Public dock etiquette 2015

TiltonBB · 05-19-2015, 06:36 AM

Most people know that when there is a line of boats and you are launching off of a trailer you should have everything ready, lines attached, and the blower running when appropriate. That way the only thing left to do is disconnect the winch hook after the boat is backed in to a point where if it were to come off the trailer the boat would have sufficient depth to avoid grounding.

People who are unaware that there is a line waiting behind them are sort of like people who drive down a two lane road 20MPH below the speed limit and have no idea that there are 10 cars beind them.

On crowded dock manners: The practice of letting the smaller boat go where they can fit works well for the smaller boat. When you have a larger boat (30 to 40 feet) sometimes you need two adjacent boats to leave to open up enough space for you. If the available spaces keep getting filled by smaller boats you could wait hours for the right docking opportunity. I don't have a good solution for that. Maybe someone else does.

05-19-2015, 06:36 AM	#9
TiltonBB Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Gilford, NH and Florida Posts: 3,026 Thanks: 706 Thanked 2,208 Times in 940 Posts	A couple of points Most people know that when there is a line of boats and you are launching off of a trailer you should have everything ready, lines attached, and the blower running when appropriate. That way the only thing left to do is disconnect the winch hook after the boat is backed in to a point where if it were to come off the trailer the boat would have sufficient depth to avoid grounding. People who are unaware that there is a line waiting behind them are sort of like people who drive down a two lane road 20MPH below the speed limit and have no idea that there are 10 cars beind them. On crowded dock manners: The practice of letting the smaller boat go where they can fit works well for the smaller boat. When you have a larger boat (30 to 40 feet) sometimes you need two adjacent boats to leave to open up enough space for you. If the available spaces keep getting filled by smaller boats you could wait hours for the right docking opportunity. I don't have a good solution for that. Maybe someone else does.