[Billpotter]

Insuring older boats; and older small (less than 25' with a single engine) boats is a challenge:

Insurers have historically had bad experiences with older boats- everyone says their boat is fully restored/ well maintained/ pampered lady/ etc- I hear it all the time: Sometimes it's true, most times it's not- present company excluded.

My philosophy is to advise my clients, and set my own boats up with multiple layers of prevention/ protection: good drainage, water tight decks and plumbing, proper electrical system with redundant bilge pumping capacity, high water alarm, etc. Question: what will happen of your bilge pump(s) stop functioning, and you are taking spray over the bow/ transom? Will your boat down flood, eventually loose buoyancy and sink, or will the water flow back overboard? Something to think about.......

We've gone on vacation for the last several summers to the Berries (80 miles east of Bimini); our only practical option is to "fly without a net"- no insurance outside of our navigational limits; no coast guard, seatow, or LOCAL Towboat/US- I carry a heavy cable and lock to secure the boat; full spares, the phone number of a friend with an airplane to deliver spares, and Tow Boat/US coverage. I was told by the operator of the Fort Lauderdale operation; they'd come and get me for an additional nominal fee. It's the price I pay to go off grid.

We all say we want to go on a real adventure, well, most real adventures are adventures that no one will insure; it's one way of knowing you're going to do the real thing.

Sometimes the best adventures start off being a little scary.