Sickened by what we found

[Mas Tequila]

So we went to the boat yesterday to remove the shrink wrap and get started on our boat projects and are absolutely sickened by what we found.

We have insisted that the boat be stored level or at least stored with the bow slightly elevated so if the shrink wrap were to leak water would be able to drain out of the cockpit. What we found was the boat was placed on the cradle to far aft which caused it to sit bow down. It was also placed on a grade which further placed the bow in a downward position. We found the keel was only supported at the most forward point and that a 4x4 post had been jammed between the cradle and the bow just forward of the keel. The shrink wrap had a 5 foot hole in it right over the cockpit and we found the cockpit had so much water in it that it had been draining into the boat through the forward portlight of the aft berth. The shrink wrap had collapsed at the bow and was filled with about 50 gal of water which caused the shrink wrap to tear away from the bow putting all that pressure against the foil of the roller furler bending it to the point that it will have to be replaced. The stanchions had not been cross supported and 4 of our brand new stanchions are now pretty badly bent. To say the least I was pretty angry at this point but what we found inside sent me right over the edge.

We found that the brand new house bank batteries were comply flat and the solar charge controller had gone into a self protect mode and shut itself off. The battery selector switch was in the off position and we were wondering what could have pulled the house bank down. The bilge pump switch was in the auto position and I wondered if water had gotten into the bilge and the pump could have drained the batteries. I really thought that it was more likely that pump would have frozen and blown the breaker. When I checked the bilge I found it was flooded all the way to the floor boards and was clear in color. We always make sure the bulge is completely dry and then add a couple gallons of antifreeze to protect the bilge pump just in case so why would the water be clear unless so much water had entered the boat that the antifreeze ended up being pumped overboard.

About this time I noticed the door that accesses the hot water tank was ajar and would not close. The covers for the battery bank and dry storage at the forward end of the settee had also popped out of position and now wouldn't fit. I also found water under the v-berth and couldn't figure out how or why there would be water in there. I keep my tools in the dry storage locker under the settee and when I went to get a few tools I found the locker was flooded but not with water but with water and antifreeze apparently from the bulge. Considering that this area is sealed off from the bilge I really started to get worried and my worst fears were justified. I found a large crack in the forward bulkhead and along the stringer which allowed water and antifreeze to enter the locker. I took a screwdriver and climbed out of the boat to tap along the hull to see if there could possibly be any delamination and to my horror I found a crack in the hull just forward of the keel where that 4x4 post had been jammed against the hull and water and antifreeze was leaking through the hull. The crack is in the keel stub and is not a Catalina smile but higher than that. Needless to say I was sicken by what I found.

We talked with the marina owners who took a rather oh well kind of attitude. I'm waiting to hear back from the insurance company and will be contacting a surveyor to come out and take a look. I will let you all know what they find as soon as I know more.

[Bobg]

Not even sure how to reply to a post like that, my heart goes out to you for sure, makes me want to run to my the boat and see how it's doing, please keep us posted on how you make out

[scgunner]

     Well, it looks like you're going to need Mas Tequila before this thing is done. Sorry to hear about your predicament, our boats are our babies so this has got to be a real gut punch. It sounds like your boat could be a total loss. I hope your insurance company takes care of you, it doesn't sound like the marina will.

     For the rest of us this is a cautionary tale. For the record I know nothing about dry winter storage since my boat stays in the water year round. What I do know however is the importance of keeping an eye on your boat with weekly or at least bi-weekly boat checks where ever your boat happens to reside.

     Mas, it sounds like you must have been quite distant for your boat storage making regular boat checks difficult, but I'm curious, you didn't have an opportunity to check the initial installation in the yard? Have you stored your boat with this marina before, because it doesn't sound like they knew what they were doing.

[mark_53]

That sounds terrible.  So sorry to hear.  Were you not present when they hauled and stored the boat? The yard will ask how I want the bow pointed.   Now  think I'll check on my boat which I try to do at least once a month in storage.

Also, water will get in no matter what.  It usually comes down the mast on my boat.  If I didn't visit it once a month the bilge would be full.

[Bill Shreeves]

Very sorry for what you found and how heartbreaking it must be.  What an outrageous level of incompetence by the yard and lack of caring.  Unfortunately, sharing your story won't fix what happened but, it may help others be more cautious about trusting a yard and certainly customers of the yard you stored in be very wary of how your boat and you were treated.

[glennd3]

Pictures?

[Stu Jackson]

So sorry to hear about your issues.  The marina has some cahones.  Best of luck with a satisfactory resolution.

[Jon W]

Really sorry to hear about your boat. If the marina/boatyard took your boat out of the water, put it on stands, and wrapped it up why aren't they accountable for the damage?

[Jim Hardesty]

I'll add my sorry to the list.  Reminds me of an Erickson 35 I drove over 100 miles to see, was advertised as "professionally maintained" was a foot of water over the salon floor and the rest of the boat was maintained to the same low standards.  I'm lucky enough to be in a hands on yacht club.  We lift and set our own boats and look out for each others boats.
Jim

[Mas Tequila]

Hopefully the pictures come out, I'm somewhat impaired when it comes to resizing them.


To answer a few questions. We were there when the boat was pulled out of the water and we pointed out that it was set on the cradle to far aft and it would have to be moved forward in the cradle which we assured they would take care of. It was the end of the day and the boat was going to be by the travel lift until the next day. I had to leave the next morning and was going to be out of state for an extended period and my better half said she would check on the boat. A couple of days later she informed me that it didn't look like they had reset the boat on the cradle and where they placed it, it looked to be bow down. I contacted the yard and told them that it was imperative that it be placed bow up and was assured they would take care of it. Last year it was stored very slightly bow down and we had about an inch of ice that had frozen in the cockpit and I explained that it can not be stored that way again. Again I told them in no uncertain terms to make sure it was bow up when it was stored this last year. The owner said that it didn't matter because it would be shrink wrapped and I again told them that I was paying for it and I wanted it done right.

By the time I got back to check on the boat the weather had moved in and because of all the ice and snow the tug couldn't get to the boat to move it. I told them that this was unacceptable and they told me that because of the slight grade in the yard they couldn't get it bow up. I told them that all they had to do was set the boat down and move the tug around and back the boat in and it would have been bow up because of the grade. They said that would have been a lot of work and I told them it's also a lot of money. We had a very bad winter here in northern Michigan and once the weather set in there was nothing that could be done. We received so much snow that Lake Michigan is up 11 inches from last year.

So anyway the short version is the insurance adjuster will be coming out this week and I've hired a surveyor to inspect it and give us an estimate on the cost of repairs if it can be repaired.

[Mas Tequila]

Jon W,

According to our insurance adjuster the yard is responsible for the damage and they will be going after them for the cost of repair...hopefully it can be.

[lazybone]

Sorry about what has happened to your boat and happy to hear you're now taking an interest her and pursuing the insurance claim.  Keep us informed.   

[Ekutney]

I also have a 1986, have hull #42 & noticed yours is also a 1986.  Really sad to hear it took bad placement on the hard to cause such damage not age of the boat & improper care.

The local area I am, near Annapolis, has a good number of boats that are just left to the environment.

Best of luck & keep us updated.

[Ron Hill]

Mas : I'd definitely consider moving my boat to a different marina to have the insurance work done!!

My thought

[Bill Shreeves]

Mas : I'd definitely consider moving my boat to a different marina to have the insurance work done!!

My thought

I couldn't agree more