Think I upset a yachtie is this a crime??

[jon and michie]

Hi hope everyone is enjoying the weekend in the sun.
Last Tuesday myself and the swmbo went for a Potter out on the river.
As pulled out of the marina there is a section of river that is for the swinging moorings with a 8knot speed limit.
As I was approaching one of the Yachts moored up the owner started gesturing to slow down to which I replied I am doing 6.5knots (below the speed limit) to which he said but your wash.

Now I looked around and granted there was a slight wash but not something that would cause a tsunami.

So was it such a crime??

Jon

 

[CLB]

Hi hope everyone is enjoying the weekend in the sun.
Last Tuesday myself and the swmbo went for a Potter out on the river.
As pulled out of the marina there is a section of river that is for the swinging moorings with a 8knot speed limit.
As I was approaching one of the Yachts moored up the owner started gesturing to slow down to which I replied I am doing 6.5knots (below the speed limit) to which he said but your wash.

Now I looked around and granted there was a slight wash but not something that would cause a tsunami.

So was it such a crime??

Jon

Was 6.5 through the water or over the ground and what way was the tide/current going, with or against you?

 

[simonfraser]

As an ex raggy i can feel his pain.
Mobo's do produce a lot of wash, minutes after having passed, thus not noticed by the mobo.
I recon you need to stay under 4knots to keep the wash to a minimum, but its not a crime, just a pain.

 

[jon and michie]

CLB - the tide was against me and the windspeed was behind me at around 3 knots

Jon

 

[jon and michie]

Simon - I didn't intend to upset anyone but due to the amount of moorings I didn't want to go too slow as not to incur a collision (if this makes sense).

I think the raggie was already upset as another mobo before me had sped past him.
Jon

 

[jac]

CLB - the tide was against me and the windspeed was behind me at around 3 knots

Jon

Where were you reading your speed from?

As a Raggy, i have a suspicion that many Mobo owners read SOG from the GPS and think i'm fine, ignoring the 3 knot current against them.

Speed limits in rivers / harbours are invariably through the water so the only place to read speed is the log.

Also need to review what the harbour by-laws actually say. For example on the Hamble it mentions 6 knots and no excessive wash. So even if you doing 6 knots on the log if you're leaving a row of rolling boats behind you then you might be within the letter of one part of the law but you can guarantee that everyone in one of those rolling boats is hoping that you pick up a rope around your prop that will put you off the water for the rest of the season.

 

[Gwylan]

Just look over your shoulder from time to time and see the mayhem that you may have unleashed.
Speed limit or no speed limit

Oh and it is pissing with rain in Scotland!

 

[jon and michie]

I do understand where your coming from but as I said earlier the wash that I created was only very slight.
Jac - I did use GPS as my log and at the time I was concentrating on where I was going and what was in front of me.
I always slow down even when going through the ski zone when there is any Yachts at anchor and try give a wide berth.

Jon

 

[[2068]]

Well I definitely upset a paddle boarder today.
Approach to the marina is a narrow channel, full of little dinghies and paddleboarders.
I slow to idle speed, a couple of friendly short toots on the horn, and the busy approach to the marina clears. Almost.
But then, at very short notice, one mum decides to power up and try to cross the channel from the far side with her small child swimming,
Crash stop from idle forwards, engage reverse, end up going sideways, then a couple of people start shouting at me.
Apparently I should have "throttled back" (from idle?).

Dinghy dude says he will report me to the Harbour Master.
Rule 9?

 

[nicho]

I do understand where your coming from but as I said earlier the wash that I created was only very slight.
Jac - I did use GPS as my log and at the time I was concentrating on where I was going and what was in front of me.
I always slow down even when going through the ski zone when there is any Yachts at anchor and try give a wide berth.

Jon

Just ignore it - as a raggie for many years before switching to power, there was, very little disturbance to our moored yacht when mobos passed, even if there was a bit of wash. When we first started sailing, and having heard lurid stories about severe damage being caused by passing mobos I stood by to hang on every time one passed.....nothing much happened. Mind I once saw a Squadron 58 pass by in the mouth of the Hamble at 20 knots plus - that did cause some mayhem. If you are happy you were not causing excessive wash, then perhaps he was just having a bad day. Reminds me of the time we were on the Thames near Windsor, and a single rower was heading downstream towards us in the middle of the river, and seemingly unaware we were there. I stopped, but he was on collision course, so I gave a short toot on the horn to warn him. He let loose the most violent torrent abuse I have ever heard on the Thames accusing us of nearly sinking him with our wash. We were dead in the water!!- he got back more than he gave, for which I got into trouble with SWMBO!! Sadly, some people are so prejudiced, either as a mobo owner or a raggie, that they will take any opportunity to vent! Now standing by for incoming........!

 

[jac]

I do understand where your coming from but as I said earlier the wash that I created was only very slight.
Jac - I did use GPS as my log and at the time I was concentrating on where I was going and what was in front of me.
I always slow down even when going through the ski zone when there is any Yachts at anchor and try give a wide berth.

Jon

so if you used SOG on the log without compensating for speed of tide then you may have actually been speeding. Probably ok this time but definitely one to watch out for in future. I get the feeling that some harbour masters are being more assertive around this now.

As for wash. Remember that if moored against a pontoon, even a modest wash will cause much more damage than the same size waves at sea as the boat smashes into the pontoon, shock loading on cleats etc. easiest way to tell is to look at the impact on boats behind. If they are rocking heavily from side and side, snatching at lines and hitting the pontoon then your wash is probably too big. If they are gently rocking to smooth waves then any owner kicking up a fuss is a knob.

 

[rubberduck]

I have motored through moorings greeted happily by many but shouted at by one, I suggested he should go play in a local kids playground where there is a boat that stays still, didn't go down very well

 

[jon and michie]

Like I said jac it was only a slight wash and the moorings are swinging in the middle of the river
. I personally thought he was just a grumpy old git but hey ho the important thing is no one was harmed nothing was damaged so all was good in my book

 

[jon and michie]

I have motored through moorings greeted happily by many but shouted at by one, I suggested he should go play in a local kids playground where there is a boat that stays still, didn't go down very well

Lol - I guess you can't please everyone.
I have found while still learning the boat that if I went too slow through the moorings there is a high chance the wind or tide or both could put the Boat on a collision course due to not having full control

 

[volvopaul]

If it was a crime our prisons would be bursting .

 

[SnaxMuppet]

This happens at my marina every day... it is an 8kt limit so many motor boat owners think it is like a car and that they can do 8kts... there are many that are careful but it only takes one...

I had a boat go by too fast when I was disembarking onto a wall. My boat was tied up there where we had stopped for a drink in the nearby pub. The wash was so big it caused my boat to very violently rock. I slipped and my leg fell between the boat and the wall and the rocking boat then proceeded to scrape my leg up and down the wall. It also broke my ankle. It wasn't a pretty site and it was the most painful thing I have ever happen to me. The wash didn't look that big. It was only a 20-odd foot bowrider. The speed limit there was 8kts and it certainly wasn't doing that. The thing was that it was at the worst place a planing boat can be for creating a wake... not slow enough not to put energy into the water and not fast enough to be planing and skimming along the top.

Put simply... if you are not planing and you are running at anything much more than 5kts then you will be pushing a lot of water aside and so you will be putting a lot of energy into the wake. Look at your revs. If you are over say... 2000rpm (YMMV)... then you are putting that energy into the water and probably creating a wake whether you can see it or not.

The speed limit is totally irrelevant when it comes to wake.

Then there is the fact that if a yachtie, or anyone else for that matter, suggests you slow down then it is probably for a reason. Not many people go around shouting slow down unless they are affected. If someone shouts to you to slow or signals it then please... just slow. Boating is meant to be a relaxing pastime and the extra couple of minutes taken by doing 5kts instead of 6kts won't make much difference to you but might prevent someone else's boat being damaged or save an injury... it will certainly make the owners of moored boats nearby less stressful.

 

[SnaxMuppet]

Like I said jac it was only a slight wash and the moorings are swinging in the middle of the river
. I personally thought he was just a grumpy old git but hey ho the important thing is no one was harmed nothing was damaged so all was good in my book

Unfortunately, in most cases it isn't likely you will know whether any harm was done. The nature of wake is that it hits moored boats and the shore sometime after you have gone by. The boat that caused the wake that injured me was long gone by the time it hit my boat so I couldn't even make a note of it's name or make... it was out of site!

The best and only considerate solution to the wake issue is to always go slowly enough so as to be certain your wake is not going to damage or injure... in my experience 5kts is a rough guide but that might be too fast for some boats and with others you could easily go faster. Know your own boat and operate it with consideration and be aware of your wake potential at all times.

Also, it is worth remembering that boats that are secured to a pontoon or wall will be affected much more seriously and even a fairly gentle wake can become more serious to a tied up boat than to a boat on a mooring. Also, people could be getting on and off.

I realise that boating is a dynamic thing but accidents happen and wake just makes them more likely.

 

[SnaxMuppet]

Lol - I guess you can't please everyone.
I have found while still learning the boat that if I went too slow through the moorings there is a high chance the wind or tide or both could put the Boat on a collision course due to not having full control

I know that boats need a certain speed to maintain control but that is never so fast that your wake would be an issue. If it is then quite simply the wind/tide is too strong for your boat and you shouldn't be on the water. Sorry if that seems a little harsh but we should only operate our boats if it does not endanger others.

 

[nicho]

This happens at my marina every day... it is an 8kt limit so many motor boat owners think it is like a car and that they can do 8kts... there are many that are careful but it only takes one...

I had a boat go by too fast when I was disembarking onto a wall. My boat was tied up there where we had stopped for a drink in the nearby pub. The wash was so big it caused my boat to very violently rock. I slipped and my leg fell between the boat and the wall and the rocking boat then proceeded to scrape my leg up and down the wall. It also broke my ankle. It wasn't a pretty site and it was the most painful thing I have ever happen to me. The wash didn't look that big. It was only a 20-odd foot bowrider. The speed limit there was 8kts and it certainly wasn't doing that. The thing was that it was at the worst place a planing boat can be for creating a wake... not slow enough not to put energy into the water and not fast enough to be planing and skimming along the top.

Put simply... if you are not planing and you are running at anything much more than 5kts then you will be pushing a lot of water aside and so you will be putting a lot of energy into the wake. Look at your revs. If you are over say... 2000rpm (YMMV)... then you are putting that energy into the water and probably creating a wake whether you can see it or not.

The speed limit is totally irrelevant when it comes to wake.

Then there is the fact that if a yachtie, or anyone else for that matter, suggests you slow down then it is probably for a reason. Not many people go around shouting slow down unless they are affected. If someone shouts to you to slow or signals it then please... just slow. Boating is meant to be a relaxing pastime and the extra couple of minutes taken by doing 5kts instead of 6kts won't make much difference to you but might prevent someone else's boat being damaged or save an injury... it will certainly make the owners of moored boats nearby less stressful.

Speed in a marina is one thing, but in a river any wake dissipates rapidly. On the Hamble, yachtsmen will scream at a private boat that is trickling along at 6 knots, but ignore the various commercial vessels/ferries etc that totally ignore the limit, and DO create a wash. I have rarely, if ever seen a mobo on the Hamble causing a real problem of wash. Now, about those yachtsmen that insist on sailing in such narrow waters, tacking and getting in peoples way. Why not just fire up the iron mainsail and give everyone proper room.

 

[SnaxMuppet]

Speed in a marina is one thing, but in a river any wake dissipates rapidly. On the Hamble, yachtsmen will scream at a private boat that is trickling along at 6 knots, but ignore the various commercial vessels/ferries etc that totally ignore the limit, and DO create a wash. I have rarely, if ever seen a mobo on the Hamble causing a real problem of wash. Now, about those yachtsmen that insist on sailing in such narrow waters, tacking and getting in peoples way. Why not just fire up the iron mainsail and give everyone proper room.

Firstly my injury was on a river so clearly they don't dissipate rapidly.

Commercial vessels, particularly big ships, don't create a wake at such slow speeds and in any case... if they do it doesn't mean you should.

You might not have seen a problem caused by wash but my experiences tell me that they do happen and nearly always well behind the boat that caused it.