Boat owner avoids jail after friend drowns

Robert Barry Armstrong knew his boat was riddled with holes and rusty old nails when he decided to take his friends out fishing.

He had tried to plug up some of the gaps with corks, glue and filler, before taking three men out to sea in Victoria's southwest in September 2019. 

One of his friends, 61-year-old Paul Valchec, could not swim.

When Armstrong tried to anchor the boat, it started filling with water. He couldn't start the motor as it was already underwater, and he tried to radio for help but the boat capsized.

Three men were rescued but Mr Valchec drowned, his body found inside the boat wearing a fully-inflated life vest.

Armstrong was charged with manslaughter in October 2019. 

He offered to plea guilty to dangerous driving causing death in July 2022 and appeared at the Supreme Court in Melbourne on Tuesday where he was sentenced to two-year community work order.

"The operation of this boat on the water was dangerous in all the circumstances and should not have occurred," Justice John Champion said.

"You failed in your responsibilities as the owner and operator of the vessel."

Armstrong purchased the boat, sight unseen, months before the incident. When he picked it up, the seller pointed out a number of holes and electrical issues.

He took the vessel to an auto-electrician, who fixed a few issues but told Armstrong multiple holes and screws needed to be repaired before it could be taken out to sea. 

He took the boat for its first outing with three passengers and returned after an hour as a passenger became sea sick. He noticed the boat had taken on about five litres of water.

He took the boat out again two days later, when it capsized and Mr Valchec drowned.

A marine surveyor later found the boat was not seaworthy due to significant defects including holes, an unsecured deck and inoperable bilge pumps, which meant water could not be expelled from the boat when it began to flood.

Mr Valchec's widow Jane said she continued to suffer feelings of dread, anxiety and a sense of doom over her husband's death.

"She describes not only having lost her husband but also a close friend and companion," Justice Champion said.

Armstrong, 78, a veteran who served in Vietnam, was convicted, fined $5000 and sentenced to a two-year corrections order.

Justice Champion decided against a jail-term as he said Armstrong's impaired mental functioning would make prison more onerous.

He said Armstrong did not intend to harm his friend when he took the boat out and it would have been an "unimaginable outcome" for him.

Armstrong was ordered to perform 300 hours of unpaid community work and disqualified from obtaining a marine licence for six months.