So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

[BigB9000]

So before selling it, me and my friend took the boat to his river property, where they boat was constantly used, ran fine, and well, didn't sink! (or take on ANY water)

So I get home, sell it, and get a call a week and a half later saying it took on a lot of water, stopped running, and the rear of it sank.

The foam probably kept the bow afloat. He says there is a hug hole in the front. Which if was bobbing up and down, the search and rescue people would have came and dragged it back to the launch ramp, on onto a beach, possibly giving the front a very good impact, eather from the ramp/beach, or getting winched onto a trailer.

So I'm mad because he submerged the damn 20hp I spent months making run perfect.

anyway, the dude put (or so he says) $400 into the trailer for lights (worked fine) tires (a year old) and fenders (true, those were f'd up when i got it)

he paid $900 for the man-yacht. I'm guessing he wants me to fork over $1300

I asked him if he put the drain plug in, he said yes. Im guessing he didnt.

I'm waiting for him to send me pics of said damage

 

[TheWoodCrafter]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

If you sold the boat to him isn't all this his problem?

 

[raevin51]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

Sorry to hear about the motor being trashed, good motors especially 20's are few and far between. Shame he sank HIS boat though. Not your fault if he now has a submarine. I'd send him a sympathy card and an invite to a safe boating class.

 

[clemsonfor]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

agreed if boat was sold no warrenty its his fault for sinking it?

 

[FreeBayliner4Us]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

If you sold the boat to him isn't all this his problem?

Yep.

This isn't your problem. This is classic new boat F#@! up. Sounds like he is trying to find a way to blame it on you and I am not giving him a penny if I were you.

Not to mention that if you do pay then technically if he wanted to sue for something related he would have your payment as admision of guilt. In this lawsuite happy society I wouldn't be suprised if he tried.

Just something to think about...

Good Luck!

Mike M.
Richmond, Va

 

[BigB9000]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

yeah, usually I would agree, but I saw that thread about the dude that sold his boat, got sued and lost. then won the apeal when the buyers didnt show.

I dont want that to happen.

 

[triumphrick]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

Dude, WTH makes you think that this is your problem? You sold a boat to someone who sunk it. You gave him a test ride to prove it seaworthy, and then he expects you to reimburse him for damage he did. And what a shame about the motor. You owe him nothing.

 

[BigB9000]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

You gave him a test ride to prove it seaworthy,

That I didnt do.

I should have.....

 

[GrindKore]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

yeah, usually I would agree, but I saw that thread about the dude that sold his boat, got sued and lost. then won the apeal when the buyers didnt show.

I dont want that to happen.

Very simple, he sank HIS boat, it is HIS problem. Whatever issues he may claim, it was HIS due diligence to make sure the boat was in sea worthy condition before taking it on the water.

You may feel bad for a guy, but please under no circumstances attempt to remedy HIS problem. As others have mentioned, any attempt from you to help him will be deemed as admission of fault. If he files a suite, than be it you cant stop him anyhow. However, the attorney time for him likely cost more than a boat and with very little chance of winning any damages.

 

[BigB9000]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

pic:

message:

Here is the picture of the main crack on the front, also there is hairline cracks almost to the top of the boat. Looks like an egg shell, thank god i applied marine epoxy to it otherwise I would have sunk with my family on the boat.

just to finish what a nightmare with the engine it dies several times (while running slow or idleing idling) and then the pull cord get stuck. One time while starting starting the engine it went on reverse while the control shifter was on neutral!!

 

[BigB9000]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

Looks like a pretty good little crack.

How this happened I have no idea. I never made any fibreglass repair to the hull, just the deck.

But for the crack to go all the way to the top? talk about major hull failure

 

[Ezrider_92356]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

i agree with everyone else, he sunk his boat, its not your problem, don't offer him any kind of payment, because that shows that your admitting fault. it looks like he hit something with it, thats out of your control.

 

[nuttyboater]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

This is why i have adopted a new policy with anything i sell...

I simply have the buyer sign a document i drafted, in a nutshell it states that the buyer assumes all responsibility for the item being purchased, and a line for filling in a description of what he is purchasing, and that they do not have any legal right to pursue me in an matter if they are not satisfied with the sale or they do something stupid and someone gets injured or killed.

Sounds harsh but in this day and age what can one do to protect his/her butt??

A couple years back i sold a car to a guy, a 95 Dodge Neon, it was a money pit that i sunk hundreds into over a two year period. I could list everything done to it but i won't, just to extensive, but at the time even its nickel and diming was cheaper than buying another car to drive to work. Anyway, moral of the story, this dude buys it and about a month later the brakes develop a leak and he is slowly pumping out the brake fluid without knowing it. Must have never went under the hood to figure out why the pedal feel was different. He ended up rear ending an SUV at 40mph because he was going to fast and couldn't slow down fast enough when the pulled out because of the leaking brakes. The accident was ruled to be his fault, his insurance company screwed him, and then he comes after me as his last resort to find some money.

I had receipts showing that the brakes were serviced two years prior, new pads and rotors on the front, new shoes on the back and the drums resurfaced, and i also had his signature on my form. His attorney contacted me asking if i would settle with him or if it had to go to court, i said lets go to court, the attorney was suprised and asked why i would want to be put through all that, i told him because i have paperwork to show its his problem and not mine. The attorney asked me "what??" in a rather surprised voice, and i faxed him the paperwork and got a call two days later saying that his client has decided not to pursue legal action against me.. Yeah i wonder why!

Anyway, protect your butt now days!!

 

[reelfishin]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

After a enhanced look at that pic, it reminds me of a boat I had seen here a few years ago, the new owner had tried to dry load it on a bunk trailer, not wanting to get the wheels wet. The result was the starboard bunk punching a hole into the trailer that looked almost identical to your pic. If you enhance your pic, you can see that it's not a hole, but a large area of delamination with a vertical stress crack.
This could have been caused by the trailer, a blunt impact or even an collision.
Either way, with damage like that, the buyer would have seen the damage before buying the boat, if he didn't look it over, that's his problem, and telling a judge that will only hurt his case.
It sounds to me like he's trying to blame anyone but his own self for his screw up. The fact that he started out pointing the blame on you makes his story sound suspicious to me. I'd put more weight on it if he had approached you to see if you had any prior problems or repairs and then presented you with his problem.

If you look at the pic, you can see that the gel coat has lifted but the glass behind remains. Not being able to put my hand on the damage, I can only guess by looking, but if it were here, the fact of whether or not the damaged area was impacted and 'softened' or just delaminated would better tell how it happened. Regardless, something contacted that hull to create the initial break in the gel coat. I'd also be willing to guess that a 20HP motor doesn't push that boat to any sort of speed where speed or water pressure would be an issue either.

I would not even entertain the idea of any sort of refund. I'd be willing to guess that if you presented him with the likely type of damage you feel it is, he will mostly likely just figure your onto his scam and go away.

 

[azlakes]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

Looks like a pretty good little crack.

How this happened I have no idea. I never made any fibreglass repair to the hull, just the deck.

But for the crack to go all the way to the top? talk about major hull failure

... is the quote in the pic from the buyer? seems he is implying you sold the boat with that huge gash in it and he tried to fix it. if he went that far to lie about that, he is fishing for your sense of weakness. tell him the boat was fine when he bought it and that looks like he ran aground a top some large river rocks!

 

[BigB9000]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

Th boat was painted at some point in time. It had its chips here and there, top of the bow, bottom, sides, rear, etc etc etc, I think he means he applied marine glue to the paint chipped areas.

not that it matters, but doesn't the 'fast drying' marine glue take 7 days to start curing?

anyway, looks like he does have some glue in there though...

I don't know.

If I could see it in person I could clime in the front of it and see if he hit anything. I spent soooooo much time in the nose of that thing I know it like my left leg.

He said he has taken it out a lot, then this problem pops up.

a problem with selling boats:
Everything about boating, you need to take care and caution in doing. Everything from towing, to loading, to launching, to anchoring, to retrieving, flushing, care, maintenance, etc etc etc. Any one of those things done wrong can damage a vessel. Then the buyer blames the seller for any problems. I fell bad for the guy, but what am I supposed to do?

I think this guy bought my boat and threw it in the water. Probably his first boat, and probably doesn't quite have the know-how yet.

 

[ziggy]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

so w/o any inspections, he bought a $900 boat and just expected it to run, and float too? i think your friend just got lesson #1 for $1300 about buying a used boat... too bad he was your friend....

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

no written agreement. let the buyer beware. it is his, and his problem. sure looks like he hit something, or tried to power load, and smacked a bunk.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

Get your ducks in a row and document every aspect of the transaction from initial contact through the sale, and all events, dates, times etc., after the sale. Put it on paper. In court (small claims in this case) what you have on paper may be your saving grace as the buyer may not tell the same story twice.

Here is a quick story about a boat I sold to a neighbors boss. About six months after the sale my neighbor asks if the boat had a weak transom. It did not. He had fished from the boat with me on numerous occasions. Why I asked. He informs me the transom broke out. Gee -- too bad was my response. A couple months later the boat is repaired and my neighbor stops by to show me the repair. Inside lays the 55 HP Johnson motor yet to be reinstalled. Nice job I replied. Looking at the motor, it was obvious what happened. I then asked who was driving the boat when this happed. His son was the reply. Did he say he hit anything? Nope -- just broke out the transom. Gee -- how do you account for the fact that the prop is folded over like a cheap suit (and I mean really folded over as it resembled more of a wheel than a prop)? End of conversation.

 

[jennis9]

Re: So I sold my boat, and the buyer sunk it

and... the guy should have insured it prior to launching. on a boat that small, it would have cost pennies to insure his lack of experience.

I wouldn't pay him a dime. I hope he transferred the title prior to the accident. Please tell me it's in his name.

That's the only snag I can foresee....

As a suggestion guys... if you are making anyone sign an agreement why not put on there a place to initial this statement "I was recommended to insure this boat and take a safety class by the USCG by the prior owner" ________ initial and date