Nathan Carman faces questioning about changes he made to Chicken Pox before boat sank off Long Island

Aug. 22--Nathan Carman, testifying in a federal civil lawsuit over the sinking of his boat, was closely questioned Thursday about changes he made to the Chicken Pox before it disappeared off Long Island with his mother aboard in September of 2016.

"I am not trying to be difficult but I am trying to stick with my memory," Carman told attorney David Farrell, a lawyer for insurance companies suing Carman, during testimony in U.S. District Court in Providence. "I did a lot of stuff that I've testified about... I don't remember everything."

Farrell questioned Carman about his replacement of a bilge pump and holes he had to fill with epoxy after he removed the boat's trim tabs, which assist with a boat's stability and control in the water. Carman testified that he recalled telling the U.S. Coast Guard the holes were slightly larger than a quarter.

"I know that I did not enlarge the holes. I remember at the time when my memory was fresh... I said slightly larger than a quarter," Carman testified.

Farrell asked about the repairs to the holes that went through the transom of the boat. "I know for a fact the seals of putty I made were bigger than the holes."

Carman insisted that he did not further cut into the boat when he fixed the holes.

"I did not bore a hole in my boat period. I don't remember if I used a drill bit or the teeth of a whole saw to rough up the edge of the hole," Carman said, noting that he was following the directions of the resin he was using to cover the holes.

The insurance companies, National Liability & Fire Insurance and the Boat Owners Association of the United States, argue Carman sunk the boat in September 2016 as part of a scheme to get millions in family money or because of reckless and foolish repairs he made to the Chicken Pox. The companies have refused to pay his $85,000 claim filed by Carman.

The case has drawn significant interest because Carman's three aunts have accused him of murdering his grandfather, John Chakalos, in Windsor in 2013, and then sinking the boat to kill his mother in 2016 in an attempt to inherit a $7 million estate.

About a month after the boat sank off Long Island, Carman wrote in a page-long description of what transpired to the insurance company: "the boat sank suddenly and he found himself in the water holding a bag filled with safety gear."

Carman and his mother, Linda, left Ram Point Marina in Wakefield, R.I. aboard the Chicken Pox before midnight on Sept. 17, 2016, but it sank the following day as they fished for tuna in an area off Long Island known as Block Canyon.

Nathan Carman made it to a life raft and was saved by a passing freighter after floating for eight days off Martha's Vineyard, he told the U.S. Coast Guard in a statement, but his mother was presumably lost at sea.

Lawyers entered Nathan Carman's description of the event into evidence Wednesday. In it, he wrote that he located two containers of safety gear and swam to the raft as he called out for his mother, who was on the boat with him.

"I looked around and called out for her while I was in the water and after getting on board the life raft," Carman wrote. "I continued to try and locate my mom looking for her and calling out and listening for a reply until dark, then I made myself rest."

Attorneys for the insurance companies have indicated that Carman could be the last witness they call after Judge John J. McConnell said he would not allow testimony from a hypothermia expert based on the photos he saw of Carman after the rescue.

Carman is still considered a person of interest by investigators probing the grandfather's murder in Connecticut. He has not been charged. He also faces no criminal charges in the boat's sinking.

Before the trial started, McConnell barred testimony about Chakalos' murder and said attorneys representing the insurance companies would not be able to ask questions about the murder when Carman took the stand.

Farrell instead could focus on the repairs that Carman made to the boat a day before the trip and the travel of the boat that day.

Farrell has set up nautical maps in the courtroom that show Block Canyon and where Carman was rescued in anticipation of questioning Carman.

Earlier in the trial, Farrell has called several witnesses that raise questions about Carman's story including a man who was trawling for lobsters for 10 hours the day Carman says the boat sank but never saw the Chicken Pox or a life raft.

A Naval architect, Eric Greene, shed doubt on Carman's claim that the boat sank so fast he could barely grab emergency gear, let alone search for his mother.

Nicholas Rondinone can be reached at nrondinone@courant.com.

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