So some of you may have noticed that I picked up a new to me Prindle 19. I'm almost finished with college, and working at a Co-op right now, but this was a huige purchase for me, even if it was cheap for a cat. Anyhow, I started Towing the thing down from where I bought it to my home beach on fridaya night. About halfway there, the hub on the trailer decided to surgically dismantle itself. Well the wheel bounced up and cruches itself a nice wheel sized leaky, spongy, cracked up, soft spot in the middle of my nicde hull. The force of the trailer failling onto its axel mashed up a similar spot right on the bottom of the hull in the stern. Somehow in the middle of all of this The rudder casting got broken. All damage was to the starboad hull(unless I missed something) I had to have it towed, trailer repaired, and no I can't even sail it :-( Sighh, Well I haven't even had a chance to register it yet, let alone insure it. I'm not sure there was anything tha' I should have noticed about that hub that would have warned me. I took the boat to my fiance's parrents house, (closest place where I can take the hull off and possibly start repairs) Guess I'm going to have to be satisfied with a boat with a couple not-so-flush fiberglass spots on the inside of her hull. Anyone got a rudder casting that they would let go cheap? Anyone in CA got a prindle 19 starboard hull cluttering up their backyard/garage/barn/beach? No pictures, as I suddenly can't find my digital cammera. After spending last weekend working on my truck, I hope that maybe my bad luck streak might finally be winding down.

Man, sorry to read that!

Assuming your trailer was hooked to you vehicle, as you were towing it, you boat, and trailer should be covered under your vehicle's insurance policy. If some of the above is not true, like it was not hooked to you vehicle or you don’t have car insurance, then do you have renters or homeowners insurance?

I tried the car insurance thing, they said that it was not covered under my automobile insurance, I thought that it would be also, I intend to call back today and talk to someone else. I don't own a home, so no homeowners.

If you are a full-time college student, you will often be covered by your parents homeowners policy - look into it. Someone broke into my college apartment when I was in school and my losses were covered by their policy.

Good Luck

I will look into all this insurance stuff, thank you guys for the ideas, The trailer is repaired, I have a freind of a guy I sail with all the time, who is apparently a fiberglass genius, I met him a couple times and he agreed to repair the boat if I take it apart and bring him the hull. I described the damage as best I could and he think he can make it stronger(if a tiny bit heavier) than it was. HE has tremendous experience with this sort of repair, so I might have a working boat again within a month. Anlthough getting hte insurance to pay would be great. I guess i better take lots of pictures of damage before I take him the hull though or I won't get anything even if they do cover it. I kept reciepts from the tow truck and the trailer parts place for that purpose. Thanks again for the sympathy and insurance ideas. The boat was in really great shape, so hopefully it will be again. I'm still trying to be excited about a new boat, without being too bummed out about my set-back.

Sorry to add to the whine, but you went out on the highway with trailer hubs of unknown (and maybe no) greasing history-- this is gambling with your rig and maybe somebody else's front teeth.
1. It doesn't take that long to jack up each side and spin the wheel, even with a cement block and 2x4, to see if it rumbles. (If so = bad bearing). If it rumbles, stop and check after a mile and see if the hub got hot. If so, stop now.
2. Grease it anyway, even if not replacing old bearings, cannot hurt!
3. Price of new bearings and 2 dollar's worth of grease are really cheap - compared to the alternative.

Now you know- and it was learned the hard way!
Signed, Mr. Ben Thereonce

So i just spent the last half hour on the phone with insurance companies. They all say that NO insurance policy will cover a boat except a BOAT insurance policy. so all of you out there get one. Your auto insurance will not cover the boat while you are towing it, it will cover the liability of any damage that your boat doesw to someone elses property, but not any damage done to the boat. It is covered under homeownes or renters if it is not at your home. It is not covered under my parents homeownbers if it is not at there home. The trailer which might have been covered under auto insurance is not covered as soon as they find out that the trailer carries a boat. Because then it falls under the afformentioned BOAT policy. So bottom line is, if you buy a boat from a private party, start a boat policy before you pick it up or you are NOT protected in the least. My agent represnts several indemnity companies, not just All State, she assured me that this was the case with all of them. So everyone I strongly suggest that you go out and get boat insurance today. Big learning experience for me, I thought it would be covered becasue I just bought it, but no. She said the "responsible" thing to do was to start a policy befor eyou pick anythinglike that up. I was at the point of strangleing this woman throught the phone because she kept talking to me like I was 12. But I guess thats the rules. Hope no-one else has this this problem, learn from my mistake.

In response to the hub grease advice, that is not what failed, I did check that. It was the actual casting that blew apart where the lug nuts connect. I have talked to some people and have heard of no way to check for this particular weekness, a mechanic freind says "I've seen it happen a couple times, but its wierd." Anyhow, bearing were actually still good after the incedent. Don't know what to say, but hub kits are only $35 through Cabellas and not much more from a trailer shop, so if you see and cracks replace mmediately. Although not sure you will see cracks before the thing comes apart. I Guess this is rare. But Yes I did go over the trailer before going onto the freeway, checked tires, spun/greased bearing, re-wired lights, added saftey chain, killed evil hornets who had made nest in tongue. I hates bees.

Hey, I thought you were about to buy a Tornado for $800 smacks?

Well the tornado is a shared oporutnity between myself and a freind. And yes I think that we are about to do it. But since we have no trailer for a tornado, It would be some time before that could be used anywhere but our own tiny little beach in morro Bay. I wanted to start racing again soon. So I got the Prindle. The other thing is that my freind also has a prindle and we can race each other. I didn't find out about the tornado untill after i had pretty much finalized things with the Previous prindle owner. As the prindle is mostly on my credit card(thank you courtesy checks) I will be waiting a bit for the tornado. Its not going anywhere, and I can see I'm getting in over my head. I need to slow down the spending right now. BU tyeah I'm hoping to get the tornado. At elast half off it. I have found someone to help me fix the boat correctly, sos I spent a little more money, but leassons learned, and hopefully I will learn alot about doing some quality boat repair. The guy who is going to help with the repairs happens to be the same individual with the tornado. Wow, I have way too much going on right now for a poor college kid. I don'y want you guys to think I just have lots of money to spend, I am in student loans up' to my eyeballs, and I work my butt off to try to make ends meet without asking for help. I'm alsos engaged to be married. See very full plate. I was very bummed this weekend about wrecking the prindle, but it will turn out. ANd I might learn alot, and get closer to getting a tornado running. Wow, that was long winded. Abridged life story lol.

Cool.

Let me know when you're in need of a tboat trailer...I've just about finished building mine that Dad & I designed.
Alternatively, you don't need a specialized trailer...the boat can be dismantled in about an hour by two people who know what to do. Any light duty small trailer can carry the dismantled boat.

Mike.

i will, and your in Ventura or that area right?

Yup.

Hey man, I feel your pain about being in the hole financially and wanting to sail. I just graduated from school a year ago, and while I have a decently paying job, its still hard to get established in life, save some money, and make ends meet. I was in the process of finalizing financing on a new tornado, when my car's transmission bit the bullet and I had to put my grand sailing plans on hold. Just had to buy a new car, and, well, I'm probably going to have to sell the hobie to pay for a shiney ring for the misses. Which is why I haven't been around here recently, it kind of depresses me to see all you guys out there having fun while I'm stuck with a broken comptip and a leaky hull.
Ah well, better days are coming, at least thats what I keep telling myself.

NOOOOO!!!! Not the boat!!! Just a bit of advise from an old guy... Don't sell the boat! It will be years before you get another one, the resentment will build, the new wife will either 1.)Be looked at in a different light because you're not sailing, 2.)She'll smack you in the head with a frying pan while you sleep because thats the only time you're not talking about getting another boat, 3.) You'll throw her out because there is never enough time or money to get a boat or go sailing.

If you keep the boat it will be easier to go sailing and life will be good during the lean times.

The only thing my first wife didn't get was my boat!!!
And that was fine with me.!!!

Good luck either way,

Clayton
Stiletto 27, Hobie 16

Maugen--Buy the comp tip, fix the leaky hull, and purchase a cheaper ring! If she doesn't understand that, she might not be the girl for you anyway...

Kevin
Prindle 18

Aren't we talking about the same girl that enjoyed receiving a trapeze harness for Christmas?

Ohh, now thats a great girl. My fiance loves to go sailing with me, but I think If I bought her sailing gear for christmas I'd get the frying pan treatment that was mentioned above. Thats my passion not hers, lol.

An Update on the boat though. I am taking the dammaged hull too an aquaintence tommorrow. This gentleman is VERY experienced working on catamarans, I have every confidence, that the boat will be up and running perfectly next weekend!!! I'll let you know, I'm hoping to get to help with the repairs, I'd like to be able to do this stuff myself.

I have NEVER received an engagement ring, and I finally got a wedding ring after Rick and I were married a few years. I made the mistake of wearing it while we were racing, and it almost broke the little finger on my left hand from pulling in a sheet in heavy air. My finger still has a dent in it, and the ring got mooshed into a weird shape. I finally managed to get it off my hand, by bending it with a pliers, and I haven't worn it since.

It is dangerous to wear any kind of jewelry when you are sailing. Fortunately, the ring I had was gold, so it gave before my finger did. I hate to think what would have happened if the ring had been made of stainless steel.

The latest trend is for rings made from titanium.