Dinghy Dock Etiquette

[David_Old_Jersey]

In my harbour you can't leave the outboard lowered - the tide goes out

The solution is 2 dinghy pontoons. 1 with. and 1 without. Those with o/b's just take their chances / have hard dinghies..........

The world is full of folks who think being nice / civil is something that can easily be taken advantage of from force of personality and can confuse nice with being soft. or being reasonable. or having a sense of proportionality or not also enjoying the thought involved in a good game and can sometimes wake up with a headache. or not

Mercifully boating folks tend towards the more civilised end of folks

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Dockhead:

I don’t think anyone’s right to remain ignorant, overrides another’s right to remain safe.

Gord -
That's a delightful turn of phrase.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Reckless

I am sure we have all heard about disputes that escalate from verbal to physical to someone getting shot or stabbed. Just happened last weekend in my town. Dispute over a 12 pack of beer lead to a drunk guy grabbing a machete and holding 4 people hostage until they gave him the 12 pack they owed him.

I would never consider slashing someone elses boat in anger, it is just a juvenile approach to life.

Good for him if that is what it took! Standing up for ones rights.


I would but could not as I am too chicken. I have also considered thoughts of things like dynamite, napalm etc.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Therapy

Good for him if that is what it took! Standing up for ones rights.


I would but could not as I am too chicken. I have also considered thoughts of things like dynamite, napalm etc.

Therapy, have you considered maybe therapy?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Therapy

I would but could not as I am too chicken. I have also considered thoughts of things like dynamite, napalm etc.

Golden rules are:

1) under the car = criminal / terrorist = bad
2) on top of the car from an aeroplane = peace & security = good

(I think it's something to do with "a sporting chance" )

[sarafina]

ok, I have to say that while I would NEVER slash someone's inflatable.... They *might* find that one or two of the air valves mysteriously opened and let out all the air... leaving them to think about their docking habits while they arranged to get air pressure into the voided chambers...

This works for cars that are parked rudely as well....

[FSMike]

Anchoring the offending dinghy about 50' away from the dock should give the miscreant yachtie something to think about.

[Auspicious]

I've found that a handful of disgruntled cruisers and whatever officals or quasi-officials you can round up clustered around the painter of the offending dinghy gets a more careful hearing than just one person.

Just sayin'

Peer pressure works.

[Jim Cate]

G'Day all,

First, I must say that I'm amazed by the amount of passion that this subject has aroused. Good grief... slashing up someones dinghy because you don't like the way he leaves it at a dinghy dock??? Seems WAY over the top to me, and is likely a felony offense in many countries.

Secondly, has anyone actually seen a dinghy cut by outboard motor props? My hypalon dinghies have been cut up by oysters and coral, but they are lots sharper than the skeg on the o/b (which is the part that actually would hit another dinghy).
Even the prop blades are not actually very sharp, and the plastic ones often fitted to smaller o/b's could hardly cut butter.

In practice, most folks leave the motors down because it's easier to do so. At crowded dinghy docks, where good practice is to leave a long painter, said long painters often get fouled on outboard legs, making retrieval more difficult than if the motors were all left in the up position, so there is at least one counter argument.

Finally, when left on long painters, dinghies may swing close to shore and get the o/b leg fouled in mud or coral or whatever...

We've never cruised in the Caribe where most of these comments have originated, but across the Pacific we've never encountered such vehement feelings about this practice. Wonder why?

Cheers,

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Manly Qld Oz

[YOGAO]

Could be that it's more crowded?

Many places in the Bahamas and the Carib do not have beaches that you can run your dink up on, and the most popular businesses have dinghy docks to make it convenient for cruisers to shop/drink/eat, etc.

In Georgetown, Bahamas and the Abacos, Bahamas. There is a daily cruisers net where the etiquette/local practice is announced -

"Long painters, engines down and in some places, stern anchors."

To have these announcements made and then show up at the dinghy dock that you cannot get to because the same people are tied tightly to the dock with their engines up creates ill will to say the least.

The other situation is where you have done all the "right things" and someone arrives after you and forces their dink with short painter and engine up between your boat and the dock in such a way as to force their sharp blades (yes, there are sharp blades out there) into your precious tubes. ARRRGGHH! Granted, the first or fifth time this happens may not damage your dink, but it adds up over the years.

Thanks go out to everyone who has figured out how to play nicely at the dinghy dock.

Fair Winds,
Mike

[SaucySailoress]

Wow. So I have learnt:

1 - Engine down
2 - Long painter
3 - Dip the Eye
4 - Stern anchor (in some places)

If that's all there is to it, I'm gonna get me a dink!!!

[Reckless]

Originally Posted by Aaza Dana

Wow. So I have learnt:

1 - Engine down
2 - Long painter
3 - Dip the Eye
4 - Stern anchor (in some places)

If that's all there is to it, I'm gonna get me a dink!!!

You forgot destroy all others that don't do as you do.

[Curmudgeon]

In my view, the worst breach of etiquette at the dinghy dock is tying up beam-wise, so that you take up space that could fit 3-4 other dinghys.

[zopi]

Hmmm..." Excuse me sir, but if you wouldn't mind taking a bit of friendly advice, would you mind terribly lowering your outboard? most folks find it a danger to their craft and
pretty much all cruisers agree that is the utmost in bad manners to leave it up at the dock."

Eh...if he argues about marine growth...give him a lecture on biology...a dry barnacle is a dead barnacle...

Observation: if it worries you about the growth..maybe apply an antifouling agent in the course of maintenance...hmm...I wonder if there is something to run through the cooling vents to keep growth down?

Laws, rules, busybodies, bureauRatz, cops, lawyers...all would be unnecessary if folks would just follow the Golden Rule...

A good thread...learned some stuff...now if I just had a boat to tie a hypothetical dinghy to...<G>

[lorenzo b]

The town of Marathon maintains separate areas for hard and soft dinghys and has lots of space, very civilized.
I use a 14 ft alum jonboat but don't like how it handles in rough choppy seas. I've been thinking of getting an inflatable but worry about punctures. They do seem stable and swamp proof. Weight is not a problem as I have a crane to lift my dinghy aboard.
Any suggestions?