At the start of his federal trial about the sinking of Nathan Carman’s boat, a lawyer for his insurance company said a hypothermia expert will testify there is little chance Carman was drifting in a life raft for a week before his rescue.

Carman -- whose insurance company is refusing to pay an $85,000 claim for his boat -- has said he was adrift for seven days after his boat sank, with his mother aboard, in an area off of Long Island known as “Block Canyon" in September of 2016.

In his opening statement at U.S. District Court in Providence, attorney David Farrell, who is representing Boat Owners Association of the United States, said a doctor from Massachusetts General Hospital will testify based on photos taken of Carman being rescued at sea by the Orient Lucky that he “must have been in the life raft significantly shorter than the seven days” that he claims.

"He left Point Judith with holes in his boat and 12 hours later it sank,’’ Farrell told the court.