Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

My buddy drove my boat 20 ft from shore and grazed lake bottom


Josh7711

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, isellacuras said:

I feel a little different. I’d expect and accept some “help” from my buddy that was driving me. The good thing is I know my boat buddies and it wouldn’t even cross their mind to just say “good luck with that”. I know if I was driving someone else’s boat and made a bonehead move (I know it happens, has and will), I would pay for all damages without question. I break it I buy it. 
example: I recently rolled a buddies can am x3 doing donuts. All superficial scrapes on the door and roll cage/nerf bars,  a broken mirror and a couple pieces of plastic. If it were my rig, I would have replaced the mirror and the two pieces of plastic (if I couldn’t fix them good enough).  Might have cost a couple hundred bucks. I bought him new nerf bars, new plastics and a new graphics kit to the tune of $1600. It now looks better than when I rolled it. I don’t feel so bad about rolling it any more. I would have felt like poo if he thought of me every time he saw the damage that I did. He MIGHT even let me drive it again. Lol

If I tore up a buddies boat, i would pay for it, just as you state.  The difference here is that I am, and I assume you are, very experienced boaters that are not likely to make this mistake. and if we did, it would be on us.  My buddies hand me the keys because they can be confident that this wouldn't happen.

in this case, the OP put an inexperienced driver in the boat,  so to me that is where the responsibility lies.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
1 hour ago, Josh7711 said:

They said the wedge was bent a little bit and it’s a little bit loose. I felt it is slightly loose. What do you think? Should I take to another boat shop?

you are asking the wrong guy. I am a serial DIYer and my boat has never seen the inside of a repair shop.

I would say that if the wedge moves up and down freely, then find what is loose and tighten it up. might have to add a shim or bushing.  if it is 90% correct then I would leave it and get back to boating. 

if the wedge is beyond repair, I would just take it off and get back to boating.  call malibu and see about ordering a new one, or see if a fab shop can straighten the one you have.  either way, boating without the wedge is way better than not boating at all.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
1 hour ago, kylesullens said:

If I tore up a buddies boat, i would pay for it, just as you state.  The difference here is that I am, and I assume you are, very experienced boaters that are not likely to make this mistake. and if we did, it would be on us.  My buddies hand me the keys because they can be confident that this wouldn't happen.

in this case, the OP put an inexperienced driver in the boat,  so to me that is where the responsibility lies.

All the same to me. I am an inexperienced can am driver and didn’t know how easily they tip doing donuts. His buddy didn’t know that he shouldn’t be so close to shore. 20 feet from shore is pretty damn close to be surfing so there was some lack of common sense there. There are more variables at play that I would also consider. One is the financial situation of the driver.  Can he afford to “help”?  There’s no way I’d expect/let someone pay that I knew it would create a financial hardship. In the end, it’s my boat, my responsibility but I suppose I do have certain expectations. 

Link to comment

My buddy hit a small island with my boat when the lake was really high. My prop looked like that. One trip to prop guy and he had it looking better that when I bought it for $150. Sent my dad their last week with a used prop and it too looks great. I wouldn’t pay full price for that. And I didn’t have my buddy pay either. He felt bad but I asked him to drive

Link to comment
6 hours ago, isellacuras said:

I feel a little different. I’d expect and accept some “help” from my buddy that was driving me. The good thing is I know my boat buddies and it wouldn’t even cross their mind to just say “good luck with that”. I know if I was driving someone else’s boat and made a bonehead move (I know it happens, has and will), I would pay for all damages without question. I break it I buy it. 
example: I recently rolled a buddies can am x3 doing donuts. All superficial scrapes on the door and roll cage/nerf bars,  a broken mirror and a couple pieces of plastic. If it were my rig, I would have replaced the mirror and the two pieces of plastic (if I couldn’t fix them good enough).  Might have cost a couple hundred bucks. I bought him new nerf bars, new plastics and a new graphics kit to the tune of $1600. It now looks better than when I rolled it. I don’t feel so bad about rolling it any more. I would have felt like poo if he thought of me every time he saw the damage that I did. He MIGHT even let me drive it again. Lol

I think there is a huge difference between what you did and what his buddy did.

Link to comment

Your dealer isn't trying to rip anybody off, he's trying to put the boat back to like new condition because that's basically what you asked him to do.  The old prop is yours, so don't let them keep it.  The wedge can certainly be fixed also.  Go to their showroom and move a new one to compare it and help you figure out what is wrong.  It may help to explain to them that you don't need it new again, you need it good to go.

My wife refuses to drive.  If I am going to ski, somebody has to pull me.  I have talked complete noobs into pulling me barefoot by explaining that 1) nothing will happen, and 2) if it does, it doesn't matter.  I'm responsible at all times.  Usually the only problem with people is that they are way too pensive pulling me out, even after I coach them through a few dry passes until they have it down.

Here's one to ponder.  You ask your buddy to drive, and everything is working out just fine.  Then you fall and your buddy runs over a swimmer while trying to turn around to come back to you.  Do you think that the swimmer's lawyer is going to only go after your buddy, or is it still your fault for putting him in the driver's seat?  Well, never mind that, because lawyers never seek the truth anyway, they just seek a payday.

The point is that I would never hang someone out as responsible for an accident while they were doing me a favor.  Note that this is completely different from loaning the boat to someone so they can go off and have a great time without me.

Link to comment
30 minutes ago, justgary said:

Your dealer isn't trying to rip anybody off, he's trying to put the boat back to like new condition because that's basically what you asked him to do. 

FWIW, I agree with the rest of your post, but don't agree here. IME unless you have a really, really good dealer (notice how many dealer complaints there are?) they are there to, like Dad used to say "Make hay while the sun shines", especially on insurance claims.  I see that with cars all the time.  The last car incident my kid had  was so overcharged as it was insurance, it was not even funny.  Yeah, they go by the book  and all that but somehow the same repair in cash is half the insurance one.  Riddle me that!

Link to comment
22 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

This is the reason no one drives my boat for me except my wife.

Agree 100%. 
 

I struggle with the idea of anyone else ever driving the boat. When I found out the dealer had to water test it first, that was even hard to accept lol.

That all being said, if your friend doesn’t offer then it’s your responsibility. That’s the risk you take when you let anyone else drive besides your wife. And even if he offers you still have to say no. It’s only if he hands you an envelope of cash then you can accept. At least I would accept that. Because that’s exactly what I would do if I damaged anything of a friends. I wouldn’t even ask if he needs money to fix it. I would just apologize immediately and head to the bank and withdraw the cash for him then hand it to him and force him to take it.

 

I digress

 

Edited by 2020LSV23
Link to comment
9 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

FWIW, I agree with the rest of your post, but don't agree here. IME unless you have a really, really good dealer (notice how many dealer complaints there are?) they are there to, like Dad used to say "Make hay while the sun shines", especially on insurance claims.  I see that with cars all the time.  The last car incident my kid had  was so overcharged as it was insurance, it was not even funny.  Yeah, they go by the book  and all that but somehow the same repair in cash is half the insurance one.  Riddle me that!

I know for fact that all dealers are not that way.  Anyway, I pictured a bit of "and the boat is less than a year old and it was perfect" discussion going on, which would steer the dealer toward like new condition.

Link to comment
1 hour ago, justgary said:

Another point.  Training a new driver is a whole lot easier when you are in the boat.  Either coach them during someone else's turn, or coach them with nobody behind the boat, or both.  As the owner/captain, you never relinquish responsibility just because you have a different helmsman.

And the few times I have been surfing with someone else (besides my wife) driving the boat I pay close attention to where we are and what's around.  It's not hard to yell and signal a few commands while surfing  and if that doesn't work I just drop before they get the boat in a place I don't want it to be.  Not quite as carefree of a surf session since I need to pay attention to the boat a bit more but worth it to avoid something happening.  

My advice to the PO is just let insurance fix it right (that's why you have insurance) and tell your friend not to worry about it.  He was pulling you so that you could surf and I see that as the difference here. He wasn't being reckless.  

 

Link to comment

Prop is an easy fix. Might want to get a new one and get this one repaired as a spare. Things happen.

Try the wedge out first before having them repair. 
 

Your buddy was towing you, doing you a favor. You should pay some attention while riding. It is your boat after all. 

Link to comment
On 5/30/2020 at 4:45 PM, Josh7711 said:

Dealer said prop too bent and needs replaced. 

ha

 

he got you good

 

any prop shop can fix that  that doesnt even look bad   a few hundo and your back surfing

Link to comment
On 5/30/2020 at 6:24 PM, Eagleboy99 said:

I'm gonna say the dealer has one in stock EXACTLY like what you need!  LOL  Seriously, that is easily repairable by any decent prop shop.

Ive thought this before, but if its bent down at the "root" then its not fixable.

Link to comment

First off, apologies for what happened.

 

Asking the friend to pay, 90% of the time no way.  My boat, my responsibility, and even when riding I have to pay attention.  I also go over responsibilities and where it's safe/unsafe before I get in the water. I'll leave a little margin for rare exceptions. 

#1 Buddy and I use his boat for a couple weeks each year on a fishing trip.  First few years he had all the work and expenses.  Along the way this didn't feel right and now we share boat expenses too.  This includes a prop one time on a surprise rock, carb repair, and new batteries.  Talking about replacing the outboard and I've offered to kick in on that too.

#2 The friend is a very experienced driver and 100% knew better.  That means knowing the lake and surf driving as good or better than the owner.  Also only if this won't kill the relationships.  Maybe I would ask to split the $1250 in thsi example.

  • Like 2
Link to comment

I know this is similar to what others have said, but Ill offer it as my $.02.     Just for reference, my pov is anchored in the thought that  I didnt buy a boat, I bought fun and memories on the lake, where I LOVE to be.   So everything I do is about making sure that boat is ready to go to the lake, and not be sitting in a shop when I could be surfing. 

  • Get it fixed... right, whatever that means.  I would not want the chance of lingering problems.    For a 2018 boat, I would not recommend trying to go down a cheap route.   I would at least get another opinion on what needs to be done, even if that means engaging another shop that requires a longer drive.
  • Do not let them toss the prop.   Have a quality prop shop quote you a repair.   Buy the "weekend saver" kit (bag, specialized tools etc), and put the repaired prop in there as a spare.   I have heard it said that there are two kinds of boaters, those who have had a prop strike, and those that will have a prop strike.   A spare in the truck means that most prop strikes are a hour or two of inconvenience instead of a lost weekend.   
  • Claim it under insurance.   This is exactly why we buy insurance, to cover accidents, and this clearly was an accident. 
  • Dont accept a dime from your buddy - unless you never want him as crew again, and maybe not as a buddy.    My experience has been that GOOD crew are not easy to find, and people that are good crew are good people that tend to be busy.  I personally want to surf... a LOT.   I need good crew to do that.   While he may have driven too close to shore,  if Im wearing your shoes, I also take some of the responsibility for not making that clear enough, and not watching closely enough while Im surfing.    Assuming he is not a total airhead, I think its safe to say that he will NEVER do that again.  

A final note, and it is just me.    When accidents happen (and I had a minor one (<600 repair)), I refused any payment.   The boat is a toy.  My friends are more important to me than my toys.   It was hard, I was sick to my stomach when suddenly there was a 6" gouge on the side of my beautiful VLX, but in the bigger picture, if I couldnt afford to fix that out of my pocket, then at this point in my life, I shouldnt own a boat.   That person still comes out every time they have a chance, and candidly because of it, they know more about the process, and are one of my better crew.   EDIT>>> BTW, you would never know there was a gouge there... even I cant find the repair.

And then me... If I did that to someone elses boat, I would insist on paying the deductible, because I would want to make sure I had an invite the next time.  But that is just me... and I would not have the expectation of anyone else doing that.

YMMV... hope that the boat is soon in perfect working order, and you are out with your buddy having fun.

Edited by JeffC
  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
39 minutes ago, Eagleboy99 said:

Stirring it up a bit, I'd suggest that no one should be surfing 20 feet from shore.  Even 50 is  too close.  What if your buddy had run over a kid in a floatie; 20 feet is way less than a boat length.  

my assumption here is that the buddy was not experienced and was probably watching the rider more attentively than his course heading.

I think the rule in Oregon is 50 yards from shore is considered safe.

  • Like 3
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...