HMB tourney

I am totally jealous and wish I had not had family obligations down south that prevented me from coming out.  I hope to make the Elk tourney.  I fish most often for rockfish on the coast north of Elk.  Glad to hear everyone had such a good time, in spite of the weather.....

let me just say i had a good time once again with u guys got 2 the reef in saw rockhopper in a few guys hanging out what the hell is this about then i see the breaker,s holy shit 
now what look around in say f it go for it man did i pay for that i was so wet from the wave let me tell u i was spiting up salt water all day but  i did not flip  i will never do that again i was so beat i had 2 take Monday off no love for me i like 2 thank the folk that put the event together
also Javier way 2 go

hey everyone! I have an awsome time at my first NCKA derby. Although condition wasn't the greatest and the fishing a little slow  really I had a blast. I want to thank BILL ,chuck,and others for organizing the event. BTW congrats to the winner of the derby! Can't wait to do it again.

Aquan has ordered me a new boat, and they reimbursed the derby fee's, rod and gear i lost.  I just wanted to update you guys on how they handled the situation.  I didn't get a free kayak which Tote would've liked.  I most likely will be around for the Elk's tourney...hope to see you all there!!

John Hog

Bravo to Aquan! Sounds like they took care of the situation.

They should have given you a new Kayak,  They are going to get there money for the kayak from OK per the warranty. Not to mention the law suit you could have filed if you were injured. They survived a huge error on their part.  It is nice that they are reimbursing you the derby fee, the other equipment is the least they can do.
Jason

They should have given you a new Kayak,  They are going to get there money for the kayak from OK per the warranty. Not to mention the law suit you could have filed if you were injured. They survived a huge error on their part.  It is nice that they are reimbursing you the derby fee, the other equipment is the least they can do.
Jason

i agree with this feeling completely. however, i worked at a shop remting scuba gear and in the fine print for our rental gear we pretty much were released from any liability if the person using our gear had any emergencies or even resulted in death. in this day and age any place renting anything will have this if they set up shop the right way. specifically the reason in a case like this. also when renting gear you pretty much state that you are physically and mentally able and are prepared to use this equipment come hell or high water including emergencies. basically you state you know what to do if and when anything can and shall go wrong.

usually there is a clause which states you have throughly inspected the item(s) you are renting and when you sign you basically state that you are good to go with that item. perhaps aquan did not have this portion in this case.

i think when drafting up a rental agreement this is the first thing shops take into account. if they were smarter they would have included any lost gear resulting from use in there as well.

i am glad aquan did take care of the costs involved though. that puts merit to their name as an establishment.

i am sure that they will now work something into the rental forms about lost gear from rental use and other miscellaneous things to keep it all out of their hands.

thats america for ya though, we love to sue people and as a business i hope they cover their butts. people can sue for pretty much anything. smart businesses operate under good legal counsel and that helps to keep them competitive in today's world.

I don't know all the facts but I guess some clown sold him a floor model that had a gash?  Liability up the you know what on that one.  I would press them to get a free boat. By buying a new rod, equipment, and reg fee for the derby they are basically assuming responsibility for the mistake.   If the boat had a defect from the Manu then it is the manu who is responsible not as much Aquan, but from what I heard that is not the case.  I'm just glad everyone is ok.

By the way if it is a Manu defect then I would call OK and see if you could get a knew boat. I am pretty sure no one wants sinking kayaks on their resume.

Aquan =Overpriced,  bad vibe, very bad vibe.  If you need some Kayaking gear check out California Dive shop. Great white Kayaks, hook 1  They are super friendly and courteous.
Jason

Just to clarify the situation, the Prowler was damaged in transit by the shipping company (a forklift put a gash in the hull). It was my fault for not making it clear to the ENTIRE staff that this was a damaged boat for display. Unfortunately the one person, who did not know, sold the boat. I have made every effort to correct the situation by ordering John a new boat, refunding derby fees and all his lost gear, and offering our apologies. As JohnGuineaPig pointed out, our rental form has a disclaimer for just about every situation including this and lost gear. However, I believe in what is the right thing to do in a given situation regardless of waivers. He is right in that we unfortunately live in a time when people think they can sue for any reason. This is not one of those situations and I hope most of you feel the same way and are turned off by that kind of chatter.
Vince
Aquan Sports

So, I was wondering, will our boats really sink?  Like to the bottom of the ocean?  Or do they just not float so well when they are full of water?

aquansports you should have made every effort to tell your ENTIRE staff
was the kayak a  rental if not what does your form have to do with anything
the right thing to do in this given situation regardless of waivers is to refund his money
this was a very bad thing something like a new car with no brakes somebody could get hurt

so put you disclaimer in your pipe in smoke it
 

Clearly you are not referring to my personal opinion as chatter since sinking to the bottom of the pacific with hundreds of dollars of equipment isn't necessarily something us Kayak fisherman take lightly. Especially when someone knew the boat was defective, and although attempting to tell the entire staff you didn't get the word out enough.  Result= sinking craft, loss of gear.  Yes all things have been reimbursed but imagine if he didn't wait for his friend to gear up and paddled out to Mavericks before realizing his boat was a sinking.   sinking boat with knowledge of defect = liability.  Period.  What the heck does a waiver form have to do with anything.  This wasn't a rental.  Alas, everyone is safe which is all that matters in the end.
Jason

aaah i get it now, not a rental. well, that is bad. its unfortunate.

i guess there are no waivers for those now are there?

i'll smoke the disclaimer then...and shut my trap!

Different product but same scenario: What if it was a Boston Whaler instead of kayak that was sold (with a hole on it) And that you had your whole family with you when the boat sank and no one got hurt. Would you sue?

thats a good question. a trick question might it be. i would not sue because boston whalers are pretty much sink proof.

If I had a bad one made on a Friday i would want the cost of the lost gear and the cost of gas etc. if there was no injury what would I have to sue for if they had already agreed to pay for my losses and rescue costs as well as replacement boat.

if my family was on board i would make sure i have all of the necessary items needed for signaling help and also attempt of self rescue like a really high output bilge life vests and hopefully catch that hole before gettin in the water.

the problem is that there are people who sue not just for lost gear but for emotional issues. one can sue for anything. a defect can bring a lawsuit but in life people need to be prepared for whatever their environment may bring to them.

i could have sued when i rented a faulty bcd for scuba diving and it would not allow for me to float but i knew what to do and dealt with it on my own. the shop agreed to pay for the lost gear and that was that.

i know some folks are real fond of lawsuits and yes its a fact of life for anything we do and participate in. however, in order to sue and win in a case like this you have to prove that Aquan knowingly let the kayak go out the door with the damage. I don't think any business would risk that.

Accidents happen and that is life. Nobody is perfect and no number of lawsuit will ever cure that.

Some people seem to look at lawsuits as a panacea for all human mistakes. Sure I would sue for something I believed in and was completely done wrong but people should also realize that mistakes happen. Everyone has had something or another happen at some point in time and things like this are not unique.

Sometimes its just more efffort than its worth and I would never trade time to deal with a lawsuit over time I could spend doing something I like. Whats time worth anyways and whats money worth to you? Is money really the root to happiness? If you win a lawsuit will life just be that much better?

Sometimes experience is worth more than money though. Im not rich and I can't even miss a day of work but I still don't remember the last time I thought about sueing someone.

We live in a world where people think technology will overtake common sense and everything equates to dollars. When accidents happen its almost a point of disbelief and people react in weird ways.

I am convinced that the reason the Coastguard has rules on the water is because half of the people out there on the ocean don't belong in the water in the first place. We have all know someone who is a potential drowning victim and lack common sense. They think their floaty vest and sealed kayak will save them. Basicaly most people live in a world where they dream of a great day's fishing with nothing going wrong and in the morning they are scrambling like sloths, out of shape and bitchin about the paddling, have crap all over the deck of their kayaks and stuff stowed in places they cant even reach.

The equipment does not make you what you are, its the knowledge of how to use the tools you have and the place you are at when conditions area perfect or when something goes wrong.

Sure I would have been pissed at the whole sinking kayak situation but you know that it didn't happen because Aquan wanted it to happen. It was a mistake. Aquan took responsibility for it and thats the way it is.

Sure in some parts of the middle East you would have your hand or foot lopped off with a machete and have your family threatened had you been the owner of a shop but as Americans I would like to think that we are more understanding and that we realize that there are risks involved in what we do.

Speaking of self rescue, I need to learn this myself and I should take a class. Sounds like something that may be useful someday.

suing and lawyers suck and are for sissypantses. it is cooler to just punch somebody in the mouth.

that said, I hope john hog lets it go chooses not to sue or punch anybody in the mouth
and we can move on.

aquan, did you read my thread about sink-proofed kayaks?

What do you think about sit on top kayaks that don't sink so easily?

I mean kayakfishermen are foaming or pool-noodling their boats. It is retarded to leave such an
important thing to the end-user.

the comment about the whalers is offbase cause they are filled with foam and if you cut them
in half, they still float. 



unlike with plastic sit on top kayaks.

affectionately yours,

john pool-noodle