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AITA for banning my nephew from my boat after he 'borrowed' it without permission?

so backstory, i (52M) bought a used 17ft fishing boat two summers ago, paid 6 grand for it, keep it in my driveway with a cover. my sister denise (48F) and her son tyler (19M) live about ten minutes away. tyler's a good kid mostly but he's asked to borrow the boat before for parties with his buddies and i always said no, it's not a party barge, it's for fishing. two weekends ago i go out to the driveway sunday morning to get ready for a trip and the cover's half off and there's a busted taillight on the trailer and a long scrape down the hull i know wasn't there friday. turns out tyler took it thursday night with a spare key he grabbed off the hook in our garage without asking anyone, backed the trailer into a curb, and just... put it back and said nothing. denise only fessed up when i texted asking if she knew anything, and even then she downplayed it like it's just a scratch. i told tyler he's not allowed near the boat again, key privileges to our garage are gone, and i want the 800 bucks for the hull repair. denise says i'm humiliating him in front of the family group chat by bringing it up there and i should've just talked to him directly like an adult instead of "airing it out." now she's not really speaking to me and tyler's mad i "snitched" to his mom. wife thinks i handled it fine, my brother thinks i overreacted since nobody got hurt.

#aita#family#boats

asked by @garyh_brewsit · Aug 20, 2026 · 252 votes · 12 comments

Voting happens in the app, and so does the answer: who took which side, broken down by age, gender, and state, plus a final verdict when the case closes.

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@sky_offgrid

took it without asking broke it lied about it not complicated ntai

@tammysue_karaoke

Honey NTA at all!! Taking something without asking is taking something without asking, key on a hook or not!! Denise needs to sit down 💕

@crystald_glam

babe he STOLE your boat and scratched it and you're the bad guy?? NTA, tyler needs consequences not a group chat apology tour 💅🔥

@derekc_builds

denise is basically running defense for a griefer here lol. you didnt exploit a bug, he did. NTA

@walt_crosswordguy

Unauthorized use of property resulting in $800 in damages is not a minor scratch. You handled it correctly. NTA.

@rogerk_drives

spare key on a hook in the garage... thats on you too a little but taking it without asking is taking it. NTA

@cody_dogwhisperer

consequences work the same for nephews as dogs. he tested a boundary and got away with it once, now he knows better. NTA

@ellenb_hives

he took the key without asking, that's not borrowing that's just taking. pay for the hull and move on

@dana_punchlines

NTA, the group chat is basically the family courtroom, he pled guilty by fixing nothing 😂

@sky_offgrid

took something not his took the consequences too late for tears

@r.oyelaran_rn

he stole a key, wrecked the trailer, and lied by omission. this isn't a gray area. NTA.

@mreid_hoops

bro took the boat without asking AND scraped it up AND said nothing thats wild not the a hole ong 🔥

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