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Tender and outboard on a charter: who pays for damage and loss?
Short answer
The tender takes most of the small knocks on a charter: a slashed tube, an outboard dropped over the side, a dinghy gone overnight. Which of those comes out of your deposit is written in the charter agreement.
On a charter the tender works harder than anything else aboard. It is dragged up shingle beaches, tied to harbour walls, towed astern and left at anchor in bays while the crew eats ashore. The damage is therefore always the same: a tube torn on sharp rock, a propeller that touches bottom in the shallows, a painter that parts in a steep sea, an outboard that slips into the water while being lifted on or off, and theft overnight when the dinghy or its engine is left unsecured at the stern.
Who pays is settled by the charter agreement. The tender and outboard are often listed as equipment covered by the security deposit, and some agreements say in terms that both must be secured or brought aboard at night. Where that has not been done, the charter company may treat a theft as the charterer's own fault. Deposit insurance does not pick up every one of these cases either. Read the wording to see whether the tender and outboard are included at all and whether a lock is a condition for theft.
A little effort prevents most of it. Inspect the tender, pump, oars and outboard at check-in as carefully as the yacht and photograph existing damage. Keep a lanyard on the outboard whenever it is moved, lock it with a cable in bays and harbours, and bring the dinghy close astern or on deck overnight. If something does go, tell the base straight away and report a theft to the local police or port authority. Without that report very few deposit insurers will refund anything.
Worth remembering
By day
a lanyard on the outboard
By night
tender on deck or locked
The tender is the most expensive small item on the deposit.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Is a stolen outboard on a charter covered?
That depends on the charter agreement and on any deposit insurance you hold. Many require the engine to have been locked. Without a lock and a police report the loss often stays with the charterer.
What should I do if the tender breaks loose under tow?
Tell the base at once and note position, time and weather. In any sea it is better to bring the tender aboard beforehand than to tow it on a long painter.
Should the tender be on the check-in inventory?
Yes. Tubes, floor, valves, pump, oars and outboard belong on the check-in sheet. Old damage that is not listed there will otherwise be put down to you at check-out.
Related
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