Sickened by what we found

[Mas Tequila]

I'm meeting with the insurance adjuster this morning and hopefully I'll know more by the end of the day. They are talking about having someone from a local boatyard that has a very good reputation take a look at it. They are talking about hiring a crane to come in and drop the rigging and then having it trucked to Traverse City to be repaired. The really big question is the cost of repairs, if the repairs cost to much than I guess they will total the boat. We are praying it can be repaired. But it sure looks like our plans to sail the North Channel again this year are going to have to be put on hold. What a mess!!!

[glennd3]

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.

I have never seen a keel blocked like that in the 4 th picture. I mostly see cradles with 4 pads on the hull and then wood under the front and rear of the keel.

It is a shame what happened to you but maybe in time you will end up in a better situation. Just trying to be a little positive, easier said than done.

[Mas Tequila]

I would like to apologize to all of you for not providing the end of this story. The findings were that the boat had been placed to far aft in the cradle which put all of the weight on the very front of the keel which caused the crack in the hull. The roller furling foil was bent beyond repair and needed to be replaced. Four of the stanchions were also bent and replaced. Thank God for West Bay Boat Works, they came to our marina and performed all of the repairs in just a few days and did an amazing job. We were on a bit of a time crunch as we were scheduled to depart for the North Channel on the second week of June and West Bay Boat Works made sure that everything was finished in plenty of time.

The total cost of repairs was $8400.00

On a side note, we have Progressive Insurance and they were very prompt and took very good care of us.

We did store the boat at the same place this winter and we supervised their work. They did take great care making sure the boat was placed in the cradle properly and that the cradle was supported with the bow up.

[senorquill]

Sorry to hear that. 

[Phil Spicer]

  Good to hear you got back in the water without delays and your insurance took good care of you.
.