An LLC does provide a large degree of protection for boat owners specifically. Under US admiralty law a vessels liability in a maritime claim, including third party injury, is capped by the value of the vessel and freight (if any). The only exception to that is gross negligence by the owner. Not ordinary negligence. Gross negligence has a very high standard to bust. Owner must have known of defect and refused to correct. (A good example would be hiring a Captain who was known to be a drunk and the vessel was involved in a collision with injury and the Captain was inebriated, in which case the limitation of liability of the vessel is breached. The Captain bing inebriated is not in itself gross negligence, The owner had to have known in advance and have a reasonable expectation that failure to remedy would result in injury). The suit is against a vessel ‘in rem’, and would be improper against the owner of the vessel. A good maritime defense attorney would have a civil suit that had been filed in any inferior court removed and brought under admiralty law that is heard in Federal Court, which is the proper venue.
Ok, I get that this concept might be foreign to many. But insurance companies know the rules and hire good maritime attorneys to mount proper defenses. I have seen multi million dollar cases settle for peanuts because of this rule.
We've seen this limitation used over and over, especially in major cases like El Faro. Horrible law, but has been challenged often to no success, so now most won't even challenge it.