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Question about insurance

S

SeanRhone

New member
I'm hoping to join this race in a couple years and have a question, more like a million questions, about insurance. At this point I'm guessing that the boat I purchase for the race will need to be financed and that got me thinking about insurance needs for the race.

This will be my first boat that I've owned so this is all new to me.

So, is it possible to get insurance coverage for the race? If insurance is not available, what do most people do? If insurance coverage is not available and my boat is financed are there "bad things" that happen if I do the race without extra coverage; like the insurance company dropping me?

Thanks for all your help!

Sean
 
Sean, first I hope you do the race someday. Everyone who has done it will tell you the rewards far exceed the risks. Unfortunataly insurance is one of the risks. My experance has been Lightspeed was insured in the 2012 PacCup race with a crew but denied insurance in the 2014 SSS Race both over and even on the returned with a crew (said I might have broken something in the race). Right or wrong this issue is passion over logic. Good luck.
 
You'll almost certainly be "self-insured" for a SHTP (i.e. uninsured). The problem will not be with your insurance carrier, since once you're outside their navigation limits you simply won't have coverage. The problem is the lender could call the loan due if you violate the loan requirements. One of those requirements is to have insurance coverage.

It's what we live with. If you have more boat (and loan) than you can afford to lose, you probably shouldn't be doing the race.
 
Thanks for your input. So it looks like I need to buy less boat and pay cash. Now to start looking at boats under $35k.
 
My entire budget is $35K - got an olson 30 for a third of that, new mast, sails, deck layout, puts me right at 35ish. it can be done!
 
Harrier said:
Don't forget the SHTP entry fee, which has become fairly sizable in recent years.
Click to expand...

I see the fee for 2014 was $950 for a non-member. What got me was the Excel expense sheet I found on another site for the PacCup. It can get pricey pretty quick outfitting a boat.
 
bizirka said:
My entire budget is $35K - got an olson 30 for a third of that, new mast, sails, deck layout, puts me right at 35ish. it can be done!
Click to expand...

Are you sailing back or shipping? I think I read that sailing back in an Olsen 30 is "rough" and wondering about the shipping cost. I am considering an Olson 30 or J/30. I guess the silver lining to all this is, I should be able to do the race in 2018 since I'm scaling back on the selected boat.
 
SeanRhone said:
Are you sailing back or shipping? I think I read that sailing back in an Olsen 30 is "rough" and wondering about the shipping cost. I am considering an Olson 30 or J/30. I guess the silver lining to all this is, I should be able to do the race in 2018 since I'm scaling back on the selected boat.
Click to expand...

I am sailing back. Going to learn to play an instrument...hopefully.
 
Has anyone actually tried to get insurance for singlehanding to Hawaii? Is it even possible? It seems like the Open 60 boats manage to do this somehow.
 
Lots of boats like an Olson 30 have been sailed back from Hawaii over the years. Lots have been shipped back as well. Does anyone have a good guess at the ratios? I would think that for boats 30' and under the ratio is closer to 50/50 than 0/100 or 100/0. Keep in mind that if you plan to ship then you will need a trailer. Not likely to get a trailer with the purchase of a J/30 or similar.

From what I've seen the return can be more enjoyable than the trip over. Even on an Olson 30.
 
svShearwater said:
Has anyone actually tried to get insurance for singlehanding to Hawaii? Is it even possible? It seems like the Open 60 boats manage to do this somehow.
Click to expand...


Do they? You can insure anything, it's just a question of cost, I guess.

When I did the Pac Cup doublehanded, I looked into insurance (admittedly at kind of the 11th hour) and basically it was a no-go. I wasn't even insured when I was in coastal waters of Hawaii. My biggest worry was that I would hit someone else near Hawaii, or have the boat sink on a reef and then have to pay for environmental salvage. If the boat sank mid-ocean, I figured I'd have more to worry about than losing the boat.

Also, if you have an Olson 30 and already own the trailer, shipping back will be not that bad on cost or headache.
 
Wait, if you already own a J/120, why even talk about an Olson 30??? J/120 would be a great ride.
 
pogen said:
Wait, if you already own a J/120, why even talk about an Olson 30???
Click to expand...

Like they say on Facebook, "It's Complicated."

Shearwater, you might contact my agent, Chris Boome: [email protected] Chris has handled my boat insurance for a long time and does so for many of the race boats on SF Bay. He races his J/32 "Rhapsody" in SSS so he gets it.

We don't say a lot to the companies about what we do - you have to decide if you want to go down that road.
 
BobJ said:
Like they say on Facebook, "It's Complicated."
Click to expand...

That means screwing more than one person at a time, or having more than one boat at a time? Is it OK to sail another boat, if you do it out of town, on a charter basis?

What happens in Friday Harbor stays in Friday Harbor, or so I'm told. ;)
 
You are getting warmer! Not the screwing part.

Technically, I wasn't asking about the O30, the OP was, but I am looking into both shipping and sailing back.

We had really reasonable insurance for Pac Cup DH last year. No problem at all. Didn't even need a new survey. I've not tried to get insurance for singlehanding. Just wondering if anyone has succeeded before I try. Cost is a factor, but as the value of your boat goes up, your willingness to pay for insurance goes up as well.
 
Was just talking to my agent for a renewal and asked him about solo insurance. He basically said, no, not really possible.
 
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