Tow Boat U.S. bill

[kthrash]

I got lawyers covered if it goes that far.. I'm pretty good at solving my own issues without them though..

 

[rkgdmd]

[QUOTE="Guess this is a heads up to everyone.. dont let them pump your boat out if you dont want a huge bill.[/QUOTE]

Funny thing....the last article I read about salvage said that just because a pump was used doesn't necessarily mean it should be considered as such. Good luck with that though. Maritime law is arcane and based on precedents from hundreds of years ago....and always seems to side with the salvor. Sorry to hear about that big bill.

 

[Geiger41]

So let me get this right. Your boat gets a shitload of water. Rather then waiting for your bilge to get it out, they helped pump it out for your. Then charged you out the ass for it !! ??

 

[kthrash]

So let me get this right. Your boat gets a shitload of water. Rather then waiting for your bilge to get it out, they helped pump it out for your. Then charged you out the ass for it !! ??

yup pretty much...

 

[McMark]

Dang!

 

[Murf'n'surf]

The salvage charge is not really the charge for pumping water it is a percentage of the vessel value that they "saved" by pumping the water.

 

[Geiger41]

The salvage charge is not really the charge for pumping water it is a percentage of the vessel value that they "saved" by pumping the water.

WOWWWWW What a F*ck*ng scam !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats amazing

 

[Britboater]

Friend of mine got towed last year, he received a bill, but it was just a statement of what it would of cost had he not been with SeaTow.

 

[Geiger41]

Luckily for me, my neighbor (4 houses down) runs a Sea-Tow branch. His boat is docked right outside year round.

 

[Ronnie]

I think the insurance contracts trump whatever the tow boat guy said. Four corners principle and statute of frauds.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Luckily for me, my neighbor (4 houses down) runs a Sea-Tow branch. His boat is docked right outside year round.

Go talk to your neighbor about this maritime law and how they get a woody pulling up to a 5 million yacht in peril. Soon as they tie a line on it they just made a percentage of the value to save it.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

You guys would get a kick out of this series....

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Here is a lawyer to explain salvage law.

 

[DieselCamel]

Here is a lawyer to explain salvage law.

Starting watching it looks to be pretty cool. Will finish up later

 

[rkluck]

Very interesting and educational tread. I probably missed something, How did your boat get full of water? So my thoughts (not legal or knowledge just based on what I read). I didn't have time to watch the videos but based on the information above it seems salvage is used if the boat is in peril (or danger) of sinking or lost at sea. That makes sense and it also makes sense your regular boat insurance would cover that portion. The question is when is the boat in peril. The Coast Guard waited until the boat was pumped empty which made it a tow not salvage. If you can't get the water out or the water is rising then by all means this is a boat in peril. A company coming to tow you would prefer to not wait regardless if it saves you money. Clearly the advice to discuss this up front is paramount. If I had not read this I would not have even thought about a discussion around this. I wonder how much you can really talk anyway. if they leave you are stuck and at this point you want to get back home (they have the upper hand)! I have got to go read my insurance papers better and understand exactly what will happen if this happens to me.

 

[Scottintexas]

i'm not sure if it was the youtube above but there was a show on tv for about a season or two about south FL salvage boats, rescuing sinking ships and recovering sunken ones,

 

[Murf'n'surf]

i'm not sure if it was the youtube above but there was a show on tv for about a season or two about south FL salvage boats, rescuing sinking ships and recovering sunken ones,

Yep, that's the series I linked.

 

[Ronnie]

Here in NorCal last year an older sailor and his wife ran aground and had to be rescued from their boat. Later that day a salvor recovered the boat and brought it back to the marina. The next day the owner went to the salvors office only to find the boat had been stripped of many valuable parts (e.g. The sails). The salvor was allowed to do that under maritime law. The owner was paid out by his insurance company but was crushed since the money didn't cover all the time he put into customizing his boat.

 

[Gym]

My friend, who owns a 35' sail boat, will not buy towing insurance for this exact reason. It seems an unfair and deceptive practice to buy towing insurance and if used you can have your boat taken from you.

 

[McMark]

After reading all this, I think if my boat fills up with water I'm just going to throw a rock in it.