Dry Storage Woes

[sparky]

We moved to a really great new place several months ago, indoor storage for the tug. It was great until Saturday when the operator lifted the boat too high and crashed the mast into a steel beam. FYI, the beam won.

Mast ligh gone, mast bent forward, the aft arm that connects via lines to the top of the boat is now a curve instead of straight, the mast base as well as the stainless part actually attached to the cabin roof is bent, screws torn out of the fiberglass, and the separate piece that comprises the stack and forward cabin top has a fracture from side to side. Oh, the stack was lifted up enough to tear the screws out of the fiberglass there too.

Glad it is going to be THEIR insurance and not ours! :x

Hoping that since Ranger changed the design soon after our boat and now has a forward-dropping mast that a new fiberglass section and new mast can be shipped and we'll end up with a forward folding mast afterall. The hard way!

We slapped a new mast light on and tied the whole thing down, as we did not want to cancel our long awaited transit down the Dismal Swamp Canal from Norfolk VA to Elizabeth City NC. Great trip! We'll deal with the damages once we hear back from the factory about what our options are.

 

[captain's cat]

Sparky, that's a painful description, hope you get it fixed OK and that it's better than new!

I took that trip down the Great Dismal in 2003 right after it was reopened following ISABEL. A wonderful trip, 6 knots, lots of wildlife. If you stopped at the RT 17 halfway point, they had free dockage/water, etc and a neat place. Did you come back up the Albemarle and Chesapeake canal? Coinjock is a great marina to stop at on the way back up.

Charlie

 

[sparky]

Charlie
Heading back up the Dismal Swamp Canal tomorrow, overnighting at the visitor center you mentioned.

Already heard from Andrew - what other boat builder would contact you on a holiday?? That's why we have Ranger Tugs.

We will have to change the setup to a forward folding mast. Can not wait to hear the marina's reaction to the bill for a new fiberglass section and mast.... 😱 Good thing parts are still available!

 

[RDragon]

Good Lord Sparky!

Hope you and Joe are able to get that taken care of without to much hassle! I hate it when the boat gets hurt but even more so when it is some other idiot than me, that hurts her!!!!! Great Dismall sounds interesting. Would love to see some fotos. Take care and keep us all posted on your progress.

Drew

 

[commander bill]

I had a bad event this past weekend during our annual cruise up the Tennessee river. We stopped to stay overnight at a marina and the dockmaster sent me to a available covered slip. Without checking exact clearance I backed slowly into the overhead beam (my fault). Fortunely I only have busted cell antenna (absorbed all impact shock) rather than hitting the main mast. My cell antenna is located directly behind the main mast and sticks up about 6 inches taller than main mast. When I checked the beam would have been about 1 inch lower than top of my amin mast. Amazing how much energy my antenna absorbed. Also I always use rule "do not approach dock faster than you are wiling to hit it". But this brings to mind that it has been my experience that many experienced boaters & dock masters tend to under-estimate the height of our boats. My R25 is a couple of inches above 12 feet (without the added ex-cell phone antenna). I have ofter been routed to slips with 20-30 foot boats when LENABELL's height would require more clearance. This has also meant (at least here in Tennessee Valley) I must pay extra for a slip with 40'+ boats to obtain extra clearance. Most 20-30 foot boats go into 30 foot length slips with exactly 12 foot overhead clearance (about 2" less than I need).

I would say the crane operator is guilty of the same bias as most of the dockmasters I have

 

[captain's cat]

Drew, we made that trip, as I said previously, in 2003. There are some pictures HERE in my album on the C-Brats website.

Charlie

 

[RDragon]

Charlie,

Thanks for sharing! Excellent photos. One of these days, we will make it to the "right side" and get to do some interesting boating!

Thanks
Drew

 

[Starry_Night_Joe]

All

Sparky has already posted about our mast.
Can anyone who has the forward folding mast send a picture with the mast folded forward?

Joe

 

[wynn 'n anniedear]

Check out my photo album under San Juans, picture 18.

 

[captain's cat]

And here it is...

Charlie

 

[sparky]

Charlie

Thanks for the PERFECT picture. Sure wouldn't want to drive the boat far with the mast down, as it looks like the radar blocks a lot of the view! It does look like the forward fold mast will reduce our overall height for future storage and will be easier to drop while underway.

For an update, the marina now points to the clause in the contract that the boat owner is responsible to carry insurance, that the marina is not responsible to damage to boats, even by them. Really now, this will be interesting as it excludes "gross negligence". What would you call slamming the mast against the steel beam hard enough so that the Radar slammed into the spotlight leaving a scratch on the radar, twisting the hinges at the base of the mast, cracking the fiberglass on both sides and pulling the stack off its screws? And oh, when we try to start the radar, it shuts down the whole Garmin....

So we will let Progessive handle it, unless the marina owner changes his attitude by noon tomorrow. :twisted:

Moral of the story: do not skimp on your boat insurance, you never know what someone will do to your baby!

 

[RProffer]

One person can raise and lower the forward folding mast by themselves, even with the radar antenna, once you get the hang of it. It is easier than it looks.

Please let us know how Progressive works out with the repair. I had Progressive once with my RV and dropped them because of their attitude. I would like to know how they handle a claim.

 

[bbrh842]

I guess all indoor marinas are not created equal.
The indoor marina where I keep my R-25 crashed it into the wall, bending the anchor, and nearly ripping the raised part off the bow where the anchor davit is bolted down.
They fixed the damage right away.
I was lucky.

 

[assignment]

Starry Night,

Sorry to hear about the damage. The call from Andrew indeed says a lot. We used to have both our Sea Ray and Whaler at a dry storage...the only damage we had were heat expansion fuel spills from boats stored above ours...and the dry storage marina (Sunset in Hampton) took care of the cleanup.

It's good you will do (or have done) the trip I call the "Va/NC little loop". It is a perfect few days with little risk (weather permitting) and practice passing the locks. We plan on doing the little loop on Chessie in November...it can't be any colder than our delivery in Everett last May!!

Cruise on!
Bud
Chessie