That's too bad man. Yes, they have to replace the whole panel... I know his from experience. And what a story it is. First off, the phrase "the first dent is the hardest" only works in my book if it's your own fault. Anyone else and from now on I'm out for blood.
Here's why:
Last summer I had my 2275 GCW out on the river with my 7 & 10 year old. I believe it was our second time ever out on it and we were trying out different props. (Our dealer, who is incredible, gave us several to try out) when we were done for the day, I tied up at the end of a dock, and went to get my truck and trailer. I distinctly remember passing a guy with a sailboat in the prep lot getting his boat ready. No big deal. Not until he passed 4 of us in the passing cue and backed his boat in without waiting in line! I yelled but didn't think much of it, the guy was obviously an ass.
I finally back my trailer into the water and head down the dock to get my boat loaded. Can you believe it, the very same sailboat guy was standing ON my boat! As I approached, I could see him working his sailboat around mine to get to the very end of the dock. (The dock is L-shaped and went another 50' parallel to the river) Worst part is- I could see the bow of his sailboat banging into the side panel of my Bennie. I run up to my boat and yell out some expletives. He claims my son gave him permission to board, which was a lie. I said "oh good, you got permission from a ten year old!" At that point I was ready to push him into the water and cast his boat off into the wind, but I exercised better judgement. I asked him about the damage. He completely denied it, even though I watched him do it. I pulled out a tape measure. The height of the dent perfectly matched his bow. It's at this point where he says that he doesn't have insurance and that "it's the first dent that hurts the worst". To which I replied, "well I guess you won't mind me kicking a big dent into the Mercedes SUV that you backed the boat in with?" He backpedaled and then he tells me he would have waited to go around me but I was tied up for a "really long time", even though he was the one who cut in front of everyone in the cue. He starts untying his boat to cast off.
It's at this point where I call 9-1-1 in from of him and claim that there was a collision with a hit and run. The guy stayed to avoid that charge. Marine patrol was there pretty quick, and was astonished about his actions but couldn't do anything. I got his info, and went home very angry.
The next day I filed an uninsured boater claim with my insurance. It was 4 dents, along the port side over around 4 feet worth of panel on a brand new boat. It was worth a $500 deductible to fix it. The total repair came to $2,200!
I got a call from my insurance company (Safeco, completely recommend them, they were great to work with) and they told me I had a refund for my deductible coming back to me. Apparently they subrogated the idiots homeowners insurance, which is basically a claim between insurance companies and won the full amount of the damages back. Win for the good guys!
I hope the guy has a date with karma soon.
h34r:
