Thread: Help! I can't insure my Hartley TS16!

Club Marine are supposed to be a watercraft specialist.

Howdy,

Duck Flat may be able to help. I think they have the name of an insurance broker that has some specialty in wooden boats.

MIK

Try Martin Wiblin & Associates. They are insurance brokers who insured all my self-built boats at very reasonable costs. 02 9746 6273 or Wiblin Insurance Brokers.
The principal is/was a member of our sailing club.
Cheers
Graeme

And the man said ... "We don't insure home-made boats", funny most home builders are more likely to do a better job than a boat yard as the home builder isn't driven by profit and as a consequence will more likely than not also use better quality materials and finish it to a higher standard. No one ever said insurance companies were smart.

Harry

Had the same problem with my J5. Try the hartley clubs, they race and probably have some good recomendations.

Thank for all the replies. Someone suggested GIO, and I found they were the only company offering public liability insurance without needing comprehensive cover.
Very easy, a few questions, no survey, cost $97 pa
Phew!

Good tip!

Ah,good result Simon....I just saw your call for help & was going to suggest GIO as I have used them since they became active again in marine insurance a year or so ago much cheaper than my long-term marine broker could get....mind you we have had all of our insurance with them for a very long time but I found them painless to deal with with my boats.

Al.

Originally Posted by HaroldS

funny most home builders are more likely to do a better job than a boat yard as the home builder isn't driven by profit and as a consequence will more likely than not also use better quality materials and finish it to a higher standard.

It's nice to think that, but years repairing & building boats showed me that many owners cut plenty of corners, especially in maintenance.... I knew a bloke that would only paint his boat with pain he salvaged from hard rubbish collections!!!! It was pink for a few years, mission brown on some of it later, lemon yellow again later..... Soft planks flopping in the water ignored (as long as 2-3 bilge pumps are working), boats so poorly built & maintained they have disintergrated at moorings overnight, and other horror stories....

The idea of the saintly, Ne'er do-wrong owner-builder is often a fallacy.....

The boats I've seen built by professional boat-builders have been beautifully made.
I don't think there's enough money in it for someone who doesn't love and take pride in their work to bother doing it, and what livelihood they do make depends on happy customers who arrive back home safe and sound, year after year, and tell their friends.
I'm sure there are many excellent home built boats (mine for example, not built by me), but whoever builds them, they won't last long if neglected by careless owners.

Simon - don't get me wrong there are plenty of well-built boats, but the idea that EVERY home-builder builds to a high standard needs to be addressed.....

Hell, I've seen some long-time, 'big name' traditional boat builders turn out poor quality, mostly due to their ageing eyes, faltering limbs, and refusal to use modern materials when avaialble.... I'm not going to name names here, as a couple were/are friends, but it's always buyer beware.......

There is an issue in this discussion I would like to address.

I the 60's and 70's there were a lot of boat plans for the "home builder".

HARTLEY was one of the leaders in this field and designed really great boats.

"BUT",. what went into those boats was beyond the control of the designer.
Poor quality timbers.
Poor quality plywood.
Cheap fastenings and or glue. ( I have seen a boat glued with PVA).

I am a boat builder.

I have often looked at the work of amateur builders and have been in awe of the quality of the workmanship. Then I am told, "it took me 10 hours to match those 2 knees.

Another builder will tell you he built his 22ft cruiser for $5000 including motor and fitout. (scary).

Please don"t blame the insurance companies. I don't like them and have to deal with them often for loss evaluation. BUT. ! This is such a grey area, it is more like a mine field.

I will finish by saying if your boat is not worth the cost of a survey, then it is not worth insuring.

Paul.

Originally Posted by HOOKED.UP

I will finish by saying if your boat is not worth the cost of a survey, then it is not worth insuring.

Paul.

its a condition of entry to the regatta to have 3rd party, just in case you hit some and do serious damage.

does anyone know of a cliam being made on 3rd party after a racing crash?

Originally Posted by HOOKED.UP

I will finish by saying if your boat is not worth the cost of a survey, then it is not worth insuring.

Paul.

Paul, I remind you that the whole point of this thread was exactly that. I didn't think the boat was worth insuring, therefore not worth a survey.
It was the people and property it might injure or damage that needed insuring. PL insurance was all I wanted, and I now have it, thanks to this site.