Racing Risk to the Boat!

[AndCur]

Hi

Just a quick thought after hearing off another boat been damaged racing.
What percentage of boats that are raced end up being damaged. From
what I have seen over the last while the percentage must be quite high. Do you agree?

Cheers

Andrew

 

[Vara]

Yup thats why most boat insurance policies have separate conditions or exclusions for racing.

 

[alienzdive]

what crashes more often, a formula 1 car, or an average day to day street car.

 

[Rick]

I think collision damage is a fairly rare event, certainly in the type of club racing I do, however it seems there is a higher incidence of rigging failure / sail damage for vessels racing compared to those not, however there is also a much greater amount of vessel use. I would think that the additional cover I pay probably more reflects on my greater use than actual risk as a result of being involved in racing.

 

[savageseadog]

I think the view some companies take is that racing boats are sailed by more experienced and capable skippers/crews and are better maintained and have better gear.
There is a loading for lighweight fragile boats, so the racing premium for a tough cruiser racer boat is a lot less than for a similar size and value flying machine.

 

[Will_M]

The boat I race doesn’t really do anything other than racing, only time its been hit is in the marina moored up!!

 

[temptress]

I agree with funsize. I've been racing pretty compedatively since I was 11 years old. (inshore and offshore). Excluding dinghy racing I've never had a collision but (in a selection of mostly pure racing boats) we have destroyed too many sails to rememmber, broken at least 4 booms and lost the rig 3 times in the last 30 years.

My insurance adds clauses about rig and sails when racing and the premium increases if I choose to insure the rig and sails whilst racing (although I can choose not to).

 

[RupertW]

The quickest way to see what will happen if you race your boat is to get a drunk and large rugby player, give them a winch handle and tell them to randomly knock chips out of the cockpit gelcoat, then send him below to shoulder charge every table and locker door to see what they can stand.

Finally get a couple of landrovers and tie each rope and sail between them in turn to get the maximum stretch possible.

So no major damage but a bit of accelerated wear and tear.

 

[William_H]

Well collisions are not rare in our club. Possibly averaging 3 per season. Not ocean racing but enclosed estuary racing. I have to admit to at least 3 collisions in my boat (none while I was helming) F/G boats are amazingly easy and cheap compared to a car to repair. However my insurance claims have mostly been for rig damage while racing.

I reckon the main reason for increased premiums is that a racer actually uses his boat more. I have done around 30 races per season for 22 years on mine. Much more than I would do pleasure sails..... olewill Waitnig for the season to start again.

 

[noblemarine]

[ QUOTE ]
I think the view some companies take is that racing boats are sailed by more experienced and capable skippers/crews and are better maintained and have better gear.
There is a loading for lighweight fragile boats, so the racing premium for a tough cruiser racer boat is a lot less than for a similar size and value flying machine.

[/ QUOTE ]

I couldn't agree more, and as an insurance underwriter, when calculating the premium, I will take into account the class of boat, and largely ignore whether the boat is to be raced or not. I have a good idea which class of boats are likely to be raced hard, and which classes of boat spend the majority of their time cruising, with only the occasional race / rally.

Placing a value on the boat's rig is also a difficult process, as the second-hand market for masts, rigging and sails is virtually non-existent. Why then, do the majority of insurance companies, ask you to value your rig when racing? If you overestimate the value then you pay too high a premium, undervalue and you stand the chance of having your claim limited. This is one reason why we do not ask for the rig's value or impose limitations on the insurance policy if the boat is racing.

In answer to AndCur's question, yes there are claims while boats are racing, but not as many serious collisions as you might imagine. However, when they do occur, they tend to be costly to put right and why they receive more public attention than the odd bump when manoeuvring in a marina. In our experience, racing crews are well drilled, keep a good look-out and know that you don't win races with a hole in your boat.