Docking Woes

Sorry if this is thread drift but does anyone know of a two or even 3 way hands free set up to allow crew (me) to communicate to skipper (SWMBO) without bellowing for this kind of situation or anchoring?
Our first berth was very tight , calling for 3 distinct maneouvres all within six inches or so of 2 other boats and rigid pontoons. It was also directly in front of the restaurant . Add to this the boss was helming and you could lip read "oh , SHE is going to TRY!" SHE was not a stress free bunny.
Happy days!
 
Not hands free, but maybe it is possible to adapt.. you used to be able to get (motorola) walki talkies about the size of a small phone for about £30. .Think you can get several on the same frequency.Wouldnt be an expensive test to see it that helps communication, and being small I think maybe doesnt need to be handsfree?
 
kid's inheritance said:
Sorry if this is thread drift but does anyone know of a two or even 3 way hands free set up to allow crew (me) to communicate to skipper (SWMBO) without bellowing for this kind of situation or anchoring?
Our first berth was very tight , calling for 3 distinct maneouvres all within six inches or so of 2 other boats and rigid pontoons. It was also directly in front of the restaurant . Add to this the boss was helming and you could lip read "oh , SHE is going to TRY!" SHE was not a stress free bunny.
Happy days!
Click to expand...

Check your VHF set.
If its one of the more recent Simrad ones, it may have a two way horn fitted.
On ours, I switch it into a sort of "Tanoy" mode and you can talk to the crew on the foredeck. When you release the PTT button, it works the other way round and you can clearly hear what the crew are saying through the VHF speakers. Works really well.

Onlly one downside - you can also hear all the crew's mutterings and what they are saying about you.
 
Hurricane said:
Check your VHF set.
If its one of the more recent Simrad ones, it may have a two way horn fitted.
On ours, I switch it into a sort of "Tanoy" mode and you can talk to the crew on the foredeck. When you release the PTT button, it works the other way round and you can clearly hear what the crew are saying through the VHF speakers. Works really well.

Onlly one downside - you can also hear all the crew's mutterings and what they are saying about you.
Click to expand...

I am the crew! Thanks for that, I will check on our next visit. I was expecting sarcastic comments on not knowing the correct hand signals when retreiving the anchor but I like to keep checking the depth as we drop back when laying .
Sorry for Fred drift
Rob
 
Hurricane said:
Check your VHF set.
If its one of the more recent Simrad ones, it may have a two way horn fitted.
On ours, I switch it into a sort of "Tanoy" mode and you can talk to the crew on the foredeck. When you release the PTT button, it works the other way round and you can clearly hear what the crew are saying through the VHF speakers. Works really well.

Onlly one downside - you can also hear all the crew's mutterings and what they are saying about you.
Click to expand...
I like the idea of the tannoy for bellowing instructions across the foredeck and whole marina... I guess that PTT button is pretty sticky and doesnt often release, though?
 
Hurricane said:
Hand signals???

The look I get is usually good enough!!!
Click to expand...

Yeah the hand signals I usually get from the SWMBO are of the one and two fingered variety and a tannoy with me bellowing out instructions to the SWMBO wouldn't last 5 mins. In any case backing into a mooring with the helmsman shouting instructions via a tannoy would be advertising to everybody in the marina that you are a car crash waiting to happen. Actually I think hand signals are the way to go. It works in the construction industry when operatives have to communicate lifting instructions to crane drivers so there's no reason why something similar shouldn't work on boats
 
kid's inheritance said:
Sorry if this is thread drift but does anyone know of a two or even 3 way hands free set up to allow crew (me) to communicate to skipper (SWMBO) without bellowing for this kind of situation or anchoring?
Click to expand...

Not hands-free but I use a pair of Motorola walkie talkie TLKR T7 for this. With a nice comfy lanyard for SWMBO to wear (or she'll drop it overboard on purpose!). Same walkies double up for boat-to-tender coms.

On my last boat I had a loudhailer on the radar arch, but using it to tell SWMBO anything produced awfully obscene gestures...
 
The title was added by someone who knows *** all about berthing a power boat.

The skipper may be inexperienced, but he gets in a good start position (several times), he goes slow, there are fenders out, his crew is in position and he bails out when it goes wrong and starts again.

The gap is more than big enough, bigger gaps are more problem than small ones. It is surprising how boats will shuffle along to let yet another one in - try a Sunsail chater to Fiskardo to see what I mean.

I've seen much worse (and maybe even been at the helm at the time).

BTW - another vote for death by stare if I had the temerity to bellow out instructions to SWMBO while there was a crowd around. In general we go by the rule the skipper is the one following instructions, not the (lead) crew.
 
I just had another look now i have finally built a new PC and don't think its so bad. Boat could be new to him, thrusters may have just been installed, may not be his regular birth, so many variants can change what we can only watch in black and white so to speak.

Knocking it in and out of forward and reverse can send me right off coarse, the more stressed you get the more power you apply, just making things worse (only talking about a hundred or so revs here) Most find it something entertaining to watch, myself included, but if im moored and a neighbour comes in to dock im ready to take lines if needed. A lot of moboe'rs do like to scoff when someone is having difficulties.
 
kcrane said:
In general we go by the rule the skipper is the one following instructions, not the (lead) crew.
Click to expand...
Weird rule indeed, 'fiuaskme.
First of all, the skipper should always be in the position of not needing ANY instruction from the crew, and even if he gets some, he's still the one in charge anyway.

I agree with all your other comments, fwiw: I've also seen (and at least once from my own helm... :o though in strong xwind and with no b/t) much worse than that.
The only "big" mistake was waiting too much to bail out, in one of the attemps, going dangerously near to the bow line of the boat on his port side. Those lines were probably very short (vertical), otherwise he would have made a proper mess, particularly with an outdrives boat. But I'm being picky.
 
jimmy_the_builder said:
Better that, surely, than shoving the entire boat against your shiny bits?
Click to expand...
LOL, can't disagree JTB, but actually in stern to mooring there's only ONE use for the boat hook, and it's for grabbing the bow line - nothing else.
At that stage of the maneuver, the guy should have had a fender in his hands, not a boat hook.
 
MapisM said:
LOL, can't disagree JTB, but actually in stern to mooring there's only ONE use for the boat hook, and it's for grabbing the bow line - nothing else.
At that stage of the maneuver, the guy should have had a fender in his hands, not a boat hook.
Click to expand...

Right-o, forgive my ignorance about this - I've only helmed a boat stern-in into a med berth once in my life (and it was brand new, 78ft long, 55 tonnes ... and a _very_ trusting owner... :D) - but this is something I'm going to have to learn about very soon.

So are you basically saying - get the stern roughly in the right place, deploy big fender on downwind stern quarter, let the boat contact the downwind neighbour via the fender, and then roll in on the downwind neighbouring boat - ie let the fenders do the work? Sorry for such a basic question, but I really am a total newbie on this.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
Well, of course if you can manage to slide the boat in her berth without even touching the neighbours, that's even better (and easier, albeit counterintuitive, with bigger boats - also because they typically have big thrusters).
But yes, if boats have to get in contact, it's much better to let the fenders take care of that, rather than the boat hook or (heaven forbid!) arms or legs.
And as I said, it's always a good idea if the crew can move a fender around, to put it wherever necessary while reversing.
Oh, and of course it's better to have some fenders also on upwind side. Sometimes, the space can be tight enough to get in touch with both neighbour boats, regardless of wind.
 
jimmy_the_builder said:
Right-o, forgive my ignorance about this - I've only helmed a boat stern-in into a med berth once in my life (and it was brand new, 78ft long, 55 tonnes ... and a _very_ trusting owner... :D) - but this is something I'm going to have to learn about very soon.

So are you basically saying - get the stern roughly in the right place, deploy big fender on downwind stern quarter, let the boat contact the downwind neighbour via the fender, and then roll in on the downwind neighbouring boat - ie let the fenders do the work? Sorry for such a basic question, but I really am a total newbie on this.
Click to expand...

Yes, you put a crew member (usually SWMBO) aft with a roving fender and they simply look for where there's going to be contact and stick it in between. You use that to gently push the other boat aside to create your space, then gently astern letting the fenders do the work. Until you reach the quay whereupon one of your props eats the slime line and all hell breaks loose :)
 
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