Boating New Zealand — January 2018

86 Boating New Zealand

Buying a second-hand boat then discovering it has been

used for smoking P can be an expensive business. Mariner is

introducing a new benefit to its policies: if you buy a second-

hand boat and find it has been contaminated with meth within

the first six months, you will get a pay-out of $5,000 towards

clean-up costs.

Another benefit Mariner is adding to its policies in 2018 is

cover for vet bills if your dog or cat gets injured aboard. And

while some owners enjoy cruising with their cat or dog, not all

animals are as welcome aboard. Vermin infestations are another

big insurance issue, as rats and possums can do a lot of damage

to a boat’s interior if they decide to move in.

“It’s especially a problem with trailer boats, where they

might chew through the covers, but also moored boats, where

people might leave hatches or covers open and the rats can get

in,” Mortimer says. “Once you’ve got a family of rats in your

boat, they can eat into the squabs and make a terrible mess.

“I often speak to people who says these things have

happened to their boats, and I say ‘Why didn’t you tell us?’

Often they didn’t know that sort of thing was covered by their

insurance and they could claim for it.”

NAVIGATION BLIPS

Mortimer says there are a few traps for the unwary when it

comes to relying on electronic navigation systems. He knows of

one client who brought some second-hand boat electronics in

from the United States, including a depth sounder.

“He installed it and all was hunky dory until he went out for

a cruise and didn’t realise it was calibrated to read in feet, not

metres. He ended up with rather less water under him than he

had hoped, and ended up hitting the bottom.”

Other boo-boos include relying on electronics for navigation

and not spending enough time looking out the window, and

getting the scale wrong when using a smartphone or other device

with a small screen, and not being able to see hazards nearby.

“We had one person who put the navigation cursor on top

of a rock on the chart, then they handed over to someone else

to drive, who assumed that was the way point they were aiming

for. We call that a GPS-assisted grounding.”

In terms of protecting your pride-and-joy, you also need

to be doing your bit to make sure your boat isn’t stolen. Just

trusting to luck or parking it somewhere you think is safe isn’t

enough. “Most of the trailer boat claims we get are around

security,” Mortimer says. “There are a number of recognised

security devices on the market now – an old padlock and a bit of

chain doesn’t really cut it anymore.”

And it’s worth knowing that if your boat does get stolen,

your insurance policy may cover the paying out of a reward, for

information that leads to the boat being recovered.

Mortimer says a useful tip for buyers of second-hand boats

TOP RIGHT A runaway

boat and trailer aren’t a

welcome sight on a busy

motorway.

RIGHT Your own boat

burning to the waterline

is bad enough – but

things really get messy

if it spreads to the

neighbours.