Bumped another boat. Now what?

13 years of boating. Lots of scratches on my boats but never touched someone else.... until this past week. Backing into a stern tie with only a single pyling between me and the 43' Azimut next to me. Super windy. Lost the stern and my port rear corner bumped his hull. Felt like crap as I take pride in my boat handling.

Once I got into the slip I inspected for damage and could just make out a slight dimple, maybe 3 inches long where I made contact. No scratches to paint and owner wasn't on board.

Saw the owner the next day and told him about it. Was hoping he'd let it slide as there is no scratch and skin is not broken. In fact I bet he would have never noticed it. But, while nice about it, he definitely wanted it repaired.

So I'm wondering how expensive a fix this could wind up being. The boat it painted a light blue. So it's not gel coat. I gave him my info and he said he'd talk to his yard. Hoping I don't get soaked by a crazy high repair bill. I can just imagine his yard telling him they'll have to repaint the whole boat for a 3" inch dimple that needs to be faired out...

Thanks Oldboater, yes I did. At least there's no deductible in this case so I'm covered. But I'm sure it won't be healthy for my rates. Wondering if the repair cost is moderate if it wouldn't be better to pay directly?

Very good advice. I agree that the benefits of involving the insurance company outweigh the drawbacks. I don't know how Azimuts are painted. I know Awlgrip repair is a challenge. I was racing on a 33ft sailboat the was speared by bow pulpit of another boat. Some minor fiberglass damage. But they had to repaint the entire boat for some crazy number because it was a awlgrip metallic color and the painter said a repair would never match. Insurance company shelled out a ton of money.

I asked and he said it was. I'm not sure I could tell.

That would certainly be nice. If it were gelcoat I can't imagine it being more than a few hundred bucks. The paint will be the wild card.

Huh.. didn't think I said that. I believe I wrote, and I'll quote "Hoping I don't get soaked by a crazy high repair bill. I can just imagine his yard telling him they'll have to repaint the whole boat for a 3" inch dimple that needs to be faired out..."

The implication here is that a painted boat can be very expensive to fix. And later I referenced a first hand experience I had being hit on a friends boat where minimal actual damage resulted in a full repaint. But thanks for thinking the worst of me.

Yes, I hit him. I take responsibility. He should have it fixed properly. Just saying...

Edit to add: If my primary concern were fraud then I would have kept my mouth shut and not said a word to the guy. Instead I checked his boat over very carefully despite the dock hands saying there was no damage. And when I finally saw it in the right light I was sure to talk to the owner before he left and provide him all of my contact info.

I think this would depend on the yard. As I said, "if this were gel coat" it's a repair that could be done in the water dockside.

No argument on liability and no, it can't be buffed out. The dimple is probably about 1/16" deep but will need to be ground out and faired but I would be very surprised if any other repair will be needed. And I'll be glad to report back when/if I receive info on a claim. My only stress is associated with a possible increase in insurance premiums. But Oldboater gave sound advice on the merits of going through insurance so we'll just have to see.

But as Pascal has made reference to, I think it's reasonable to be concerned about someone taking advantage of the situation. I've seen yards that will gladly pad repair bills so that owners can get more work done than what should be justified. I've seen this with lighting strikes, hurricane damage, and other insurance claims. The yard thinks they are doing the "customer" a favor and they are certainly doing themselves a favor. When they hear insurance claim they think bottomless pockets all too often. Meanwhile insurance rates are getting jacked up. Not saying this will happen here but I don't think contemplating it now is unreasonable.