Dinghy etiquette

[pessimist]

It is not imposible that I may have posted on this subject before.

Today we realised that vital provisions (beer) had run low. Not a problem we thought - quick trip across to town (Dartmuff) and all would be well.

We tootled across the river to remedy the situation and found it impossible to find anywhere to leave the tender. It was an exceptionally low tide so only one landing pontoon was available. Shouldn't have been a problem, but it was.

I wonder whether it will ever get through to the thoughtless pillocks who tie their tenders up with 18" of string knitted over a cleat that they are preventing anyone else from coming alongside.

I saw enough knitting on cleats toda to keep a branch of the WI happy for a month or three.

Do they not know or not care. A bowline on a long line isn't that hard to manage.

BTW my special thanks to the two RIBS attached to the dinghy landing pontoon by 2' padlocked chains.

/rant (until the next time)

 

[rickp]

Up at Dittisham, someone had managed to tie their rigid wooden dinghy alongside, fore and aft - taking up the almost the entire dinghy space. Very antisocial - and generated lots of complaints from everyone else trying to get ashore...

Rick

 

[pessimist]

Why am I not surprised?

 

[CliveG]

If you have the same difficulty over the next 2 weeks give the lads a shout over on KQ.
They have use of a work boat with it's own mooring on a pontoon behind the main town pontoon.
Only difficulty is the access to Dartmuff from the pontoon is up a vertical ladder.
I found that to be very tall yesterday.
And nearly as far down last night after a nice meal.

See you next week.

 

[Becky]

'Cause you are a pessimist?

 

[moodycruiser]

[ QUOTE ]


BTW my special thanks to the two RIBS attached to the dinghy landing pontoon by 2' padlocked chains.

/rant (until the next time)

[/ QUOTE ]

The east answer to that is to carry a few old padlocks of your own and put them on their chains as well.
Great viewing sport when they come back and find them in addition to their own /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Guest]

How about some opposite points of view:

There are those that come late to a pontoon and believe it their right to drive their dinghies over the existing boats. They power their way in crushing and damaging other dinghies. They insist on making sure that any hard dingy has its bows completely smashed up by their outboards rubbing up and down for hours. Only if they can get them tight in will it stop these unfendered monster outboards tearing their boats to shreds. Balloon dinghies just float above the prop heights and bounce off the engines.

Then there is those that untie others boats and rearrange them so that theirs does not have to rub against the metal pile/stake/steel beam.

There are the locals that have lost their boats so often to the "missed the last bus syndrome" and absolutely need to lock them. Since it is now an insurance requirement after their fifth dinghy.

So compare it to the local corner shop you pull up and there are three cars with half spaces in front and behind. "But only if they had parked right you could get in". So why not give them all a nudge and you will get in. Italian parking. So should all local shoppers leave their handbrakes off? No, the done thing is to park further way and walk.

If you come late and find a full pontoon then be creative. Ignore what they have done, quite a lot have a real reason. Just go ashore via their boat doing no damage and do the best for your boats safety. In the end its just like a full car park. Failing that, if you are a local and its a constant problem go and ask them why.

However 300 hundred turns on a cleat with 150 locking turns just makes my blood boil to see it!!!!!!!!

 

[hlb]

So you want to see the dinghy park turned into a municipical car park, with attendant Pay and display and clamping. Maybe a zone at the front for wheel chairs and mother and child places.

All thats asked, is folk leave ther dinghy on a long string, so folk can get in. Then boot the dinghy back out again for others.

There are signs on many pontoons, asking folk to do this. But is just ettiquete, good manners.

On the sea. Corner shop conditions do not apply, thankfully, else at the corner shop. You would come out and find ten other cars rafted up to your car, with ropes round yer wing mirrors or wiper blades. Do cars have cleats.. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

At the super market you could have convivial conversations over a beer, asking at what time each would like to leave and deraft cars accordingly.

On the sea, it's quite ok to shunt other boats about if the need takes, to get out of a raft ferinctance. Allways making sure that you have left the other boat safe of course.

Dinghy parks are made for, yes dinghys, quite happy to rub each other up. Now if you have a particulary unfriendly dinghy. I suggest you take it some where else! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[Lakesailor]

Fight!

Fight! Fight!

 

[michael_w]

Most annoying are those dinghy owners who insist on cocking the outbard up; then its propellor acts as a knife on anything within range.

In Bequia my dink, complete with stern anchor got forced underneath the concrete jetty by this large RIB, which was padlocked on. The only way to extract my boat was to deflate one of the side tubes of the RIB. Though I left it floating, it would have been fun trying to get back to their mother ship.

 

[pessimist]

Thanks Clive, might just do that.

 

[pessimist]

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[pessimist]

I'm not asking to power my way in, simpl to be able to get in. If everybody used a long line there is no need for anybody to be crushed.

The "missed the last bus" syndrome does not apply in this instance - we're taking about the visiting dinghy pontoon. Noone is supposed to be there for more than a couple of hours. I agree absolutely about locking up overnight - when we used the residents' "toast rack" we did just that.

Its not always possible to climb over others dinghys; this post was, in part, prompted by wtching a local try to get his dinghy in. He now walks, painfully, with a stick and is really not able to clamber over other tenders to reach the shore.

At last we agree, simple bad manners to use turns on a cleat preventing others from using it. There was enough knitting over the cleats yesterday to start a WI coven. Think the best of all was the d1ckhead who'd tied his knitting over the top of others properly made loops.

Cheers

Colin

 

[DeeGee]

Surely the providers of the dinghy pontoon share a bit of the blame? Rather than a cleat, provide a rail, then, except for the ends of the rail, there is no alternative but to secure with a rt+2hh or bowline? Leaving long painter and shoving boat away is just common sense, get your boat out of the melee?

Only seen a rail once, as I tripped over it... /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[pessimist]

Agree, either a rail or loops would stop most of the nonsense. Wouldn't stop the two feet of chain and a padlock merchants, or those who moor fore and aft. I think maybe a shotfun is the easiest way to deal with them. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[Guest]

My dinghy is not unfriendly it is a traditional dinghy with oars. It has no sharp edges and has a nice soft buffer all the way around.

However there are a lot of balloon dinghies with big outboards that chew gelcoat out of our boat when our long line gets stuck under the balloon/Vhull groove. As the wash goes past their unprotected outboards they just destroys the front of the dingy. If they are raised then there is no hope.

Why is it that those people should leave such stupidly designed boats in amongst traditional dinghies. If you want a "free for all" then use boats that are sensible.

Once the rope is stuck in the groove it means you have to go walking out on the boats to unravel it. No amount of pulling will get it out and it just causes more damage. So that ruins the argument about climbing through dinghies.

Otherwise just forgive the owner that locks the hard dinghy up next to the pontoon as he has had enough damage.

Some places the "last bus" is not an overnight problem it can be as early as the 5.00pm water taxi limit.

An obvious solution would be to have a disabled space or a dropping off space. Quite a lot of pontoons have "no tie" spaces on the front and the back is for tying up. Especially those pontoons that are water points as well.

I have seen many solutions including continuous steel bars instead of cleats, baby finger pontoons, Walk ways with bars on the side that the boats can be lock to. Most places with a real problem have the will to solve it.

Start being creative, especially if you are a local, and stop thinking everyone is being selfish. They might have a good reason as there are so many people going around that judge only by their own experience and never question if they might be the cause.

 

[Mirelle]

A length of light chain, stapled down to the pontoon every few feet, is quite a nice solution, as unlike a rail you don't trip over it - and it is probably cheaper!

Related whinge - please will people fender their dinghies properly!

 

[Will]

I know exactly who you are talking about, with regard to the chap with the stick, and believe me, it makes his blood boil. He lives aboard his boat, and manages to make it ashore every day in the winter come rain or shine, but at this time of year, the average painter length is about 9" (possibly a bit of an exaggeration but not far off). Consequently, he had such a struggle to get his dinghy anywhere near the pontoon a few weeks back, that he ended up in the water. Not funny, given his recent hip replacement.
Anyway, I was working in Dartmouth last week and am in complete agreement - it's just bleedin' thoughtless. The answer is a knife.

 

[snowleopard]

Perhaps DHNA might be persuaded to put up a little notice explaining how to tie up. A lot of the behaviour that annoys you is down to ignorance and lack of thought, not bloody-mindedness.

 

[Guest]

How long is a piece of string?

Does your string reach the length of one average dinghy? If it does then that only gives you 1.5 times the number of boats. Assuming a normal distribution. Or should it be 3 times the average. Or 4?

I have been on pontoons 5 boats out. These is no other alternate other than careful boat walking.

In general I use a 16' line permanently on the boat. Then if there is a problem I use a 13' stainless line with eyes on the ends and 2 locks, one each end. However I do also use a 4' chain from the bows with 2 locks, just to make sure I have a dinghy to come back to in certain places.

I forgot about the wonderful invention of bow cleats on rigid dinghies. Who would bend up the bow of a rigid keel and fit a great big steel loop. The free board of my dinghy stern is lower than the tubes but higher than metal ring. So bash bash bash. Marks all over the outboard position. Oh, but then its only a cheap dinghy and theirs is mega expensive one so it needs a secure way to attach it.

I notice no one moors their dinghy by the transom. Obviously you would not, the outboard might get damaged on the pontoon. So why put it the other way around and require mine to bump up and down against it?

Tidal rivers are even worse, one minute all the boats are hanging correctly then the next the mass shoots under the pontoon. There goes the engine covers and nav light sticks. A well held, close in boat, in the centre of a hollow pontoon does not move far and the raft stays safe on the outside. There are multiple reasons and its down to local knowledge so don't criticise everything uniformly.

There are no hard and fast rules of dinghy etiquette just live and let live or sort out a real system that works. In the last 7 years the dingy is the is the only thing that I have had to mend due to others actions and stupidity.