Whether you are shopping for a boat, you're a new owner, or have had your boat for decades, there are several times when it is required or prudent to get a marine survey of your pride and joy. Here is a list of ten reasons you might want to consider having an expert go through the boat you own or are considering buying.
Read MoreWell, it's boat insurance renewal time again … a depressing, expensive time of year and one which really impacts the budget. Comparative to house insurance or car insurance, boat insurance is over the top … thousands instead of hundreds of dollars. David's written about having boat insurance in the past and I thought I'd reiterate … mostly because misery loves company.
If you have a mortgage on your boat, just like a house, you must have insurance. We never had a mortgage on Nine of Cups, but the investment was substantial enough (like a house without a mortgage), that we felt insuring her was important. After a couple of years in the Carib, when it was time to renew, the insurance company told us we could not go to Colombia. We took exception to their exception and canceled the insurance and muddled around until 2009 uninsured and without consequence.
When we arrived in New Zealand, we were required to have insurance to check into any marina, be on one of their moorings or be hauled out in the boatyard. Only third party liability was required and it was relatively inexpensive ($300-400). We bought it, so we could haul out. We sailed to New Zealand's South Island that year and while we were in Picton, cruising friends who were on a land holiday, stopped by to say hello. We talked about boat insurance at length. They were insured, but it was such a huge chunk of their budget, they wondered if it was worthwhile and they were thinking about not renewing. Fast forward one month later … they hit a reef near Whangaroa and their boat went down in a matter of minutes. The insurance paid up and they bought another boat. When news of our friends' loss reached us, it gave us food for thought and lots to ponder.
We investigated several insurance companies and finally found one through a local New Zealand agent that was underwritten by Lloyds of London and that we think provides us with the best coverage without breaking the bank. We now renew our insurance annually as painful as it might be. Have we ever had a claim? No … and really that would be the ultimate test of how good the insurance policy really is.
I will tell you that reading the fine print of our policy is a lesson in patience and, at times, incredulity. For instance, we are NOT covered for cyber attacks, civil war, insurrection or rebellion (or mutiny of the crew). We are not covered for radioactive contamination nor chemical, bio-chemical, biological nor electromagnetic weapon attacks including the explosion and subsequent consequences of a nuclear reactor. Oh, the list of exclusions is very, very long, but of course, we're hoping we never have to worry about them.
One thing to consider with the cost of the insurance is that some agents charge credit card fees; there are fees for foreign-currency exchange if that applies and if not, fees from your bank for a wire transfer.
We know many, many cruisers who do not opt to insure and just as many who do. It really depends on your peace of mind, what risks you're willing to tolerate and how much you have invested in your boat. Again, some marinas (especially New Zealand and Australia) require proof of insurance. Australia, by the way, requires AUD$10 million liability insurance, but our $5 mil policy from New Zealand sufficed when we discussed it with them and they made an exception.
Our liability insurance was reduced to US$1 million this year because we're returning to the USA … not sure why, but it did. Americans are a litigious lot, perhaps that's the reason. We are required to be either south of 12.07N (e.g. Trinidad) or north of Cape Hatteras between 1 June and 30 November or losses from a named or numbered windstorm (i.e. hurricanes or tropical depressions) are excluded. We're also not insured if we opt to go to Venezuela, Haiti or Cuba.
We'll be lucky if we get all of our work done on Cups and get out of the marina by June, so this time we're okay with the restrictions. Now if we can just keep the crew from mutinying ...
It's boat insurance renewal time again. Each year at this time, we provide the insurance company with our sailing and cruising plans for the upcoming 12 months, and they tell us how much we will need to pay to keep Nine of Cups insured. The last two years have been spent coastal cruising in Australia, and our insurance has been relatively cheap. The word 'relative' is an important adjective in the last sentence. Boat insurance is always very expensive – much more than homeowners or auto insurance. This coming year, since we will be crossing an ocean, the rates will go up significantly – roughly the same as the down payment on our first house, and then only if we have a rigging inspection. It's quite painful.
In 2003, we were in Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela when it was time to renew our insurance. At the time, we thought we would be going to some of the islands in the southern Caribbean, then to Cartagena, Colombia, through the Panama Canal and on across the Pacific. (Ha – did those plans ever change!). Based on our cruising plans, the insurance company gave us a quote for the year , and “by the way, you can't stop in Colombia”. Hmmm – does that mean they wouldn't cover the boat while it was in Colombian waters if we choose to go to Cartagena? Surely there was a way to get coverage for going to Cartagena – maybe a special rider? After a few emails back and forth, it became quite clear that if we went to Colombia, not only would they not cover us, but our insurance would be canceled.
We decided we WERE going to Cartagena and if that was the attitude our insurance company was taking, we would let our policy lapse. We'd show them! We would spend the money that was budgeted for insurance on bombproof ground tackle and in making sure Cups was secure and seaworthy.
As it turned out, the very day our insurance ran out was the day we were leaving Puerto la Cruz. Our marina was a few miles up a series of canals that wound through an area where the very rich Venezuelans kept their yachts berthed. There was a 15-20 knot breeze, and just as we came into a short stretch that put the wind on our beam, the engine sputtered and died.
Since we couldn't stop the boat and would soon lose steerage, we had maybe a minute before we either hit or drifted into one of the mega-yachts that were med-moored all around us. Two thoughts came to mind. One was that perhaps I was a bit hasty in deciding to let our insurance lapse. The second thought was something I recalled reading in one of Tom Cunliffe's books. In a situation like this - “Aim for something cheap”.
I saw a gap between two of the yachts that might be just wide enough for Cups. Thinking it would be preferable to hit the jetty than put a major gash in someone's topsides, I aimed for it while Marcie grabbed a fender to try and fend us off from the yachts on either side. As it turned out, the two yachts had spring lines crisscrossed across the opening. As Cups ran into them, they slowed us down, and we only nudged up against the dock. No damage except to our pride.
The crew was on one of the yachts and kindly allowed us to raft up until we got the engine problem sorted out. It turned out to be an air bubble in the fuel line – a problem that has been an issue with Cups since the day we bought her. That's a topic of another blog sometime. It only took a few minutes to bleed the fuel lines and get the engine running again, and we were soon on our way.
We went several years without insurance on the boat. Most marinas and boatyards in New Zealand and Australia require insurance, however, so we have reinstated our insurance (with another company BTW), and intend to keep the policy in force. That said, during all the years since Venezuela, we have had numerous close calls, and several boats have bumped or run into us, but nothing that would have resulted in an insurance claim had we been insured. And except for that one incident in Venezuela, knock on wood and thanking Neptune for all the wonderful lessons in humility and seamanship he has provided us, we have also never had to decide which was the cheapest boat to aim for.
Hi there and welcome to Just A Little Further!
We are David and Marcie Lynn and we've lived aboard our Liberty 458 cutter-rigged sailboat since 2000.
What began as an urge to travel slowly and economically at our own pace ended up an adventure of a lifetime.
Well, here we are ... nearly 90,000 miles under the keel, 5 continents, 5 Great Southern Capes, 36 countries and almost two decades later, still taking one passage at a time and going just a little further.
