We almost bought it

[jahoward1]

Hey fellas, I took Sally May to a marina repair shop right before Christmas.  The mechanic called me today and said that after he took the boat off the trailer, he found over 50 separate damage sites in the fiberglass.  He actually said that to fix the boat right, it would cost about $10k. However, he explained that he could fix the damage enough that the boat would be seaworthy and then cover the fix with bottom paint.  He said that would cost $5k plus tax.

The first guy who told me $2500 to fix the hull has seemed to lose interest. He promised to give me a written estimate but has failed to do so and I got tired of asking.  So anyway, I sent my insurance contact an email so hopefully I'll hear from them soon. Anyway, just an update--C ya

James H

[CLM65]

I finally found the pictures of my 1996 200 Osprey.  In a nutshell, in the fall of 2001 we were hit head-on by a drunk driver at night in a large aluminum john boat.  As you can see, there was quite a bit of damage, but fortunately nobody was hurt.  And luckily the hole was above the waterline (there are some mighty big gators in the Cystal River at night :o ).






In this picture you can see the rub rail from the john boat that was embedded in my boat.  Luckily nobody was sitting on the seat in front of the console.


My insurance company ended up totaling my boat, and the company that provided the repair estimate bought it from the insurance company for I believe $1200 (boat, motor, and trailer).  The boat is currently owned by a neighbor of my father-in-law, and you would never know that it was in an accident.

[jahoward1]

That's pretty amazing, especially that nobody was hurt AND that you didn't sink!  I was wondering tho, what happened to the drunk?  I'm sure his boat was destroyed--right?  And what kind of penelties did he suffer for almost killing you & himself.

[CLM65]

OK, here is the whole story...myself and 2 buddies were tarpon fishing in the Crystal River, about halfway between my house anf the gulf of mexico.  A little after dark we decided to head in (towards the east).  It was a fairly dark night, but we could see the markers so we weren't having any trouble navigating.  However, the john boat was dark green, and did not have any lights on, so we didn't see him.  He was heading west, and although we were well lit, he somehow managed to hit us head on.  The impact caused both boats to stall, and the drunk guy started slurring and cursing at us and then cranked up his motor and continued heading west towards the gulf.  Note there were no houses, businesses, or anything else nearby or in the westerly direction, so we had no idea where he was heading.  We did know that there was a gaping hole in my boat, so we headed directly in to my house.  When we got there, we called the police.  As we waited for them to arrive, this same drunk guy comes down my canal - turns out he was renting a house a little ways down on the other side of the canal !  Unfortunately he reached his dock before the cops got there - he told them he was so shaken from the accident that he quickly had a few drinks to calm his nerves as soon as he got back on land.  The cops said there was nothing they could do about the DUI, as some local politician recently used that same argument.  But they did tell me that the guy looked very familiar, and one of them recognized him as the same drunk that recently rode his bicycle off the seawall at a local waterfront bar!  He was a class act.  He didn't even bother to tie up his boat at his dock.  He got some citations for his lack of lights and some other issues, but that is about it.  His boat was damaged - bent a bit, missing a rub rail, etc., but I don't recall if it was totaled or not.  We both had the same insurance company, so I think that made things a little easier regarding the insurance claim.  We were very fortunate that night, regarding our health.  And to this day I am extra cautious when I go out at night, which is definitely less frequent than it used to be.

[jahoward1]

Being a cop myself, I can definitely confirm that it's very difficult to get a drunk after he reaches his house.  Luckily for us, we can write them for leaving the scene of an accident and failure to report that accident.  It is a miracle that you weren't hurt but drunks never get hurt in the accidents that they cause.  Anyway, that's one hell of a story and at least they got him.

[CLM65]

Thanks Jahoward.  I guess the point of putting my pics on here is to show that a good fiberglass shop can repair what looks like terminal damage.  If you really like your boat, it is definitely worth considering.  I don't think I would attempt to tackle a repair such as the one done on my old 200, but smaller stuff I might consider doing myself.  I'm not sure what the extent of the damage is to your bottom, but if you are handy, you may try doing at least some of it yourself.  Good luck!

[RebelYell]

..

Glad you came out OK, dude.

Next time MAKE SURE you have an anchor on deck with enought line played out to quickly set anchor in you go adrift....in a situation like that where you are drifting near an inlet jetty with strong currents, etc it is ABSOLUTELY essential.

You were lucky.

 

..

[seabob4]

That is an amazing story, Craig!!  And one hell of a tough 200!!!

Wonder how Rob Phillips would have fared had he survived his Contender roll over.  Do they still talk about that incident up there?

[CLM65]

That is an amazing story, Craig!!  And one hell of a tough 200!!!

Wonder how Rob Phillips would have fared had he survived his Contender roll over.  Do they still talk about that incident up there?

I was just thinking about the Rob Phillips accident the other day when I passed the GMC dealership.  Surprisingly, I have not heard anything about it in many months.  Of course, most of my time is spent on and out of the Crystal River.  The Homossassa River may be a little different.

[jahoward1]

End of an era.  Although it's an exciting time with the promise of a new boat on the horizon, it's was a little sad turning Sally May over to her new owner and unloading her from my truck for the last time.  Anyway, she was good to me and I'm very happy she's being repaired.

[seabob4]

It's kinda like with a dog, when their time comes.  Best way to get over the pain?  Get another dog...

Always worked for me...