RedactedNarrative: On 07/01/2020 at around 12:00pm, there was a two-boat collision that occurred between two rental pontoon boats on Tims Ford Lake near the mouth of Ray Branch and Lost Creek.  Both boats were rented by the same individual from Tims Ford Marina. 
  
  The boats were rented for a family outing.  The group had parked in Ray Branch for a while and were going to leave that location and try to find another spot to stop and hang out.  Operator 1 started Vessel 1 and left out of the cove towards Lost Creek. Operator 2 had to lower the motor of Vessel 2 into the water before he could start it and it took him a little longer to get going than it had Operator 2 on Vessel 1.
  
    When Operator 1 realized that the other boat was not behind him, he turned Vessel 1 around and started back to check on them.  The two vessels ended up headed towards each near the end of the point where Ray Branch and Lost Creek come together.  While attempting to avoid a collision, both boats turned towards the point and Vessel 2 struck Vessel 1 on its right side, right behind the driver''s console on Vessel 1.  
  
  Vessel 1 had damage to the metal around the deck of the boat and the railing was bent and pushed in until it was nearly touching the driver''s seat.  Vessel 2 had damage to the front of its left pontoon which was bent in a few inches.  Nobody on either boat was injured and both boats were still functioning.  The family continued with their day and did not report the incident to anyone until they told the Marina staff when they turned the boats back in that evening.
  
  Based on what the investigating officer learned during the interviews with the drivers over the phone, and the evidence of the damage to the boats that was observed,  the investigating officer believes that a violation of Inland Navigation Rule 14 by Operator 2 was the main cause of the incident.  Operator 2 turned to his left side which is incorrect based on Rule 14.  Operator 1 turned to his right side which is correct direction based on Rule 14.  There may have been other factors, but this was determined to be the main contributing factor.  The estimate to fix the damage to vessel 1 was about $1560.  The estimate to fix the damage to vessel 2 was about $4125.