Damage during transport. Who is responsible?

[wattsn]

Our new S38 was collected from Essex this morning and commenced her journey to West Wales, being delivered tomorrow morning. Received a call from the transport company this evening saying the radome cover had blown off as there were no bolts in it (of course no one will say who removed those) so met them at a local services to ensure she was watertight for the remainder of her journey.

Checking the boat over, having already travelled 250 miles, had they prepared the boat properly for transport. Not likely.

They put the boat on the trailer backwards and did not think to remove or tape down the chart table Perspex cover. Lo and behold when I got there all that was left of that was a piece the size of my hand wedged under the windshield. The rest of it, hinges included, must be along the M25 or M4 somewhere. Maybe even lodged in someones windscreen or bonnet. Stupid idiots. Who do you reckon I claim off?

* Previous owner for not preparing her for transport thoroughly
* Boat yard where she was hoisted (and stored for last 2 weeks), again for not preparing her for transport correctly despite asking nicely for them to do so, inc removal of nav light arch which they did not do
* or, the transport company again for not doing full and proper checks following preparation and commencement of journey.

I think the transport company as surely they have ultimate responsibility. As you can imagine the shine has been taken off the whole affair and I am not at all happy.

 

[jfm]

Erk, sorry to hear that. No-one can answer the "who do you claim off" based on the info you give. It depends mostly on the contractual undertakings given to you by the 3 parties mentioned, and you need to get clear on what they are/were. All very annoying though...

 

[AndieMac]

Unfortunately a story we hear too often, and can only be determined by your insurance company and their assessors, as they carry the risk.

Even a well established transportation company can have employees, sub-contractors who just treat boats like, say, 10 tonnes of GRP to go from A to B, in as quick a time as legally possible. The driver decides how the load is placed, how much weight, and methods of securing the load. We see them with flybridges smashed off from misjudging overhead clearances, cleats ripped from decks from over tightened twitch chains, crushed stern-gear, etc.....

Seems a bizzare way to carry such a big boat, backwards! I think the lorry driver must have been trying to balance his load, or fit something else up under the bow, to be off loaded first from the back of the trailer.

Hope the issue is resolved in a satisfactory manner.

 

[jfm]

Unfortunately a story we hear too often, and can only be determined by your insurance company and their assessors, as they carry the risk.

Even a well established transportation company can have employees, sub-contractors who just treat boats like, say, 10 tonnes of GRP to go from A to B, in as quick a time as legally possible. The driver decides how the load is placed, how much weight, and methods of securing the load. We see them with flybridges smashed off from misjudging overhead clearances, cleats ripped from decks from over tightened twitch chains, crushed stern-gear, etc.....

Seems a bizzare way to carry such a big boat, backwards! I think the lorry driver must have been trying to balance his load, or fit something else up under the bow, to be off loaded first from the back of the trailer.

Hope the issue is resolved in a satisfactory manner.

??? Um the ins co can make whatever determination it wishes but it isn't at all binding on the person they determine is responsible. If they were to determine I was reponsible I'd tellem to stick their determination where the sun doesn't shine

Trucking 40ish footers backwards is very common

 

[AndieMac]

The point I was trying to make to the OP, is just leave the damage issue to the insurance co. rather than worrying about it yourself. They can persue (unlikely in this case, as it is only a small amount) the at-fault party, through whatever channels they wish.
After all this is what we pay our hefty premiums for.

When boats are loaded in this country, except for a brunch of runabouts, they are positioned in a way to be the most aero-dynamic, like nose-cones on trucks.

 

[hlb]

Dunno. Just drove the boat from south coast to N Wales. Aint that what there built for. Why use trucks.

 

[AndieMac]

With your transit cover (Essex to Wales), is there an excess involved?

If the damage at the end of the trip is no more than what it is at the moment, annoying more than expensive, and you are paying for the transportation, try and negotiate the value (damage bill) off the trans. cost.

 

[aquapower]

Most larger boats are transported backwards as the transporters that take these boats can get them lower to the ground so you dont have to remove too much from the boat

 

[wakeup]

Most larger boats are transported backwards as the transporters that take these boats can get them lower to the ground so you dont have to remove too much from the boat

Ehhh? What difference which way round the boat goes make to its height off the deck of a transporter?

 

[RobWales]

Where?

Sorry to hear of your problems and yes I can imagine it does take the shine of your new purchase!!

Out of interest where is the new boat going to be located in Wales?

We are at Burry Port marina,5 miles west of Llanelli !

Rob.

 

[fireball]

If the low loader has a lower middle than ends then it makes sense to put the tallest part of the boat over the middle .... it's often only a foot or two ... but worth it if it means you don't have to dismantle 1/2 the boat ....

 

[zingaro]

Boat damage

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, I had problems whilst my boat was been transported 4 years ago, my insurance company did not want to know about it, as there is a clause in the policy that boats over 10 metres are not covered as they have to be transported by a professional hauler who will have there own insurance. The transport company claimed it was a design fault of the boat resulting in the damage which I disagreed with. They never took the fly bridge windscreen off and never secured the horn on the radar arch, which they left dangling on a piece of string so that it kept banging the radar arch all the time, resulting in gel coat damage. I ended up paying £80.00 to take them on in the small claims court. The judge ruled that they had been negligent on all 3 counts and made a order for them to pay me compensation for the damage along with costs and interest. He concluded that I had hired a professional haulage specialist whose job it was to make sure all eventualities where covered, as they were responsible for the load the minute they excepted it. If they were unsure about anything been left in place or if they had not transported a boat like mine before, which was the case here, then it was there responsibility to liaise with the manufacturer before transporting my boat to make sure they had full knowledge of what needed to be secured or removed, in this case they would have been told to remove the screen on the fly bridge and make sure all items were removed and secured off the radar arch. The judge said this they failed to do.You as a customer are not a expert on what needs to be secured, as it is not your job, this is why you hired a expert whos job it is to know how to secure items, there fore I would firmly lay the blame with the haulage company,hope this helps, and you can gladly print my reply off, and show the haulage company it.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Our new S38 was collected from Essex this morning and commenced her journey to West Wales, being delivered tomorrow morning. Received a call from the transport company this evening saying the radome cover had blown off as there were no bolts in it (of course no one will say who removed those) so met them at a local services to ensure she was watertight for the remainder of her journey.

Checking the boat over, having already travelled 250 miles, had they prepared the boat properly for transport. Not likely.

They put the boat on the trailer backwards and did not think to remove or tape down the chart table Perspex cover. Lo and behold when I got there all that was left of that was a piece the size of my hand wedged under the windshield. The rest of it, hinges included, must be along the M25 or M4 somewhere. Maybe even lodged in someones windscreen or bonnet. Stupid idiots. Who do you reckon I claim off?

* Previous owner for not preparing her for transport thoroughly
* Boat yard where she was hoisted (and stored for last 2 weeks), again for not preparing her for transport correctly despite asking nicely for them to do so, inc removal of nav light arch which they did not do
* or, the transport company again for not doing full and proper checks following preparation and commencement of journey.

I think the transport company as surely they have ultimate responsibility. As you can imagine the shine has been taken off the whole affair and I am not at all happy.

Well, who is responsible rather depends on who you contracted to prepare it for transport, who you contracted to load it and who you contracted to transport it. In my business, we regularly truck large lumps of machinery around using contracted truck companies. IMHO, it is not the responsibility of the trucking co to ensure that small items don't fall off your boat; their responsibility is to secure the load to their truck and ensure that it isn't a danger to the public. So the question is, did you contract anyone to prepare the boat for transport? Maybe your contract with the trucking company included preparation, loading and transport, I don't know? If so, then they didn't do their job properly and are responsible for your loss. If not, then I would suggest that the responsibility lies with you.
This situation is analogous to sending a fragile item by post. If you didn't pack the item correctly and it arrives broken, you don't blame the Post Office

 

[wattsn]

Well the issue of responsibility is no longer an issue. Fair dos to the transport company. Soon as I met them this morning for the unload and launch the first thing they said to me was that they did not prepare the boat properly and instructed me to order the parts and bill them for them. Good on them. Spent the day enjoying my new boat and doing loads of jobs.

@ Robwales - we keep the boat in Milford Marina. Was put in at Neyland this morning within 30 minutes of arrival. She's an absolute peach

 

[AndieMac]

Glad it was sorted and hope you enjoy your new boat......the guys in Wales seem to be a friendly bunch!