My boat got T-boned by a drunk.

[Mark42]

Had just parked the boat by the dock. Left the boys and wife to watch boat until I came back with the trailer. When I was about 40ft down the dock I hear commotion and turn to see a guy jump from the bow of a 19ft cuddy into my boat and try to prevent the cuddy from striking my boat in the side. The boat struck and left a scratch in the gunwale. By the time I got back to the boat, the guy jumped out of my boat onto the dock looking very nervous. Then I see the guy driving the boat is dead drunk. Now I have the wife and kids, and an infant on the dock while this jerk is being protected and hustled away from the helm by his buddies. I looked around for the state troopers that usually hang out in the park, but did not see any, and the old guys that bark orders about loading/unloading were all gone. So I thought that no real damage was done and we loaded and left.<br /><br />Last night I had wished I had called 911 to report a drunk on the lake.<br /><br />What should I have done?

 

[MrBill]

Re: My boat got T-boned by a drunk.

I would have at least gotten his registration number and demanded repair, reported the incident and contacted my insurance company. Accidents can happen at the dock, and I don't doubt that your observation that the driver was drunk. This not acceptable...and the driver and passenger of that boat have to know that. You reacted much more calmly than I.

 

[Bondo]

Re: My boat got T-boned by a drunk.

You reacted much more calmly than I.

I'll say so Too......

 

[Johnshan1]

Re: My boat got T-boned by a drunk.

Yeah I would have been ripped to say the least. Get the #'s off the boat, load your boat up and call the police and wait for them to arrive while these guys screw around trying to load. I understand you had your family there with you, no need to say a word to them just do it and let the police deal with it.<br /><br />-John

 

[delsol]

Re: My boat got T-boned by a drunk.

next time call police and get his #s maybe if kids were not there i would have blocked the ramp so he could not leave.police there in 10 minutes...<br />hope scratch is not to bad at least family is ok, he could have hurt your wife and kids ,thats why you never let these guys go next time he might kill a water skier, its different if he had a beer or 2 in him and made a dumb mistake and was going to pay for it buy drunk no way...and i hardly drink at all

 

[Mark42]

Re: My boat got T-boned by a drunk.

My wife was surprised at my behavior too. If it was my car, I would have the guy on the ground waiting for the cops. But being new to boating, and the family is dead tired from an afternoon on the lake, I thought it was better to just bite my tongue and leave. <br /><br />Wife was rather pleased that I didn't get into a fight. And she let me know it

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: My boat got T-boned by a drunk.

It's a difficult situation with your wife and kids there. His buddies could have made your life miserable if you would have blocked the ramp and called the police. Can you be sure he was driving? In any case, it would have been your word against theirs. You really do not know who you could be dealing with. Some folks just aren't worth the trouble. I would have done the same.

 

[quantumleap]

Re: My boat got T-boned by a drunk.

Good thing nobody was injured. You are a good man for not flattening him right there at the dock. You did the right thing in front of your kids.

 

[f_inscreenname]

Re: My boat got T-boned by a drunk.

Like said you did the right thing (I don't know if I could have done the same) in front of the wife and kids. I think I would have wrote down there registration numbers and at least made a report. There is always a couple things to think about before flying off the handle. I don't know how much you use that ramp but if often I am sure you would run into them sooner or later and that would be a uneasy time when you are trying to have fun. The second is proving you maturity by being the bigger man in front of the wife is priceless. I know that first hand. I was launching at the ramp on a busy day when one lane was being blocked by a boater with a dead battery. I asked if they needed a jump. By the time I was done I wished I had not. My freshly painted boat had two big digs in the side from where they let there boat bang into mine. They said “sorry, they should whip off, no big deal”. My wife told me later “ I thought your head was going to blow off when it happened but you kept your cool, you must be growing up ”. I said “not a chance, you know I live by the saying that no good deed goes unpunished.” I just hope one day someone will return the favor when I need it.