Anchor deployed accidentally from powerboat at speed

Just can,t see other than sideways force how that crab ended up like that with what ? 15/20Kg anchor virtually static .
I,ve fallen a few times 80kg 100 ft Eiger , Matterhorn, + loadsa others and the crabs just stretch - elongate , the gate does not twist open .It carries zero force .Rope stretches too to ease the shock load .

Force is on crabs is carried on the solid “ hook “ bit
Gate has a tiny pin @ the small end - not designed for force .

Sorry you must have put it on wrong
 
Portofino said:
Can,t see how a crab can fail if used correctly.
Without a pic of it in its “ normal “ place ,or evidence of correct useage - any legal route and you are knackered.
Hire Co is right - it was not properly fixed .
You now say that you fixed it .
But in the opening post infer you kinda set off “ as is “ eg the hire Co or somebody else should have checked it and it fell out without any intervention from you .
But you now say ( if I understand the drip fed facts ? ) that you used it previously to this incident.
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Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that we didn’t touch anything. I was referring to the state of the gear. I believe we used everything correctly.
 
Didnt mean to delete my post.

I keep my boat in adriano, i see the best boats guys about a lot, on of their hire boats is next to mine. I havent heard anything specifically bad about them and the boats always look well maintained.

From the way the carabiner failed it does look like it was clipped on incorrectly. But even if it was the chain should not have been released from the winch unless there was a problem. If the chain was as twisted as in the image then that could have lead to it not being locked on and then falling into the sea.

Whos fault is it that the chain was twisted? Dont know whether you should have been expected to know that a twisted chain is incorrect or not.

Not sure youll get far with legal action on this point. Maybe you argue that the damage caused wasnt 1000 euro worth? But then you need to know exactly what damage was caused.

Did you sail home under your own power or get towed back in?

Any sign of any damage?
 
The chain wasn’t twisted anywhere near the anchor.

I suppose that once the windlass gives, the anchor can twist and turn and compromise the carabiner?

We returned ourselves and the folks who came to untangle us said there weren’t any signs of damage such as vibrations on the wheel. Also after returning we trimmed the propeller up and it didn’t show any signs of damage.

On a broader point: I would be happy to accept all or part of the liability if I had been offered a reasonable explanation of what happened/might have happened. Something better than “we are amazing and we proved everything was perfect because we showed you a wound up anchor, so from then on all us on you”.
 
Likeapossum said:
Thank you for all responses. The company are sticking to their guns. They are based in Mallorca, but apparently there is an European Small Claims procedure, so might try that.
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Don't waste your time with any kind of legal procedure in Spain - you will lose and it will take years.

Download a complaints form from the regional government here:-

http://www.caib.es/sites/activitats/es/hoja_de_reclamaciones-70198/

By law all businesses are required to have a complaints book - you can fill it in on the premises or download the form, fill it in and send it off.

Threatening to do this might make them re-think the extra charge.
 
This is in my opinion a failure of their gear, and I do not see how they can possibly prove otherwise. But unless as suggested you paid the deposit by credit card, you may have to kiss your deposit good bye.

However, to avoid others on here getting caught by this firm a name in despatches would help, and may at least reduce business to them, so in the long run the loss will also be their's.
 
Likeapossum said:
We did anchor before that without any drama. The only thing I noticed was the windlass needed some help retrieving the anchor when it wasn't embedded, just hanging a few meters down in the water. But we didn't trip the fuse or anything like that. Perhaps the windlass isn't powerful enough for the weight of the anchor? We left the anchor pulled in, but not over tightening the chain and I put the carabiner on to secure the anchor.
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Your original post didn't mention that you'd previously used the anchor.
 
Hi Possum, was the boat supplied with a winch handle? And if it was, did you use it when you first anchored?
 
Likeapossum said:
There was a winch handle on the boat, but we didn’t use it.
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It’s a difficult one. Obviously it was you, or your crew, who reattached the carabiner so it’s hard for anyone (ie a court) to say who is at fault on that point. The winch slipping is either a fault or it had been loosened with the winch handle, again hard to prove either way unless the charter company holds up their hand and says it was defective. No damage but they are charging you mostly labour and obviously there were man-hours involved.
I would agree that the credit card company is your first stop. If you blitz them on social media, then they have nothing to loose by playing hardball. So I would start a correspondence campaign with the company and perhaps, if it’s done on a civilized manner, someone will show some good will.
 
jrudge said:
Op. I am not sure you will get anywhere. You were in control of the boat.
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I don't agree. The OP has used and recovered the anchor and I assume attached the carabiner to the anchor as it was when he collected the boat. Firstly, the winch shouldn't allow the anchor to be released and second the carabiner should as a second line of defense prevent it too.

How can the failure of both of these be the OP's fault?

Whilst I do agree that trying to pursue this through a Spanish court is unlikely to succeed, he should have a good chance with his credit card co assuming he at least paid the deposit or some other element of the charter on his credit card.
 
superheat6k said:
This is in my opinion a failure of their gear, and I do not see how they can possibly prove otherwise. But unless as suggested you paid the deposit by credit card, you may have to kiss your deposit good bye.

However, to avoid others on here getting caught by this firm a name in despatches would help, and may at least reduce business to them, so in the long run the loss will also be their's.
Click to expand...

petem said:
I don't agree. The OP has used and recovered the anchor and I assume attached the carabiner to the anchor as it was when he collected the boat. Firstly, the winch shouldn't allow the anchor to be released and second the carabiner should as a second line of defense prevent it too.

How can the failure of both of these be the OP's fault?

Whilst I do agree that trying to pursue this through a Spanish court is unlikely to succeed, he should have a good chance with his credit card co assuming he at least paid the deposit or some other element of the charter on his credit card.
Click to expand...

I agree with both Pete and Superheat on this, how can the op be blamed for equipment failure? :ambivalence:
 
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