Ask a Maritime Attorney: Am I being mismanaged?

Question: I own a sailing catamaran that is in a charter fleet in Florida. The yacht is booked through a professional management company that is also responsible for maintenance and for arranging for insurance and paying the insurance premium. Last year the boat caught fire and was severely damaged after their crew installed a shore power connector with the wrong voltage.  The management company submitted an insurance claim on my behalf, and I was advised that the boat was declared a constructive total loss by the insurance adjusters. I was prepared to accept the payment from the insurance company and walk away from the boat, but the management company had a different plan. They advised that, after discussing the claim with the insurance company, they had chosen to pursue the “repair option,” which called for us to accept payment from the insurance company that was thousands of dollars below the insured value of the boat and to keep the boat and repair it, hopefully within the budget established by the reduced insurance payment.  The charter management company referred to this as the “repair option” and they contend that they have the right to make this decision because they pay the insurance...