Boat hit at Wolfboro town docks?

[1Bigtoon]

I was parked at Wolfboro town docks Friday from 2:00 pm to 4:30 well we grabbed a late lunch. Someone caved in the front of my pontoon boat and left. Just wondering if anybody saw this happen and figured the people would stay to talk to me. To the person that hit me and left HAPPY SINK!!!!!!

[Lakesrider]

Call the people that run the Wolfeboro web cam. maybe they recorded it on their hard drive. But you better call fast they overwrite themselves. You might not be able to read the numbers off the boat but good for your insurance to prove it wasn't your fault.

Sorry to hear about your boat and the fact that they just ran. I am also amazed no one else saw it and didn't leave you a note.

[RLW]

Originally Posted by 1Bigtoon

I was parked at Wolfboro town docks Friday from 2:00 pm to 4:30 well we grabbed a late lunch. Someone caved in the front of my pontoon boat and left. Just wondering if anybody saw this happen and figured the people would stay to talk to me. To the person that hit me and left HAPPY SINK!!!!!!

1Bigtoon, glad you have joined us. Have fun and enjoy the Winni Forum

[Dhuberty24]

That is the reason I never park my boat there. It's like everybody who doesn't know how to drive a boat goes there.

[XCR-700]

WOW, must have been a pretty good smack to do that kind of damage,,,

Did you contact the Wolfboro police and the NH marine patrol???

I feel your pain, we invest way too much in our boats to have someone do something like that and walk away.

Accidents happen and we all need to accept that, but thats not an excuse to walk away, they should have left contact info and called the police and marine patrol themselves.

Dont let it ruin your summer.

[BroadHopper]

Somebody actually cut the lines to my girlfriend's boat one night at the Weirs Dock. I don't know why, but I had to calm down one p.oed woman.

I've seen a Thurston pontoon rental smashed into a number of boats tied to the Wolfeboro public docks a number of years ago. Everyone was yelling at the skipper and his family on board the boat were looking dumfounded. Someone got the bow number and the situation was reported to LEO. Not sure what the outcomw was.

Good luck catching that bonehead. Seems like there are more of them this year than any other.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by XCR-700

"...Did you contact the Wolfeboro police and the NH marine patrol??? I feel your pain, we invest way too much in our boats to have someone do something like that and walk away...Dont let it ruin your summer..."

A summer shouldn't be ruined by another captain's ineptness, but there is no requirement to report damage under $2000 to the NHMP (formerly $500). You could "call-it-in" to Wolfeboro PD for insurance purposes; however, consider any later insurance ramifications should the damage not exceed the deductible.

[Mink Islander]

We were in Wolfeboro last Saturday for breakfast and errands. I was waiting in the boat with the kids for my wife to get back from the IGA when I saw what looked like a 12 or 14 year old boy backing out of the channel one dock over from me. There was just a bit of a cross breeze that morning -- enough to make things a little challenging. Suddenly, Dad, the only passenger in the boat, made a mad dash to the back of the boat, but wasn't fast enough to get to the back corner before the boat bounced off another boat -- not a hard strike, but could have left a mark.... He managed to clear the rest of the way without further incident with Dad pushing him off that last boat in his path.

Now understand, I have nearly 16 year old twins so getting "behind the wheel" time for them has been a priority the past couple of summers. They're getting pretty good at landing boats! However, one of the most challenging maneuvers for a young captain is to back up a 20+ foot boat in a straight line with only a few feet on each side to spare. I would NEVER have let my kids attempt this maneuver without several more passengers in the boat to make sure we weren't playing bumper cars though the channel. Risk to other people's property outweighing the teachable moment in this case.

[Skip]

Originally Posted by Acres per Second

...there is no requirement to report damage under $2000 to the NHMP (formerly $500)...

That is incorrect.

If an operator causes damage to another boat, he is required to identify himself and his registration information immediately to the owner of the property damaged.

If he cannot give that information, then he is required to immediately notify the Marine Patrol or the nearest law enforcement agency of said accident.

The $2000 requirement is that regardless of the information given at the scene, if property damage exceeds $2000 or death or personal injury is involved, the operator must submit a separate written accident report to the NHMP within 15 days of the accident.

Here is the applicable RSA:

270:1-a Drownings and Boating Accident Reports. –
I. The operator of a vessel who knows or reasonably should have known that he or she has just been involved in any accident that involved death, personal injury, or damage to property, shall immediately stop said vessel at the scene of the accident, render any assistance that he or she is capable of giving to the occupants of any other vessel involved in the accident, and give the operator or owner of any other vessel involved in such accident, and to any person injured, and to the owner of any property damaged, the operator's name and the owner's name and address, the vessel registration number, and the name and address of each occupant. If by reason of injury or absence or removal from the place of the accident or other cause, such injured person, or operator of such other vessel, or owner of the property damaged, or any of them, is unable to understand or receive the information required in this section, such information shall be given to any marine patrol officer or other police officer with jurisdiction arriving at the scene of the accident or immediately to a marine patrol officer or other police officer at the nearest police station or at marine patrol headquarters. Any person operating a vessel that is in any manner involved in the accident shall, within 15 days after such accident, report in writing to the division of safety services the facts required hereunder together with a statement of the circumstances if any person is injured or killed or if damage to property is in excess of $2,000. If the operator is physically or mentally incapable of making such report, the owner of the vessel involved in the accident or the owner's representative shall, after learning of the accident, forthwith make such report. The operator or the owner shall furnish to the division such relevant information as the division shall require.
II. All law enforcement agencies having knowledge of a drowning or boating accident shall have a duty to report any personal injury resulting from a boating accident, death or drowning including suspected drowning, and all boating accidents wherein there is resulting damage of $2,000 or more, immediately, to the commissioner of safety or the commissioner's authorized representative.
III. It shall be the responsibility of the commissioner of safety and the commissioner's authorized representative to investigate any drowning or suspected drowning and all accidents in which there is serious injury, death, or property damage of $2,000 or more. Said investigation shall be in addition to, and independent of, any investigation made by other agencies of government, except that said agencies may exchange data and cooperate with each other to avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts.
IV. Jurisdiction for the purposes of this section shall extend to all waters under the jurisdiction of the state of New Hampshire.

[jrc]

People always laugh at me for putting fenders on the boat side away from the dock. But in Wolfeborough you need them. It's tight in there.

If you find the guy, he will say he didn't hit you, or he didn't hit you hard enough to do any damage. He's the same guy, who's boat doesn't make a wake.

[VtSteve]

I've actually had occasion to use fenders on both sides as well as boat hook handy. I've been driving a boat for some 40 years, but in close quarters, with an Alpha One drive and 3-blade prop in a light to mild breeze, this boat simply does not track a straight line in reverse. The one bad part of a cuddy, is the inability to get to the bow quickly. I would try as hard as possible not to dock my boat in such a position.

But in front of TV cameras this Monday, I did perform a Perfect 10 plus docking job. Minutes later, a new Bayliner skipper performed his version for the cameras. (He should never of backed in) The TV news crew showed his docking job at Eleven.

[ossipeeboater]

i dinged a boat a few years back in Wolfeboro, stopped found the owners and paid to have it buffed out. THese things happen but people need to be respectfull to others and accept responsibility for what they did.

[1Bigtoon]

I like the idea of leaving bumpers on the outside. The only thing wrong with that is I still would have got hit. Someone must have been parallel parking and got the nose of there boat over the front deck. I have two feet of deck space before the wall of the boat. The wall of the boat was caved in all cosmetic damage! So the good news i don't have to lose boating time this summer, and will have fixed over the winter.

Thanks for your replies!!!!

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Skip

"...That is incorrect..."

1) Though my eyes glaze over when I read the written law—and I'm no lawyer—my take is that the law makes an important distinction between the two "operators" here:

Operator 1) The Perpetrator
Operator 2) The Victim

Operator 1 has the responsibility—and another 11 days—to report the accident. (Anyone holding out any hope here?)

Operator 2 has the responsibility to report the accident to the State (within 15 days) wherein the damage has exceeded $2000.

2) Here is the applicable RSA portion regarding Operator 2:

"...Any person operating a vessel that is in any manner involved in the accident shall, within 15 days after such accident, report in writing to the division of safety services the facts required hereunder together with a statement of the circumstances...if damage to property is in excess of $2,000..."

3) 1Bigtoon (Operator 2) has now suggested that damage isn't all that bad (and, it appears, may not exceed $2000). Depending on his insurance deductible, I'd proceed with caution in the reporting of this "accident"—as I wrote earlier.

4) The U.S. Coast Guard has stated that up to 40% of accidents go unreported. This "accident" could turn out to be one of those 40%. (Although small/local police departments could also "drop the ball" in the collection and reporting of those boating accidents that should've found their way to USCG statistics).

5) IS 1Bigtoon really "the operator"—according to the law?

(When he was apparently absent at the time—his boat being unattended and stationary?)