"No mooring alongside"

lw395 said:
...It often pays to be pro-active and offer fenders etc to the boats you think will be nice quiet neighbours...
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I'd go with that. If a see a similar boat to mine looking to raft up with just a couple on, I will encourage them alongside rather than end up with a school boat or worse. When my daughter was young, she used to look out for other boats with kids on.
 
I've never seen a home made ' no mooring alongside ' sign, just proper ones used by harbournmasters or private mooring owners as described above.

Of course the ones which really get all of us, certainly I have to say with sailing boats, not sure about power craft, is the inflatable dinghy tied alongside to make rafting impossible.

This really causes the red mist to descend and if it's a clearly selfish act I have no hesitation in saying so and moving the dinghy - one way or another ! - or if there's a harbourmaster handy pointing it out, they have given such selfish people a good talking to in my experience.
 
Seajet said:
I've never seen a home made ' no mooring alongside ' sign, just proper ones used by harbournmasters or private mooring owners as described above.

Of course the ones which really get all of us, certainly I have to say with sailing boats, not sure about power craft, is the inflatable dinghy tied alongside to make rafting impossible.

This really causes the red mist to descend and if it's a clearly selfish act I have no hesitation in saying so and moving the dinghy - one way or another ! - or if there's a harbourmaster handy pointing it out, they have given such selfish people a good talking to in my experience.
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On our boat, you board the dinghy from the port or starboard side, via gates in the guardrails. When in use, the dinghy is tied up there. If you just went off on one to me about the dinghy being alongside, I would certainly send you away with a flea in your ear! Not always easy to see why the dinghy may be there.
 
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Elessar said:
So it comes down to a how do you treat, and think others treat, a stinker question.
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Badly, I would imagine from the question posed?

I was very rudely snubbed only this weekend by a fellow yachtsman making a complete hash of the boat handling.

After an offer of help was rudely refused, I went back 5 minutes later when the shouting, full throttle antics and bashing into our boat for the third time, was starting to get annoying.

If you met him for a raft up, I can assume it wouldn't have gone well!

Most of this 'I'm leaving at 04.30,' etc comes from anxiety over the boat handling arrangements with an audience IMO.
 
robmcg said:
On our boat, you board the dinghy from the port or starboard side, via gates in the guardrails. When in use, the dinghy is tied up there. If you just went off on one to me about the dinghy being alongside, I would certainly send you away with a flea in your ear! Not always easy to see why the dinghy may be there.
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You could try ! :)

I don't care if you board by a gate at the side or at the top of the mast, having a dinghy alongside in a situation where one may expect to raft there is simply rude and will not be tolerated for long at a busy harbour.

If in a raft connected to the shore, why have a dinghy in use at all, if you end up in the middle of a raft to a mooring you'd just have to do the same as everyone else and get in and out of the dinghy at one end or other of your boat.
 
Seajet said:
I've never seen a home made ' no mooring alongside ' sign, just proper ones used by harbournmasters or private mooring owners as described above.

Of course the ones which really get all of us, certainly I have to say with sailing boats, not sure about power craft, is the inflatable dinghy tied alongside to make rafting impossible.

This really causes the red mist to descend and if it's a clearly selfish act I have no hesitation in saying so and moving the dinghy - one way or another ! - or if there's a harbourmaster handy pointing it out, they have given such selfish people a good talking to in my experience.
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I have a solid dinghy that I sometimes moor along side to prevent it bashing my, and other peoples topsides. I'd never do it to prevent anyone coming along side because quite frankly I quite like having neighbours, though to be honest a classic with low freeboard seems to put the majority of boats off attempting anyway.

I was in La Palais a few years back and went into the inner basin in the harbour, we tied up against the wall as the harbour filled up with boats, 4 deep on one side, 5 or 6 deep on the other side right up until the harbour was completely full, except for the great big gap in the rafts where no one had come along side us.
 
Seajet said:
I don't care if you board by a gate at the side or at the top of the mast, having a dinghy alongside in a situation where one may expect to raft there is simply rude and will not be tolerated for long at a busy harbour.

If in a raft connected to the shore, why have a dinghy in use at all, if you end up in the middle of a raft to a mooring you'd just have to do the same as everyone else and get in and out of the dinghy at one end or other of your boat.
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+1. I agree.
 
I've never refused someone who requested to come alongside, and nor would I ever do so.

Even this business of the old favourite "your boat is too big" is, quite franky blx in most cases (I got it in Weymouth recently where there is no tide to speak of, and there was no wind).

I've found that most people are reasonable and sensible and quite pleasant to chat to.

I do tend to keep a low profile if I see a Scumsail boat, but even them I wouldn't send them away.

I've seen some private "no mooring" boards. I thought they came free with blue flags!
 
I have the same reservations as Bobc re. potential neighbours - frankly my heart would sink ! - but I'd never turn away any boat - sail or power - that was suitable to come alongside.

Like a lot of people here I like having neighbours, one meets all sorts of interesting people.
 
robmcg said:
On our boat, you board the dinghy from the port or starboard side, via gates in the guardrails. When in use, the dinghy is tied up there. If you just went off on one to me about the dinghy being alongside, I would certainly send you away with a flea in your ear! Not always easy to see why the dinghy may be there.
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Why would you have your dinghy in the boarding position while the boat is tied up at a pontoon or quay? Wouldn't it be more polite to put it elsewhere, so that people could raft up to you?
 
Bobc said:
Even this business of the old favourite "your boat is too big" is, quite franky blx in most cases (I got it in Weymouth recently where there is no tide to speak of, and there was no wind).
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I remember seeing a 7 deep raft in Weymouth where each boat was just a little bigger than the one it had moored up to. The little wooden folkboat on the inside had 6 boats ranging up to nearly 40feet hanging off it. The outer boats didn't put shorelines out and next morning, when the wind had risen, the whole raft was swaying too and fro.

I was in the next raft and the outer boats there had not put shorelines out either. Pushpits and pulpits were graunching together.
 
OK the answer.

As an example, there's the nightmare scenario that is ending up anywhere near galadriel.

He and his wife will ram so much food into you that you have to stand, and so much wine that you can't walk. I've known him insist I flash my nav lights when I have got back to my boat so he knew if I was dead or not. Not sure if that was concern or hope. And yes it probably is my round........

And never, ever, when asking to moor alongside a raggie have I ever been given anything but a welcome. Sometimes a worry I might ram their boat, sometimes curiosity, but always a welcome.

Boating is great :)
 
I've seen similar - a raft of 5 boats with a small boat on the pontoon and each boat out increasing by 4 or 5 foot. The outside boats do have to consider all the boats in the raft. The other thing I've seen is rafts of boats all in the 30' category then a boat over 40' wants to tie alongside. He either overhangs either end and takes up the space of 3 boats or lines up bow or stern and spends his time beating the other end off the boat in the next raft. Size is a major consideration when rafting.
 
JumbleDuck said:
Why would you have your dinghy in the boarding position while the boat is tied up at a pontoon or quay? Wouldn't it be more polite to put it elsewhere, so that people could raft up to you?
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My automatic assumption was people were talking about rafting on a mooring buoy (we rarely end up on pontoons). Not really practical to board from the bow or stern on our boat with any degree of safety.
 
Elessar said:
OK the answer.

As an example, there's the nightmare scenario that is ending up anywhere near galadriel.

He and his wife will ram so much food into you that you have to stand, and so much wine that you can't walk. I've known him insist I flash my nav lights when I have got back to my boat so he knew if I was dead or not. Not sure if that was concern or hope. And yes it probably is my round........
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A repeat is long overdue!;)
 
robmcg said:
My automatic assumption was people were talking about rafting on a mooring buoy (we rarely end up on pontoons). Not really practical to board from the bow or stern on our boat with any degree of safety.
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In which case I would moor the tender off the bow or stern except when I needed to board, and prepare myself to explain to the new neighbours that I would have to prevail on them to use their stern ladder or whatever to access my tender.
 
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