I'm off the river for 4 weeks or so now...

[thesack]

Out last night at my local riding spot. My rider falls and we go back to pick him up because he is done. Shut off the boat as he is getting in and he proceeds to stand on the swim platform. And we are just there floating maybe 100 feet off shore. See an orange Tige with a black hull turn at the bend towards us pulling a tuber. No big deal right.... Well he kept driving right at us. We starting yelling at him and waving at him trying to get his attention because there is no way we have time to start the boat and get out of his way. See him start to turn to the right of us, then right when you think he noticed us he turns back right at us. The next thing you know I have guys jumping off the swim platform and out of the boat to avoid being hit by this guy. He more or less 50/50ed the back of my boat. He said he saw us, but then lost us in the sun. (Going to refrain from saying certain things that would make this forum go to rated R real fast) Luckily no one was seriously hurt.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k128/nadams18/IMG_0126.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k128/nadams18/IMG_0127.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k128/nadams18/IMG_0128.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k128/nadams18/IMG_0130.jpg

[thesack]

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k128/nadams18/IMG_0131.jpg


Didn't take a pic of it, but the swim platform brackets are all cracked out around and one side has water dripping out of it.

[brain_rinse]

Wow, I'm speechless. Glad no one was hurt, and boats can be repaired. Be sure to investigate diminished value.

[lewisb13]

That blowwwwwwss. I would have been so mad.

[moombahighrider]

That is nuts and I am so sorry to hear about it. I have thought about this sort of thing before but have never had any where near even a close call, let alone something like this! Insurance is a great thing at times like this! I hope everything goes well getting it back to tip top shape.

[thesack]

I was pretty mad after it happened, but kept my cool.

I seriously do not think they guy knew that he had hit us until we were yelling at him afterwards. He was about 400 feet away from us when he stopped. His insurance is picking up the bill on this one. I'm guessing around 10K with all the damage that is done. We will see, i get the estimate tomorrow from AWS.

[deerfield]

the sack - When the angle of a bright and setting sun incapacitates a driver's view, he must - MUST - stop. This guy who hit your rig might as well have been driving with his eyes closed. I shutter to think of the injury or death he could have caused. Just unbelievable. Man, am I glad you are okay. Get that rig fixed and back on the water. - Deerfield

[thesack]

We kept asking each other if he saw us then lost us in the sun WTF didnt he stop his boat. My buddy is really lucky that the he jumped the right way off the swim platform. Things could have been so much worse, and luckily its just a boat that needs to be repaired.

I've seen the boat that hit is numersous times on the water and at his dock, lets just say I am pretty confident outside factors that can affect your brain entired into his lack of driving ability as well.

[04OUTBACK]

as mentioned above, DEMAND Diminished Value from the other insurance...
That will not help much when you sell!

[maxpower220]

It is almost shocking to me that more damage wasn't done. Glad everyone was OK.

[jester]

Dang sorry to hear about this. It is good to hear no one was seriously hurt since that could have gone the other way real quick. Make sure if you report that to the police if you have not already done so.

If you are down in the Eugene area let me know and i would be happy to take you out on the water so you are not off for 4 weeks.

[viking]

Man I'm fuming mad just thinking about the prospect of it. I'm glad everyone is OK as it could have been MUCH MUCH worse. Just goes to show you that the idiot tubers don't just drive I/O's :( They also can drive $80K boats.

[wolfeman131]

Very glad you and your crew are all OK. Can't imagine what I would have done if that had been me with my wife & 3 kiddos on board. Part of the payment to you should receive is full use of that a-hole's boat until yours is repaired.

[cab13367]

What a freaking moron!! That is down right scary. Someone could have easily gotten killed. I was probably on the same stretch of river tonight.

Glad that nobody got hurt.

[kaneboats]

Make sure you let AWS know that you want the executive level treatment-- everything perfect again. So glad everybody's OK.

[kaneboats]

It also occurred to me that you can go rent a boat and make them pay for it. You would be entitled to a rental car if this was your car. It's the same for a boat. This has nothing to do with insurance -- it's the value of your damages.

[jmvotto]

kane good point on the boat rental....

Glad everyone was ok, ( except the boat) this is why there should be a mandatory boating test. just because you can drive a car does not mean you know how to operate a boat. f.....g Idiots
How did he "not" know he hit you? bet the police would want to investigate that a little further..:rolleyes:

[davinci]

Wow that really blows imagine nobody heard this guy God bless you all.
Was wondering how the heck did he clip the top of your boat ??

[Canuckle Head]

kane good point on the boat rental....

Glad everyone was ok, ( except the boat) this is why there should be a mandatory boating test. just because you can drive a car does not mean you know how to operate a boat. f.....g Idiots
How did he "not" know he hit you? bet the police would want to investigate that a little further..:rolleyes:

Oregon does have a boating test called the Oregon Boater Education Card. I have one but it was damn easy to get. Did it online and you could take it as many times as you wanted till you passed. Very similar to the Canadian version whihc is also a joke. (and tax grab)

Sounds like the guy was either high or drunk. Sorry about your boat and like others have mentioned on this thread, hit his insurance company hard! :evil:

[thesack]

We called the sheriff right after it happened, but they did not respond because no one was seriously injured. Not even when we had questions as to the sobriety of the driver of the other boat. When I first got my boat i stored it on the river at a buddies dock, which is right across the river of the dock of the Tige that hit us. So i know very well how he spends his days on the river and how he "boats".

AWS gives me the presidental treatment these days. With the time they had it with the broken drive shaft and now this, they will be seeing it more this summer then me. Just glad that we are cold weather riders.

We will look into a rental boat, but I have a feeling that they will try and fight it because it is a recreational thing and not a necessity.

The test to get your boaters education card was a joke to begin with because you could take it online and just look up the answers. Now though you have to read each section and answer questions about it afterwards. Each section has a minimum time that it takes to read through.

He hit so high up on the boat because we were fully weighted. I have 750's on either side of the motor for wakeboarding. And my swim deck is usually 6" under water when we are at rest. If we weren't fully weighted I can only imagine what damage could have been done. More then likely the entire transom would need replacing. I also keep thinking about what if he didnt do the slight turn he did when he hit us. He would have gone on top of my boat. I had no where to go either since i was sitting in the drivers seat. We are all just very lucky.

His insurance company is going to love him after this one. I am getting the quote later on today, but I am expecting it to be at least 10K. They have to completely rebuild and reshape the fiberglass on the top deck, remove the swim deck brackets and fix the cracks and find where and why it is leaking water there, replace the swim deck, replace all 3 cushions, and whatever else i dont know about yet.

Jester thanks for the invite. I'm down in Eugene all the time, too bad its for work and not pleasure though.

Cab you were more then likely in the same area and probably have been numerous times. It happened about a .5 mile up river from Champoeg at the second to last bend in the river before you get to the straightaway that the Champoeg dock is at. And FYI this guys dock is the first one down river from Champoeg on the Champoeg side of the river. You can't miss it, it has a red boat house.

[viking]

I hope he hurt his boat too? Any idea of damage to it?

[thesack]

There is damage to his boat as well. To what degree I don't know. Afterwards he said that he only had some scratches to his boat, but I had orange and black fiberglass in my boat. Part of me hopes his boat sinks.

[newyear14]

That is crazy man. Im glad everyone is OK!! Sorry about your boat.
What happened to the tube he was pulling? I hope it did not hit your boat and injured the rider.

[thesack]

The tube rider was fine, and did not hit my boat.

Just got the quote from Active, its just under 20K to fix my boat. WOW!

[jester]

Time to buy a new boat on the other guys dime?

[thesack]

I wish. Will see what the insurance company says now.

[polar21]

Looks like the majority of the damage was above the rub rail, which is a good thing in this case.

[thesack]

The majority of the damage is above the rub rail with 88 hours estimated. The swim platform brackets have an estimate of 26 hours.

[04OUTBACK]

maybe a new top cap? I'd have a hard time stomaching all that glass repair.
Plus, diminished value.
Don't forget to ask the adjuster about the loss you'll have when you sell this boat.
I have an '07 Acura that was hit by at 17 year old. Its on the carfax and cant trade the car for anything without a huge loss.

[Sled491]

Holy cow, that is insane. One other good reason to ban Tubing!! :D Sucks to see a beautiful boat lookin like that. Make sure the pay and pay well!

[jester]

04Outback brings up a good point about resale of the boat. You know this kind of makes me want to look at a Tige. I mean you can run into another boat and cause major damage and not have that much damage on your boat. Might have to use Tige's for ice breaking.

[newty]

This kind of stuff makes my blood boil! Had a guy pulling a tube almost hits us up at Crescent Bar this past week. Rental boat really rough water ridding it like a rented mule pulling an 8 year old.

[thesack]

I am looking into the diminished value and what not. I know AWS is going to do all the can to make it look like nothing ever happened and without there being a carfax for boats. There is no real way for someone to know about the damage other by telling them. So if you are dishonest the value wouldn't be affected, but if you are honest it is affect. Yes I would be honest. I would hate to buy something and find out later that it had so much repaired on it.

I think there is more damage to the Tige then he realizes. But if there isn't thats nothing my sledge hammer can't fix...Oh wait did I just use my out loud voice?

I can't believe people are so stupid sometimes on the water. The Tige was not the first boat that night that was on a path to hit us. About 20 minutes beforehand another boat was headed right towards our downed rider in the water. So we had to rush back to put the boat in between him and the other boat. At least this guy saw us and went between us and the shore that was 75' away. I just want to win the lottery and build my own private lake.

[jester]

That is why i never go to Champoeg. Last two times I put in there since my boat was up for service I had to put my boat inbetween another boat and my downed wakeboarder. Way too much stress for going out in that area.

You know people forget to put in their plug all the time. Such a little hole can let in a lot of water really fast.

[mmandley]

I am looking into the diminished value and what not. I know AWS is going to do all the can to make it look like nothing ever happened and without there being a carfax for boats. There is no real way for someone to know about the damage other by telling them. So if you are dishonest the value wouldn't be affected, but if you are honest it is affect. Yes I would be honest. I would hate to buy something and find out later that it had so much repaired on it.

I think there is more damage to the Tige then he realizes. But if there isn't thats nothing my sledge hammer can't fix...Oh wait did I just use my out loud voice?

I can't believe people are so stupid sometimes on the water. The Tige was not the first boat that night that was on a path to hit us. About 20 minutes beforehand another boat was headed right towards our downed rider in the water. So we had to rush back to put the boat in between him and the other boat. At least this guy saw us and went between us and the shore that was 75' away. I just want to win the lottery and build my own private lake.


Course you have to remember you trade in at AWS they will know the damage humm..

Also make sure not only is the outside new looking but when you look in the engine compartment and in the V drive lockers its all glassed and painted factory or what ever. I know if i was buying used id be looking in every spot i could for repair work.

[thesack]

I am sure with how the quote reads they will make it all look like to came from the factory. It has them removing and replacing everything in the hatchs.

My trade in value at AWS hasn't been changed because of the damage. Talked to Matt about it yesterday some. It's just if I were to actually sell it the value would be effected.

[wolfeman131]

This kind of stuff makes my blood boil! Had a guy pulling a tube almost hits us up at Crescent Bar this past week. Rental boat really rough water ridding it like a rented mule pulling an 8 year old.

I'm with ya Newty! I thought for sure that I had my "Hey JackA$$, follw me as close as you can" flag flying last weekend! Two morons, coincidently in similar colored Thundercraft I/O's, were jumping our surf wake at different times.

You think a jetskier makes Momma nervous when her baby is back there, you should've seen her cursing at these jerks. I had to grab the airhorn and jump on the back to let off a blast for the guy to barely veer off. Just wish I could've dumped the ballast fast enough to chase the guy down. I did make a run with my jetski around the lake to see if I could find where these boats were docked so I could at least contact the DNR with reg #'s.

[kaneboats]

I think I better get a handheld airhorn to keep next to the driver's seat. Nothing like getting someone's ATTENTION!

[zegm]

I think I better get a handheld airhorn to keep next to the driver's seat. Nothing like getting someone's ATTENTION!

I am going to get one also! Great Idea Wolfeman!!! Would also stop me from pulling the alligator protector (9mm) and shootin it up into the air to get their attention.

[kaneboats]

Save the lead for the 'gators. You may need it.

[Razzman]

I think I better get a handheld airhorn to keep next to the driver's seat. Nothing like getting someone's ATTENTION!

This is exactly the reason i have two of them on the boat at all times. My wife stumbled upon some at the stupid dollar store while shopping for party favors. Normally around $12 each, they were a dollar so i got 12 instead of 1. Handing some out to friends.

[kaneboats]

Nothing stupid about the dollar store. We go there about once a month for magic erasers, hair gel, toothbrushes, batteries, etc. Last time they had kids' sunglasses marked with Target labels 14.99 for $1. In a way, the store buys me gas.

[thesack]

Insurance companies are so annoying and frustrating. They guys insurance company got the estimate Monday. We had to call them today to find out what is going on. They decided they want to verify that there is 20k worth of damage. Guess the pics AWS sent them weren't good enough. Who knows when the adjuster will make it out.

Yes the dollar store is nice but I like the other "dollar store" so much better!

[kaneboats]

Time to ask them for approval for your rental boat. That will speed it up.

[wolfeman131]

This is exactly the reason i have two of them on the boat at all times. My wife stumbled upon some at the stupid dollar store while shopping for party favors. Normally around $12 each, they were a dollar so i got 12 instead of 1. Handing some out to friends.

Man, wish mine would have only cost $1. I would have felt much better about throwing mine at the jerk!

[thesack]

I just need to find some place in oregon or washington that does wakeboard boat rentals.

[jester]

Talk to Active. I bet they would know of someone. Also make sure they approve an equal or greater boat for rental.

[thesack]

I talked to Active about if they had any but they said no. So I would think if they know of anyone that Matt would have told me.

[wolfeman131]

check out craigslist. there is a MC X15that posts for rent here in Atlanta.
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/boa/1882779678.html

[kaneboats]

Send them a letter stating that, since there are no local rentals you will have to go out of state and incur transportation charges, etc. all at their expense. Should be some fun!

[Sled491]

Man this is like reading a novel. I can't wait for the next chapter. I'm waiting for the happy ending though and not the kind from the red light district :)

[thesack]

Hopefully the next chapter will start soon. Still waiting on the independent adjuster/investigator to get done with his report. Last I heard was that he still had to make an appointment to look at the Tige to see its damage to determine if all of the damage on my boat was caused by him. Ugh i hate insurance companies. The happy ending will come when i either get my boat back or I am able to go buy a new one.

[jester]

[QUOTE=thesack;112466] Last I heard was that he still had to make an appointment to look at the Tige to see its damage to determine if all of the damage on my boat was caused by him. Ugh i hate insurance companies. [QUOTE]

No kidding. wow they are trying to find any reason not to pay. If you have a photo from that day or a few weeks ago I would send it too them. I know if i was off the water for this long it would start affecting my mental helth since the water is my happy place. I hope they start making progress on this soon and you can get back on the water.

[thesack]

Unfortunately I don't have pics of my boat that are recent enough showing that area. I do have the walk around done by AWS from when they had it a few weeks ago fixing the drive shaft, that states the damage on my boat aka some scratches and a couple of dings
in the fiberglass of the swim platform in areas a boat couldn't hit.

It's really starting to annoy me that they are taking so long to get things started. And more annoying that they are trying to see if the can get out of paying it. Boat US is the guys insurance company btw. I've never dealt with a worse insurance company. I just wanna know if they are going to fix it or if I need to start talking to AWS bout a new boat.

[kaneboats]

It may be time to start talking to your lawyer.

[Canuckle Head]

It may be time to start talking to your lawyer.

Sucks, but yeah if you want action you need to lawyer up. Otherwise they are going to continue giving you the run around and delay.

Another option is to call them and get them to commit to a deadline to have their report completed otherwise they will be hearing from your lawyer.

You may want to also remind them that you are the victim in this case and not the other way around.

[Sled491]

It may be time to start talking to your lawyer.

Says the Lawyer :D

[jester]

When lawyer's get involved no one wins. They are right you should atleast tell them they they need t ohave a date or you will have a lawyer contact them. Also I do not know how your insurance is setup but some will fight the other insurance company on your behalf. I hope chapter two does not start off with Now the lawers are talking and starts off with boat shopping or my boat is getting fixed up like new.

[thesack]

The thought of a lawyer did cross my mind, but that will be a last resort. Just really frustrating that the accident occurs the 18, Boat US is notified the 19 and we make a claim against the guys insurance, 23 the get the estimate from AWS, then the 26 the decided to get a hold of an independent adjuster/investigator to look at my boat, on the 27 the independent person decides he has to look at the Tige to make sure that all the damage came from his boat. Just waiting on the independet person to get done with his report and then things will go from there, just don't know when he will be done.

Our insurance guy at Progressive has been out of town the past few days, so going to contact him tomorrow if we don't hear anything from Boat US. I know for automotive we just call our insurance agent and he handles everything. I think the longest it has taken to get a vehicle into get repaired was 72 hours. So waiting on a boat for so long is frustrating.

If chapter 2 starts off with shopping for a new boat, it will be a short chapter. Either one of the Malibu VLX's AWS has in stock or looking at the Axis A22 they have at Koppert then ordering one. Yes I would be leaving the Skier's Choice family, not because I don't like my boat, but because when the entire family comes out there is just not enough room. Both the VLX and A22 has about 10 sq ft more room in the main cabin. But I have a feeling chapter 2 is going to start with saying that AWS is finally starting work. Soon, real soon I hope.

[zabooda]

Have your insurance company do the work and they in turn work with the other insurance company. I will never work through someone else insurance whether it is a car or boat. My company gets stuff done fast and I don't hassle with anyone else.

[kaneboats]

When lawyer's get involved no one wins.

Why is it that when people feel chest pain or think there's something seriously wrong they immediately want to see a physician. But, when they have a potential legal problem they wait to see the lawyer as a last resort?

[mnpracing]

because a visit to the doctor costs me a $20 co-pay and I usually walk out knowing what's wrong and what the solution is....

Not a good analogy, but I understand your point.

[thesack]

Yes a lawyer could be beneficial right now, but either way we are waiting for the private adjuster/investigator to get his report done. After the adjuster is done and we hear from him and the insurance company is when we will decide if a lawyer is needed or not.

Oh and I go to the doctor as a last resort.

[Canuckle Head]

What I would be really pissed about is the fact that you have to wait so long to get it fixed when it wasn't your fault. How hard is it for this guy to go and see the other boat? This happened back on or around August 19th and you still don't have an answer? What a load of crap!

One thing that came to mind was, did you happen to have a camera on your phone and were you able to get some pictures of the Tige on top of your boat? Documentation is your friend in these instances....

Have you spoken to your insurance company?

I am bummed out and I don't even own the boat! Hope it all goes well for you!

[thesack]

I have no idea how hard it is for the other guy to go see the other boat, obviously a lot harder then what anyone would realistically thinking. I do have a camera on my phone, but his boat was never actually on top of mine. It basically slide along the swim platform and the top deck of the transom. If he wouldn't have turned slightly when he hit us then he would have been on top of the boat and who knows what would have happened.

Talked to my insurance person today about everything that is gone on. He agrees that it is moving kinda slow, that the 20K worth of damage is about at the point that most insurance companies would total it out at, and that dimished value is rarley seen in the boat insurance because most claims are boat accidents caused by floating objects, rocks, etc rather then boat on boat. But that we should be compensated for the dimished value. Oh and he also said that the private adjuster that was hired is more of a marine salvager then anything else.

[zabooda]

Why not let your insurance company do the work as the end result would probably be more favorable to you. At least you can see how well they work which couldn't be any worse than the other guys insurance. Your insurance company then settles with the other company latter down the road.

[kaneboats]

His damages go beyond the cost of repair that his insurer would be seeking to recover. He should be in a boat this weekend.

[thesack]

Chapter 2

Calling a lawyer.

Its been 3 weeks since the accident and still no offer to us yet. Was told today that they have an offer ready but it has to be signed off by the vice president of the company first, but it will take 3 or 4 days. And that diminished value is the cost to repair the boat.

[saskyrider]

awww. crap.... that sucks! however i'm not surprised.... insurance companies motto (deny! deny! deny!) that comes right after (drag your feet!! drag your feet!! drag your feet!!)

hope things turn out.

Geoff

[Canuckle Head]

I would be lying if I said that I didn't see this coming. Sorry to hear it though. Good luck man!

[thesack]

I saw it coming too. Haven't actually talked to the adjuster since last monday, was told of the offer that is coming in a voicemail from him this morning. Called him back a little over an hour ago seeking what information they actually need for the diminished value claim and where to send it so that our lawyer can send it to them.

I am kind of amused that the adjuster is unaware if diminished value is something that is recoverable in Oregon. Sounds like a good excuse on his part. Pretty sure that it is recoverable since there are laywers here who deal in that and since my insurance agent and the Progressive adjuster both said for us to seek it.

Can't wait for this headache to go away!

[Sled491]

OMG this just sucks !!

[thesack]

So the #?*! insurance guy couldn't tell me last week that they were going to send us a check for the repairs and handle the diminished value separately. So today my boat is going to start being fixed. Actually went to AWS to talk to matt and let him know they could start, they had one boat in the glass room that was just about finished then mine was next to go in. He was hoping they could get start today but didn't know for sure. I went upstairs to talk about the wetsuit I have on order and by the time I went to leave my boat was already in the glass room waiting to get started after lunch. FINALLY!!!! Just hope that SC gets all the parts to AWS asap.

[MartinCaron]

it's waz about time...

[Sled491]

Very cool, or it's about time, which ever you choose :D

[kaneboats]

That rental boat's getting expensive for them, right? :)

[98outback]

I have Boat US insurance on my supra and have not had any problems with them. I live in Florida and had a claim last year when my engine had a cracked cylinder. I filed a claim and 2 days later the adjuster contacted me from Boat US and said they wanted to send an investiagtor to the dealer to check it out. I met the investigator there 2 days after the adjuster had called me and had a check for the amount of a new engine 4 days later. Im sure it has to do alot with the adjuster and investigator that gets assigned to you. Do not take this the wrong way as I am not defending them but just giving my personal experience. Make sure you do not allow them to close the claim out after you receieve the check. They did try to close my claim after i recieved the check and I made them leave it open until all the work on my boat was complete incase it turned out to be more damage.

Good luck with the repairs and hope it turns out wel for you. As Kane said I would make them cover a rental boat since there is not much of the summer left which you are going to miss.

[thesack]

I would hope that Boat US would give better service then I have recieved, but still from what I have experienced with them I am glad I went with Progressive. Having an adjuster here, rather then across the country makes things go much smoother and faster. I think one of the reasons why things have taking so long with my boat though is that my claim is boat on boat rather then the typical claim of self inflicted boat damage.

I went into AWS on Friday to warranty a pair of bindings and decided to take a look at my boat. I was amazed at how far there were already on the fiberglass repair. The top deck was pretty much finished, except for some minor sanding/shaping. Still have to gelcoat it, but I think that will happen after they fix the swim platform brackets. But I am thinking that they will be done with the fiberglass/gelcoat by friday. Still waiting on the upholstery and swim platfrom to come in from SC. Hopefully they will send it ASAP.

[98outback]

Glad to hear your boat repair is coming along nicely. Hopefully you can get a couple more runs in before it gets cold out.

[rc5695]

glad it is getting fixed. I hate the whole situation for ya though... Never heard of the "diminished value" thing before... Definitly something to keep in mind...