As A Freshman On A Slip, How To Best Not Look Green?

[Sail123]

UPDATE March 20, 2012: Traded to a larger sailboat, from a 25 to a 32.

This will be my first year on the docks. Small private gated community on a small midwestern lake in Nebraska of twenty boats with water and power hookups.

Mix of powerboats and sailboats. Most people have been on this dock years and years. I will have the most modest sailboat on the slips, a Clipper Marine 32. My CM 32 may be the largest boat on the dock when I put her in the water in March??? Another sailboat on the dock is a Mac 26 X owned by the yacht club president, a very nice guy. He also has an end slip, about a million dollars away on the other end of the dock. (just sold my MacGregor)

As the only freshman this year on my dock, landing in the midst of a group of tight knit friends, what should I be doing and what should I be avoiding?

Mine is the first boat you see inside the locked gate as you enter the dock. I would like to make a favorable impression on one hand and be inconspicuous on the other.

(((being inconspicuous with a CM 32 is like blending in driving a vintage VW bus lol)))

As an example, I would really like to try braiding my dock lines but a small voice inside me says don't be a stupid, coil or you will be instantly seen as the village idiot.

I really do not care if I am shunned or accepted, sailing and all I will get out of it as a slipped sailboat is my main objective, however, I am not wanting to rock the boats.

Any advice you can share to get me comfortably through my freshman year would be appreciated.

I know to keep her clean and quiet ( no blaring stereo) but it is the things I do not know to do, that I want a heads up on.

Do I back into the slip, or bow in? If every sailboat is bow in, and I stern in, is that no big deal, or is that whispers and giggles?

I intend to be a typical freshman and go sailing daily weather permitting.

 

[Jackdaw]

Gary,

Interesting post.

First, in most places you will be judged on your abilities as a sailor, not as a boat owner. The cost of your boat does not matter. How you act will. So some thoughts:

1) Take care of your mooring. Lines neat and chafe protected. ASK for best practices in the area.

2) Make your boat looks neat, and leave it that way when you leave. Its kind of like cutting your grass.

3) Noise. Halyard slap will gather wide scorn. Pull them to the pulpits or around the spreaders if they make noise. TVs and radios in moderation. Do like the romans do.

4) Respect the water. Watch what you put in it, and when. Again ask how people wash their decks and their dishes.

5) What you do and how you do it. If you have a good reason for doing something (like backing in), then no one will mind. Its the goofy stuff for no good reason that will gather snickers.

6) Offer to swap cell numbers and emails. Watch each others boats.

7) ASK ASK ASK. People will be more than willing to share. And its the sign of a good skipper.

Others?

 

[Eric M]

All the marinas I have ever been at all the folks around seem to be quite a bit more laid back than the rest of the world. Bow in, stern in, doesn't really matter, it is more important to do what makes sense. I like to keep the bow into the current when coming into a dock so will go bow in if the current is flowing out of my slip and stern in if the current is flowing into my slip.
An offer to lend a hand with a line as your neighboors come and go will go a long ways, take a line and ask where they would like it tied off at.
You will likely find most of the regulars around you are happy to have another neighboor who is using his boat.

 

[alexco38]

Why and who do you need to impress anyway?

I join the club because I want to leave my "challenges" outside of the gate. We don't talk shop, money, politics or live. Just weather.

Just be friendly. Most people in a boat are very friendly. Do you see people in cars wave to each other. You'll notice boaters wave to each other.

 

[JoelHoover]

No matter what town you're in, if you want to find a concentration of the coolest residents, just head to the marina!

Fear shady bars and badly lit parking lots at night- but never the marina!

Smile and be polite. That's really all it takes. If you are already concerned with respecting others and being a good tenant than you are already set.

They will know you're the new guy, no matter what. Sometimes it's fun to be the new guy.

The earlier replies pretty much say what anyone here is going to say about it, so I will chime in with my 2 cents from living aboard:

Watch out for the power boaters. They imbibe much larger amounts of alcohol than we sailors do and love to keep handing you beers while you're trying to work on your boat.

Heads Up!!!

 

[alexco38]

Make friend with a few power boater and you'll never to to buy beer ;-)

 

[tommays]

Dont punch any holes in other peoples boats docking and things will be fine because the punching hole thing happens a LOT

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Go ahead and back in ...

I think there may be an inadvertent signal in the way people keep their boat in the slip.

If you are bow in, you have more privacy from your marina neighbors. Your neighbors can't peer into your cockpit and it makes it easier to ignore those who are walking by and it makes it more difficult for them to engage you in conversation. You may only become friendly with your neighbor on the finger slip.

If you back in, you are right there to engage anybody who looks friendly. You will soon find that there are some who will walk by without glancing in your direction and you can simply quietly acknowledge their passing or not. But, you will be more inviting to those who want to be friendly.

If you don't want to know your neighbors, by all means, stick to the weather and trivial maintenance observations. You'll have to guage your own comfort level regarding more controversial topics on your own. I can't imagine that in Nebraska that you can get into much trouble if you expand your conversations to the Cornhuskers (I went to Iowa State so Huck the Fuskers ), hunting & fishing, or disgust for the Democrat Party!

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

All good advice. One other thing, as you have done here, is don't be afraid to ask questions of the other marina folks. You will come across as willing to learn, respectful of others and coincidentally will appeal to the ego among all of us who think we know more than the other guy

 

[PrincessoftheLake]

Gary-
Lots of good advice here so the only other thing I can add is to do what I do to curry favor with my dock neighbors is to bring goodies. My homemade cinnamon babka has gained me many life long dock friends. Homemade chocolate chip cookies also work really well.

 

[Cayennita]

Visit with the other boat owners at the marina before bringing the boat. Get to know the club president and ask his help and at least two others to move your boat to it's slip. Ask the president to drive the boat in or at least to guide you. He will suggest bow in or stern in. The others will help with fenders and lines. No one will laugh or make fun because you had "expert" help. This will break the ice specially after buying a round of drinks.

 

[LuzSD]

Love this post and the responses you have received so far. My additions:

1. Be thoughtful about any bright lights you hang or turn on outside. What might be perfect reading or mood light for you is a beam in the face to the guy next to you. Keep lights low in the cockpit and low in strength.

2. Sometimes its really nice to go bow or stern in when you do the opposite of your neighbor... affords you both some privacy.

3. When you do a good scrubbing on your boat, don't rinse it off with a high pressure hose that sprays your neighbor. We are brand new in our slip right now and when we got down the other day, our Captain Navy canvas was white splotched and after a hearty cleaning, it still is evident. Not loving my new neighbor for that one.

4. Offer to help others in, but don't protest or take it personally if they refuse. Many don't want or need the help and it makes everything awkward.

5. Go slow....... stay quiet, not standoffish but pace yourself. That way you don't become the best buddy of who turns out to be the dock jerk.... it takes a while to identify the good guys sometimes.

I completely agree that the age etc. of the boat is irrelevant; it is all about how respectful you are of their view and pride of your own ownership. Love the analogy of cutting your lawn!! Exactly!!

And lastly, to your mention of braiding your dock lines....I agree, coil them...less food for fodder.

 

[Joe]

Relax......... you're not dining at the White House.

 

[thinwater]

No one is smart when they start.

The ones that impress me are those that improve.

If they measure you some other way, why worry?

(Bow-in or bow-out depends on the boat, the current, and the dock arrangement. No one answer. My last boat was bow-in, this one is bow-out; same marina but a different deck lay-out.)

(Braid vs. Coil? I only mind ropes across the dock and boats that come loose. Very uncool.)

 

[shipwreck66]

Be it that there is no way a CM30 can be inconspicuous, go ahead and paint it purple with smiley faces and peace signs, and loud speakers on your spreaders. But seriously, and actually I was serious, having been in sailing clubs, private clubs, etc. You cannot please everyone and there are some friendly people, and there are some jerks. You may live there 20 years and never get accepted by some and others may welcome you right in. Just be yourself and have fun.

 

[Scott]

Just be yourself !! Don't worry so much about what others may think..

 

[Benny17441]

Keeping the boat clean and the area organized goes a long way as it reflects on the kind of person you are. Just be yourself and act like you belong there, which you do as a paying tenant. Be nice and friendly and sport a smile. Until you get to know the other tenants be careful for those that may approach you voicing complaints against the managment or explaining unwritten rules. Be curteous but firm about your objective for keeping a slip which is to enjoy your boat to its fullest,

 

[dkdoyle]

Just relax. Be courteous and friendly. You will get the same back. Boaters are a friendly lot.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

Run the dock lines back to the boat! leave the coil on your deck not the dock...

ie. splice on the dock cleat and the extra is on your boat. nothing to trip on, and you can adjust it much easier... (extremely important in a storm).

avoid halyard slap.. that drives everyone nuts.

and let others know its OK for them to go aboard your boat to fix something if they see a problem.

leave your cell phone number taped to the boat (or piling) for anyone to call you if there's trouble.

Ask the neighbors if there are any issues from time to time..

And 1+ on getting help bringing it in the 1st time.
Everyone wants to tell others how to do it!

 

[Manureva]

come in slowly, dont make wakes, take your time docking and retry if your not line up properly at first, slowly make it easier to manuver with a relax head, then keep your boat tidy and be polite