What do you do?

[44'cruisingcat]

You'd have to assume there was alcohol involved....


What to do? Stay out of marinas!

[DsquareD]

Originally Posted by zeehag

get his name , the police report and submit your claims. pray he has more than merely liability.

I think you mean at least liability, which is the part that covers the damage that it does to other boats. Who cares if he has coverage on his own boat.


Dennis

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[thinwater]

Originally Posted by toddedger

The guy is trying to dock a twin engine boat with one engine. I've been there before but not like that. With one engine it's difficult to pull alongside a fuel dock, backing into a slip like he is trying to do is not possible. The crosswind is just icing on the cake. He must be running on liquid courage.

I have a catamaran with twin engines, and believe me, when one engine is out all they will do is turn in circles. With sufficient experience, I can generally dock in most conditions, but with that much cross wind, the only sane thing to do would be to tie up at the end and get a tow. In lesser conditions, you simply go in bow first.

And trying this without crew to fend off, is also mental. Once he found himself up against other boats, common sense would be to tie yourself off with a few fenders and not go pinballing all around the fairway some more.

Idiot. Clearly he didn't know the boat. But that said, I saw someone do something similar in Annapolis a few days ago. Painful to watch. Again, everybody just sat in the cockpit of the boat while the bow was up to mischief. Is it panic, don't give a damn, or stupid? I think all of them.

[JPA Cate]

You know what I saw, in addition to the above?

I saw a bunch of yachties with dinghies in the water and no one went to the mobo and offered to help! He sure could have used some help, and a rubber dinghy with a motor makes a useful push boat.

I also saw only one person go to the finger the guy was trying to get into to take a line.

Of course he "shouldn't" lose control of his boat, and it did not look like much wind on the surface to me, but it did look like a whole lot of self-concerned people without a clue what to do to help.

Sometimes newbies think some of us experienced people are denigrating others, but the lack of thoughtfulness on the part of the folks in the marina seems pretty pathetic to me.

The people filming, could they not have taken action other than videoing, the woman who said something about someone getting squashed, perhaps. Whatever happened to being proactive?

End rant.

Ann

[Cap Erict3]

On a data budget, so seldom watch videos I know plenty of seeming smart people that screw up near docks. Several are doctors.

Although a fin and spade sailboat might make a landlubber look like an expert, handling a boat a low speeds requires knowing the boat and training. And PRACTICE.

When I take my Morgan in and out on a daily basis, she is almost another appendage. Even backing into a slip singlehanded in less than optimal conditions is doable.

I do not have the same confidence when I have let her play dock queen to long.

Most anytime I make just enough way for required steerage.

Many vessels have stern facing controls. For good reason. Reverse can be tough. Take away an engine on a twin engine boat and backing up becomes as much an art as a skill.



I've heard that many skippers are more afraid of a marina than open ocean.

[Adelie]

[QUOTE=thinwater;2215363]I have a catamaran with twin engines, and believe me, when one engine is out all they will do is turn in circles. . . . [/ QUOTE]


While there is a bit of similarity I don't see it being very much.

You PDQ has 13'-16' rudder and prop separation vs the 3'-4' of that power boat.

I'm not saying it wasn't a factor, but I don't see the asymmetrical thrust being more than a minor issue compared to the apparent lack of basic skill.


A house is but a boat so poorly built and so firmly run aground you would never try to refloat it.

[TooCoys]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Whatever happened to being proactive?

End rant.

Ann

There's a difference between being proactive, and putting yourself in harms/liabilities way.

Had he stopped at the first boat he hit, I *might* have jumped aboard, or tried to help him at least stay put.

This just looks like a pissed off drunken guy with a size complex and he was going to show anyone and everyone that he could do it at any cost and it didn't matter how much damage was caused.

I'd be more fearful of other owners saying that I helped damage their boat, and getting caught up in lawsuits etc....

[Soton]

Perhaps it was a newbie who has taken the advice given in other threads of buying the biggest boat you can afford :-)

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[Hudson Force]

What do you do? ...for myself, my choice in this situation is to grab a couple of plump fenders in hand and try to anticipate his next impact location.

I also would expect that Ann T. Cate's advice for help with the use of an RIB dinghy would have been a great choice.

[hpeer]

What would I do?

A guy on our dock lost an engine on a small sport fisherman. Fair bit of current running, he had a lot of trouble.

I tried to help him, at one point I had the bow line around a cleat, he could have just eased her in. But he freaked and yelled for me to let go. I knew it was a mistake but he was the Captain. He ended up in the trees tearing off his starboard out rigger.

He finally got in. I felt sorry for him.

When I was a newbie with our big boat I did worse, fortunately no damage beyond ego.

The big boat is 44' on deck, 50' sparred. Long full keel, barn door rudder. When we got her she had a powerboat prop (another miss by the surveyor) and would develop very little reverse thrust. Changing to a sailboat prop made a huge difference. Still not good, but better.

[jongleur]

If you know Dana Point Harbor, you'd
know there is never any current. Also,
the wind didn't look overly strong to me.
CH3CH2OH maybe?

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

You know what I saw, in addition to the above?

I saw a bunch of yachties with dinghies in the water and no one went to the mobo and offered to help! He sure could have used some help, and a rubber dinghy with a motor makes a useful push boat.

I also saw only one person go to the finger the guy was trying to get into to take a line.

Of course he "shouldn't" lose control of his boat, and it did not look like much wind on the surface to me, but it did look like a whole lot of self-concerned people without a clue what to do to help.

Sometimes newbies think some of us experienced people are denigrating others, but the lack of thoughtfulness on the part of the folks in the marina seems pretty pathetic to me.

The people filming, could they not have taken action other than videoing, the woman who said something about someone getting squashed, perhaps. Whatever happened to being proactive?

End rant.

Ann

Yes.

Except I'm not sure being near that man in a dinghy would be remotely safe. He's likely to do something stupid with the throttle at any moment. With even 1/2 a working brain he would have fendered once he was against the boats, rather than pinballing around. Ergo, he was unpredictable.

Yes, there was a guy offering to take a line, but no one on the power boat was preparing to throw one. I seriously doubt they knew how.

But yes, I always feel that way about filming. Why were you filming instead of reacting?

[thinwater]

[QUOTE=Adelie;2215455]

Originally Posted by thinwater

I have a catamaran with twin engines, and believe me, when one engine is out all they will do is turn in circles. . . . [/ QUOTE]
...I'm not saying it wasn't a factor, but I don't see the asymmetrical thrust being more than a minor issue compared to the apparent lack of basic skill.

Actually, only about 8 feet (outboards between hulls), not so different from this guy. I also have functional keels and rudders. Remember that power boat rudders only work forward and when there is power on. I think the problems is more difficult than it appears until you have experienced it. But he should have known this. Several places he could have saved it, but he didn't understand the boat. This is NOT a sailboat and handles very differently. Imagine attempting precision maneuvers in a flat bottomed dinghy with twin engines (one out). It would look like that on your first try.

One engine can get you in trouble (it will), but common sense tells you that you don't take a 2-screw boat out on one screw unless you know the drill. Second, once things go wrong, don't make them worse!!

[SV DestinyAscen]

Beg for him to stop. If he complies, even just for a moment, fender at the bow and tie him up along side with multiple lines and don't let him move. VHF for master assistance. My experience is that with that many people and vessels, diffusion of responsibility is a problem and you need to act and encourage others to act.

[JPA Cate]

My experience is that with that many people and vessels, diffusion of responsibility is a problem and you need to act and encourage others to act.
__________________

Yes, I can see that. However, I've also been part of situations and heard said, "Let's go help", and "what shall we take?", etc. This is a time for a heaving line, fenders, and a push boat. It doesn't even have to be a RIB, even a soft floor dinghy with a motor can stabilize a boat that needs straightening. And possibly someone with a cool head to help calm the mobo driver, could have helped.

It doesn't matter if you think the guy's an incompetent and possible drunk, helping him helps everybody, it's the only "winning" position. Besides, I think fear of liability for helping is unnecessary, as Calif., where this happened, has very strong Samaritan laws.

At some point you might even want to get the harbor master involved. But first, act to avoid damage to folks' boats. You'll make new friends, too.

Ann