Hands up boat handlers

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boatmaster

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My boat handling is probably nothing more than average and i've stood in the marina listening to the experts spectating the newbies coming in, explaining the 'error of thier ways' claiming they could have done better!
as a bystander i do wonder if a boat handling competition with a twist would settle the score. Yes, a national boat handling competition.
There are lots of people out there with skills to show off and wouldn't it be good if there were a competiton to boast in, whether self nominated or pushed by a friend, maybe MBM could set it up so that we can finally see who the overall and national pro really is. who reckons its a good idea? it could even be televised!
 
I always reckoned televised marina berthing had some merit. You could call it fenders, camera, action, or something like that.
 
dt4134 said:
I always reckoned televised marina berthing had some merit. You could call it fenders, camera, action, or something like that.
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Absolutely, I know one or two extremely modest boathandlers who admittedly have done it for a long time one of which for a living and still refuse to recognise thier own ablility, i would nominate them ! although i think they would be cross with me !
 
Some things they dont teach and its down to common sense. My trailer had to be totally submersed on the slipway to take my boat. My engine at tick over would do 2 knots foward, the strong wind was from behind and filling the cabin pushing me foward too fast and I really only had one chance of getting it right as I was on my own and if I hit the trailer wrongly and it moved I would have to reverse, go back to the pontoon, walk the half mile back to the slipway, reposition the trailer, walk back to the boat and try again. So as I approached the trailer too fast I started the auxiluary in reverse, the boat slowed and gently went onto the trailer.
Do I want a Gold Star. Too Right. PS. Its part of the fun.
 
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There are not so many good boat handlers, but a hell of a lot that do it wrong. The bad boat handler drives a boat like his car, so expects to back in places, rather than to drive into them. This works well for marina owners and engineers, as shorter fingers are needed and to back into them requires a bow thruster, that was never needed when mooring conventionally.

How come, my old boat now needs a bow thrucher, yet it managed without for 23 years before??

It seems to me, that in the past, we mostly set off with dingies and learned about tide and wind. So learned to use it to our best advantage.

Folk now just seem to want to over rule it. Well I suppose that is the other way.
 
Quite a few places used to so this in their local regattas, don't know if they still do. My favourite during Burnham Week was always the Seamanship Race. It was a bit like a Le Mans start for Raggies, everyone started with their sails down, things like that (from their moorings before you ask, there wasn't anywhere else to keep your boat in those days).
 
love it

boatmaster said:
My boat handling is probably nothing more than average and i've stood in the marina listening to the experts spectating the newbies coming in, explaining the 'error of thier ways' claiming they could have done better!
as a bystander i do wonder if a boat handling competition with a twist would settle the score. Yes, a national boat handling competition.
There are lots of people out there with skills to show off and wouldn't it be good if there were a competiton to boast in, whether self nominated or pushed by a friend, maybe MBM could set it up so that we can finally see who the overall and national pro really is. who reckons its a good idea? it could even be televised!
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I would love to do something like this, I know some great boat handlers too.
 
Cerise......Todays colour...lifejackets next perhaps

In my very umble opinion....anybody who is good will be the least likely to don a set of matching Musto "Technical " gear in a very worrying shade of pastel and spend time backing their overfendered boat inbetween two finger berths in a sheltered marina. :)
 
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boatmaster said:
My boat handling is probably nothing more than average and i've stood in the marina listening to the experts spectating the newbies coming in, explaining the 'error of thier ways' claiming they could have done better!
as a bystander i do wonder if a boat handling competition with a twist would settle the score. Yes, a national boat handling competition.
There are lots of people out there with skills to show off and wouldn't it be good if there were a competiton to boast in, whether self nominated or pushed by a friend, maybe MBM could set it up so that we can finally see who the overall and national pro really is. who reckons its a good idea? it could even be televised!
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Used to be one, organised by the RYA, with regional heats culminating in finals at the Southampton Boat Show.
Usually won by someone from the Thames, where a lot of the mobo clubs have been running boathandling competitions every year since man first sat astride a floating log.

For some people, competitive boat-handling became the focus of their boating activities -- and, not surprisingly, some of them got very good at it.

Whether those competition skills translated into good everyday boathandling is a moot point. In some cases I'm pretty sure it did. In one or two, I'm equally sure it did not!
 
Who on here can put his hand on his heart and say "Cor blimey that was a close one" I know I have on many occasions, sometimes through over confidence other times by "the hand of god" playing games. As long as we are going slowly enough, then even when it goes "tits up" little or no damage is done either to you or your neighbours. Not enough practice is generally the cause of these palpitations.
 
timbartlett said:
Used to be one, organised by the RYA, with regional heats culminating in finals at the Southampton Boat Show.
Usually won by someone from the Thames, where a lot of the mobo clubs have been running boathandling competitions every year since man first sat astride a floating log.

For some people, competitive boat-handling became the focus of their boating activities -- and, not surprisingly, some of them got very good at it.

Whether those competition skills translated into good everyday boathandling is a moot point. In some cases I'm pretty sure it did. In one or two, I'm equally sure it did not!
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I remember it well, our friends tim and Debbie won it.
 
omega2 said:
Who on here can put his hand on his heart and say "Cor blimey that was a close one" I know I have on many occasions, sometimes through over confidence other times by "the hand of god" playing games. As long as we are going slowly enough, then even when it goes "tits up" little or no damage is done either to you or your neighbours. Not enough practice is generally the cause of these palpitations.
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Absolutely spot on, and is the reason why I always have SWMBO fender up both sides of the boat. So far that has prevented an 'oops' become anything worse on the occasions where things haven't gone quite as planned.
 
omega2 said:
Who on here can put his hand on his heart and say "Cor blimey that was a close one" I know I have on many occasions, sometimes through over confidence other times by "the hand of god" playing games. As long as we are going slowly enough, then even when it goes "tits up" little or no damage is done either to you or your neighbours. Not enough practice is generally the cause of these palpitations.
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Yep, I agree with you. Every time you think you have it licked something goes wrong.

Though it is often quoted, I think the majority of boaters know we aren't driving a car but so relatively rarely (compared to a car) find ourselves at the helm of a boat that it doesn't become instinctive.
 
powerskipper said:
I would love to do something like this, I know some great boat handlers too.
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I've officially retired from this sport and any future cock-ups are just down to "having forgotten more than I care to remember". :D:D

My all time low was pulling into the fuel dock at Weymouth on my own boat to be greeted by the gnarly old salt on the pump who said: "is this your first time on a boat?"

...and my all time high was in a boat - not my own - with both Jon Mendez and Lester McCarthy as witnesses, turning by Bursledon Bridge and ghosting in to a smallish space on RK Marine's pontoon with just one dab of the throttle. I could see I'd nailed it perfectly from 50 metres away. In the dark. Pure luck!!

As I said, I've now retired from this sport. :D:D:D
 
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