Hit and run, again and again

Nostrodamus

Nostrodamus

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www.cygnus3.com
If my boat was a chick magnet I could live with that and would be happy to clean the mess up afterwards but no, my boat seems to be a magnet to other boats.

This is the third occasion this year when boats behind or in front of me on a long pontoon have ended up running down my side desperately pushing off on my stantions usually early in the morning.

I come up with the noise usually to find the culprits skulking off into the dark and refusing to look back. Luckily there has been no lasting damage but I have been left with various coloured marks I have to clean off vigorously off my hull afterwards.

Why don’t people know how to get their boats off pontoons without running into the boat behind or in front?

I used to be a pretty trusting kind of chap but it has got to the stage where I am now noting down the boats details on either side. They all know they have hit me but never once has anyone come back to check. For them it is a “If we don’t look it never happened”.

Do you note down boats around you and if you came out to find another boat pinned against you do you let them continue or ask them to moor up again so you can check for damage?

If it was you running alongside another boat would you continue on or come back?
 
Nostrodamus said:
If my boat was a chick magnet I could live with that and would be happy to clean the mess up afterwards but no, my boat seems to be a magnet to other boats.

This is the third occasion this year when boats behind or in front of me on a long pontoon have ended up running down my side desperately pushing off on my stantions usually early in the morning.

I come up with the noise usually to find the culprits skulking off into the dark and refusing to look back. Luckily there has been no lasting damage but I have been left with various coloured marks I have to clean off vigorously off my hull afterwards.

Why don’t people know how to get their boats off pontoons without running into the boat behind or in front?

I used to be a pretty trusting kind of chap but it has got to the stage where I am now noting down the boats details on either side. They all know they have hit me but never once has anyone come back to check. For them it is a “If we don’t look it never happened”.

Do you note down boats around you and if you came out to find another boat pinned against you do you let them continue or ask them to moor up again so you can check for damage?

If it was you running alongside another boat would you continue on or come back?
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Without question yes. I've only done it once actually, I had a gear cable snap and I put a hole in my boat. No visible damage to the other unoccupied boat but I reported it to the marina and left details, I wouldn't dream of not doing so.

I have chased others who have done this on 3 occasions - not hit me but it angers me so. Once I was in bar in hamble and saw someone hit another boat I ran to my boat to chase him. I'm really not the get angry type but that behaviour just gets me going.
 
Elessar said:
Without question yes. I've only done it once actually, I had a gear cable snap and I put a hole in my boat. No visible damage to the other unoccupied boat but I reported it to the marina and left details, I wouldn't dream of not doing so.

I have chased others who have done this on 3 occasions - not hit me but it angers me so. Once I was in bar in hamble and saw someone hit another boat I ran to my boat to chase him. I'm really not the get angry type but that behaviour just gets me going.
Click to expand...

Any chance of you following me around?
 
Three years ago, I had just arrived alongside a cross berth in St Vaast and went down for a well earned coffee. A few minutes later there was a loud crash, the sound of splintering wood and the boat heeled over towards the berth. I rushed up on deck to see a large french yacht going quickly astern only a few yards off my side. I could see that the damage to my boat was thankfully limited to the wodden rubbing strake and assumed the helmsman on the other boat would look round and acknowledge me standing by the damage. No such thing, he steadfastly looked in the other direction and then proceeded to motor away. I shouted at him, he didnt look round. I screamed at him, he still didnt look round, I swore blue murder at him and he finally glanced at who was making all the noise and gave a Galic shrug of his shoulders.

The damage was minimal but the attitude made my blood boil.
 
Seems like a case for many fenders on the side away from the pontoon with a fender board on the outside of those fenders, maybe with large visable 6 inch spikes protruding.
 
Gallic shrug......

We were stern to in a berth in Piriac marina a few years back, windy and right on the nose. Frenchman left adjacent berth, it was an accident waiting to happen as he would obviously be blown on to our bow. His stanchions were just higher than our anchor so he hooked himself over our anchor and went full astern. Snapped every single stanchion, snapped all the fence lines and had great curls of GRP swarf as he dragged his boat down our anchor. Not a mark on our anchor but serious damage to his yacht. Gallic shrug and off he went.
 
Had a boat land heavily on mine, but they 'fessed up and paid for 3 replacement stanchions.
I know of one well known race boat at Liverpool who on leaving the berth twatted another boat, ripping off its side light, and carried on regardless.
The race boat owner is not exactly hard up for cash, spends a fortune on gear, yet would not own up to damaging another boat.
I left a note on the damaged boat to let them know where to go look for recompense.
 
Nostrodamus said:
If my boat was a chick magnet I could live with that and would be happy to clean the mess up afterwards but no, my boat seems to be a magnet to other boats.

This is the third occasion this year when boats behind or in front of me on a long pontoon have ended up running down my side desperately pushing off on my stantions usually early in the morning.

I come up with the noise usually to find the culprits skulking off into the dark and refusing to look back. Luckily there has been no lasting damage but I have been left with various coloured marks I have to clean off vigorously off my hull afterwards.

Why don’t people know how to get their boats off pontoons without running into the boat behind or in front?

I used to be a pretty trusting kind of chap but it has got to the stage where I am now noting down the boats details on either side. They all know they have hit me but never once has anyone come back to check. For them it is a “If we don’t look it never happened”.

Do you note down boats around you and if you came out to find another boat pinned against you do you let them continue or ask them to moor up again so you can check for damage?

If it was you running alongside another boat would you continue on or come back?
Click to expand...

This is not really any different from the treatment many people meet out to other peoples cars in car parks - supermarket ones in particular. SWMBO's car has a rash of dents all caused by carelessness - and no, no-one has ever left a note saying sorry it woz me wot damaged your car.:mad:
 
The Other Side of the Coin

A mate was caught out by a gust and damaged the pulpit on a neighbouring boat. He gave his details and the owner of the other boat duly presented a quote for a new pulpit, stanchions and guard wires all round.

Inspection of the damage by a competent SS fabricator resulted in my friend paying a couple of hundred to straighten a pulpit that obviously had prior damage and nothing at all for the stanchions that were in a bad way from what was clearly years of abuse.

It doesn't encourage honesty.
 
The last time someone ran into us was when a wife under "instruction" from her mate and who had never handled a boat before took our ensign staff off. They couldn't get away as it was in Eastbourne.:)
 
johnalison said:
The last time someone ran into us was when a wife under "instruction" from her mate and who had never handled a boat before took our ensign staff off. They couldn't get away as it was in Eastbourne.:)
Click to expand...

Must have been one of the younger generation if she was from Eastbourne. Did she get her cathator tube caught or mix up her zimmer frame for the pulpit
 
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