Tender painters - Newcomers, please keep them long!

[Anonymous]

Near to the beginning of the boating season it might be worth reminding newcomers of the custom (and need) to tie dinghy painters very long when tying up at dinghy parks/pontoons. If everyone ties up with a long painter then you can tie dozens of tenders onto a single ring and they all cluster round like little ducklings.

When you want to get in, all you do is edge the cluster apart and move through to the pontoon. To get out again, all you do is pull gently and jiggle, and your tender arrives at the ring. Brilliant! Until someone who doesn't know about these things ties up on a short painter, blocking the whole dinghy park so nobody can get in or out. So please, newcomers, make sure that your painters are nice and long and tie them nice and long. Thanks!

 

[Poignard]

Amen to that! Pity they don't find time on the RYA courses for a short session on seamanship etiquette such as this.

 

[Talbot]

You should try the Folly pontoon, where they reckon 18" of chain and a padlock is the norm

 

[LORDNELSON]

Try the RAFYC pontoon at Hamble, locks, chains and wires! Half of them very short.

 

[duncan]

well from a seamanship perspective they would advise the painter to be shorter than the length of the boat to avoid it being able to get caught up in the engine...........

but an overrriding 'consideration to others' certainly has a place.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I don't want to seem to always jump to the defence of the RYA, but this IS exactly the sort of thing that is often mentioned on RYA courses from Competent Crew upwards.

 

[Anonymous]

John, is it actually on the syllabus or is it raised ad-hoc, if the instructor remembers? I don't think that it is in 'Competent Crew'.

 

[Poignard]

I intended no criticism of the RYA; the Dayskipper and Yachtmaster courses I attended were excellent but did not include this topic, so I assumed it was not part of the syllabus.

 

[Lakesailor]

How about a campaign to get pontoon owners to display a notice asking for the same etiquette as you proposing. Even a plea against locking tenders.

Any chance of it working?

 

[Mirelle]

er, but not when towing them, please!

(I reckon we have one of the longest tender painters in the business - but we expect to use it with an anchor when going ashore at a hard!)

 

[Salty John]

And don't tilt your outboard motors, it's almost as irritating as short painters.

 

[Poignard]

Good idea! Can I leave it with you?

 

[fastjedi]

The trick is to have two painters, one short and one long.... For day to day use .... the short painter
When at a crowded public pontoon ... the long painter
When leaving the tender on our swinging mooring ... both

 

[Tisme]

I've never heard it on a RYA course. I've also never seen it mentioned in one of the RYA training books.
Come to think of it I can't recall it ever being mentioned in PBO or ST.

......despite that it really does amaze me how inconsiderate people can be.

However; why do peeps have a problem with padlocks? We frequently padlock our tender because there are too many toe-rags around. Ours locks the tender to the cleat, but the tender is on the other end of a 20ft length of main shroud. Is that OK?

PS. It's the only use I've found for old rigging.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I believe that it should come under the area of boat etiquette which is mentioned in the syllabus. (ie walk across the foredeck of another boat when rafted up, don't stare down hatches, and be considerate.)

Its a bit difficult to list EVERY bit of etiquette in a syllabus. Perhaps I am being optimistic when I hope that instructors will mention it to Comp Crews and Day Skippers. Perhaps I should ask James Stephens to mention it at the next Instructors Conference? You'll have to wait until next January for it to get promulgated that way though.

 

[Anonymous]

Maybe you, or someone with some 'authority', could write a letter to the editors of ST, PBO, etc., for publication? It is a source of considerable annoyance and inconvenience to everyone and is so easily put right...it's probably just thoughtlessness or ignorance. I can't easily write myself as I am moored on a buoy in Ibiza at the moment.

 

[Tisme]

You could E-mail if you wanted. They're reasonably up to date at PBO! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

But I do agree with the point you are making.

 

[Finnsailing]

As LONG as it does not reach the prop /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif <span style="color:brown"> </span>

 

[Gunfleet]

use floating line

 

[Robin]

[ QUOTE ]
As LONG as it does not reach the prop

[/ QUOTE ]

Well with a small dinghy that is far too short!

If you are worried about catching your prop then you can shorten the painter before starting the outboard, maybe just tie the spare into a huge bowline. We have a long painter and haven't fouled the outboard prop since I did it the first time 30 years ago, it just needs a bit of care and crew education.

To add to others comments, it is really anti-social to leave dinghies tied short and unbelievably so to lock them to cleats on short wires/chains. We had one such prat do that at Lymington with a big rib left side on to the tender pontoon with both ends of the rib plus the outboard chained to it. I hope he enjoyed cleaning the weed and muddy water from the bottom of it as we had to get drag ours over the top of his and re-launch it the other side of the pontoon and several others did the same.