As fate would have it, our yard just accidentally damaged our wishbone by ramming it with a piece of heavy equipment. Left a buckle in one side of the wishbone. That whole side is going to have to be replaced. Adding to the misery, the boat is under contract, just had a great survey, etc.
Yard intends to make good. They will have to do it fast We will be in touch with Mike Quill and local riggers ASAP, but any other advice or experience you may have to share will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Gail Marshall
S/V Nepeta NS30C
Honestly, my heart goes out to you. What bum luck.
The very first thought that popped into my head ?? Find a GOOD, well-reputed lawyer that deals with property damage claims (cuz this is going to cost $$$$$, trust me, if you want it done RIGHT, which is the ONLY way to do it). The yard (which I’m sure has good intentions but IS a business that is, now, facing an unplanned expense and scheduling problem) will, in my opinion, try and get this done as cheaply as possible. Dollars to donuts they have NEVER rebuilt a Nonsuch boom with it’s curved sides, etc. It is entirely possible that they have very little Nonsuch knowledge and experience. Our boats aren’t a dime a dozen and they are pretty unique.
Other thoughts - It is your boat, right ?? Will your insurance deal with it then fight it out with yard ? Could you try to actually locate a replacement used boom from a wrecked boat ??
For starts, I have/had 30+ years of experience representing insurance companies and insureds. Sorry Ernie, but I would hesitate before I retained counsel. Most attorneys are expensive and while I don’t know what this repair will cost, I suspect the attorney’s fees would be a healthy percentage.
I am assuming that your boat/mast was not damaged (you do not mention such and damaging the boom with heavy equipment while the boom is on your boat, and not the mast/boat, seems unlikely to me). You say the yard has said they will make good on the repair. Confirm it in writing and ask them to to agree to pay to have the repaired surveyed by the person who just surveyed the boom. (Which is pretty lucky in a way - a neutral has just said the boom was all OK. Tough for someone to argue otherwise.) Ideally, you want assurances that they have put their carrier on notice of a potential claim. (Notice as soon as “practicable” is a requirement of most policies, although I have no knowledge of what Maine law says on the question of notice. Failure to provide the required notice can compromise coverage.) It cannot hurt to put your carrier on notice as well, just in case. Talk to your agent. Keep good records of conversations; reduce such to confirming e-mails or letters.
A potential problem that may make this all difficult is that if your boom is original, it is from 1983. You may not be able to take it apart and replace one side. You could be looking at having a whole new boom made. That could be an uncomfortable discussion with the yard, but if it has to be done, you may find that carbon fiber is the way to go and that the new owner may be interested in an upgrade to have such.
Hopefully the buyers are understanding enough that this all does not queer the sale. Fortunately, they are invested via a survey and have probably already started to think of the boat as theirs.
If, as Lloyd suggested, the need for carbon fiber comes up as an alternative to aluminum, I suspect that Mike Quill will direct you to Composite Engineering, Inc (https://composite-eng.com/custom-carbon-spars/), since he’s told me that they did the carbon fiber masts for newer Nonsuch models.
FWIW, our boats’ designer, Mark Ellis is on record as having said that he regards carbon fiber wishbones as preferable to aluminum on the larger Nonsuches. These are the components on the boat that move the most, and reducing their weight and consequent momentum is a good thing.
Regarding the wish boom damage, I sailed with a gentleman a couple years ago ( I won’t give you his name for privacy reasons ) and he told me the story about how one winter that he hauled his Nonsuch 26C to his house on Martha’s Vineyard and low and behold a branch fell on the the boom while it was stored. He said insurance replaced it.
It looked original to me.
Thank you all. At this point parties are working cooperatively. Manager got to know Mike Quill over the weekend. (Thank you Mr. Quill.) Purchaser is still on side. Broker is ace. But we still don’t yet know how the story ends. We will keep on it. And hopefully I will end up with something useful-and, dare I say, positive- to share here.
You have Mike Quill involved so you should be good but since no one else mentioned them I thought I would point out the Klacko Spars is still around and may be able to assist.
I am not able to copy and paste their web address but it is Klackospars.com
We seem to be moving along. Yard has located and purchased a used wishbone (that the purchaser located!). Should arrive, fingers crossed, in early May. They have already disassembled ours. Will do the same to the other, strip the paint (?) off it and anodize it to match ours. Re-assemble. That’s the plan.
If I ever figure out how to attach photos here I will let you see what we are dealing with.
Maybe the yard or you can save some of the non damaged parts like the end castings, blocks etc…or tube in case another Nonsuch owner (or you) might need them for a repair. Just a thought.
Thought I had replied to that.
I suspect the future owner may want some parts (all?), but I will remember to inquire about their status before we are done.
Gail: It would be most helpful if you sign your posts with a name, name of boat, what and where it is.
Joe Valinoti (Listserve moderator)
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA