I heard the best thing about boats is the day you buy it and the day you sell it. I guess I should add 'the day a tornado totals your boat'. Unbelievable. I have other pictures of the storage units, but it's just more of the same. I spent all day ironing out the details on the insurance loss. The insurance company doesn't want to take ownership now that they've totaled the boat. It's now my responsibility to find someone to salvage the vessel. The problem is, Texas isn't the Jersey shore, Maryland, or Florida where boating and salvage companies are a dime a dozen. I literally called marinas in Texas and they had no idea what a salvage company was for the marine industry. No idea. I may have found one marina owner who wants to purchase the boat for parts. Hopefully that pans out. Concerning the contents insurance, the storage contents are covered up to my limit, but the insurance company applies the typical depreciation against your items, then pays out at that reduced value. They will then reimburse you for any items you purchase within 2 years up to you policy limit, but you must provide receipts. The problem is, most of my items can't be purchased (easily anyway) within my policy limit. They will probably try to pay me $200 for a $3000-$5000 Bridgeport mill. I guess I'm going to have to find things as I come across them because I will be unable to purchase them immediately. Such is life.




Here's the pics. Check out the transom of the boat... the tornado launched a 2x4 right through it!

 

[douglee25]

I forgot to mention, I ended up getting in touch with the owner and he is safe. He was out of town, however he asked his brother to stay the night and help keep a watch on things while he was gone. His brother somehow got a broken leg in the storm. Unsure of the details. I was going to head to Texas earlier to assess the situation, but the owner said it was a mad house. I figured I'd sort out some of the insurance details before I go disturbing things. I'm scheduled to head down on Monday morning and a local marina is scheduled to upright the vessel and take it to their place for salvage parts. Onto sorting out the contents portion next. Should be interesting.

I wanted to go bigger at some point, so I guess there may be an opportunity sooner than later. I will probably wait to get a new boat for a few more years when my work stops relocating me. Something in the range of 37'-45' would be a good size I think.

Happy New Year everyone!

 

[highslice]

Doug,
Sorry to see that. I remember you from the day and the funny pictures Turtle posted. Good luck with recovering from your loss! Has to be hard to take.

 

[my3sons]

Wow, what a mess. Sorry to hear about the boat, and sure glad to hear you were nowhere near there. The weather certainly has been crazy this year. Good luck going forward.

 

[All's Well]

Sorry to see that, Houston is better prepared to deal with salvage boats but it sounds like you have that covered.
As for your contents, it is a PITA but as long as you have some patience and are willing to document your replacement purchases you can come out OK. If you don't document appropriately you may wind up with what amounts to a garage sale at mother natures planning.
I went through a total loss house fire a few years ago and found out how important documentation is when dealing with reimbursement and insurance.
Good luck with the clean up and recovery

 

[Gofirstclass]

Doug, that really sucks. Thank heaven for agreed value insurance policies. You pay a bit more for them but they certainly are worth it.

I hope you are successful in getting back there and getting your personal belongings sorted out and reimbursed for from the insurance company.

 

[copb8tx]

That's horrible, sorry for your troubles and loss. Surprising anyone survived in that owners unit.

It seems like the boat trailer looks in good shape and would probably still have some good value. Perhaps sell the boat and trailer separately?

 

[Quint4]

What a story and pics. Best of luck sorting things out.

 

[douglee25]

Thanks everyone. Like I mentioned, I'm glad no one in the family was injured. I believe the majority of people that died were actually driving on the highway when the tornado blew their cars off the overpass and they landed 30'+ below, but not people who were in their homes. Simply amazing.

I was originally thinking of taking the boat to a yard and cutting it up with a chainsaw and salvaging the engine, drive, and trailer, but the local marina offered me about a 1/3 of what I figured I could get if I parted everything out separately. I don't have to worry about my time stripping it, storing the parts in a unit somewhere, or advertising. I think it's a win win with each of us making a couple bucks in the end.

My goal is to upgrade to a 40'+ cruiser or bridge style boat. After reviewing the investment numbers, it's telling me I really need to be committed to the boating game again. It doesn't make sense if you're boating once/month and spending all that money. My employer doesn't relocate boats that size, so I need to figure out where I'm going to be setting up shop again before I consider the next one. That was one advantage of my current boat, it was too big to trailer every weekend, yet I could relocate it myself coast to coast if need be. It also allowed me to take 2-4 people out for a long weekend away from the docks, or just 2 for a 7 day cruise. It really was a great boat in the sense. On longer stays you really felt the boat was small and that's why I was looking to upgrade. Choices choices....

 

[dpmulvey]

You and yours are OK. Everything else is just stuff. Good luck. God bless.

 

[Billfletcher]

Doug, I hope things work out for you in the long run. It is amazing to see the damage potential these tornados have.

 

[War Eagle]

Thanks for the photos! A serious reminder of the power of mother nature! Toys can be replaced ... happy you weren't in the middle of it all!

 

[Skuza]

Damn man that sucks. Glad Your alright and are covered!

 

[Turtlesboat]

Holy Crap!!! sorry about your stuff. That sucks. But at least you still have the pictures I took. Now you can go shopping for another boat.

 

[BritLady]

So sorry to read of your misfortune, that really sucks. Hope everything turns out okay.