Insurance for Woods design or homebuilt

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by thatguyrob

All that I want is liability insurance for my homebuilt searunner.....

Good luck with that, if you have any luck let us know. I think at the very least they will want you to fully cover the boat no matter which company you go with. You can ask for their least agreed value policy.

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by Thumbs Up

For liability only and not requiring a survey I have claimed that my hulls are fiberglass composite. If you say wood you will be denied. If you are building a Woods from scratch, you should build it with a foam core not ply, I am sure that Richard Woods can provide for plans in foam core composite. You will have a more valuable boat and won't cost that much more. Woods is a member here, maybe he will chime in. Getting it certified to USCG passenger carrying standards during the build is an option to look into as well.

Sounds like a sure way of getting any claim refused by the IC.

[Thumbs Up]

But I needed a policy to show to the marina manager. There was no other viable option.

[fourlyons]

For liability only, on my self built, wood/ply/epoxy ketch, I went with Progressive through USAA. No survey, I was honest about the details and it is less than $200 a year. This is in the US by the way.

[Sand crab]

I had stated value full coverage with BoatUS on my Crowther tri in Washington State without a survey. It was cold molded with a fiberglass skin. I think BoatUS was bought out by Geico.

So many "fiberglass" boats have some type of wood core that calling them fiberglass is not incorrect. Would you call a foam core boat a foam boat?

[Rotten Ricky]

Originally Posted by Thumbs Up

For liability only and not requiring a survey I have claimed that my hulls are fiberglass composite. If you say wood you will be denied. If you are building a Woods from scratch, you should build it with a foam core not ply, I am sure that Richard Woods can provide for plans in foam core composite. You will have a more valuable boat and won't cost that much more. Woods is a member here, maybe he will chime in. Getting it certified to USCG passenger carrying standards during the build is an option to look into as well.

I have had a plywood multi-hull for 12 years and I plead with you to not buy or build yours of plywood, but use a foam composite. Even though mine was surveyed for me and I have considerable experience and skills, you cannot detect all hidden faults in workmanship ahead of purchase, and the buyer of yours will find the same. Those deep faults are serious and very expensive to correct. Mine is a joy to sail, but has been a nightmare of repairs and very little sailing. Consider:

- Forget the romantic notion of a "wooden" boat, as it is just as much epoxy and glass. Just because you might enjoy working with and are familiar with wood, this is not a good reason to build a boat of it.

- The hull and deck represents only a portion of the total cost. The difference in cost between wood and composite hull and deck is small - maybe 5% - when you consider the entire boat.
- Wood requires expensive epoxy resin at about 3 or 4 times the cost of polyester. You cannot use polyester on wood successfully.

- Epoxy, and even Vinylester, is very toxic stuff, and you cannot help but get it on you and in you. It can be devastating to your health.

- You will be wedded to epoxy forever for all repairs.

- Marine plywood is now very expensive.

- Ongoing maintenance will be much more than with a composite boat.

- To seal the wood, every puncture for hardware through the skin requires drilling oversize, filling, fairing and re-drilling, as all sealants fail at some point and you do not know when.

- You can easily make sheets of composite almost any size and shape you want on a flat table, reducing joints.

- Most scrapes or other damage can be easily repaired without water impregnating the wood core.

- You will find insurance easier and less expensive to obtain.

- At the end, and after years of work, you will have a boat that has retained much of its resale value instead of one that is worth very little because people are not interested in buying the pitfalls of a wooden boat.

Please, please, please - build of composite and not wood.

Cheers, RR.

PS. Take lots of pics while building and keep records. Good luck.

[thatguyrob]

Originally Posted by fourlyons

For liability only, on my self built, wood/ply/epoxy ketch, I went with Progressive through USAA. No survey, I was honest about the details and it is less than $200 a year. This is in the US by the way.

Thanks for the info.....so it is possible