do you have 'deep pockets??
if so, maybe beware. if you have little of monetary value like me, then you can probably feel safer. whenever i let people try my boats i go with them or at least keep them in sight. if you have little to lose you probably wont be sued.
demos
If they’re friends and want to try out my kayaks, but don’t have experience, I go out with them and keep them in shallow water. No spray skirts, of course, so if they flip they’ll pop out.
I can’t imagine a complete stranger coming up to me and asking to try my boat! (Does that fall into the gun-toting thread subjects??)
In our various informal kayak clubs, we’re all trying each other’s boats all the time. It never crosses my mind to wonder about potential liability if someone drowns. Oy vey! I assume midwesterners wouldn’t dream of annoying someone else by suing them. Maybe out there on the coasts you guys aren’t as polite as us dull, tidy, midwesterners.
Aha! … NO whitewater demos for miles
300 miles travel to demo a WW kayak … except for a few 2 hours on the opposite side of the paddling areas.
fear of suing
a agree that your fear of getting sued should be directly proportional to your level of wealth.
i’ve done lots of things that people thought were too risky in terms of a lawsuit.
example: my 1st year teaching at my current school (non-tenured) a sophomore student found out i kayaked and showed interest. took her to a pool session and taught her how to roll, then basic whitewater skills on the river in springtime. 1st time down the river she was running class III, and did a 15’ seal launch off a cliff into current. by the time she graduated, she was comfortably paddling class IV.
people thought i shouldn’t do this for the following reasons
I think we all run the risk…
…of being sued over something during our lifetimes, no matter how careful we are. Perhaps the best attitude is to be prudently cautious but not obsessed about it.
Unfortunately, we live in a litigous (sp?)society, and some people would rather file lawsuits than work for a living…the “pros” are skilled at setting up scenarios where they will have the opportunity to sue.
We rent out a shore house & have always been worried about that exposure to risk. Only once did we have the threat of a lawsuit…it was caused by a lightweight piece of wood trim falling off the wall and “nearly” striking one of the guests. This incident was alledgedly so traumatic & caused such stress that it “ruined” their entire vacation.
They demanded a full refund of their rent, OR ELSE! I declined, & the lawsuit never materialized.
If this sounds frivolous, you should read about some of the REALLY baseless lawsuits that are filed every day (or maybe NOT, if you’re already paranoid about it!).