Garbage Truck Chipped Hull C-22

[Day Dreamer]

This morning the garbage man accidentally hit the stern corner of Daydreamer our 1981 C-22 with his forks lifting my neighbors trash cans. The damage looks minimal but just want some advise from the experts on what I should do.
I feel bad for the guy who will prob lose his job, however I have a lot invested in my boat and feel the value is lost with a patch at that corner when I decide to sell and upgrade to a bigger boat.
My questions:
1. Should I use the garbage company insurance or my boat insurance to have it fix
2. Will this effect the strength of the hull and resale when fixed
3. Is it as bad as I think

 

[JRT]

1) Use garbage company insurance, of course if your bill gets to ridiculous I wouldn't be surprised if they question it.

2) Looks minor and repairable, it is a 1981 C22, some of that should polish out to me,

3) I've seen far worst on boats in the water for sure.

 

[dlochner]

This looks to be pretty minor, mostly cosmetic damage. There may be a little glasswork involved on the corner, the rest is just gelcoat. A decent boat yard can repair this, or you can do it yourself.

Talk to the garbage company, get an estimate. They may just pay for the damage and not file a claim with their insurance company. If they balk, talk to your insurance company. They may pay and then go after the garbage company. If no one wants to pay, then gather your evidence and go to small claims court.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

agree on the repairs looking minor. Of course the pics can't reveal any damage inside-do check carefully there for de-lamination

By and large looks relatively minor

 

[Allowishish]

you are not the first person hit by one of their vehicles. My point being they will most likely handle it appropriately.

Give them a chance to make it right first. If they fail to do so then explore other avenues.

 

[Day Dreamer]

Update: The garbage manager came out and took some pics and stated the damage was minimal and said he would come out and repair it. I am a bit skeptical letting him "fix" it.
I got 1 quote for $700 and they will match the gelcoat. I will pass this over to them and see what happens. $700 seems steep as West Marine has a fiberglass repair kit for 40 bucks.
Thank you all for the replays I will update again when I get to a resolution

 

[Jackdaw]

Update: The garbage manager came out and took some pics and stated the damage was minimal and said he would come out and repair it. I am a bit skeptical letting him "fix" it.

Negative Ghostrider.

100 things can happen, and 99 of them are bad.

He's already assumed responsibility. Good. Now ask to have it professionally repaired.

 

[dlochner]

I got 1 quote for $700 and they will match the gelcoat. I will pass this over to them and see what happens. $700 seems steep as West Marine has a fiberglass repair kit for 40 bucks.

The material cost is minimal, especially for a commercial guy buying wholesale. Labor is the expensive part, figure 10 hours at $70 per hour.

Don't let the manager of the garbage company repair it unless he has a lot of experience at high end boat repair shops.

 

[JRT]

Ah, ya just say no to him repairing it! You should also follow up with the city / town that contracts the service.

 

[brazenarticle]

Its a chip and scratch on a 37 year old boat - look at it as a learning opportunity. Buy a gelcoat repair kit, fix it and be secure in the knowledge that when you ding this or another boat you can handle the job. Then go sailing.
Bumping a boat is not a crime, but trying to charge $700 to fix that ding may be.

 

[EditorC22NSA]

Get the repair professionally done and give the bill to the Garbage Truck company. Hope you filed a police report? The boat may be old, but the damage they caused will make the boat very difficult to sell later (if the repair looks bad), and you should not have to take the "hit" because of somebody else's negligence. Too many people do their own repair jobs, not knowing what they're doing, then sell their boats, and then the new owners end up with a half-baked, crappy looking "fixer-upper" all because the previous owner was cheap, or did not know what they were doing. If you can get the work professionally done on somebody else's tab, then take advantage of it. After all, it wasn't your fault.

 

[agprice22]

Do not let the garbage company manager fix it!
The absolute worst you are looking at is a through hull repair. It really is not that hard.
If there is no delamination, you are looking at gelcote repair.

Did the person who estimated it do it by photo or in person, on-site?

I see some gouging there. See how the fiberglass turned white? That could be deeper damage. If it is deeper, they will have to grind it on both sides, laminate it, and gel Cote it. Up to two days labor. Makes you realize $700 is cheap.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Its a chip and scratch on a 37 year old boat - look at it as a learning opportunity. Buy a gelcoat repair kit, fix it and be secure in the knowledge that when you ding this or another boat you can handle the job. Then go sailing.
Bumping a boat is not a crime, but trying to charge $700 to fix that ding may be.

I have to say, I'm with brazenarticle on this. For a minor incident with a guy who has taken responsibility, you have an opportunity to not only practice a little inexpensive gelcoat work, but to establish a positive personal relationship with a company who passes your house weekly.
I suggest letting the guy feel grateful for your generosity and definitely don't let the guy do the work himself. 99% chance of worsening everything. Think about your feelings towards them and their feelings towards you. You will risk less chance of bad blood by letting go of it.

One more thing. If it comes to an insurance claim, your homeowner's insurance my be the better way to go.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Gene Neill]

No way the garbage man does it unless he runs a boatyard in his spare time. It needs to either be done by a pro (at the garbage company's expense), or just do it yourself. It's not complicated. The hardest part is mixing gel coat to match, and BTW, it's unlikely the $700 pirates can do that any better than you can.

 

[sailnoproblem]

I would not let him fix the damage unless he has experience. Also if you want a professional repair I would not try it with a West Marine Kit. Fixing the fiberglass is one thing, but trying to match the old gelcoat color is another. Try and get a few estimates. $700 seems high but it depends where you live.
And now to contradict myself if you have the time and are handy go ahead and do the repair yourself.

 

[Gene Neill]

Also if you want a professional repair I would not try it with a West Marine Kit..

Agreed.

 

[Doug4bass]

I would walk the $700 bill into the garbage collectors office. Take the cash then fix it yourself. Great learning experience.

 

[Day Dreamer]

Thank you all for your thoughts.
The manager called today an their company policy is to turn in any incident to insurance. I offered to take the 700 cash and repair myself but that was not an option. I will send an update on the repair

 

[Doug4bass]

Might be an option with the insurance company. Its that way with cars. Sounds like the garbage man is pissed now.

 

[jssailem]

Sounds like the garbage man is pissed now.

Of course. He wanted to skate by with a self repair. Now he has to atone to the company and the insurance. So of course he’s upset. Hiding the event is no longer an option.