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Keys Boat Works, or, Pirates of the Caribbean (well, close, anyway)
I started to write this to a sailnet list member who'd recommended
them, citing, in particular, and repetitively, during our conversation, their honesty, but then I thought it might be better distributed to appropriate lists and groups - places which were following our odyssey - as fair warning to others. You probably know that we were taken to Keys Boat Works when Flying Pig was salvaged. Here's what I was going to send to my contact: They may be honest, but they sure aren't straightforward. Literally everyone (albeit a small sample, but well over one, and including a contractor who rented space) Lydia, the inveterate yard-walker/chatter- upper has spoken with, when told what we are being charged to sit here while they took their sweet time (over a week) to look at the boat (70+/day), and every day forward, i. e. effectively $500 a week, said that was impossible - they were paying more like 300-400/month. The contractor, e.g., in addition to the liveaboards she's chatted up, pointed to a boat next to ours, observing that it paid $300 a month. Yet, their liveaboard charges (supplement included in the 70+/day) alone amount to close to 500 a month, with no ground rent, for us. On confrontation today, we learned it was because it was an insurance job, and, even if we were to take on the project ourselves, the rate would not change. As it will no doubt be totaled, and every penny for the yard will come out of our pocket, effectively, they are knowingly raping us, as they are fully aware of the circumstances, and will make no adjustment to assist us, despite Sharon saying to Lydia, at the time, "You know, we have a lot of latitude in that." As you can guess, this is giving me an attitude, pardon the pun... Until we can remove it - at best, some time off - the charges will remain the same. In the event we were to use them for any repairs whatsoever, it will be at $100 per hour. Mike was candid to say that the daily price being charged was to force decisions, as they only want boats on which they can make those ground rents and if not, $100/hour whenever they touch it - if the boat won't be on their work schedule, effectively, they don't want it here, and the sooner the better it leaves, for them. And lest you think this an anomaly, today we learned in conversation with another prior customer of theirs that they charged him the same lay days while they hunted for parts for his boat (which he had brought to them to work on). It wasn't until he forced the issue (at some length of argument, and the possibility that he could do some reputation damage due to the nature of the work he does in the area) that they backed out the lay day charges for the time they'd been looking for the parts (and charging him appropriately - 100/hour - on receipt of them, after that time). Our only recourse is to leave. If on a truck, there is significant work which must be done to prepare it for transport (read: more lay day charges, plus their local labor for things which we can't do ourselves), and an as-yet unknown cost associated with the transport. If behind another boat, some work is needed to keep the water out, still requiring some additional days here. See other postings on that subject. We're stuck between the classical rock and a hard place... More adventures, to be sure, but the financial parts are getting very wearying, as there's no way out of this one; every day bleeds more of the little we have - and we don't yet know what the disposition of the insurance company will be. We could well be homeless (no boat, regardless of condition, if the insurance company takes it, less paid as settlement every day it sits), as well. Pictures of the adventure are now up on the web in our first gallery - click the link below to go to the main gallery and click on the upper left thumbnail. Stay tuned... L8R Skip Morgan 461 #2 Disaster link: http://ipphotos.com/FlyingPig.asp SV Flying Pig KI4MPC See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery! Follow us at http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog and/or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog "And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a clear night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize that you are quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to you that in the general scheme of things you are merely an insignificant speck on the surface of the ocean; and are not nearly so important or as self- sufficient as you thought you were. Which is an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one that may effect a permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly appreciated by your friends."- James S. Pitkin |
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