Collision at Public Dock and Colorful Characters

[FishFinder]

My girlfriend and I were sleeping in the v-berth Tuesday morning, snugly tied up to a public dock off a state park when it sounded like all hell broke loose above us and my boat lurched backwards. The next thing I heard were motors surging and a boat pulling away. I threw on a shirt and pants, rushed up to the front of my boat expecting significant damage but everything seemed more or less OK. The +-30' powerboat that had been tied ahead of us had backed or drifted into my anchor (on a stout bow-roller) as he attempted to leave.

At this point the skipper of the colliding vessel pulls around to the other side of the pier, mutters something about wind to a bystander, but makes NO effort to check to see if I and my boat are OK. Now, I understand that he is probably very embarrassed and tense, and given that my boat seems to have escaped major damage I am not angry ... I walk over to him, saying "hey it happens," and I ask for his information. This guy then proceeds to shout at me(!??), and he and his wife insist that there couldn't have been more than $10 worth of damage to my boat, and that I should just take their money now and end this incident. Summoning all my buddha powers, I calmly insist that I am going to investigate the area when I have more time and tools and send them the bill for the damage. Reluctantly they finally do give me their contact info ... but not without accusing me of trying to "manufacture" damage!!!

After all this I was appreciative of the comic relief that followed, as for the next half hour the dim-witted skipper and his wife attempted to maneuver their dingy close to my anchor so they could take pictures ... and I suppose dispute any "manufactured" damage I claimed. Watching these two play limbo under my anchor while yelling at each other just about made the whole event worthwhile. Finally I asked the wife if she would just like to come on-board to get her close-up.

All in all it looks like the bow roller escaped major damage although the whole plate on which it is attached may need to be re-bedded with sealant. And they bent the heck out of the anchor's clevis pin. I'll be pricing out all this work and sending them the bill. Never once did these characters say they were sorry. I am not expecting cooperation from them on the bill ...

[TxLnghrn]

In my chosen career field:

You Cannot Fix Stupid

[sailingdog]

might want to talk to local water leo's....re: the incident.

[mman30]

Gasholes strike again, good luck with these two....colorful characters.

[sailingdog]

this is also one reason i like to photograph the boats around me before settling down for the night. a photo is tough to beat as evidence if someone tries to claim they weren't there.

[nolatom]

When I was a kid, another kid approached the town landing way too fast in outboard skiff. When too close, he yelled "Fend off!" to all in general before crunching into the float.

The damage was slight, but the nickname stuck, Fendoff..