Impacted something under water

J

jmauld

Well-Known Member
Jun 9, 2020
2,844
Carolina Beach
Boat Info
2010 Sundancer 390
2016 Sea Hunt Ultra 211
Engines
Twin 8.1l of gas guzzling iron
Hit something underwater the other day that damaged a prop. I’ve had the boat pulled from the water, since it needed bottom painted and a new sea cock anyway.

I assume that insurance would cover this, but with the way insurance is these days, I’m a bit cautious to involve them. Any of you have experience with having insurance cover this and not dropping you or increasing your rates?
 
Done it in the past twice. No issues what so ever. Have you made any other claims? What kind of prop stainless or aluminum? If stainless it’d still be worth it to make
 
Yes but a bit of a different twist - Lightning strike and insurance claim. It was a big one; all electrical on the boat was replaced. Insurance company at renewal backed out of the boat insurance market. Couldn't get any coverage domestically due to the claim (within 5 years), boat over 10 years old, boat in Florida, etc. But the claim was the crux to not being able to get coverage. We ended up having to obtain a high risk policy out of England that turned out to be 3X the previous year's premium and significant restrictions on the use of the boat. It's pretty bad.
So, what have I learned? I wouldn't make a claim unless the damage was probably 4X the deductible.
 
ttmott said:
Yes but a bit of a different twist - Lightning strike and insurance claim. It was a big one; all electrical on the boat was replaced. Insurance company at renewal backed out of the boat insurance market. Couldn't get any coverage domestically due to the claim (within 5 years), boat over 10 years old, boat in Florida, etc. But the claim was the crux to not being able to get coverage. We ended up having to obtain a high risk policy out of England that turned out to be 3X the previous year's premium and significant restrictions on the use of the boat. It's pretty bad.
So, what have I learned? I wouldn't make a claim unless the damage was probably 4X the deductible.
Click to expand...
Sounds like FLA for sure.
 
I wouldn’t claim it personally unless it was over 4K or so and my deductible is 1k. Not worth the hassle and as TTMott said it’s a risk to make a claim on an older boat in Florida
 
Stray Current said:
I wouldn’t claim it personally unless it was over 4K or so and my deductible is 1k. Not worth the hassle and as TTMott said it’s a risk to make a claim on an older boat in Florida
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With the cost of the pullout and the fact that I need a new prop I’m guessing it’s going to touch 4k. Keeping my fingers crossed that the prop can be repaired.
 
jmauld said:
With the cost of the pullout and the fact that I need a new prop I’m guess it’s going to touch 4k
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Might be worth it then, hard to say because I don’t know how it would effect renewal in your market
 
I’m leaning towards just covering it myself. as long as it’s limited to the prop. I was planning on doing a pullout this winter and having the props turned anyway. They haven’t pulled the shaft yet but it’s turning smoothly so they think the damage is limited.
 
jmauld said:
I’m leaning towards just covering it myself. as long as it’s limited to the prop. I was planning on doing a pullout this winter and having the props turned anyway. They haven’t pulled the shaft yet but it’s turning smoothly so they think the damage is limited.
Click to expand...
I know a warehouse full of Sea Ray parts....... ;)
 
jmauld said:
With the cost of the pullout and the fact that I need a new prop I’m guessing it’s going to touch 4k. Keeping my fingers crossed that the prop can be repaired.
Click to expand...
If you haul for the winter anyway, you could have a diver pull the props. Probably straight inboard if it’s the 390 in your profile. You almost have to tear a blade off to make it unrepairable. I had mine done down in FL. Diver and prop service was $1500.
 
Hit a submerged log with the 330DA years ago, bent one shaft and bent both props. Insurance paid in full, no questions asked, two brand new props. Ran the boat aground a few weeks after this, bent one of the new props, they repaired no questions asked. Never impacted my rates nor was I dropped.
 
I had two hits with submerged debris and covered both myself - $16K for both...

Prop repair $3500 X2
Haulouts $1000 X3
1 Strut $4K
Labor $3K
 
jmauld said:
I’m leaning towards just covering it myself. as long as it’s limited to the prop. I was planning on doing a pullout this winter and having the props turned anyway. They haven’t pulled the shaft yet but it’s turning smoothly so they think the damage is limited.
Click to expand...
That;s what my dealer's mechanic said. He "thought" the shaft was OK.

Couldn't feel or hear any vibrations, nevertheless when the head bolts started to vibrate loose we KNEW the shaft was bent.

The money spent up front was well wasted. If I was smart I would have had the shaft removed in the beginning and VERIFIED it was OK.
 
carterchapman said:
I had two hits with submerged debris and covered both myself - $16K for both...

Prop repair $3500 X2
Haulouts $1000 X3
1 Strut $4K
Labor $3K
Click to expand...
This ended up costing me $3745. One new prop plus tuning, and balance/tuning of the other prop.
 
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