CARVER OWNERS CLUB
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March, April, May 2010

In the last newsletter I wrote about malicious websites - specifically websites that appear to sell boating supplies, then never deliver the goods.  I also strongly encouraged buyers to use credit cards.  I should have been a bit more specific.  Don't use debit cards to buy on-line.  The protections offered by credit card companies and PayPal do NOT apply to debit cards.  That is, you cannot easily get a refund with a debit card.

However, I received some great news.  Here's the member's update:

I've spoken to Mark at MarineMarks and he seems like a nice guy.  Recently, a friend replaced his electronics that had been built into the dash panels.  He will order plain, replacement panels and lay out the new configuration, rather than trying to patch the old panels.  If you contact MarineMarks, tell them that you heard about them at the Club's website.

We are really pleased to have a new advertiser on the club website as we get ready for a new boating season.  Chapman Marine Supply in Stuart Florida offers a full line of boating supplies at discounted prices.  Despite being located in southern Florida, Chapman's ships worldwide.  I usually take visitors to Chapman's when they visit in Florida to see a unique store.  Chapman's doesn't sell filters, except for secondary fuel filters, or electronics.  Chapman's doesn't accept orders over the Internet, but you can call them and place your order.  For more information, go to http://www.chapmanmarine.com.  Tell them that you heard about them from the Carver Owners Club.

Going Home

Around April 1, Bruce and Nancy Muller started home from Stuart Florida.  They escaped while Patsy and I were away on a business trip, but we caught up with them in Palm Coast.  Nancy wrote another fascinating description of their trip home, covering 1200 miles in 10 days of cruising or 14 days total trip time.  To read the blog and see the photos, go to http://www.carverownersclub.com/Cruises/.   Bruce and Nancy are planning to lead a convoy south next fall.

Submit your cruising story (with photos if you have them) and get a free year added to your membership.  Everybody likes to read about what other people are doing.  If you don't like to write, call me and tell me what went on.  Only tell me things that I can repeat.

This has been the month for insurance claims.  A member couple lost their beautiful Voyager in one of the shed collapses on the northern Chesapeake Bay.  Several boats were damaged by a hail storm here in Stuart, including our boat, Ibis.  This may be a good time to review some insurance loss tips.  Let me explain the general process first.

When you file an insurance claim, the company sends out an adjuster who inspects the boat and makes a determination as to what the loss is.  The boat is considered totaled when the loss is 70% or more of the insured value.  A boat insured for $100,000 is considered totaled when the loss is $70,000 or more.  If you accept the adjuster's estimate of loss, either the boat is sold to the insurance company (a total loss) or repairs begin on the boat.  You receive payment fairly quickly for a total loss - usually within 30 days of agreement.  You and the repair facility receive a check for the amount of the repairs less your deductible when the repairs are completed, however long that takes.

I have only had an insurance adjuster physically appear at one claim - the boat fire.  Every other time, the adjuster called me and the repair facility.  You must remember that the insurance adjuster works for the insurance company, not for you.  As one claims professional told me, these people are friendly, nice, and knowledgeable about your policy, but they are not your friends.  The insurance professional who edited this article suggested that I include the comment that  "a 'regular adjuster' may be, and should be your friend. The " Special Investigator" , however, is a fraud investigator. that's what he/she is looking for. They are not your friend."  The adjuster also may know NOTHING about boats.  One of the most frustrating adjuster I worked with primarily worked with auto claims and could not quite understand why we couldn't just park the boat behind a building.  My experience has been that the adjusters want to do a fair, good job, while protecting their interests.  Talk to them as if they were an attorney in court.  Answer their questions accurately (make sure you know what they are actually asking) and completely, but don't volunteer anything.  Help them understand boats such that they can give you a good estimate for the repairs.  For example, tell them that the fuel tanks can be damaged from a side collision and replacing a fuel tank is very difficult and expensive.  Tell them exactly what you want from the claim.  If you think the boat is a total loss, tell them so and explain your rationale.  For example, when a boat is declared a total loss, the ownership of the boat goes to the insurance company.  They are usually responsible for salvaging or scrapping the boat.  Usually they have to have the boat moved from its current location to the scrap yard.  They arrange for the boat to be stripped.  Upon your request, the adjuster may give you a short period of time to remove any personal property that was not insured from the wreck.  Insurance companies do not like to own boats.

The Carver Owners Club is please to sponsor the 10th Annual Chesapeake Bay Rendezvous to be held at Anchorage Marina in Baltimore on June 11, 12, and 13.  For a more complete agenda, go to http://carverownersclub.com/agenda.php?event=55.   Registration deadline is May 19.  You can make reservations by calling Patsy at 800-540-2926. While this is referred to as the Chesapeake Bay Rendezvous, we have had people from all over the US and Canada attend this event.  There are hotels nearby and we can get good rates.  So, even if you prefer to boat on the Great Lakes, you can spend a weekend in Baltimore with us.  The cost of airfare and hotels is probably the same or less than bringing a boat from somewhere else on the bay.

How we are doing the Rendezvous is much different this year.  Our Saturday afternoon game is eliminated and replaced with the Boat Hop - a more popular and less painful activity.  The most noticeable change is that there is not an inclusive fee for  the rendezvous.  You pay for the activities you participate in.  For example, we had an open bar and appetizers at the restaurant where we would have a prepared dinner.  Members paid only paid an additional charge for mixed drinks ordered with their dinner.  This year the checks will be given to a table (usually 6 to 8 people) who split the check among themselves.  The cocktail hour has been eliminated.  If you want to have a cooked breakfast and coffee on Sunday morning, you will be asked to pay for that individually.

The reason for this change is that we've received several complaints that went something like, "I'd like to come, but I don't feel like paying for others' (drinks, food, game, awards, good times).   The next complaint that also frequently went along with that was that the inclusive fee was too high.  Fair enough.  We negotiated what we thought were good deals at some very nice restaurants and one extremely wild experience, reducing the total price to less than what would have been paid for the same food/events had they been pad for separately.  The extremely wild experience was going to Miss Vera's White Sands in Leonardtown, MD.  Ask anyone who went there about it.  The belly dancer was an added treat.  Pound for pound, she was the best entertainment I've ever seen.

Some other events we are considering/planning are:

•  Cruise on the bay or Potomac.  We are trying to determine if there is interest in going up the Potomac to Alexandria again or to another location (Cape Charles, for example).  If you are interested in making a group cruise, let me know.
•   ICW Cruise South.  This will start with a planning meeting where the captains and the cruise director (Bruce) discuss the trip south.  This is currently planned for mid-September, followed by the actual cruise south beginning around November 1.
•    Saturday Night Out at Home.  Eileen and Stephen Stewart will host a Saturday Night Out in their home in Kennett Square in late January.  Details to follow.
•   Florida Thanksgiving Dinner.  This is really a tribute to Gayle Barnum who insisted that we COULD have a complete Thanksgiving dinner on a boat.  So we did.  Last year was the best ever, with everybody pitching in a bit.  The pumpkin soup was a bit iffy, but everything else was great.

A member wrote in suggesting that we update the Boat Talk blog section of the website.  Later this month, we'll release a new edition of Boat Talk.  I'm still working out the details on how to deploy this new version, so, again, details will follow.  My thanks to Jim for his suggestion and his review of our alternatives in choosing this new, improved model.  For his suggestion, Jim gets a free year added to his membership.