MHY Boat Types

Gordon RingbergSenior Underwriter

Boats and Yachts come in all shapes and sizes. The goal of todays presentation is to help you identify risk attributes of the different boat types so you develop the proper rate in MAGIC.

Additional information about specific makes and models can be found at: - Discover Boating’s Buyer Guide - iboats.com – All New Boat Types - YachtWorld.com - BoatTest.com

Runabout

“Runabout”, “family day-boat”, “bow rider” and “sport boat” describe this class of boat built for fun and comfort on the water, but without overnight accommodations. Bow riders are the most popular in this category, thanks to the spacious seating in their open bow area. Swim platforms are handy for swimming, donning skis or just dangling toes in the water when at anchor. Closed bow sport boats are fast and ideal for smaller crews who enjoy the sleek sports car look. Larger runabouts may include wet bars, icemakers and refrigerators in the cockpit. A small head may be built in under the console. Runabouts can be powered by inboard, outboard, jet drive, or inboard-outboard (I/O) drives. Engines can be gasoline or diesel. Most runabouts can be trailered.

Common Manufactures are: Chris Craft, Formula, Hacker Craft, Larson, Regal, Riva, Sea Ray

With no accommodations, these boats seldom venture far from home unless they are on a trailer. Open bowriders can be swamped by heavy seas and are not suited for coastal navigation, and passengers riding up front can sustain back injuries if the operator does not control their speed in large waves. Watch for runabouts with higher horse power that will require an operator with good boating experience. Sport boats that exceed 65 mph need to be written in MHP.

Pontoon/Tritoon

Pontoons /Tritoons feature comfort on the water with living room-like couches, lounges and swivel seats that beckon boaters to sit back and relax. Considered stable, slow and lazy craft, when equipped with higher horsepower they have the speed and power needed to pull skiers and tubers. Usually outboard, but can be powered by an I/O. Most have aluminum hulls and structure. Pontoons have two hulls and Tritoons have three.

Common Manufactures are: Aloha, Aqua Patio, Avalon , Bentley, Berkshire, Crestliner, Cypress Cay, G3, Gillgetter, Harris FloteBote, JC, Manitou, Parti Kraft, Premier Marine, Princecraft, Sanpan, South Bay, Starcraft, Sun Cruiser, Sun Tracker, Sunchaser, Sunset Bay, Sweetwater, Sylvan, Tuscany, Veranda

Theses boats are popular on inland lakes and rivers, but because of low freeboard, are not acceptable in coastal waters. The large open decks are inviting to many guests. It is not safe for passengers to ride on the foredeck and dangle their feet in the water while underway, too many people have fallen between the pontoon to be hit by the propeller. Warning labels regarding safe loading, carbon monoxide, fueling and riding on the bow decks must be located in prominent locations.

Cruiser / Express Cruiser

These boats have accommodations for comfortable overnight cruising, including a galley, a head and bunks making them great for family trips. “Express Cruiser” indicates that the boat can achieve greater speed. These may be inboard, outboard, I/O or jet powered. Most are fiberglass, but older models may be wood, steel or aluminum. Cruisers under 30 feet can usually be trailered. Speed is generally around 35 mph for cruisers and 50 mph for express cruisers, but will vary depending on boat length and HP. Cruisers can be navigated on lakes, rivers and near coastal waters.

Common Manufactures are: Bayliner, Chaparral, Chris Craft, Cobalt, Crownline, Formula, Four Winns, Glastron, Larson, Mariah, Monterey, Regal, Rinker, Sea Ray

Cruiser style boats can be attractive by their perceived ease of use to inexperienced boaters. While they may be less complicated than a Motor Yacht, there are complex systems which must be maintained. A general rule of thumb for classing; Cruisers have a “downstairs” and Runabouts don’t.

Trawler

Trawlers are designed to resemble and perform like commercial fishing vessels. Displacement or semi-displacement hulls, large fuel tanks, fuel efficient inboard diesel engines (usually only one), and speeds up to 18 knots provide for long range cruising and worldwide destinations. Some trawlers are capable of ocean crossings. Traditionally trawlers were between 35 and 60 feet in length, but newer trawlers can exceed 100’. Accommodations can be comfortable to lavish. Many trawler owners are full time cruisers and/or liveaboards. Newer production boats are fiberglass, but it is not uncommon see older and custom trawlers built of wood, steel or aluminum.

Common Manufactures are:American Tug, Albin, Beneteau, CHB, Defever, Grand Banks,Island Gypsy, Kadey-Krogen, Mainship, Marine Trader, Monk, Nordic Tugs, Nordhavn,PY Cruiser, Seline, Willard

Many trawler owners are ex-sailboaters and have impressive resumes of cruising experience. With their low speed, seaworthiness and a reputation for reliability, trawlers get a preferred rate.

Motor Yacht

A large powerboat, typically greater than 40 feet in length with luxurious interior accommodations and ideal for entertaining clients or coastal adventuring. Numerous configurations are available to suit many needs or preferences. Motor yachts are ideal for ocean cruising, navigating large rivers or the Great Lakes and capable of long range cruising. Two engines, usually diesel, and a generator for electricity make for self-sufficient living accommodations. Built of steel, aluminum and fiberglass with top speed around 30 knots for most models.

Common Manufactures are: Broward, Burger, Californian, Carver, Delta, Fairline, Ferretti, Fleming, Hatteras, Jefferson, Lazzura, Marlow, Meridian, Mikelson, Navigator, Ocean Alexander, Palmer Johnson, Sea Ray, Sunseeker, West Bay SonShip,

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Long length overall, high freeboard, lots of windage and complicated mechanical systems can make these boats difficult to maneuver and maintain. Motor Yacht owners may hire professional captains and crew to operate and care for their vessels. Boat owners who do not hire captains should have experience in a natural progression of boat sizes. A general rule of thumb for classing; Motor Yachts have an “upstairs” and Cruisers don’t.

Sportfish

Sportfish boats have cabins and features, like large cockpits, tuna towers and fighting chairs to help reel in the big ones. These boats are designed simply to make finding, hooking and landing fish as easy as possible. Often equipped with sleeping berths, a galley for cooking and plumbing for convenience, most have the capacity to stay on the water for days.

Most are fiberglass, but many die-hard anglers believe wood or cold molded hulls can “call” fish to the surface. Inboard engines are traditional, but outboard power is becoming more popular..

Common Manufactures are: Albemarle, Baha Cruisers, Boston Whaler , Buddy Davis, Cabo Yachts, Century Boats, Egg Harbor, Everglades, Glacier Bay, Grady-White, Hatteras, Hydra Sports , Mako, Pursuit, Post, Robolo, Topaz, Viking, Wellcraft, World Cat.

Built to fish, these boats may spend more time on the water then they do at the dock and often in weather that would keep other boat owners at home. Although they have many names; Sedan, Convertible, Open, Yachtfish, and Walkaround, it is how the boat is used that makes it a Sportfish. A “Tiara Open Express” with outriggers, downriggers and rod holders is a Sportfish. Multi-hulled powerboats like Glacial Bay and World Cat that are built for fishing also fall into this category.

Center Counsel

The open deck and the console in the center provide ample space to maneuver around the boat while fighting fish. They are typically powered by twin outboards, however singles, triples and quads are not uncommon. These fiberglass open fishing boats are designed and built to operate in rough offshore waters in pursuit of ocean fish. Rod holders, outriggers and fish boxes are common fittings onboard. With top speed around 75 mph, the tournament angler can get to the fishing grounds before their competition.

Common Manufactures are: Absolute Power, Blue Water , Boston Whaler , Chris Craft, Concept, Contender, Deep Impact, Donzi, Fountain , Glasstream, Grady-White, Hydra Sports , Marlago, Midnight Express, Pursuit, Sailfish, Sonic USA, Wellcraft

High speed and spacious decks make these boats extremely popular with weekend anglers and tournament fisherman. These same attributes also make these boats appealing to drug smugglers and human traffickers. With higher than normal theft losses for this class, especially in South Florida, underwriters may require boat owners to install and maintain a GPS tracking device which will alert the boat owner if the boat is taken without his permission. Premium credit may be available if a boat is equipped with such a device.

Sail - Mono

A single hulled (mono) sailboat which uses wind primarily as its means of propulsion. Most will have an auxiliary engine which makes for easier maneuvering, docking and getting to your destination when there is no wind. Cruising sailboats have accommodations for comfortable cruising, including a galley, a head and bunks, making them great for overnight trips. The term sailboat covers a wide variety of craft, each with its own characteristics and styles. In general, sailboats are distinguished by size, hull configuration, keel type, number of sails, use and purpose. Most production boats are built of fiberglass, but it’s not unusual for custom long range cruisers to be built of aluminum or steel. You will also see older wood, cold molded, and ferro-cement boats.

Common Manufactures are: Alden, Baltic Beneteau, Bristol, C&C, Cal, Cabo Rico, Cape Dory, Caliber, Catalina, Dufour, Endeavor, Freedom, Hans Christian, Hinckley, Hunter, Island Packet, Islander, Jeanneau, Morgan, Morris, Oyster, Pacific Seacraft, Pearson, Sabre, Swan, Tartan, Wyliecat

The market for sailboats is starting to show its age with the majority of used boats between 15 and 25 years old. As boats age, vital components and machinery are subject to degradation from normal usage and the harsh environment. It is of the utmost importance to ask for a marine survey on older boats to document the current condition and value and evaluate eligibility. A rigging inspection aloft is also vital on older sailboats.

Sail - Racing

With the goal to go faster than the other boats on the course, racing sailboats are built using high tech materials (Kevlar and Carbon Fiber), cutting edge designs and state of the art building techniques. With spartan interiors to conserve on weight, the ride may not be comfortable, but you’ll get there quick. Racing hulls could be mono, cat or trimaran.

Racing sailboats can be identified by; their make: Archambault, Columbia, Dufour, JBoats, Melges, Santa Cruz, Tboats, X-Yachts their designer: Andrews, Bill Lee, Farr, Frers, Nelson Marek Peterson, Pedrick, Reichel Pugh, Wylie their builder: Aquidneck Custom, Carroll Marine, Choate, Dencho, Goetz Custom Boats , Schockor their class: Farr40, J/35, J/105, 1D35, Open50, RC44, Schock35, TP52

To save on weight and increase speed these boats are often built with a margin of safety that is at the low end of the spectrum. Also given that these boats are sailed to their limits, it is not uncommon for sails and equipment to fail or break while racing. Racing sailboats are ineligible in MHY.

Sail - Multi

Catamarans are sailboats with two hulls and Trimarans have a main hull and two amas. Multi-hulls have several advantages over mono-hull boats. Their wide beam provides higher stability and eliminate the need for a ballast keel. With less weight and hull shapes that create less drag through the water, multi-hulls are faster than mono-hulls under similar conditions. Without the need for a ballast keel, multi-hulls have a less draft, which allows them to navigate in shallower waterways. Most multi-hulls are positively buoyant and many modern production boats are officially rated as unsinkable. The wide beam also creates a lot of room for interior accommodations, but can also cause problems when docking in a narrow slip. Although the high stability makes it difficult to capsize a multi-hull, it also makes it difficult to right them if they do.

Common Manufactures are: Antares, Catri, Gemini, Gunboat, Corsair, Hobie, Leopard, LeBreton, Seawind

Multihulls have gained popularity over the years because of their stability. Their wide stance provides for little or no heeling, but the lack of heeling makes it difficult to tell when the boat is being overpowered. The multihull sailor needs to always be on the lookout for changing weather and be ready to shorten sail when the winds pick up. Modern multihulls are not self-righting and can capsize but they don't sink; instead they float upside-down, providing a raft for the survivors to hang on to. With wide beam, they can be susceptible to damage in heavy weather and because they are often cruised long distances – they tend to have higher claim frequency and severity.

Multi - Hull Power

Catamarans are the most popular multi-hull powerboats. They are stable, fuel-efficient and excellent for long-range cruising and island hopping. Most are powered by diesel inboard engines and offer recreational and cruising amenities with lots of deck space for sunning. A multi-hull is also a good platform for electric and hybrid drives.

Glacial Bay and World Cat produce multi-hulled powerboats with twin outboards that are built for fishing and are offered as an alternative to center consoles. These catamarans are designed for hardcore angling, and should be rated as Sportfish.

Common Manufactures are: Afri-Cat, Aspen, Cruiser Cats, Freeman, M2 Motoryachts, R&C Leopard, PDQ, Twin Vee. Hybrid Builders: Island Pilot DSe, Stability Yachts

The wide beam of a multihull vessel is often an issue, especially when docking. They are also more expensive to produce and repair than a monohull of the same length. Like Multi-Sail, with a wide beam, they can be susceptible to damage in heavy weather and because they are often cruised long distances - higher frequency and severity comes into play.

Houseboat

Designed to offer lake house living on the water, complete with spacious floor plans and modern amenities for entertaining, dining and sleeping. Houseboats are made for relaxing cruises, weekend getaways to boating destinations, and unlimited family boating fun. Houseboats are best suited for calm rivers and lakes. Houseboats are built with steel, aluminum or fiberglass hulls and range in size from 25’ to 125’. They may have outboard or I/O propulsion.

Common Manufactures are: Catamaran Cruisers, Gibson, Holiday Mansion, Sumerset, Three Buoys. A listing of past and present Manufactures can also be found at All About Houseboats

Because of their low freeboard, large sliding doors and large windows, houseboats may not be operated in coastal waters. Older houseboats with steel or aluminum hulls will require an audio gauge as part of their survey, and special attention needs to be paid to the condition of the rubber I/O bellows. Carbon Monoxide can be a significant risk, exhaust exits need to be evaluated and CO detectors must be installed and working. Docking a large houseboat in the wind can be challenging. It is important to evaluate the experience of the owner, and boats over 50’ require twin engines. If not, submit for consideration.

House on Boat or Barge

aka Floating Homes, this type is pretty self explanatory. These homes are built on steel, foam, fiberglass or concrete barges, and many homes in the Northwest are built on log rafts.

Floating homes are not capable of independent movement, have no steering capability, no ability to generate or store their own power and are not used for transportation purposes. As these homes are not built to be a mode of transportation, they are not eligible for coverage under Markel Helmsman Yacht program.

Homemade / Kit

Many boat designers and boat builders offer plans and kits for people who are looking to save money, meet specific needs or just have a dream to build their own boat. Kits are available for 10’ rowboats to 60’+ trawlers. Construction could be fiberglass, wood, wood/epoxy, steel, aluminum, and ferro-cement (although this type construction is not as popular as it was 30 years ago). Some amateurs will buy a pre-built hull and complete the boat, while others will start with only the paper plans. Homemade boats will usually have a state assigned hull number. Such HINs begin with a state/province abbreviation (say FL for Florida) followed by a "Z". the last two numbers indicate the model year, e.g. FLZXXXXXXX82.

Kits and plans are available from: Branson, Bruce Roberts, Chesapeake Light Craft,

Clark Craft, Dudley Dix, Glen-L, John G. Alden, Metal Boat Kits, Robert Perry, Stillwater

Homebuilt / kit boats can vary greatly in construction quality depending on the builder’s skills and abilities. For instance, a builder who is a master carpenter may only have basic knowledge of electrical and plumbing. So it is very important that a marine surveyor inspect the homemade / kit boat to insure that the boat is built to the accepted industry standards (preferably at various stages of construction).

Inflatable

Lightweight boats with Hypalon or PVC fabric tubes inflated with air. They may have soft fabric bottoms or rigid fiberglass hulls (RIBs). They range in size from 8-foot dinghies to 45+-foot high performance boats. Depending on their size, propulsion can be outboard, I/O, jet drive or manual. Speed will vary with boat length and HP. Due to their speed, portability and weight, inflatable boats are used in diverse roles including fishing, watersports, whitewater, and tenders.

Common Manufactures are: AB, Achilles, Amanzi, Aquascan, Avon, Bombard, Brig, Mercury, Nautica, Novurania Porta-Bote, Sea Eagle, SeaWolf, Sport Cat, ThrillSeeker, Quicksilver, Zodiac

Tenders

A Tender is any auxiliary watercraft, other than a personal watercraft, whose main purpose is to service the insured yacht for purposes of delivering supplies or ferrying passengers to and from shore. They are usually propelled by an outboard motor, but can use oars as a back-up. Most tenders are 10 to 12 feet in length, but larger yachts will have larger tenders. Inflatable boats and RIBs are probably the most popular tenders, but “hard hulled” tenders made of wood or fiberglass are not uncommon. Hard hulled tenders have a classic appeal, are easier to row than an inflatable, also many can be rigged with a sail. Tenders are usually stored on deck or on davits off the yachts transom. Larger yachts may have a “Tender Garage”

Common Manufactures (not already listed on Inflatable) are: Aquariva, Bauer, Dyer,Fatty Knees, Livingston, Pavo Porta-bote, Puffin, Trinka, Walker Bay, Whitehall

To qualify as a tender in MHY, the small boat must be able to be stored on board while the insured yacht is under way. The biggest risks to a tender are theft, loss or damage while towed and storm damage.

High Performance

Performance boats are high-speed machines designed to look good while getting from one place to another fast. Designed for racing and poker runs, performance boats are owned by boaters with a “need for speed”. Hulls can be deep-v or catamaran with multi-stepped composite fiberglass, Kevlar or carbon fiber construction. HP boats are generally powered with twin or triple supercharged gasoline engines connected to high performance I/O or jet drives, and boat speed is directly related to horsepower. High horsepower outboards may be found on smaller boats and catamarans.

Common Manufactures are: Active Thunder, Advantage, Apache, Baja, Black Thunder, Checkmate, Cigarette, Cougar, DCB, Donzi, Eliminator, Formula, Fountain, Hallett, Hustler, IMP, Mirage, Motion, MTI, Nordic, Nor-Tech, Outerlimits, Shockwave, Skater,

Sonic, Sunsation, Vecity, Wellcraft Scarab.

High gasoline prices and an aging demographic have made HP boats less popular than they were in the past, although there still are plenty of folks who like to go fast.

Just like in other classes, underwriters should look for a logical progression in boat type, length and speed. Underwriters must evaluate this class carefully as deception for personal gain is much more prevalent. As the engines and drives are very desirable by bad guys, theft is also much more common.

Other

Some watercraft don’t fit well into any classification and underwriters should be consulted before you offer an indication, they may not be insurable.

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