Rafting etiquette

[vandy]

We visited a famous and professionally run Solent marina on Saturday and surprise surprise there was no space so we had to raft along side a rib- All done nicely and we paid the fees and on the way back we found ourselves stuck between the boat we rafted alongside and another rib which had rafted to us.

So should we expect a hand from the marina staff to free us or was this our responsibility to somehow get out and also make sure the poor boat which had rafted along side us was put somewhere securely?!

We were told you should move with that boat attached to you and then bring it back and raft it along side the first boat we had rafted to! Well, that wasn't possible as there is not much turning space so I put that boat on another free pontoon which I felt comfortable to take but the marina staff weren't that happy....!

Not sure if that's something I should learn or it is again another ignorant marina issue?!

 

[superheat6k]

A few questions then an opinion ...

1 Had you pre-booked the berth ?

2 Were you advised upon booking / arriving / paying that you would be rafted ?

3 Did you pay the standard fee for a pontoon berth ?

Assuming the answers were that you hadn't booked, but did pay the standard fee then I would expect the marina to provide you reasonable assistance to allow you to leave, and they should have advised you of their situation and that you might be rafted in. After all what if you were short handed ?

The advice to move with another boat tied to you is in my view complete b@ll@cks.

If a boat ties next to you in a public berthing situation with no crew on that vessel you are obliged to ensure the vessel is safely secured, but moving it to a now vacant pontoon in the marina provides for that obligation. If having charged me for a pontoon berth then the marina staff were annoyed, then good. I would suggest a call to the marina manager on Monday morning would not go amiss to explain your point of view about the 'service' provided.

 

[vandy]

Thanks - yes it was only me and my gf and her grandparents (in 80s!) so a key reason that I couldn't assist much was being shorthanded and worried not to damage somebody else's rib!

 

[l'escargot]

Did you ask the marina staff to help you? It would not be an unreasonable request under the circumstances and I'm surprised the marina staff declined to assist - where was it?

I have also enlisted help from other boaters nearby and also offered help in the same situation.

It is certainly something you should learn to do if you are likely to raft, some public places such as town quays don't have staff to assist you, so you need to know what to do.

 

[hlb]

Whilst not directly answering your question. I have never found myself in that position in a marina. But I have in a few harbours, many times. Once with 23 boats along sides. You just have to work out a system and with what ever crew you can find. One method was to turn round the whole raft of boats on the outside and park them alongside the boat you left.

Another method is to loosen the stern of the outside boat/boats and pass the rope over your boat, whilst holding on to the bow rope, whilst you back out. This may leave your crew on another boat, so you then go back and collect them.

 

[prv]

Ideally the people outside should have been informed when you were leaving, so that they could help you leave (and also ensure their boat was looked after). I always try to find out when the people inside of me are planning to leave, before I go off ashore.

The technique is for them to move their uptide rope onto the boat inside of you, and run a long rope at the downtide end which loops around you instead of going across you (so, if for example you were all moored bows to tide, it would go from their stern, forward round your bow, and back down your other side to the inside boat's stern). Then you wriggle out of the gap going downtide, and they pull in both their ropes so that they are now moored direct to the inside boat. It's less complicated than it sounds, and generally works quite smoothly as long as the tide and/or wind are not extreme.

I wouldn't normally expect help from marina staff to achieve this, but if both the other boats were unoccupied (so noone to help) and you were shorthanded, then I think it would have been reasonable and it seems churlish of them to refuse. Especially since they rafted the outside boat onto you without both crews being able to discuss leaving times.

Pete

 

[James_Calvert]

A while back, our boat and a friend's boat were rafted together in Boulogne and another boat then rafted outside us. Much tramping of their crew across our decks, together with various belongings ensued, but they never returned. It transpired it was a charter, and the crew had simply abandoned it and taken the ferry back to England.

In the absence of any other help, we rounded up some fellow English yotties and sailed it (well it was blown downwind) across to the opposite pontoons - where there happened now to be a space, and then we could leave.

We rang the charter company up subsequently to complain and explain - they were very sympathetic and obviously very cross with the charterers.

I would say that provided you act responsibly (at the very least as if it were your own boat), no-one should complain if you have to move a boat rafted outside you in the owner's absence. Obviously if there's a danger of damage, you take sufficient precautions.

 

[Searush]

It is usually possible to rearrange the warps so you can slip out fore or aft, park up temporarily elsewhere & retighten them afterwards. You can do it on your own with care.

 

[Seastoke]

if we raft we always leave contact number on diplay

 

[prv]

if we raft we always leave contact number on diplay

Very sensible.

Pete

 

[kcrane]

if we raft we always leave contact number on diplay

Agree with prv, good idea.