January 31, 2007

Fond Regards to New England Correct Craft and Boat U.S.

I have been boating for 30 years and can count with 3 fingers, the moments when my boat made contact with anything but water, or trailer bunks.

Finger 1. I heard the propeller scuff the bottom as I picked up a friend one morning before a set. I was not familiar with her waterfront, she said there was plenty of water (and was wrong), the propeller made contact with the gravely bottom, and right about then I nearly lost my breakfast.

Finger 2 (same hand). In an act of ultra macho stupidity, I was launching my Ski Nautique from the public ramp, by myself, and heard the rudder bump the ramp as I swam it off the trailer. The words I just used to describe this can not possibly illustrate how dumb this was - both in concept and execution. And it was a dumb thing to do the three times I successfully pulled off this same maneuver before. Broken down into parts, the "Solo-Jackass Boat Launch Swim Meet" (which can only happen at a vacant ramp by the way, so please don't get the idea I was doing this at 9am on a sunny Saturday in July) consists of backing the boat into the water, swimming it off the trailer, swimming her out 30 feet and putting her at anchor, swimming back to the tow vehicle, entering the tow vehicle (which has already been prepped with towels. Important!) parking the tow vehicle, swimming back to the boat, and then later jogging back to the ramp to pick up the tow vehicle. Stupid. I know. But you'll be happy to know that this incident marked the last time I ever attempted a solo boat launch at a public ramp without a temporary dock. That is a team effort, kids. Period.

Finger 3 (other hand). This was the big one. It gets its own hand on this 1, 2 3 count.

The short version of the story is that as we were lining up to pull the boat out of the water, we were edged to the side of a narrow access waterway by a swarm of bass boats, and the boat made contact with a large, unseen, unmarked rock that sits in about 6 feet of water - and damaged the gelcoat in the process. The damage was superficial but this boat has 120hrs on it and aside from my wedding ring, is my most prized physical possession. I would be lying if I said that I didn't have a lump in my throat when I first inspected the damage.

But my wife and I made a few important decisions when we bought this boat. We didn't cut corners on insurance and obtained a policy with Boat U.S.. It isn't the cheapest policy writer under the Sun but when faced with filing a claim, we were treated with trust, guidance, and for that reason they now have been added to the "folks that have been nice to us" link section on this Web site. We don't give those slots up very easily. Every link you see on the right-hand list of links represents a personal connection and for that, our clear support. Boat U.S. had a process and a method of obtaining the information they needed, but there were no flaming hoops to jump through, no 2 hr long phone calls, and no irritating interactions. I think between myself, my wife and a friend who helped us with some of the logistics around this incident, we spent a combined 30 minutes on the phone with Boat U.S.. This is excellent because I hate the telephone and its strange cousin; the Fax.

So now that the insurance situation has been worked out - who would be awarded the coveted contract to repair the gelcoat on The Wakeboard Report's flagship?

While this was not a $5000 repair job, it was not a $45 dollar repair job either, so we wanted to ensure that this work was performed with master-level precision and we did not want any visual reminder of the incident. So the work would be best done by someone experienced in working with gelcoat, and with tournament inboards; so we decided to have the work done at a dealership. We were very close to joining the Correct Craft Promotional Team a few years ago, but due to some unfortunate timing and unexpected circumstances, the deal fell through at that time. However during that process, we got to know Craig Warner and his team from New England Correct Craft very well. We decided to have the gelcoat repair work done there, and the job they did can only be described as perfect. Whether it is insurance work you need to have done, or just need some cosmetic enhancements made to your boat and you are in the New England region, I would suggest you call them first.

So I realize that this may not be the most electrifying topic in the world (stay tuned for our series on Library Card renewals!) - but it does illustrate a point. Maintaining a good relationship with a local dealership, keeping an insurance policy with a company that can be trusted (and trusts back) proved to be very useful during the past several months as we dealt with this.

» New England Correct Craft
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Posted by erik