Should you stop halyards frapping on neighbouring boats?

[Danny Jo]

The stark polarization of attitudes on the noisy wind generator thread made me wonder what other people think about my behaviour when staying in marinas. If I am kept awake at night by a slapping halyard, I find a piece of line, pass it round the offending halyard, and tie it off against the shrouds. I don't expect anyone to disagree with that action when it's one of Danny Jo's halyards, but what do you think about my climbing on your boat at 0200 (very quietly, so as not to disturb you should you be aboard) to frap a halyard?

I'll put it in the form of a questionnaire. Suppose there's been a bit of a blow in the marina while you were away. You get back on board and find that someone has put ties round your halyards. Your first thought is:

[Edit 1: oh, heck! How the dickens does one edit a poll?
Edit 2: thanks whipper_snapper, you are right: halyards are frapped to stop them slapping
Edit 3: oh, heck! Can't edit the title - it should read "Should you stop halyards slapping on neighbouring boats?"]

 

[whipper_snapper]

Just be picky for starters, my understanding is that you stop halyards flapping by frapping them. I could of course have got that wrong, happens occasionally!

But yes, I would. And I would tie off a screeching wind charger too.

 

[Blueboatman]

Easy. If no one aboard then yes of course. If owner aboard, a discrete mention over the course of the next day.
Serial (lazy, unloved, abandoned) clanky boats have once or twice only got my special attention. Baling twine, plenty of stout knots. Best tied whilst standing on the boom and with upstretched arms. But one is playing judge and executioner and is definitely passive- aggressive behaviour, ahem.
Prob best to inform marina office these days.

 

[Deleted member 478]

I thought a frap was the sound made when sliding on a leather seat that other people mistake for you letting rip with a fart? As in "No, that was not a fart. Have you never heard of frapping"?

 

[Seajet]

Stingo,

well it's worth a try but you may be talking yourself in deeper.

Yes, I tie off halliards if they've been left in an unseamanlike, inconsiderate state.

On the other hand, I secure boats if they're about to drift or if dinghies, turn over ashore, and empty rain off covers & tie them.

 

[TopDonkey]

No, i wouldnt tie off anyone else's halyards with a frapping thingie (im a motorboater!), and being a liveaboard, i can hear at least 4 other sail boats happily frapping away, for me, its part of boating, i dont mind the noise at all, and a quick glance out the window, and i can see 5 wind generators merrily spinning away at the moment on other boats, only 2 of them are a bit noisy when the wind gets up, but for me, its all part of boating and living on a boat

Having said that, if i was on a sailey type boat and had frapping halyards, i wouldnt tie them off because i dont like heights, but wouldnt mind at all, if someone else came aboard to tie them off for me (although i'm not sure how i'd remove them when i wanted to go sailing)

 

[Seajet]

TopDonkey,

the only height you need to secure halliards is to stand on the coachroof, no big drama; that's why it is annoying to people, it only takes a moments' consideration to prevent.

 

[multihullsailor6]

I do it all the time on unattended boats!

 

[prv]

I put "incomprehension", but only because my halyards never tap on the mast

To allow space for the gaff jaws and mast hoops, the halyards come down to a horse across the deck, so angled away from the mast rather than parallel to it. I never tie them off, and even with a near-gale whistling past at anchor, they never tap.

As an abstract question though, I don't object to people taking small seamanlike steps like this on my unattended boat.

Pete

 

[bigwow]

In the blow last month I had to go aboard my neighbour’s boat to tie off his boom, he hadn’t sized the pin in the shackle and the main sheet had come adrift. Didn’t give a thought about whether he would mind me going aboard his boat, just did it.

 

[simon barefoot]

I liveaboard and love the sound, but not on the boat right next to me... how fussy is that! If there was no-one around I might tie them off, but the wind has usually dropped by the time I can be bothered.

 

[Norman_E]

An Australian sailor I know said to me that in his home club they have a simple rule. The first time someone leaves a halyard to bang on the mast they tell him. The second time they go on board and pull the offending halyard to the top.

 

[snowleopard]

There is an alternative to fiddling about with bits of string. If you just let out a few inches of slack it reduces the racket from a machine gun rattle to the occasional tap.

 

[marklucas]

Never even thought about it - just done it

Most extreme example was in Greece when we were ashore anchored off a remote island.

Whilst we were ashore having dinner and another yacht anchored near us, not hagving realised that the Meltemi was due back in the next day meaning he would hit us.

So I got his kedge anchor out and laid it (handily on his pushpit). I left a note to explain why. The skipper enquired the next day as to why - when I pointed that there was no swinging room in the harbour and that every yacht had a kedge out he ate some pie but had a friendly chat over a coffee.

 

[AndrewB]

Ever noticed you hardly hear neighbours halyards, wind-gen etc when inside a WOODEN yacht?

If you've got a thin skin, don't choose a thin-skinned boat!

Or add some insulation.

 

[dt4134]

Where do you stop though?

What if a large trawler (100' or so) ties up nearby and runs an unsilenced generator flat out 24 hours a day? Do you march on board and stick an extremely large rubber bung in the exhaust?

Or what happens if the RN tie up to a quay nearby and then come on the tannoy to announce "5 minutes to dawn"? And it is not as if they wait to a civilised hour to do that!

Or a nearby ferry has to temerity to give a full safety briefing on the PA before sailing at 2am? Not to mention all those trucks driving noisily on board.

I've had all those and more. To be honest wind generators and slatting halyards are far from the top of the list, but most you can't do anything about. It's part of the marine environment.

My worst is wavelets slapping under the stern overhang, but I can think about that when berthing and try to avoid it, and bloody seagulls dropping crabs on deck to try to break their shells.

 

[Seajet]

Thing is, fishing boats & warships are doing their job, presumably in commercial ports & docks.

Leaving avoidable noise going ( especially if then clearing off home ) in a recreational marina or otherwise quiet spot is just plain inconsiderate ill-mannered yobishness, poor seamanship too.

 

[onesea]

Met some people going on a charter holiday, helping them onboard passing a random bag and stockings nickers and al sorts fell out...

They looked embarrassed and explained they keep them to tie up frapping halyards on holiday. Found it worked well rarely had to visit the same boat twice

Now would Y fronts work on wind generators

 

[Seajet]

I'm considering carting around a dead seagull if I should come across one; then if I get some 24 carat twerp with a rattling screeching windgen next to me, in goes the seagull...act of nature, silence restored.

Readers of Uffa Fox will recognise the inspiration from the 'cyclist on the footpath' incident...

I would just add that the majority of windgens are fine, it's the ones with shot bearings from being left going 24/7 which are antisocial.

 

[dt4134]

Thing is, fishing boats & warships are doing their job, presumably in commercial ports & docks.

In all the cases I mentioned in my previous post I was in a marina. The point I was trying to make is that there are many causes of noise, quite a few worse than wind generators or halyards. The trawler I mentioned is an on-going noise that I have to grin & bear, but it's only really audible down below when there is no wind. I could always turn the Eberspaecher on to drown it out and hope it doesn't break the noise pollution regulations of any nearby airport.