Yacht rams sailboat

I know that corner well, the current rips thru there and it is a sharp turn.
Having the Johnson there does not help things.
I am sure he had no choice but to continue on, no where in that area to dock and to hold place I am sure was not good idea.

It's done. Totaled.

In my mind, it's totaled too and if I was the owner I'd accept nothing short of that.

I’m the owner of the sailboat. It’s truly gut-wrenching, and my wife and I are trying to come to grips with the loss of our future home, and dreams of going cruising. I don’t want to go into any detail yet, as I don’t want to jeopardize our legal case. I hope that I can avoid a lawsuit, but it’s going to be hard.

Most importantly, no one was aboard at the time of the impact, and no one on the other vessel was hurt either as far as I know. Stuff can be replaced, we humans are much more fragile...

Yep, I figured it was totaled yesterday. Still more amazed law enforcement has not shown up yet??

Sorry about your loss. Unless the guy had a mechanical failure, like controls, there is no excuse. If one can t handle some current and close quarters thy dont belong at the helm.

Leaving the scene without calling fwc and uscg is a big deal.

I really hope the owner of the OA and their inaurance do th right thing.

Please reserve judgment on the captain, crew, owner, etc until all the facts are known. I’m just trying to deal with the aftermath, and pointing fingers won’t help anyone at this point.

BTW, @Pascal, my comment was not in any way directed at you. It was more a general comment

Sorry for the loss of the sailboat, hope the power boat insurance takes care of a suitable replacement boat.

I imagine a motoryacht that size could do that kind of damage by just “leaning” on the sailboat. At that mass and the location of the impact, it would not take much to do that kind of damage, even at low speeds with the local currents in effect.

David's post is a reminder that a boat, regardless of size or type, is someone's dream, goal achieved, plans for the future...It's not like a car damaged after an accident, nor is it just an insurance claim. Boats are a passion, one boater at a time.

Best of luck, David, after all is said and done and you are off sailing your new home, please send a post from your destination when you arrive.

Sorry to see an accident like this happen. Glad to hear there was only property damage, and no personal injury or worse.
From what I can see in a very quick google search, the report is to be filed within 10 days for an incident like this involving a recreational vessel. The rules are a bit different for commercial vessels, does anyone have any links to info for rules and regs concerning recreational vessels? I was able to find the CG-3865 online.
https://media.defense.gov/2017/Oct/23/2001830841/-1/-1/0/CG_3865.PDF

Many people are just as passionate about cars as boats and own cars that are rare are not commercially replaceable. Not the case in this instance.

Not to diminish the owner's personal anguish, grateful that no injuries or worse occurred. When it comes down to it, insurance is the protection blanket that we lean on for accidents - unforeseen events or catastrophe's like what's going on in NC.

Am I required to submit this form, or the operator of the vessel that hit my docked sailboat? A police report has already been filed with the Fort Lauderdale Marine Unit. Just want to be sure that I do everything I am legally required to do.

Survey is this morning, then I’ll know the official extent of the damages. Pretty sure I know what the surveyor is going to say :-(

The most important documents you will need from your surveyor is the valuation of your vessel and the replacement cost.

Make sure and get a detailed list of all the equipment on board as well as the overall condition.

It will be tough as we all have an attachment to our existing boats, but start looking at comps of like vessels to get an idea of where this is headed:

https://www.**************/boats/1981/Morgan-46-2773592/Pasadena/MD/United-States#.W5-acnmWx9A

An unfortunate accident with only one boat being operated. The owner sounds reasonable, he just wants his boat/home replaced. Not much to negotiate and no injuries.

Yes, the problem is nowadays, you almost always have to fight with every single insurance company just to get fair market value in a situation like this. They all have lawyers on staff and usually give the yacht or property owner a ridiculously low offer or refuse to pay at all.

I wonder what your rights are to decide go fix vs replace.. If it was your policy you would have to take the lesser of the two costs.. But since you are the damaged party you might have a right to repairs... Which of course could be a brilliant negotiation strategy.