Boarding someone elses boat

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

If you were a nice bloke, you'd have tied off your own halyards.

Scenarios:

1. Distracted by a phone call when packing up the boat.
2. Misunderstanding who of crew was to tie offhalyards.
3. Bungee flipped off.
4. Etc.
5. Etc.
6. Etc.

Where does it stop.

So what about:

A) Someone steps aboard to fend off an out-of-control boat,

I suspect most would be OK, few wouldn't.

B) Step on the hood of your car to shoo away seagulls of your boat.

Most not OK, some maybe.

C) Step aboard to tie off halyards.

Some OK, some not.

So where and how are the boundaries of acceptable vs unacceptable boarding set, when there are differing opinions of what is acceptable.

Leave it to the individual boarding?

Some will board a boat for any reason without a second thought, others will actually consider the rights of the boat owner.

I don't feel that is right, the owner should have more say in who boards their boat under what circumstances.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by ramblinrod

Scenarios:

1. Distracted by a phone call when packing up the boat.
2. Misunderstanding who of crew was to tie offhalyards.
3. Bungee flipped off.


B) Step on the hood of your car to shoo away seagulls of your boat.

.

Section 1/subsection 1-3
No excuse's permitted.. its the owner/skippers responsibility to leave his boat in a manner that cause's minimum inconvenience to other vessels and their crews.. this includes lines and sheets Bristol Fashion.. not trailing into the water, strewn across the pontoon for folk to trip over.. if for some reason a line has to be run across the pontoon hang a white rag.. same for across an empty spot next to one.. that one blocking with lines.. same with slapping halyards.. its just inconsiderate and un-seamanlike..
Probably have concrete lawns as well..

As for the seagulls on the boat..??
Its a long reach from the car park....

[socaldmax]

Originally Posted by ramblinrod

Scenarios:

1. Distracted by a phone call when packing up the boat.
2. Misunderstanding who of crew was to tie offhalyards.
3. Bungee flipped off.
4. Etc.
5. Etc.
6. Etc.

Where does it stop.

So what about:

A) Someone steps aboard to fend off an out-of-control boat,

I suspect most would be OK, few wouldn't.

B) Step on the hood of your car to shoo away seagulls of your boat.

Most not OK, some maybe.

C) Step aboard to tie off halyards.

Some OK, some not.

So where and how are the boundaries of acceptable vs unacceptable boarding set, when there are differing opinions of what is acceptable.

Leave it to the individual boarding?

Some will board a boat for any reason without a second thought, others will actually consider the rights of the boat owner.

I don't feel that is right, the owner should have more say in who boards their boat under what circumstances.

When you say "board your boat" it feels like you're using that term like it's comparable to "enter your house" and it's not.

To me, "board your boat" is like step into your front yard. People step onto my front yard all of the time to get their frisbee back, or baseball, they even ride their bikes across the edge of it near the sidewalk. They don't feel like they are trespassing and neither do I.


Now if someone broke the door on your boat and entered the cabin, that's clearly breaking and entering and unless there were mitigating circumstances (fire, rapid flooding, etc and they tried to notify you, blah blah) there shouldn't be any reason for that.

Now if I were that antisocial, I'd probably anchor way, way out there somewhere no one would even think of pulling up next to my boat. That way it's very clear even to the least observant person that visitors for any reason are unwanted and my halyards can slap to my heart's content without bothering an entire marina.

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by ramblinrod

Scenarios:

1. Distracted by a phone call when packing up the boat.
2. Misunderstanding who of crew was to tie offhalyards.
3. Bungee flipped off.
4. Etc.
5. Etc.
6. Etc.

Where does it stop.

So what about:

A) Someone steps aboard to fend off an out-of-control boat,

I suspect most would be OK, few wouldn't.

B) Step on the hood of your car to shoo away seagulls of your boat.

Most not OK, some maybe.

C) Step aboard to tie off halyards.

Some OK, some not.

So where and how are the boundaries of acceptable vs unacceptable boarding set, when there are differing opinions of what is acceptable.

Leave it to the individual boarding?

Some will board a boat for any reason without a second thought, others will actually consider the rights of the boat owner.

I don't feel that is right, the owner should have more say in who boards their boat under what circumstances.

You are belaboring the point, and my guess is, not making many friends in the process.

We get it.. ...You have the RIGHT to let your halyards slap all day and all night and nobody has the RIGHT to stop it because it's not RIGHT to step on your boat because you are a boater and citizen of the world with RIGHTS and will do as you please within the law because you have RIGHTS and boaters should have MORE RIGHTS....glad I'm not your neighbor.

Moving on....

[Canibul]

it's a gray area. I think I would board someone's boat to save it if it was obvious that I needed to do that. I'd certainly intervene if it threatened my boat in any way. But securing a halyard? No. Don't come on my boat to adjust it to your liking.
And what's to stop Delroy DooGooder from looking in a window and thinking " they left a light on, surely they don't want their batteries to be dead, Might stop the bilge pump from operating, so I'll just take it upon myself to go inside and fix it for them."

And stepping onto someone else's deck is NOT like stepping into their yard. It's more like walking into their screened patio and checking out their bbq grill. Or opening their garage door to shut the lights off.

[sailorboy1]

[QUOTE=Canibul;2045892

And stepping onto someone else's deck is NOT like stepping into their yard. It's more like walking into their screened patio and checking out their bbq grill. Or opening their garage door to shut the lights off.[/QUOTE]

Not it's not. It might by like stepping onto their deck or onto their driveway.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Canibul

it's a gray area. I think I would board someone's boat to save it if it was obvious that I needed to do that. I'd certainly intervene if it threatened my boat in any way. But securing a halyard? No. Don't come on my boat to adjust it to your liking.
.

Ok, so let's say you're living aboard in a marina for a while. The boat next door is only used on odd weekends, the guy is a FIFO worker, and is interstate for 2 weeks at a time.

When he leaves the boat it has a loudly clanging halyard. No sleep for you (or any of the other neighbours) for the next two weeks.

You're fine with that?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Ok, so let's say you're living aboard in a marina for a while. The boat next door is only used on odd weekends, the guy is a FIFO worker, and is interstate for 2 weeks at a time.

When he leaves the boat it has a loudly clanging halyard. No sleep for you (or any of the other neighbours) for the next two weeks.

You're fine with that?

Yup... but he'll be pissed when he come's back to find his boat on a distant mooring.. and not a footprint on his boat...

[44'cruisingcat]

Good solution, but I think that counts as "Adjusting a boat to your liking" and is thus prohibited.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Yup... but he'll be pissed when he come's back to find his boat on a distant mooring.. and not a footprint on his boat...

Don't put him on a mooring, mooring people don't want to listen to it (see the thread).

[savoir]

As per usual those who oppose boarding to tie halyards do not live on their boat.

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by savoir

As per usual those who oppose boarding to tie halyards do not live on their boat.

Well, I'm among those opposed, and I live on my boat more than off during the season.

I wonder how many of those for boarding other's boats for halyards aren't real sailors?

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by savoir

As per usual those who oppose boarding to tie halyards do not live on their boat.

Good point.

Years ago I had the dreaded mast slap inside noise because, it turned out, "someone" (not me!), didn't put the wires in the conduit inside the mast. Got that fixed right quick.

Point being, slapping halyards means NOISE down below. Big, intermittent noise. Intermittent ANYTHING is really annoying, like Chinese water torture.

Anybody that likes the sound of clanging halyards hasn't slept on their boat when it happens on their boat.

So besides the damage it does to your OWN boat rigging and line, and the annoying noise to neighbors, you've got your OWN lousy rotten noise down below on your OWN boat.

Why is this so hard?

boaty's right, it's unseamanlike. The concept of needing a halyard tied on for a quick escape also seems weird to me, but hell I can do that and still have my halyard ready to go almost instantly, all without any noise.

[brought to you from the same guy who posted the slapping halyards rant from Captain Raines many, many pages ago]

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by ramblinrod

I wonder how many of those for boarding other's boats for halyards aren't real sailors?

Just when I thought you had mined all your strong arguments

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by savoir

As per usual those who oppose boarding to tie halyards do not live on their boat.

Indeed. Classical land person weekend sailor vs. seaman situation.

Land ideas about the inviolable sanctity of fenced territory apply on some weekend sailors' boats. "If I catch you in my yard, I'll shoot you/make you bloody/put you to sleep with fishes/time to meet Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson/ etc." Not just land ideas, but ideas from not the better land neighborhoods -- characteristic of a certain socio-economic/educational level.

But people with more sea time, who are more part of the community of sailors, are quite a bit more relaxed about other sailors on their decks for legitimate purposes.

The fundamental difference is that for a land person, that guy on his deck is alien -- a trespasser -- a stranger -- an enemy. For a seaman, that guy is just another sailor -- different story. You expect the other sailor to behave like a seaman. If he is a sailor. If it's a land person (and thus a person who can't have any good reason to be there) blundering around on my deck, then of course, I would be highly upset, and it's something completely different.


It's been said before, but worth being sure we don't forget about it --

Among seamen, it's generally considered ok to go on a stranger's boat's deck for a legitimate purpose, but ONLY if the owner is gone and you've tried to raise him to ask permission, and NEVER in his cockpit or below or in his lockers except in case of a dire emergency. Some of the discussion above sounded like people were talking about just traipsing onto someone's deck without even checking to see if someone's home -- which is definitely not cool.

To know how to behave, like in many other situations in life, you have to tune in to what others are doing around you. In a marina on a lake with 50%+ ski boats and guys with tattoos and gold chains and pumped biceps -- maybe leave that halyard alone. In Horta or Kiel or around here -- it is quite all right, and no one will say a word, unless it's "thanks".


As to slapping halyards - the land type of person doesn't imagine much the people sleeping in other boats all around -- he's not really part of the community of sailors. The real seaman will get up without thinking about it and fix that slapping halyard on that empty boat, just like he would fix a dock line coming undone or a jib coming unwrapped in a blow, and for the same reason -- because it needs doing, and not out of his own selfish interest. He will do it to save someone else from having to get up and do it, and to save the sleep of everyone else in the harbor, not just his own. If you fix a slapping halyard on his boat while he's gone, he'll thank you for it. Nor will he apologize for having left his halyards slapping -- everyone forgets once in a while, and it's no big deal, because someone will come and fix it, and next time he'll be fixing it for you.

That's the "ordinary practice of seamen" in this case, even if it does violate some land-oriented ideas.