In fl, a verbal agreement is as good as a written contract. However, it becomes a he said she said event.

Consider this....

I am out a boat worth north 70's, several thousand more in gear, lost income (rental boat) and currently 15k in cash to the lawyer for the lawsuit (civil) against tbus/reliable towing and salvage. There has to be a win line for you. If this guy lives on a pos to save money, your costs involved to sue are going to exceed (by far) you ability to recover IF.....you win.

Admiralty law can protect you in a situation such as the fictional situation I outline below....

You were boating in the area.....and noticed a vessel had broken mooring. There were no occupants visible, and you announcement of arrival was unanswered. As a responsible citizen and boater, you feared the stray vessel may endanger lives and compromise the safety of surrounding boaters so you ATTACHED a line and attempted to retire the vessel to safe harbor.

Period.

At worst, the vessel is now yours. At best, you sell it for far more than is owed. In the middle? He pays and you give him the pos back.....

Not worth the bs. Take what u can get $$$. Then toss a gallon of red paint in the back of his boat when no one's looking ;)

I would think small claims court would work if you have a witness or two and a couple of receipts. the guy that quoted the heads could be one.

How many times did you call/text him for the money before he said you were "harassing" him?

How long was it after you completed the work that you started asking him for payment?

I'm just saying this because in most of the business world it is net 30 from the day the work is completed for payment. So, you should have given him a written bill for your work performed, waited the 30 days and then called him.

Maybe he had full intention of paying you 100% of the money until pissed him off by bugging him. I've had friends do stuff for me and call 10 times in the next couple days about getting paid, after they did that I made sure to use my full 30 days even though at first i had full itention paying them that week before thy bugged the crap out of me.

Just playing devils advocate.....

It's easy for "others" to say chalk it up as a lesson and experience, but when this is your living, its not so easy.

THINK OF THIS…

What would Ben Kramer do?

Devils Advocate

I appreciate all responses. I waited 2 weeks to ask for the bill after the motors were purring which would have been 3 weeks if he had bought the rebuilt carbs i asked him to do.The day I presented him the bill he said no problem very reasonable for all the work that has been done but I need 2 days to raise it . I said no problemo dude

3rd day he responds via text and says he has a problem with my hours . I say no problem lets sit down and discuss them , Than all discussion was not allowed anymore as he felt threatened and unsafe though I had never said anything other that if you have a problem lets go through the bill with Vinny and Angelo.

I think that's fair ? Vinny and Angelo are fair negotiators. It cant hurt to talk to them if you agree with them EHH

Just file a civil suit on him in small claims court. I had a customer promise to pay me for 2 years without resolve, last week I filed and got my check yesterday settling out of court. He could have saved 2 years of drama and some money had he done the right thing 2 years ago. Because of this customer my trust has been lost and I run my business a lot tighter especially when it comes to friends.

I would agree here, file in small claims file a civil suit, do not threaten the guy , however make him uncomfortable by hanging out with your friends at the dock they share, rest assure every time he sees you he will get uncomfortable, eventually one of those many little things could be the key to him giving in and paying you. again stay civil, stay well within the law, do not make it known to him that you are angry, just be seen, and proactive. Best of Luck, and don't let a few Aholes stop you from being a good guy, your better than that.

Also certified letters and letters from lawyers tend to get good results, and most of the time you can have an attorney write a letter for a very nominal fee.

That sucks and on top of it this guy looks like an idiot at his marina now. I see you're in Naples so there are most likely a ton of places to work on his boat, but up here guys like that run out of places to work on their boats very quickly.

We can send the good ol boys over there... Plenty of people looking to make a buck down here in swfl that don't have a care in the world. Possession is 9/10's of the law.... Lets go get it when this dbag is not around. Have your buddy keep an eye out for when he comes and leaves