Help needed damage to mast when boat lifted

[tomdmx]

Will do am researching now for a surveyor...I am not sure on solicitors though...are there marine specialists?

Incidently I got some friends and family pics the day before the lift and a couple of them show the mast with no damage (they are high resolution so you can see clearly)...

 

[Wansworth]

This looks like its a court case job.The alternative is assertain if a proper repair can be done and repair it and then treat it as a valuble lesson in how things are normsally not fair.

 

[Poignard]

Will do am researching now for a surveyor...I am not sure on solicitors though...are there marine specialists?

There used to be a surveyor on the East Coast called Winter (I think) who specialised in wooden boat surveys, and wrote a book about it. I don't know if he/she is still around but someone here may know.

Regarding the solicitor, I don't see why it has to be a marine specialist (though that might be an advantage). Solicitors should be able to handle breach of contract and negligence cases involving things they have no technical knowledge of. But your surveyor may be able to recommend someone.

 

[Ludd]

Just a word of caution: surveyor,then estimate cost of repair.
Try to keep things in small claims parameters,as going to court against a council(they're not spending THEIR money)could ruin you.
Even if you win ,if the court does not award costs(and I know of a case where this happened) you will be far worse off than if you paid for everything yourself.

Good luck.

 

[MoodySabre]

My son who is a solicitor was consulted by a boat owner after he had had an ongoing dispute with a boat yard that went on for two years and the court awarded the yard two years hard standing - as much as the boat was worth. You need to get any arrangement in writing - assume nothing.

 

[chewi]

The marina does not want to accept liability...they had someone from Port of London authority do a report and I think I know what they are trying to do..

I was advised today by the marina manager that they do not accept liability at this stage and that I should put my inner stays back on asap as they could cause more damage...the stays have been removed just before the lift by the marina operators and not put back on (I never thought of putting them back on) and I think they are trying to say that the damage occurred as a result of this and not the pull on the backstay. (when it got caught on the crane)..this is a possibility I guess but I think it was their responsibility to put the side stays on after the lift right?

I only have 3rd party insurance so cant really use the legal cover for this...I have asked them to reconsider as I believe its negligence on their part...so beyond this (if they persist in not accepting liability)...what are my options..whom can I talk to...by the way the marina in question is South Dock (owned and operated by Southwark council)

Any help/direction would be greatly appreciated

There is surely no way that the absence of lower stays could cause or worsen a fracture in a wooden mast on dry land that has not seen any sails set. There are no significant forces in play except the masts own weight until the crane comes to play. Admittedly the flogging stays could scratch it, but that's about it.

Good luck.

 

[saltylegs]

Sorry for your troubles, but on a positive note the mast should be repairable as nearly all hollow wooden masts are glued together anyway.
A friend has an old style boatyard and repair them all the time, when the glue dries out they run a saw up the joint and reglue.
And I built a 21 foot hollow mast about 5 years ago out of 8 strips glued together with thickened epoxy to form a tube, all still good.
best of luck.

 

[wklein]

There is surely no way that the absence of lower stays could cause or worsen a fracture in a wooden mast on dry land that has not seen any sails set. There 9are no significant forces in play except the masts own weight until the crane comes to play. Admittedly the flogging stays could scratch it, but that's about it.

Good luck.

+1 no way in hell missing lowers could cause damage as you describe on dry land, we regularly take lowers off boats, wood is extremely flexible and would not happen. What you describe sounds like its due to compression. Having said that its still pretty unlikely as backstays should be able to take pretty huge load without damaging mast unless there was a pre-existing problem which would be very difficult to prove one way or another. I recently surveyed a wooden mast which had an almost identical problem. Boat got lifted with one of twin backstays removed owner came to boat and backstay hadn't been re-instated, and had huge cracks. However it was a ketch with twin backstays about 1m apart and a triatic. huge S bend in the mast due to glue failure (had been repaired many times before.).

 

[tomdmx]

Thanks again, I don't have enough time to battle through cours etc (we need to get going in July)...I've spoken to the marina management and there is a possibility that they will do a good will gesture (not sure what that means) but they are not accepting liability...well I hope for the best...I'm glad its repairable at least so we'll see what the result is with the marina (I am to be advised on Tuesday)...

 

[bbg]

Thanks again, I don't have enough time to battle through cours etc (we need to get going in July)...I've spoken to the marina management and there is a possibility that they will do a good will gesture (not sure what that means) but they are not accepting liability...well I hope for the best...I'm glad its repairable at least so we'll see what the result is with the marina (I am to be advised on Tuesday)...

Under the terms of their insurance policy they are almost certainly prohibited from accepting liability. That decision normally rests with their insurers.

 

[PeterV]

A wooden mast is glued together from several sections, of course it can be repaired by glueing the split up. If you use epoxy the repair will be stronger than the original wood.