Bungled Boat Theft

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I was thinking more along the lines of sending them to do community service imbedded with an Iraqi community -

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Ah! I see. I could go with that, but it is akin to the death sentence. Actually, I think I could fully endorse it.
 
I would not be surprised if there aren't a number of forumites who can't really afford to own a boat but soldier on regardless in order to hang on to their bit of freedom and pleasure indulging their love of sailing. There are also a significant number of people on these forums who insure Third Party only judging from responses to insurance threads. Should they all recognise they shouldn't own a boat because they are too poor and stop sailing?

We have become far too tolerant of the antics of unruly yobs and have largely given in to believing that 'failure' to protect our property makes us the guilty party. Well, we are not the guilty parties and the sooner society/authority re-establishes that the better.

I have the utmost sympathy for the owner and hope that somehow he manages to recover from this miserable act of criminality. If he is elderly it could have a massively deliterious effect on both his mental and physical health. I hope he is resilient enough to weather it.
 
Aitchw I agree entirely with the points you make - hence the sarcastic "olive spitting" remark I made in response to an earlier post suggesting that, with proper insurance this could be brushed aside as an "annoyance."

Whilst insurance can cushion the blow - it doesnt deal with the root problem of crime.

Fortunately the owner is fit and able and of the right mind and spirit to bounce and not be beaten by this.
 
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Fortunately the owner is fit and able and of the right mind and spirit to bounce and not be beaten by this.

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Very pleased to hear that!

Sorry if replying to your post was misleading. My intention was to support your view whilst commenting on other points raised elsewhere in the thread.

I hope you will be able to post on the state of the boat in due course.
 
£500 insurance and a £500 surveyor fee - so £1k before you've even set foot on the boat each year - for a ~£30k boat - seems a little excessive - add to that mooring costs plus your normal upkeep and you're well over what I would consider a reasonable limit for basic costs ... personally I'd've tried to find an insurance company that offered full cover with cheaper premium (why does it need to be surveyed each year!!).

That aside - the reason that insurance premiums are high is because everyone relies on them to bail them out when it goes wrong...

We were struck by lightning 2 years ago and had to have most of the electrics replaced - I was horrified that the boatyard just charged us RRP for all the parts when they learnt it was an insurance claim ... next time I'll probably buy all the bits myself and then just get them to fit them all - saving the insurance co (and in turn my insurance premium) a packet. I know margins on electrical kit can be tight, but why should an insurance paid job cost more than a private job?!

As for all the death threats ... come back when you've been falsely accused and sentenced ... whilst I do feel that the UK can be very slack with law and order, if the Police officers had the respect of the population then perhaps there would be less "petty" crime (not that 20k damage is petty!!) - but it is a two way street - the Police need to earn the respect and the population need to treat them with respect - not something your average citizen tends to do ... just look at the conversations in the lounge on the proposed forum "censorship" software .... and how many ppl are already working out how to circumnavigate that ... so your petty criminal doesn't think that the "law" should apply to him/her so commits the crime anyway...
 
I have to report that aside from the expressions of support for the boat owner that have been obvious throughout this thread, I have received a number of very kind pms expressing a willingness to make donations towards the restoration of his boat.

I have two problems here -

1) The owner is a proud individual who is likely to refuse any offer of "charity."

2) I havent a clue how to organise an internet forum whip-round in a way that is honest and open and seen to ensure that any money raised arrives at the right place.
 
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£500 insurance and a £500 surveyor fee - so £1k before you've even set foot on the boat each year - for a ~£30k boat - seems a little excessive


if the Police officers had the respect of the population then perhaps there would be less "petty" crime (not that 20k damage is petty!!) - but it is a two way street - the Police need to earn the respect

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Agree re the insurance... my impression is that fully comp costs about 0.7% of hull value, (unless cats on a mooring are different).

re the police.... I think their hands are so tied, their successes cast aside by the CPS, or the judges, and there are so few of them at the front line, that they are treated with such contempt that there is a larger proportion of the population who no longer care about the law and live outside it.

I think the police are constrained in their ability to gain respect, and it has dwindled since "I was a lad".
 
Although this could be a large claim he could go to the small claims court and get the money repaid from the prats wages.............. yeh they will have jobs wont they!

But he can make life very difficult for them in the future by using the SCCourt system.

I wanted to say..........Kneecap the buggers! but in these PC days it maybe seen as insightment /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
Thanks Littleship,

Not sure what the limit for SCC is but certainly another helpful suggestion to add to the many that have come back from forum members.

At this stage we are just trying to consolidate ideas on how best to help the owner.

If we can also find ways of making life difficult for the culprits then that's a huge bonus also!
 
John,

I might have misheard him because on reflection I would doubt if insurers would seek a survey every year. However I guess that if he was considering trading up from 3rd party to fully comp, even the initial £500 survey + £500 premium was sufficient to deter him.

In response to those who have pointed out that the £500 premium is a small price to pay when considered against the loss of £20 - £30k......yes.......of course. If I had known that numbers 3,12,15,17,25 & 33 were not going to be spewed out by Arthur or Guinevere these past five years I would never have bothered buying the tickets!
 
£500 isn't too much for a survey, if you have £500 to spend in one lump. If you don't then the element of choice does not exist. Insurnace can often be paid as so much per month. Not so survey costs. I am probably underinsured for this very reason.
 
The fact is Andrew that the guy covered his liability towards others through third party insurance and took the risk on his own boat.

But the whole insurance debate is a side issue - what sticks front and centre in my mind is the fact that the two, dirty, low-down, good-fer-nuthin, cotton-pickin, scum-bags thought that they had the right to take someone else's pride and joy and leave it half sunk and full of water with burnt out engines and a £20k repair bill!
 
Serious suggestion.

How about he invites them to become involved in the rebuild?

Either they say effoff, in which case no harm done, or they accept the invite and learn something about doing the decent thing, respecting other people's property, the consequences of their actions, and maybe learn some marketable skills into the bargain.
 
Cor! This is a somehow very thirties pre-welfare stateish solution. I bet it might work though - it seems their main aim was to relieve the boredom of teenish nothing much to do, no excitement.
 
Funnily enough I said to him that if (when) they are found to have no money, they should be put to work to make good the damage they have done.

The response from the owner was a very emphatic "There is no way that I would allow them to come anywhere near this boat whilst I still draw breath!"

However, I dont see any reason why they shouldnt be put to other useful work elewhere, with every penny going to pay off the debt they have caused.
 
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