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February - March 2017 February - March 2017 66 67 boatingonthehudson.com Find Us On Facebook at Boating On The Hudson
reserve. A safe way to calculate, is to record your hourly
fuel use between fill ups. Take your average fuel use per
hour and adjust it for active conditions on the water.
Before you go out, check to see where you may refuel if
need be. With gas prices now the lowest in several years,
keep your tank full and enjoy boating on the Hudson
and Long Island Sound.
Robert A Karas, C.P.C.U., C.L.U. and Cathy J Karas C.I.C., Karas
Insurance Agencies Inc., 321 South Riverside Ave., Croton-
on-Hudson, NY 10520. We can be reached for comments or
quotes on any type insurance, personal or business by phone
at 914-271-5188 or email .
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only.
Contact your own insurance company or broker for specific
information on your own policy, or manufacturer of your boat
for fueling information.
At this timeof year, our agency receives several phone
calls from some of our watercraft insurance customers
asking if they can temporarily cancel their policies, since
they are not using their boats. For many reasons this is a
bad idea. On January 1st of this year at a marina in New
Rochelle, a boat caught on fire and damaged other boats
and there was an injury. Without boat insurance that
includes your hull and machinery, your own boat would
not have coverage, and the subsequent damage the fire
caused to the other boats would not be covered as well
as the injury. Your watercraft liability insurance, also
sometimes called protection and indemnity would provide
legal defense and payment to the other boat owners for
the damage to their boats and pay the medical costs of the
injured, if you were found to be negligent. An electrical
malfunction due to a faulty connection or old wiring that
should have been be replaced could be instances where
you might be determined to be negligent. I don’t know
if the cause has been determined of that fire yet, but I
hope the owner of the boat where the fire started had hull,
machinery and liability insurance. Most marinas and yacht
clubs require you have at least liability insurance. What is
your liability limit? As you can see, your exposure to being
sued for a large amount of money could be a potentially
more common occurrence than you think, rather than a
remote one. Your liability limit should be more than the
total of all of you assets and future earnings. Other causes
of loss that can occur to your boat off season would be
vandalism, wind or theft. Storm Sandy caused many boats
to lift off their jack stands, topple over and suffer severe
damage. In some cases the boats were determined total
losses. Also for cost reasons, letting your policy cancel
and then having to start it again with a lapse can mean
the replacing insurance company will charge more as the
continuous discount is lost.
Your Insurance
with Cathy Karas.
Maintaining Your
Boat Insurance
in the Off Season
and Proper
Fueling
In Season
Unrelated to this topic,
but equally important
to keep in mind as
the boating season
approaches, is to be
sure you always have
more than enough
fuel. Whether you
have a large cruiser,
fishing boat, sailboat
or a jetski, if you run
out of gas there is a
possibility of floating
around in a dangerous
area, being exposed to
weather elements or
darkness ( often without
appropriate clothing
or food and water). At
minimum, this event can
spoil your day. Running
out of gas is one of
the most common
causes of emergency
towing calls. It is both
a very inconvenient
and expensive event.
In some cases, it can
be dangerous and life-threatening for you and your
passengers. The U.S. Coast Guard will not help you unless
you have an event where people’s lives are in danger and
you have to make a “mayday” call. You may have towing
coverage on your boat policy, so see what the limit is.
Sea Tow and other vendors can often offer a higher limit
in terms of cost and/or more miles they will pay for a tow.
Why do boats run out of fuel? First, fuel gauges on boats
are notoriously inaccurate. Gauges are affected by many
things. The float in the tank can get stuck, the angle of the
boat in the water will change giving the gas level a false
reading. Fuels tanks are rarely symmetrical. Depending
on the tank shape and contour, a reading of one half may
actually be closer to one quarter. Many other factors will
affect your gas consumption. A big load of passengers
and gear will cause you to burn more fuel. Wind, waves
and current and a dirty barnacle covered bottom will
drive up consumption also. Going on a trip? One sound
rule is to start with a full tank, allow one third to get to
your destination, one third to return and one third as a
photo: newrochelletalk.com photo: shipmonk.co.uk