Yesterday I went fishing and on the way home the motors stalledanother boat had to tow us home and therefore got back to shore around 5:30 p.m. Before you say that Captain is irresponsible for taking the boat out which he may very well be it was not all his fault as the diesel truck did not show up this morning and therefore had to purchase diesel from a local gas station and put it in buckets and return to the boat to fill up the tank. But the reason the boat stalled is because his new filters which he got yesterday got clogged up and if the diesel truck had come they would have done what was neccesary to prevent the filters from getting clogged. Things like this or worse can happen on any party boat. I just put this in so people should not be surprised if which ever party fishing boat they fish on stalls or anything else that could happen. There have been boats in the past that hit a beach in the fog or went on fire in the middle of the ocean as recent as last year. Therefore my question is do you think that captains of party fishing boats should give all there customers aboard a free trip when the things above or anything else that can happen which delays a boat or puts customers through a hassle? Please post and let me know what you think.
Hi dreyday
Yes I did learn my lesson. But if a person who is charging someone money especially $40 should give something in return for the inconvenience, especially if the captain new beforehand he may have a promblem. Secondly if customers have to go into the water if a boat gets on fire etc and have there clothes made wet that is enough of a reason for a captain to give its customers a free trip in the future. I would take it a step further what happens if a fire happens on a boat in the middle of the Ocean in the Winter and if anyone gets hyperthermia I would think those customers have a right to sue the captain for causing someone to get sick. Remember it does not say anywhere on the fare card that they are not responsible for delays, injuries etc. It says nothing on the fare card besides what time the sails daily etc.
Hey Eli51,
What are you complaining about, you guys fished all day!! You state that the boat broke down on the way back in. And was towed back in. Consider it a part of the Adventure of fishing!!! If the boat broke down on the way out then you'd be justified in seeking some sort satisfaction from the skipper. Hey, nothing is 100% sure.
Hi JollyRoger190
I am not only talking about my situation. Last year got lost in fog and ended up on the beach where I think the customers had to go in the water and they got no refund. Secondly lets say there was someone who had plans and that extra hour makes a difference don't you think that customer should get a refund?
Consider this the one and only warning - DO NOT mention boats names in this thread. As an example of what happeend last year, of what happened yesterday.
FWIW - a charter had a battery fail, Seat Tow or Boat tow said they were coming 3 times, before they finally called the Coast Guard. Boat got back to teh marina at 10PM.
The HNIC of Teh NERBs
Co-Designer of the Seeker Hercules line of blanks & factory rods
Things out of the norm happen all the time with anything mechanical. A party boat with diesel engines in no exception. It's not something any skipper wants to have happen, but at times it does. The avarage problem is very rare. Ask yourself how many trips you have made when all went well.
I would commend the captain of that boat for a job well done. You made it back to port SAFE. I would guess your catch and all gear intact made it back as well. Things can get ugly real quick at sea, and getting home a little late should be no big deal.
As for a discount on ther next trip...."That Captain lost a mess of money that day for sure, cut him a break, as he didn't lose you"
Being a business owner here is my angle. In most situations there is a signed contract between two parties on what con$ideration is being paid for what service. You can never have to much detail. This is not the case when party boat fishing. You get on, you pay you fish (not catch, maybe you do.). In scenario one when the boat broke down coming back. That was an inconvienience but there was no negligence. In situation two when the boat ran a ground, I believe there was negligence and reason for a refund to be given. If there were no serious damages what can you do? sue? A missed meeting or appointment is not the end of the world, unless you can prove that the missed meeting cost you a lot of money. Missing a Barber appointment does not qualify.
Bottom line. There is an ethical and moral response to some of your situations that are not neccisarily backed up by the law. If you don't like the way you were treated. Don't fish on the boat anymore.
On a more positive note. My son and I were fishing for Flounder on one of the Captain Lou boats out of Freeport about five years ago. It was early July and they actually gave us a 1/2 off rain check for a rainy day. I never expected that and was pleasantly surprised that they offered it. That is a class act.
what do ya want next money back for not catching fish breakdowns happen . most of the time it cost the capt alot more money than the us in time or some wet cloths there are plenty of times the capt runs the boat at a loss for us to take a few guys fishing like was said above sh-t happens and as long as everyone walks away in one peice it is a good day
some guys would b!tch if you hung them with a new rope.
Theres only one situation I can think of, that would warrant at least a free trip, your 80nm out and the boat catches’ on fire because of neglect. you are put at great danger and are gun shy because of what happend.an investigation by the CG confirms that indeed the boat was negligent. but for what happend to you,chalk it up to sh!t happens.
you go out on these PB's enough,your bound to get a bad day,weather,fish,boat problems,googins lol and a few other's that I missed, maybe someone can fill in the blanks.GW
get over it.
First of all there was negligence on the captains part, because when the diesel truck did not show up and had to buy diesel at the gas station since there were only nine customers he should have said "we are not sailing today because we do not want to take a chance of getting stuck." This is because he got a new filter the day before and had the diesel truck showed up they would have done what was neccessary to make sure it would not have gotten clogged up. Infact the captain told me he is going to give it to the person responsible for the diesel truck not showing up because he said they would have done the neccessary work to make sure the filter is ok. Secondly in my opinion the captain should have had the boat which towed him pull over next to our boat and have that boat take the customers home. This way the customers would have gotten home pretty much on time and the captain could call the coast guard or a tow boat and taken care of his problem without the customers having to be inconvenienced. He could have anchored his boat so he would not flow away until the tow boat or coast guard would have shown up. As far as the boat that ended up on the beach due to fog last year was negligence on the captain because they have computers which tell them the altitude and longitude they are and know exatly how far west, east, souht or west they are and if it's shows a different number than the usual he should know that he is off course and should turn back on. That is why he should given all the customers on board a free trip in the future.
This post is nuts! Should you get a refund if your bus gets a flat tire on the way home from Atlantic City! Get over it it's only two hours of your life. You have wasted more then two hours trashing this poor boat who went out and probably lost money for the day because there were only 9 people on it. I dont post often and only like to read but this nuts!
This is on of the most a$$inine posts I have read on this site!
Eli, even better than a refund is the knowledge that the boat you were on is unreliable and therefore you should not waste your money going on it again!
Feel fortunate that you got off the boat safe and sound!
BTW-Now you know why some boats go out with a full boat and others go out with 7.