Expert testifies in federal trial that the Chicken Pox was ‘not seaworthy’ after Nathan Carman drilled holes in hull before ill-fated fishing trip
"Aug. 15--An expert witness for the insurance companies suing Nathan Carman offered more evidence Wednesday that the Chicken Pox was "not seaworthy" before it sank into the Atlantic and his mother disappeared.
Carman "put four holes in the boat an inch or two from the water line," Bernard J. Feeney, a marine surveyor, testified during the federal civil trial taking place in Providence. "The boat was taking on water the whole time it was on the ocean and he never checked the bilge pump."
Under questioning by Judge John J. McConnell, Feeney said the boat was "seaworthy" when Carman bought it, but "not seaworthy after ... what he did to this boat."...
Nathan Carman is also entangled in a long-running family controversy that began after his grandfather was murdered in 2013. His mother's three sisters allege that Nathan Carman is responsible for the deaths of both his mother and grandfather.
Feeney said water was likely coming in to the boat because Carman removed "trim tabs" from the hull after he bought it. The tabs are a key part of the case because Carman removed them and left holes that insurers say he didn't properly fill. Trim tabs assist in stability and control of the boat.
During cross examination, David Anderson, Carman's lawyer, questioned Feeney about the history of the boat and the wear and tear on it....
Feeney was the second witness on the second day of the federal trial in U. S. District Court in Providence involving Nathan Carman and the insurance companies that have refused to pay his claim for the loss of the Chicken Pox. ...
David Farrell, a lawyer for one of the insurance companies, the Boat Owners Association of the United States, plans to call three witnesses who are expected to cast doubt on Carman's version of how and where the Chicken Pox sank.
The witness list includes a tide expert who will challenge where Carman says his boat sank; a lobsterman who sails out of the same marina as Carman who was fishing in Block Canyon the day the Chicken Pox sank and never saw it or the raft; and a physician who is a hypothermia expert who will testify that there's little chance Carman was adrift at sea in a raft for eight days.
Police in Connecticut still consider Carman a person of interest in the murder of his grandfather, John Chakalos, in December of 2013 in his Windsor home. The investigation is now being led by the cold case squad at the Chief State's Attorney's office...."
https://insurancenewsnet.com/oartic...d-holes-in-hull-before-ill-fated-fishing-trip
RI - Linda Carman, 54, Point Judith, 18 Sept 2016
