Dinghy etiquette

[SailingHarmonie]

When you are at a crowded dinghy dock, or any dinghy dock for that matter, don’t be one of the jerks who pulls their prop out of the water to chew on other people’s boats

If it’s not obvious, it’s just plain rude.

[JebLostInSpace]

I like how in the photo, the ones with the engines up look like brand new dinghies and brand new engines. The ones that look like they've seen some miles do the polite thing and keep the engine down.

Hopefully the ones with the engines up are simply new sailors who will learn the norms soon enough.

[BugzyCan]

Not really following.. how does this chew on other peoples boats? If some other boat gets close enough to hit your prop, they are too close. Seems like a very minor thing to complain about.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by BugzyCan

Not really following.. how does this chew on other peoples boats? If some other boat gets close enough to hit your prop, they are too close. Seems like a very minor thing to complain about.

At a crowded dinghy dock you may end up with more than 1 row of dinghies, with the second row not tied very tightly. So things can move around, and that can lead to a raised outboard prop hitting against the tubes of another dinghy.

[JebLostInSpace]

Originally Posted by BugzyCan

Not really following.. how does this chew on other peoples boats? If some other boat gets close enough to hit your prop, they are too close. Seems like a very minor thing to complain about.

At a truly crowded dinghy dock, you're likely going to have to bump other boats to the side in order to reach the dock, or even come alongside someone else's boat and climb across to reach the dock. Contact is not at all uncommon between dinks during docking and while left floating on their painters.

[rwidman]

The definition of the word "etiquette" is "I want you to do things my way."

Unless you own the dinghy dock, it is not your place to tell other people how to dock their dinghies or how to store their motors.

Period!

[Knotical]

I remember a similar discussion not too long ago

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f2/dinghy-dock-etiquette-235640.html

[CaptTom]

Know the local practice. Sometimes everyone is expected to leave a long painter line, so others can muscle their way up to the dock to tie. In those places, all the dinghies in the picture would be considered inconsiderately tied. But if the standard practice is only one row deep, then leaving the engine up (and a tight tie) would be OK.

If I saw the situation in that photo I'd look for another dock. Clearly these people aren't expecting anyone to need to start a second row.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by JebLostInSpace

At a truly crowded dinghy dock, you're likely going to have to bump other boats to the side in order to reach the dock, or even come alongside someone else's boat and climb across to reach the dock. Contact is not at all uncommon between dinks during docking and while left floating on their painters.

And on a truly, truly crowded dock, there are several layers of dinghies. Like what you see in the picture, and then another row of them behind that with their painters extended really far. So you have to step in someone else’s dinghy to get to the dock or back to your own. Ha ha ha.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Know the local practice. Sometimes everyone is expected to leave a long painter line, so others can muscle their way up to the dock to tie. In those places, all the dinghies in the picture would be considered inconsiderately tied. But if the standard practice is only one row deep, then leaving the engine up (and a tight tie) would be OK.

If I saw the situation in that photo I'd look for another dock. Clearly these people aren't expecting anyone to need to start a second row.

People from Maine have manners.


This, exactly.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by rwidman

The definition of the word "etiquette" is "I want you to do things my way."

Unless you own the dinghy dock, it is not your place to tell other people how to dock their dinghies or how to store their motors.

Period!

Oxford Dictionary of the English language

Etiquette

noun

the customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a particular profession or group.


Actually, it is polite to keep your engine (motors are electric, combustion are engines) down so you don't accidentally puncture someone else's dinghy. The same goes for climbing over another person's dinghy with your shoes on - simply not done in polite society old chap.

Dinghy etiquette also means leaving a longish painter on your dinghy tie so another dinghy can snuggle up between you and the neighboring dinghy.

Of course, all the above are simply a question of being polite.

[sv_pelagia]

and tie with only 1 line from front of dinghy , not 2-line fore-and-aft

[bcripps]

Yes, CaptTom. People who block the dock by using a short painter will get their painter cut in my neighborhood. Not everyone is spry enough or physically capable of jumping from dinghy to dinghy to reach a dock blocked by others.

[Mike OReilly]

rwidman: etiquette is generally accepted social practice, it has nothing to do with who owns what. It is a means of social order, or control, if you want to see it that way. But it's how all human communities regulate themselves.

It seems obvious to me that lifting a dinghy engine in the situations pictured would not only be rude, but would put both others, and your own engine, at risk of damage. So why would one do it? Why do people lift their engines for short stays anyway?

BTW, if you don't want to play by other people's rules, the easy answer is to go somewhere with few people. Perhaps that's why I sail Newfoundland . You'll never see a crowded dinghy dock up here. Heck, once I leave the dock I might not see another recreational boat for weeks or months.

[Benz]

I and others have no problem putting down engines that have been rudely left up, nor in re-tying a dinghy that someone tied too close. It's justabout an everyday thing in Newport. No one has ever complained that their dinghy was re-tied: they probably realize that they were in the wrong and don't want further instruction in manners.
If it's a dinghy dock with a fee, usually there's a fee collector/dockmaster there to manage the unruly so there's no need for vigilanteism.