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To whom it may concern;

Recently on behalf of my local Volunteer Fire Department purchase a used Zodiac 640 from Txxxxxxd Marine in West Vancouver.  This dealer misrepresented the boat and flat out lied about many aspects of the boat to complete the sale.   I was located in the US and relied heavily on the dealership and what it stated.   I did have the boat looked at by two private parties on our behalf and those individuals were also give misinformation.

1. Boat and all associated advertisements, literature, and offers stated 1995 as the year of build.   The day the shipper was to arrive and pick up the boat we noticed the paperwork stated 3 years older and the boat a 1992.  Dealer never contacted to say there was any error.

2. We were told the boat was "redone" and items replaced by the manufacturer.  When the boat arrived the more expensive items were found to be original 1992 parts.

3. We were told the boat came with electronics advertised again when the boat arrived some components were present but the expensive items were missing.

4. Now 3 weeks after the sale and bill of sale has not been received so we cannot register the boat.

5. When asked about the bill of sale for the boat and motor we were told they will not give us any paperwork on the motor.  Is it stolen?

Dealer has failed to respond in any fashion after 12 emails and direct phone contact.  We keep being told they will call us back with answers yet they never do.

Louis Misto
Misquamicut FD
Rhode Island
401 742-0301

We have referred this matter to Sergeant Ivan Chu of the New Westminster BC Police Service, who is member of the International Association of Marine Investigators (IAMI Canada).
(604) 529-2440
ichu@nwpolice.org

IAMI website: www.iamimarine.org

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January 9, 2009

We are pleased to announce that we have now partnered with BoatForum.ca, the leading internet information exchange and social portal created specifically for Canadian Boaters. We invite all of our members and we encourage all boaters on Canadian Waters to visit BoatForum.ca and make good use of the site - discuss your favorite fishing lures, exchange information on cruising grounds, ask questions about how-to issues from fellow boaters or just enjoy social fun and sharing of ideas. All you have to do is sign up and create a personal profile. It's free and it's fast.

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December 17, 2008

We received a request from Armin Grigaitis, marine contractor, builder, tug & barge operator, to join forces in advocating more rigorous safety on the water both in the Recreational and the Small Commercial Vessel segments.

In October of this year, there was a 5 day Coroner’s inquest in Midland to deal with boating safety issues relating to Small Commercial Vessel Operators and fatalities aboard Small Commercial Vessels in the last few years. Reference was made to a previous inquest in year 2001 on the sinking of the excursion vessel True North II in Tobermory, where a number of school children drowned while on a school boat trip. At the time of the 2001inquest, quite a number of recommendations were made to change boating regulations and safety protocols issued by Transport Canada (TC) relating to Small Commercial Vessel operations.

It was apparent during the 2008 inquest, that very few changes had actually been implemented by TC as a result of the True North II occurrence. Twenty two (22) additional recommendations were made by the 2008 coroner’s jury, requesting more stringent and frequent inspection of Small Commercial Vessels in Canada, by Transport Canada, and vessel owners / operators.

What needs to be realized is that Transport Canada now in fact appears to be moving away from mandatory inspections by qualified Federal personnel and “SELF INSPECTION “ of vessels is being advocated (by TC). This simply is not likely to be effective and is likely to cause even more unsafe conditions; a high degree of training and experience is required to determine the seaworthiness of a vessel regardless of its size and hull design. The current TC sanctioned training programs available to operators of Small Commercial Vessels (vessels under 15 tons as designated by TC), are simply not designed for the intended vessels, they are instead derived from large ships regulations. The MED A-3 and Small Commercial Vessel Operator Proficiency course are designed mainly to suit the great lakes shipping industry and ocean going vessels. This needs change!

According to the Transportation Safety Board report discussed at the 2008 coroner’s inquest , there are approx. 55,000 small commercial vessels in Canada today. These are by enlarge, contractor supply boats and barges, water taxi boats and small  landing craft like the ones being sold to the general public to transport ATV’s etc.

The Canadian Boating Organization hereby offers cooperation and extends resources to work with Mr. Grigaitis and other Small Commercial Vessel Operators to help bring about improvements through constructive ideas in this situation.
We encourage watermen operating within the perimeters of the Small Commercial Vessel criterion, to form a self regulating association dedicated to workable implementation of Transport Canada's "self inspection" initiative. Such an association, working intimately with a purpose appointed representative of Transport Canada, could bring about improvements in its members' waterborne safety practices and effectively eliminate the need for more governmental regulatory intervention.

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