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Fleet Admiral
- Joined
- May 26, 2009
- Messages
- 9,715
Re: $ for assistance on the water
Tilliam's right, you "you can't accept money for gas from friends because then you need to be licensed as a captain, be inspected for carrying passengers, etc." But it won't be an issue unless you get in a serious accident (as in death/sinking) AFTER you take money, and your insurance company tries to weasel out of coverage due to your commercial use. Or if you advertise on Craigslist, etc. that you will take strangers fishing "for gas and bait money" and a licensed charter captain doesn't like your unlicensed competition.
As for the Salvage v. Tow distinction, you won't typically have that matter in a recreational setting. However, I remember seeing something about how some tow companies charge you differently for a tow (broke down) or stranding (stuck on a sand bar) even though they may be just as much (or little) work, and also your "coverage" with a tow company may give you a "tow" for the cost of your dues but hit you up full freight for a "salvage." So if you're soft aground, tell 'em it's motor trouble!
And those old maritime laws will get muddled up in determining a lawsuit over recreational use if the stakes are high enough. There was a serious jetski accident, in Florida IIRC, and whether the court applied Federal maritime law or state tort law was the difference between a $2000 award and a $2 million award. Too complicated to go into here, but it affected how another case in another state was resolved; I was involved in the legal aspects of it.
Bottom line is that when the stakes are high, all these technicalities rule the day. When everyone is OK just doing their ordinary thing, it doesn't matter.
Tilliam's right, you "you can't accept money for gas from friends because then you need to be licensed as a captain, be inspected for carrying passengers, etc." But it won't be an issue unless you get in a serious accident (as in death/sinking) AFTER you take money, and your insurance company tries to weasel out of coverage due to your commercial use. Or if you advertise on Craigslist, etc. that you will take strangers fishing "for gas and bait money" and a licensed charter captain doesn't like your unlicensed competition.
As for the Salvage v. Tow distinction, you won't typically have that matter in a recreational setting. However, I remember seeing something about how some tow companies charge you differently for a tow (broke down) or stranding (stuck on a sand bar) even though they may be just as much (or little) work, and also your "coverage" with a tow company may give you a "tow" for the cost of your dues but hit you up full freight for a "salvage." So if you're soft aground, tell 'em it's motor trouble!
And those old maritime laws will get muddled up in determining a lawsuit over recreational use if the stakes are high enough. There was a serious jetski accident, in Florida IIRC, and whether the court applied Federal maritime law or state tort law was the difference between a $2000 award and a $2 million award. Too complicated to go into here, but it affected how another case in another state was resolved; I was involved in the legal aspects of it.
Bottom line is that when the stakes are high, all these technicalities rule the day. When everyone is OK just doing their ordinary thing, it doesn't matter.