Boatyard damage to your boat, especially when you are not present, can require a long and tedious process to resolve.

The blog on sail4simplicity.com recently published an entry describing their experience with damage Simplicity, a Beneteau 381, sustained in a boatyard. Two of my boats have also experienced boatyard damage on three different occasions. I thought it may be helpful to open a discussion on this topic and provide recommendations based on Simplicity’s and my experiences. While these recommendations will not completely prevent boatyard damage, they should help minimize incidents and the associated headaches resolving such incidents.

You can visit the sail4simplicity.com blog for a detailed description of their incident – significant gouge/scrape on the port side which appeared when they returned to Simplicity. Simplicty was in the boatyard as a result of a lightning strike which is also described in detail on their blog and noteworthy to read a nightmare experience. The following photographs show some of the damage:
Unfortunately, it sounds like the boatyard has not accepted responsibility and amicably resolved. Simplicty‘s blog provides 11 ‘lessons learned’ from their experience. Note that the lessons learned include items based on their entire experience (lightning strike, interacting with the insurance company/surveyor along with the boatyard damage).
I experienced three boatyard damage events over the past 35 years. Not a lot, but any is one too many and each one was a headache to resolve. Unfortunately, I no longer have pictures associated with these incidents to include and provide better visual examples.
Before sounding too negative on boatyards I want to mention that I have had acceptable to great experiences with most. Over the years I have used dozens of boatyards, including several that stood out for timely, high quality and/or good value. In reflecting on my experiences, I realized that my best experiences occurred with yards that would not be considered ‘inexpensive’. The old adage rings true – “you get what you pay for”. I would classify all the boatyards I experienced problems with as small, budget or low cost.
As you read the incidents below you can correlate the following recommendations with the experiences that prompted them:

• Always be present during any haul out or launch – do not haul/launch otherwise unless absolutely necessary.
• Do not schedule your haul or launch on a Friday in case of delay.
• Check with the boatyard prior to your haul/launch date to make sure their Travelift is working. Travelifts do break and are not always quickly/easily fixed. I have seen some sit for days waiting on parts/repairs. This will allow you prior notice to rearrange your schedule or make alternate arrangements if your schedule is rigid.
• Allow a few days ‘slack’ in your travel schedule after hauling in case the haul out is delayed.
• Video your haul out and launch in case anything happens. You can always simply hit the delete button if all goes well.
• Once the boat is blocked, video/photograph
  with a timestamp. By everything I mean EVERYTHING – both at ground level and also at deck level. Pay particular attention to the bow and stern regions which may be more likely damaged.
• Carefully check your boat immediately upon returning. Once your boat leaves a boatyard they have a convenient reason why the damage occurred elsewhere.
• Launch the boat prior to raising any issues – but do not depart before doing so. If your boat is still on the hard, you are at their mercy and they have all the leverage to force you to settle or not pursue resolution. Your boat could be sitting in their yard until issues are resolved or you may need a time consuming and costly legal fight to get launched.
• Carefully consider using a small or low cost/budget boatyard – you do get what you pay for and you may be setting yourself up for a headache.
• Consider how closely/packed the boats are in the boatyard. Tightly packed boats are more likely to experience damage by the Travelift, vehicles or other boaters working on their boats.
• Immediately take photographs / videos, document all conversations / interactions / etc.– do not delay since memories fade and details are forgotten.

My first incident occurred in the late 1980’s with a 32’ Carver sedan in Northern Michigan. I owned a boat storage ‘condo’ and the only person in town who hauled boats to the facility had a ‘custom’ (read homemade) large trailer used on a large boat ramp. There were no Travelifts in the area at that time.
Since he was the sole person in town he was actually very experienced but had a bad day – in his first attempt the boat was misaligned, and one shaft sat on the trailer and was bent. With his second attempt he over compensated and bent the other shaft. He didn’t have insurance and wanted to repair the shafts himself, but I decided to seek a
‘professional’ boatyard. In the spring I idled and vibrated the 20 miles to the nearest real boatyard. Repairs included replacing both shafts and laser re-alignment. But the boat was never the same – constant shaft log/stuffing box issues and a slight vibration. Luckily my BoatUS insurance covered the many thousands of dollars repair cost.

My next two incidents occurred on Hither `n Yon – a Fleming 55.

My second experience occurred at a yard in Florida. After the boat was hauled I left it for several months. Upon return the 70 lb Danforth anchor on the bow pulpit was significantly bent (one fluke plus the shank). The fiberglass on bow pulpit was also damaged/cracked in several locations. I suspected the Travelift since it would require a huge force to bend the substantial shank 17 feet above the ground. Not surprisingly, the boatyard denied any responsibility. How did I know they did it? It was pretty easy to figure out – a blue paint mark on the fluke exactly matching their Travelift paint color along with a very visual scratch on their Travelift at the same height as my anchor (I measured both!). They refused to resolve the issue and we were anxious to begin our winter cruise to the Bahamas. Numerous phone calls and emails from the Bahamas failed to resolve the situation so in the end I ate the repair cost of thousands of dollars.

My third experience occurred at a different yard in Florida. My standard operating procedure was to always be present when my boat was launched or hauled/blocked to make sure my ‘baby’ was well taken care of. I pre-arranged the date and time but when I arrived on a Friday they said they wouldn’t haul until the following Monday. Unfortunately, I had a schedule to keep so I departed the next day. When I returned several months later I immediately saw Hither `n Yon was blocked bow down. As a result, rain on the upper deck flowed forward, accumulated and then entered through the flybridge door into the pilothouse causing significant teak damage. A large puddle of accumulated water remained in front of the flybridge to pilothouse door.
Of course, the boatyard denied it was improperly blocked but the photographs I took were very clear. In the background was a parked vehicle which provided an excellent reference of the bow down angle. Also photographs of the accumulated water showed undeniably that the water was flowing forward. After my previous experience I had decided to pursue any future boatyard incidents – it also helped that I was retired by this time and had more time on my hands. Unfortunately, the boatyard refused to fix or reimbursed for the repairs thus I turned to the legal system and filed a lawsuit. At the initial hearing the judge strongly encouraged a settlement which resulted in a financial offer I could live with. I had excellent visual documentation, photographs, invoices, etc. which encouraged the boatyard to settle.

None of the above recommendations will completely prevent damage but they could make a boatyard more easily accept responsibility or make it easier to resolve using the legal system.

I am sure boatyards have their horror stories of incorrect or false damage claims. Therefore, good photographs or videos may make a difference in a boatyard accepting responsibility and agreeing to fairly resolve.

It would be beneficial to Cruisers Net readers to hear your boatyard damage experiences along with your recommendations. Remember our motto is ‘Cruisers Helping Cruisers’ so please help your fellow boaters with your experiences and any additional recommendations.