RedactedNarrative: On 4/11/14 at approximately 1700 hours dispatch advised me of a delayed boating accident in the area of the Shore Acres community in Saint Petersburg, FL. Upon receiving the call I made contact by telephone with the complainant who is also the registered owner of the vessel. I spoke with Operator briefly but was unable to ascertain pertinent information due to his intoxicated state. I advised Operator that I would meet with him at his residence so that we could go over the details. 
  
  On 4/12/14 I attempted to make contact with Operator but he did not answer my phone call and he was not at his home. 
  
  On 4/16/14 I met in person with Operator at his residence. Operator stated that on 4/8/14 he noticed damage to the port side of his vessel so he called his insurance company to start a claim. Thunder Marine, a local repair shop in St. Petersburg transferred his vessel from his dock to the repair facility. I asked Operator various questions as to how he thought the damage might have happened and he stated that he had no idea. One theory of his was that an unknown fisherman in the area probably hit his boat sometime during the night and left the scene. Operator was unable to produce any evidence or explanation as to how and why this might have happened and urged me to contact a resident who lived across the canal who has witnessed the boater driving in excess speed in the canal. After speaking with his neighbor Operator notified Law Enforcement because his neighbor told him to do so. Operator was very adamant that another vessel struck his vessel at his dock and showed me where he thought oysters had been rubbed off from the collision. I inspected the dock and noted no damage. I asked Operator if he had struck anything with his vessel and he stated that he had not. I also asked Operator if he any passengers on his vessel the last time he used it and he said he did but he could not remember who it was and promised to find out who the passengers were. Operator was also unable to pinpoint an approximate date and time when the incident occurred but said he last used his vessel on 4/4/14 and left it in the water tied to his dock from 4/5/14 - 4/7/14 and noticed the damage on 4/8/14. I asked Operator why he did not promptly notify law enforcement of the damage when he noticed it and he said that he did not know he was supposed to. After taking a few pictures I ended our conversation and told Operator I would contact him after I looked at the vessel damage. 
  
  On 4/17/14 I arrived at Thunder Marine to photograph the vessel. As noted in the photographs, all of the damage was to the port side of the vessel with the initial impact being on the port stern side. Mild scratches and blemishes were evident on the starboard side but looked like it was sustained from rubbing against a dock over a long period of time. Upon close inspection to the port side of the vessel I could see wood protruding from the fiberglass cracks. Also present was wood transfer along the gunwale. Damage was sustained from the gunwale all the way down to the chine of the vessel indicating to me that the vessel was making a hard right turn allowing the chine of the vessel to be more exposed. In addition to the extensive fiberglass damage and the wood transfer there was also long horizontal abrasions extending from the middle of the vessel all the way to the stern where the majority of the damage was done. I spoke to a representative from Thunder Marine who stated that the same vessel was in the shop approximately six months ago for similar repairs to the bow of the vessel. 
  
  On 4/23/14 I met with Operator the final time to discuss my findings. I asked Operator one last time if he driven his vessel into any fixed objects and he said no. I then went into detail about the damage to his vessel and the inconsistencies of his story and the damage to the vessel.