Dinghy etiquette

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by chrisr

as regards rafting up, there is a definite etiquette

- don't make too much noise, esp late at night
- if you party, invite the other boat/s
- don't transit through the cockpit
- do best to clean feet
- be polite...no need to ask permission, but say something polite & cheery

i like the idea of going bow to stern, although when we rafted up race boats we tended to all go cockpit to cockpit to make the party bigger !

cheers,

Another reason to raft sailboats bow to stern is so the rigs are staggered and less likely to contact each other if another boat throws a wake.

I too favor the courtesy of keeping the dinghy motor down at the dock if it’s only there for hours or even overnight. Although it’s unlikely to cause a puncture, it can damage and cause excessive wear on other dinghies by repeatedly rubbing.
If it needs to be left for days or weeks that’s a different situation, and I’d be pretty unhappy if I returned to find that someone had tipped it down and there was growth in the engine. But most public docks prohibit overnight or long term stays and I’d try to make sure I had permission from the marina management. In many cases there are separate options, and it’d be even better to pull the dinghy out for a longer term stay. (It’d be even worse to return to find it’s missing.)

[Muaddib1116]

I think at a public/town dinghy dock where the traffic is mostly in and out, generaly tied up for hours or at most a couple days, the etiquette should be to leave plenty of painter length and leave the motor down. At a dock where there's more long term storage, like at a marina with seasonal moorings, I can understand pulling the motor up. Lots of painter length is nice here still though.

I've spent the last two summers in Maine, and my experience informs my opinions on this. The Rockland town dinghy dock is generally pretty good. I think people tend to not leave enough painter length, so it can be hard to shuffle your way in. But most people here leave the motor down.

Meanwhile, at the Landings Marina in Rockland, where there is more long term dinghy storage, people tend to pull the motors up. BUT, they also tend to put a bucket or canvas bag around the prob winch straps or bungees, to not be a nuisance.

At the public dinghy dock in Castine, it's usually a crowded disaster. Lots of dinghies, tied up tight, all with their motors up. It would be nice if town docks had some signs with some basic etiquette guidelines. It doesn't take much to make these facilities a lot nicer and more convenient for everyone.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by carstenb

..Proper etiquette is to raft up bow to stern so you allow the other boat a modicum of privacy in their cockpit...

...Quite a zig-zag course towards land if there are many boats rafted up alongside each other

Interesting tradition. I've seen it where the other way is preferred - stern to stern so the boaters outside can walk across the swim platforms or through the cockpits. Obviously this is usually for power boats which have full-length swim platforms and/or curved bow decks and high bow rails.

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

...I can't see why folks think that one left up is all that dangerous to other inflatables...

...And re multiple use of a dock cleat: either dip the loop or simply pass the end of the painter through the "hole" in the cleat and make a bowline. This leaves the maximum space for other users and can always be released, even when others pile crossing turns over the cleat later.

Finally: take one's shoes off before crossing over some other dinghy that is between the dock and your dink?

I've seen damage to dinghies and motors, especially with plastic, metal or fiberglass dinghies. Not everyone has an inflatable. With enough dinghies banging around, the outboard lower units can hit other motors, too.

Dipping the eye only works if you're the second one there, and you're both using painters with eyes in the end. Not very common, except in areas where pilings are tied to instead of cleats.

Tying up with a bowline through the hole in the cleat is a great solution. Of course not all cleats have holes, or holes big enough, but that works whether you're the first or last on a cleat.

I don't go places where people are required to remove their shoes on a boat, never mind a dinghy, so I'm with you there.

[Drunkonwatch]

Originally Posted by Franziska

It's not rude if you do that at your your own berth. It's considered rude at a transit dinghy dock.
The effects of corrosion and fouling do hardly come into play when you spent few hours there.

Regarding asking or telling, well if you understand why to better have the dinghy motor down (scratch marks on other dinghies, punctures and so on) just do it out of kindness.

Noone forces you to do it. But people probably think "what a jer.!" if you do it differently.
Similar those folks which go full blast through an anchorage with their dinghy. It's just rude, hence normal people don't do that.

Funny you are loading this up politically, should motor down vs up now become a new mask yes or no?
One wonders about the US..

Careful assuming I’m American I’m Alaskan!! You probably think Catalans are Spanish lol. I always mask my outboard it has not had its boosters. Only experience I have sailing in Deutschland was cutting out every chance I could while stationed there to sail the Bostalsee naked and drink bier. I’m not rude just new to sailing only a couple thousand Nm passages and sincerely interested in the civil norms of the awesome cruising community with a sense of humor and a humble willingness to learn. But one has to wonder about Germany lately…..

[JPA Cate]

Let's leave out the bits about national origin, please.

Ann

[JebLostInSpace]

I've often seen in these dinghy dock discussions advice to "dip the loop" or pass a line through the hole in the cleat. I'm yet to be at a dinghy dock where the cleat has a big enough hole, and I've never quite seen how the "dip the loop" thing works. Maybe someone will enlighten me today.

The dinghy dock I'm using this week in St Augustine, FL has cleats about every 10 feet, and the holes are not small enough to accept my painter, much less several. Because of the spacing of the cleats (and no usable pilings), there are often 2 or 3 dinghies secured to each cleat with cleat hitches. The consensus as far as I've observed is to tie a cleat hitch with a minimum of turns to leave space on the horns for others. Add your hitch to the top of the pile when you arrive. If someone is on top of your when you depart, untie as many as needed to free your dinghy, then replace all the ones you removed. Pretty simple and nobody seems to get upset about it here. It would be nice if the dinghy dock was better equipped to take everyone's painters, but we make do and I haven't seen anybody complain or seen a dinghy float away.

In Newport, RI, the dinghy dock had long wooden rails to tie to. That was great because it left plenty of room for each dinghy to tie without interfering with your neighbors, even when the dinks were 2 rows deep.

In all the various arrangements I've seen in the US, the etiquette is to leave a long painter and keep your engine down any time you use a high-traffic dinghy dock. Don't be the one who has to tie your painter on at the bow, but then attach your cable lock from the engine to the same cleat, effectively putting you alongside the dock with no slack. That's a sure way to get me to walk across your dinghy, and I'm definitely not taking my shoes off to do it.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Drunkonwatch

I don’t ever leave my outboard down it’s a bad practice kills the zincs, messes the prop up when the tide changes and my dad always said pull it up. Is the consensus it’s rude?

Leaving your tender motor down at a dinghy dock means the prop is less likely to damage another dinghy.

It is a common courtesy to observe this practice.

With the lower leg immersed in salt water there is more impact on the anodes as well an added risk of water intrusion into the lower leg and gearbox, so your dad was right, but this compromise is almost universally observed, because who wants to damage another boats tender?

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by JebLostInSpace

I've often seen in these dinghy dock discussions advice to "dip the loop" or pass a line through the hole in the cleat. I'm yet to be at a dinghy dock where the cleat has a big enough hole, and I've never quite seen how the "dip the loop" thing works. Maybe someone will enlighten me today.

The idea is that everyone at the dinghy dock has either a spliced eye or a tied loop (with a bowline etc) at the end of their painter and just sets it around the cleat rather than tying a cleat hitch. The later arrivals are supposed to put their loop up through the already-present loops then throw it over the hitch on the theory that that makes it easier for the existing boats to throw their loop off and is therefore a show of respect.


If I ever run into that I'll know what to do but so far it seems like pointless ritual.

In Newport, RI, the dinghy dock had long wooden rails to tie to. That was great because it left plenty of room for each dinghy to tie without interfering with your neighbors, even when the dinks were 2 rows deep.

Heh. Bull rails. We hates them.

[dfelsent]

Originally Posted by rwidman

The definition of the word "etiquette" is "I want you to do things my way."

Unless you own the dinghy dock, it is not your place to tell other people how to dock their dinghies or how to store their motors.

Period!

Baloney. Etiquette is a set of social conventions that allow us to get along.

We all live in a common society. And to avoid friction we develop behaviors that avoid injuring each other and each others property. And we generally follow these conventions.

Doing otherwise is rude.

[JPA Cate]

@ JebLostInSpace: maybe the marina would let you shackle a chain from cleat to cleat to cleat, there, and everyone could tie to the chain, or you could use a retired shroud, or even a line...

It's great that everybody there seems to be careful about it, but some places they just cast off your dinghy and it will float or blow away, can ruin your day. We've had drunks steal our dinghy because they didn't want to walk all the way back to their boat. So they drove our dinghy there, and cast it loose. We found it on the rocks the next day.

Ann

[Drunkonwatch]

Down it is……. Just grew up in peripherals of the empire and an outboard failure could be life threatening not an inconvenience at the yacht club and scratches don’t matter. I have wondered switching from the dark side to sail how even mild wake effects rafted sailboats spreaders etc most informative I will try to not that be that mother@“&$/- . I don’t expect people to take shoes off. I mean some people are diabetics there feet are sensitive etc please don’t take your shoes off on mine you’ll get a fish hook and a broken beer bottle maybe bit by a crab I was saving. Thanks again

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Jammer

.






Heh. Bull rails. We hates them.

Oh yes indeed, we hates 'em also. If you sail in PNW and Alaska - this is what marinas have when you come to a dock. Wonderful way to lose a finger if it si blowing hard not to mention it is far easier to throw a line around a cleat than to thread a line under and around a bull rail

[Chotu]

That’s interesting about the dislike of the bull rail.

I actually like them a lot because they’re less restrictive than a cleat. Typically what I do on them is I just pass my line through it, bring it back aboard the dinghy and do a bowline on a bite.

Then the dinghy is really loose and everybody has an easy time docking. My dinghy can be close to the dock, they can push it further back if they need to. They can push it side to side up and down the dock because it’s loose. Makes it a lot easier for everyone I thought.

The way I use it, it’s hard to see how you could hurt your hand in any way. All you are doing is passing a line around it and back to the dinghy.

[Benz]

I prefer bull rails to any other method. They make a convenient side-rail so things don't roll off the pier, and they spread the painter love so everyone's not piling up on limited cleats.

[CaptTom]

Bull rails are fine on a dinghy dock, for all the reasons already mentioned. From the dinghy, it's easy to reach over and pull the painter through.

But on a "regular" dock they're the absolute worst. Impossible to snag from up on deck when the wind or current are running. I've had some luck snagging a loop on the end of the rail, and using that as a spring to pivot in. But that's never easy. Making up and untying multiple lines is just a huge hassle.