Cruisers' Lack of Etiquette for Commercial Vessels

[Reckless]

Originally Posted by canuck1955

@Reckless. Just curious, if this person was in your slip and no others were available, would you have anchored out in the harbour, or explained it is yours, you pay for it and he will have to move...

Just curious

I don't have a dink so anchoring out wouldn't have been an option for me. In that case I would have tied up at the gin pole slip, the gas slip or the haul out slip. All of which are clearly marked no unauthorized use, subject to a fine by the club house of $250. So they would have been empty. I could have then called the harbormaster at his emergency number, had they tried to fine me, the harbormaster would have heard words.

In my case everyone was there for a fun weekend, several events in the immediate area, that draws a lot of transient boaters. I didn't feel the need to cause drama, or headaches. I was just a very minor inconvenience for me not to have my personal deck box, (white, boat names or numbers are not allowed on boxes0, all 110 slips have the same white box, it just has cleaning supplies and some spare fenders and lines. and I had to walk an extra 100 feet to get to the car.

Could be my personality, I tend to go with the flow, and who knows 15 years ago I didn't have as much patience as I do now. Nor do I have the sense of entitlement I maybe once had.

I still fully believe in my case the error was not that of the transient boat, but that of our harbormaster for not ensuring.
1. Slip numbers were clearly marked
2. Staff on hand were well aware of what slips were and were not already assigned.

Again no numbers on the slip, the transient boat had radioed ahead was told he had a slip, took the first open one he saw, and although I haven't confirmed this. One of the deck hands actually took a line from them as they pulled into my slip to help tie them up. (this came from a 3rd party in the marina, the same one that causes drama with the other transient boat, so I took it with a grain of salt)

Either way they had no way of know if I was being truthful or I just wanted the nice slip right beside the club house and parking lot. He was tied up, hooked up to water and power, and had settled in for the night. Honest mistake that didn't need to become a fight.

As I said my beef was with the harbormaster not the transient. it was the harbormaster who was in charge of the painters who failed to complete the job they had been paid to do, and the harbormaster failed to properly train the staff he hired to look after the place in his absence.

But even when I did talk to him, I was polite, he was apologetic and had the crew back painting slip numbers next business day.

[Reckless]

And just so there is no confusion I fully respect anyone doing their job, be it a commercial boater or the person writing me a parking ticket. Everyone has a job to do good or bad.

However, the facts I was given were.
1. Public Dock. In my area anywhere commercial use docks, Private docks are all clearly marked. So as a public use dock which is to be used by the PUBLIC, why would one expect it to be used for commercial purposes?

2. A sense of entitlement. In a public area, what makes 1 person more entitled then another. It is like saying I have more money then you get out of this park because I want to picnic here with my family.

My work parking lot gets plowed in the winter, does everyone have to move their car so the plow can do the entire lot. Sorry no they do what they can during the day and come back at night to finish the lot when everyone has gone home. If there is a car there they get out shovel around the vehicle then plow the rest of the lot.

Again I wasn't there so I don't know how things were said.

But I have been told myself because I have a deep loud voice, I can sometimes come across louder an angry sounding, even though I am cool as a cucumber.
Perhaps the tone of voice. or the way the other boaters were asked to move, was taken the wrong way, misunderstandings do happen. They could have felt there were aggressively being told by some arrogant commercial boater this is my spot because I have a commercial license so piss off you useless recreational boater you.

Again I wasn't there and unless we can hear the other parties response we are just getting one side of this.

I can say my response to someone is effected by there initial contact with me, if someone comes attacking me, I will get my defenses up and if a situation gets heated I may react or respond in a way I would not have had things been cool

Ask me nice, you will get better results.

You were able to dock, just not to the level you would like to dock at, and none of the people docked there know or care about your previous achievements.

And I have seen some "commercial" boaters do some really really stupid things, so saying because they are a commercial boater doesn't mean they are any better at boating then a recreational boater.

My grandfather has been sailing/boating "recreational" since he was 5, so after 81 years at the rudder, I would say that he if far more qualified and professional, then some commercial boaters. Some of whom have never been out of the lake or channel they work in.

If there area was marked or designated as commercial use, then you are correct, the non commercial boater should get out of there or be towed away, as as my vehicle if I park in a loading zone outside a building