rafting up

[l'escargot]

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I'll send my children round, they break the ice!!!!!!!!

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Great, perhaps they will collect mine and bring them back to your boat /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Sgeir]

Like the idea of the colour coded danbuoys.

 

[boatone]

Oh well, thats alright then........ /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[kingfisher]

well, you're the one that is breaking up the raft early, so it is your responsibility. If I were to find a note on my boat saying that the inner boat will leave at 0430, I would say " fine by me" and still berth. What did you expect the crew from the boat to do? To hang around untill you show up from your match? To graciously move your boat to the outside because you want to leave early?

There are techniques for getting out of rafts early. My favourite is casting off with three yachts attached to port, turning the whole combination 180 degrees and re-attaching the outside boat.

 

[Scillypete]

I would not have expected much at all but at the very the least the opportunity to swap places. The point is they dumped their boat in the marina and then just disappeared not just for the evening.
Now I've no doubt this is obviously normal practise these days as marinas are fast eating up all available anchorages but they also seem to be eating away any common courtesy as well. There seems to be a certain stuff 'em attitude about now.

As for manouevring with a raft attached it would have been a bit tight as there is a rocky shoreline just across from this pontoon

 

[fireball]

You'd think in this day and age it would be sensible to leave your mobile no when rafting up - just incase someone wants to get hold of you ...

 

[David_Jersey]

Tricky one this. I would say you were both right.

If I was going to be departing at 04.30 then I would have chatted to the arrivals as soon as they tied up (and of course offered to swap berths), failing that if I was going off for the day I would have a chat to the nearby boat owners saying what my plans are and maybe also leave a visible note on my boat (maybe with a mob number). I always make it part of my "freindly greeting" to ask how long are you visiting for included with the etc etc

The fella arriving does not have to arrange his life around yours especially when it involves "anti social hours" (it would be hard to argue that a fellow brit will hardly be expected to be awake at 04.30 after a worldcup game!), but if you raft up next to someone and leave the boat unattended then you MUST expect to be moved in your absence. If you do not want anyone to do move your boat in your absence then do not raft up - remember that no one knows if you are gone for an hour or a week!

Obvioulsy with a 2 boat raft moving just about anything is easy enough, but the advantage of a bigger raft is that their will proabably be someone who knows where "So and so" has gone and how long they will likely be and it is a good idea yourself to mention to other memebrs of your raft what you are doing. Admittedly I have never had to move a large raft (maybe something to do with no 04.30 starts!), but FWIW my take on this is that those on the outside are just added hands! (you would be very unlucky to have all the raft empty??). Of course it would be polite to speak to the outside rafted boats at least the evening before to give folk a chance to decide to move you / let you out that evening rather than at "0. my god .30" /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif if for no other reason than it is a job that will be more quickly accomplished when folk are wide awake. Do not EXPECT any speedy co-operation from other folk at 04.30 if the first they have heard about your plans is a knock on the door at 04.25..........indeed it may be prudent to expect an impolite refusal /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif or at the very least an hour or two's delay for folk to get ready / awake.

If I was staying somewhere that I knew would have a large raft on my outside I would plan ahead accordingly. As far as I am concerned it is not for everyone else to work around someones plans, especially at short notice and / or at 04.30 - if you are doing this YOU have to put yourself out as well!!! Otherwise it is called taking the p#ss and gets treated accordingly. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif