Another Boating Etiquette Question
 

Stange incident happened to my family on Saturday at that bridge. Before I discuss what happened I would like to know how other boaters go under that bridge when there is a back up on both sides...Thanks! :-)

alternate, one from oen side, then one from the other side
unless there is wind problems or not having it be too hard to hold a position

Some will argue (correctly I think) that going 2 at a time or 3 at a time in each direction actually saves time for everyone over the alternative of going 1 at a time from each direction. However, I don't want to be the boater that follows another boater under the bridge because my action would likely be perceived as rude by the boaters on the other side of the bridge (even if more efficient for everyone). So I follow the one-at-a-time-from-each-direction rule even if it is not optimal in terms of efficiency.

Again it's a Play It By Ear thing.. Make a judgement at the time and follow through with it. I agree with the above that three from one side, then three from the other, keeping a tight formation, is faster and more efficient. I wouldn't Speed Up to be the third boat, because it makes you look like you are trying to Cut In Line. (greedy) :D NB

I agree and have done this a couple of times, but only after being waived on by the captain of the boat that would be on coming

I think it is much better, but feel the same way

Unfortunately this is the answer unless someone puts signs up!

I think the one for one sounds like the most polite way to do it, but certainly very inefficient. We went under the bridge on Sunday and the boats were backed up about 12 on each side. They were all jammed up, some sideways and others trying to back up to avoid hitting the boat in front of them. It was the biggest mess I have seen there before. They were all trying to be nice and do the one for one so naturally the next guy would do one for one. Had they all just realized how much more efficiently it would have been to send 3 or 4 boats through at a time they all would have been through in far less time with far less aggrivation. Sometimes common sense is far more important than trying to be politically correct.

Saturday we are calling it a day and we have another family with us, mom,dad, and 2 girls. We opt to drive around Govenors for an end of day scenic drive with our guests ( we are heading towards Paugus Bay) We slow down as we reach the bridge and another boat is on the other side(no wake zone) he is looking at us and we are looking at him since we both arrived at the same time, we signal for him to go through, he waves and starts to proceed through and immediately another boat jumps behind him to get through, not an issue, although we also go by the "one by one" . We begin now to head through, our bow is under the bridge and an older model formula accelerates and starts to head through at the same time, our bows almost touch and my husband throws it in reverse and the male guest,who is standing, jerks backwards (I tell you that so you know how quickly we had to put it in reverse). The passenger of the formula yells to us "you should have just followed through" and smirks at us?????? Follow through??? Should we have just continued and allowed our boats to hit???
The male guest then asks us what the protocol is, we explain we do the "one by one" but there are different circumstances depending on whats happening. He then presents a great question "Where is the etiquette when a boat has a bow full of children" , again if we had not reversed we would have hit.....
I get there is no "rule" here but where is the common courtesy? Where is the kindness to others? I just don't get what is happening to people any more :-(

No wasting gas!
 

The most efficient way is certainly to let several boats go in each direction. I go under that bridge at least 6-10 times a week and the back ups occur when people start the one at a time thing. It doesn't make much sense to have up to 15 boats idling in circles taking turns when it is not necessary.

Sure, you can go around the island but sometimes it is much rougher on the outside.

I know it doesn't look or feel as polite but it makes the most sense (and is the most environmentally friendly)!

It all depends....
 

Back to the original thoughts in this thread...is it legal to move a boat tied up at a public docking facility?

Lots of good thoughts and suggestions.

Legally there is no law against moving a boat at a public dock, it is onlt illegal to malicously cast off a boat.

That said and as has been previously stated, once you lay hands on another's property you assume complete civil liabilty for any damage.

There is a common law expectation that when you use a public facility there is the chance that your boat may need to be moved for a variety of reasons. That said you would need to show that there was some type of carelessness or recklessness on the part of another if your boat was damaged because it neccesitated a movement.

All that said I would never touch another person's boat unless it was an absolute emergency. Partially of of courtesy, the fact that I wouldn't want my boat touched and the fact that I'd rather wait a little until the other party returned rather than risk the wrath or legal issues of another. Life is just too damn short!

Anyway, its comes down to using a ton of common sense, and it was a pleasure in this thread to see so many other posters exuding so much of same! :)

Not a big deal, Skip, but just wanted to point out to you that there are two threads with similar names. You thought the bridge talk had hijacked the boat moving thread. There is "Boating etiquette question" and "Another boating etiquette question." Two different threads. I would agree on your thoughts about moving ones boat however. How do you feel about the traffic under the bridge as this thread discusses? I enjoy your legal input on most threads. Thank you.

I think people get that from the highways........when two lanes are merging in heavy traffic, it is proper to let every other car in. Just a habit and they don't consider boats drifting, wandering and fighting currents.

Right idea, wrong thread for me!
 

Oops..my bad!

Sorry.

As to this particular thread I subscribe to one side stopping and letting the other boats through, then proceeding on.

While the perfect answer is a one for one trade the element of surprise can be disasterous!

Just think how people generally behave at traffic rotaries or four way stops.

In reality it is as stated previously a judgement call based on the prevailing conditions.

No perfect answer but common courtesy and common sense should prevail in a situation as described....in a perfect world, that is! :)

A "Traffic Light" on the bridge would work.. just like One Way bridges in construction areas.

Nah.. That makes way too much sense....and besides, some people might mistake it for the Mount coming under the bridge at night :D :D NB

Not really Samiam. That happens when 2 lanes are merging in the same direction. When 2 lanes need to share 1 lane from opposite directions like during road construction, the police or safety worker will let multiple vehicles travel one way and then alternate the other way.

MP has studied this thread and is proposing a new rule.

On even numbered days all boat traffic will travel clockwise around the island.

On odd numbered days all boat traffic will travel counterclockwise around the island.

The result is that on any given day there will be traffic in only one direction under the bridge.

:rolleye2:

;)

Capt'n...you need a bigger bridge.