Liability query

N

nordicstallion

New member
A question for my fellow boat owners. I live near the economically depressed town of crescent city in northern Calif. I often feel like the target of people who don't own a boat but would really like to know someone who owns a boat.Yesterday I came upon a nice fellow with a 22 c dory out in the fog & stopped to chat. He was alone & I asked where his crew was! His reply was, liability issues! I've taken many friends out fishing & sightseeing over the years & libility has crossed my mind recently. Do any of you kids have any advice or stories on the subject?
 
I've offered rides to people whose boats were dead in the water, but refused to offer a tow because something about the boat made me think twice. If you tow, you become responsible for that boat once it is secured to yours, so if you think you might break off a cleat, or the thing might swamp or sink, you can be held responsible.

I wouldn't think twice about taking someone out on my boat who I wanted to take out on my boat. Yes, you are responsible for their safety and well being, but that's life.

Maybe his friends and family are particularly rowdy, or imbalanced, or not particularly fun to be on a boat with?
 
Is it possible that he actually said, "Reliability Issues"? My biggest complaint with taking out friends and family is that nobody ever wants to start as early as I do, and therefore they often show up late to the marina. There's been a time or two I've thought about leaving without them. Hence, my problem with taking out crew is Reliability Issues, not liability issues.

-Mike
 
nordicstallion":m42zxyer said:
A question for my fellow boat owners. I live near the economically depressed town of crescent city in northern Calif. I often feel like the target of people who don't own a boat but would really like to know someone who owns a boat.Yesterday I came upon a nice fellow with a 22 c dory out in the fog & stopped to chat. He was alone & I asked where his crew was! His reply was, liability issues! I've taken many friends out fishing & sightseeing over the years & libility has crossed my mind recently. Do any of you kids have any advice or stories on the subject?
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If it was liability he was concerned with and not reliability, than I would think his boat insurance covers liability concerns, I know my coverage does.
 
I have never been concerned about liability because I carry a good liability policy on the boat. Be sure you have medical coverage for those who ride on you boat also.

As for towing: Chapman's states:

If you offer to tow another boat, rest assured that you will not be held liable for civil damages resulting from assistance to another boat if that service is asked for and given freely. The unwritten law of the sea is that you are to offer assistance to any vessel in peril, and the 1971 Federal Boating Safety Act has a Good Samaritan clause that protects boaters who act in good faith, as reasonable and prudent fellow mariners to arrange for or render, towing, medical care or other assistance.
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I might be held to a higher standard as a MD for the medical care, but I will always respond. A licensed CG captain might be held to a higher standard, but he should also respond to a mariner in distress.

However, I am aware of a number of cases, where a person who was either riding or crowding on a boat, and was injured--that that person injured sued and obtained compensation from the insurance company. One case happened between friends--A woman was struck on the head by the boom during an accidental jibe. She suffered permanent neurological damage and was not able to work again. The settlement was in the millions--just for a "day sail"....Even though that jibe might have been prevented and controlled--the owner of the vessel was not held liable.
 
I'll just add what you all know and that is to have an umbrella policy over the normal liability coverage.
Enjoy life and friends and remember all of life is a gamble.
Also, a captain friend just told me last night if you throw your line to give a tow then you just took responsibility for his damage but if the one in distress throws you his line then he has the liability for his damage. :smiled
 
Also, a captain friend just told me last night if you throw your line to give a tow then you just took responsibility for his damage but if the one in distress throws you his line then he has the liability for his damage.
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A myth. Many times other boaters do not have adequate lines or bridles.
 
Sometimes the problem is not that the friend or guest sues, but rather that their medical insurance company sues. A son was at a friends house where that happened.
 
Thank you kids! Looks like I'll have to have my smarter half study the insurance fine print as it seems the answer is kind of 6 of 1, half dozen of the other. I have always carried a tow rope & bridle as I have been there myself. In my area I have seen many boats out that should have been scrapped long ago or just barely bare bones that should not be on the ocean, a few with the whole family aboard including children in the fog who didn't know where they were!! I guess the answer to my question is buried in the fine print or if I was guilty of something incredibly stupid on the water. Shit does happen but hoping it doesn't happen to me. I was hoping to justify an excuse for everybody without a boat who wants to fish!!
 
Oh ya...by the by. On the liability/reliability thing. After reading replies & considering the fact that i myself have had some Reliability experiences, & the fact that at 73 & my hearing is not what it once was, its entirely possible that the man in the other boat may well have said" reliability" rather than liability.....never mind!!!!
 
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