Do you have enough dock lines?

Mackinac island is a brutal marina for boats as well. The ferry wake caused me to break two 5/8 lines on my little 30' boat. Ever since then I double my lines when docked there. I carry 8 5/8 lines and a assortment of other lines if needed.
 
andy k said:
Mackinac island is a brutal marina for boats as well. The ferry wake caused me to break two 5/8 lines on my little 30' boat.
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Yep - Put-In Bay is very similar to Mackinac that way. Ferry surge all day every day, plus the occasional storm that can send waves from a 50 mile run right to the docks.
 
Creekwood said:
Woody, you have to explain what we are seeing. Does that snailboat have no stern lines tied? They swung over and hit your boat?
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I rented a slip for two months at a different location, didn't know the folks slipped around me. I didn't take this picture and didn't know anything had happened until I was walking to the boat the next weekend. There is another marina right next to the one where I was slipped. A guy hollers to me, "did anyone tell you about that sailboat pounding against your boat last week during the storm?"

He had taken this picture. He then went on to tell how his friend said they should go pull the sailboat off me and he refused, he didn't want anything to do with it. Yes, the dummy shared that with me after I had started liking him for telling me and taking a picture, instantly I didn't like him anymore.:(

This had happened in the evening, marina staff in both marina's were gone. What he did do was call his harbormaster, who then tried to call my harbormaster, whether or not they connected was unclear. Regardless, the sailboat stayed on my boat until the next morning when the sailboat owner, a charter outfit, came around checking their boats in the morning.

What I found out is that a party-er had rented the sailboat during the week. It was him that failed to secure the boat properly after his last voyage. Luckily the stern of the sailboat banged/bumped the night away against only my rub rail, I could see where but no damage was done.

The other thing I found out was the sailboater that took the pic and the charter company owner had some severe bad feelings between them. I'm guessing he was hoping I'd get enough damage that I'd sue his enemy. A couple of the marina staff told me he was a known instigator/trouble maker and that was the kind of stuff the guy would do if given the chance. He wasn't a well liked fella.

My experience with sailboaters hasn't been much but so far the 20 is making the 80 look bad.:D
 
Blueone said:
My experience is just the opposite :)....
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My immediate slip neighbor is a sailboat. He is gone for most of the summer and keeps his boat spotless and is very particular about it. Good guy. Self employed consultant. There is a rental outfit at our marina Boats and PWCs. That is "interesting" to say the least. The ones to avoid are the new boaters and renters.
 
Creekwood said:
My immediate slip neighbor is a sailboat. He is gone for most of the summer and keeps his boat spotless and is very particular about it. Good guy. Self employed consultant. There is a rental outfit at our marina Boats and PWCs. That is "interesting" to say the least. The ones to avoid are the new boaters and renters.
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I had a sailboater right next to me as well. Only sailboat in the marina... really nice guy. Never socialized with him but always talked said hi etc. the marina had a policy that you had to tie your sail cables so they didn’t clang in the wind. I never get wound up by anything but this clanging just about put me thru the roof especially with any wind it was deafening.... nails on a chalk board. I said something to him once... very nicely. To this day I think he loosened them when he left :)
 
Blueone said:
I had a sailboater right next to me as well. Only sailboat in the marina... really nice guy. Never socialized with him but always talked said hi etc. the marina had a policy that you had to tie your sail cables so they didn’t clang in the wind. I never get wound up by anything but this clanging just about put me thru the roof especially with any wind it was deafening.... nails on a chalk board. I said something to him once... very nicely. To this day I think he loosened them when he left :)
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Halyard slap is the worst. Even when it’s your own boat. I don’t miss it.
 
I hear you. My sailboater neighbor actually checks lines and power cords around us routinely which I really appreciate. One time I had "fake" boaters out with me and had one tie off the bow line to a cleat when we got back. He faked like he was experienced so I did not recheck the line he tied. My sailboat neighbor told me it was just tied over and over back and forth with the tag end not under any loop at all. Basically looped with no knot. Luckily no wind that week.
 
Lots of sailboats in my marina, as it is a shipyard. Probably 60/40, sail to power. Most are nice people in my experience. Granted they don't go out of their way to make friends with us gas guzzlers. I have heard the comments "with all the money you guys spend on fuel", blah blah. But in general most are cordial. The sailors do go around self policing people that don't tie their cables, so fortunately i haven't had to address that. But agree it can be super annoying...
We have a couple powerboaters on our dock that think they run the marina because they have been there for 10+ years. They drive me nuts more than anyone. I'm ready to tell them to jump off a dock...
 
Blue, we rode out that evening on the A dock at Crew’s Nest. They tried to move most of us down there for protection overnight. Around 2am it was absolutely brutal. I deployed every line we carry and put out all 6 fenders and slept for about an hour. Those uprights at CN will test the nerves for sure!
 
Z-Worthy said:
Blue, we rode out that evening on the A dock at Crew’s Nest. They tried to move most of us down there for protection overnight. Around 2am it was absolutely brutal. I deployed every line we carry and put out all 6 fenders and slept for about an hour. Those uprights at CN will test the nerves for sure!
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I saw all you guys pushed down in there. To me it looked like the towns B dock made out the best.... boats were rafted off and seemed fine.
I am a member at crews nest but always dock at millers.... I am going to reconsider that strategy after that weekend
 
Woody said:
It's hard to get away from them in the Apostle Island area. They scurry around in packs, darting back and forth between the islands, usually within a few miles of the marina. Then they go back to the marina and talk about the days great sailing.:p
View attachment 88272
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The fundamental difference between sailors and power boat cruisers is that to the former it’s about the journey, and for the latter, the destination.

For a couple summers when I was younger, my brother and I crewed for an older couple who kept a fairly large sailboat in Southwest Harbor Maine that had become too much for them. The gentleman was a complete perfectionist where everything had to be in its place. To him halyard slap was the sure sign of a true amateur.
 
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There could be a whole new thread on the subject of the study of sailors verses power boaters. I've been enjoying sailing with a friend from the club in our Thursday night beer can races. The group is interesting to say the least. I'm still trying to figure them out, I should probably stop trying and just realize that they are just wired differently and leave it at that.
Carpe Diem
 
Henry Boyd said:
The fundamental difference between sailors and power boat cruisers is that to the former it’s about the journey, and for the latter, the destination.
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I started boating as a sailor and I can confirm that was my mindset. My first sailboat was a pretty small one that I mainly sailed around the harbor. Only a few times did we go out in the sound. Since we didn't really go anywhere, boating was just about the activity of sailing around and coming back, feeling like you were able to work with the wind to successfully move about.

My wife grew up with power boats. We would (and still do) meet up with her parents on their power boat. It would frustrate her to no end that it would take an hour or more to meet up at the mooring. It didn't bother me because it was an activity that was an end to itself.

I found that transitioning to a power boat was very difficult. Going from a very active form of boating to a style of drive there and hang out was hard. I couldn't just sit there, and was always puttering on something. 18 or so years later I still have a hard time just sitting down. I think part of it is genetic though, because my dad was the same way - always working on something. However, I do now very much appreciate the ability to travel distances on a fairly predictable schedule. A quick power boat opens up many more avenues for adventure when you work and have limited time available.
 
I crew on a racing sailboat, and that's a whole other style of sailing. Two things that I really enjoy:
1) Of all the team sports I have done, competitive sailboat racing is the most team oriented activity without question, and perfect teamwork is a thing to behold. Every crew member needs to be an expert at not only their job, but also the jobs of the 9 other folks on the boat. Every little thing one person does directly affects the others and you have to be ready for a foul up at any moment. There is nothing like getting around a buoy with a fast change of sail, 3 inches away from the next 20,000 lb boat, knowing the work of the crew on that one mark is what wins the race.
2) As much as I love the sound of both of my 370hp engines crushing waves, the feeling when a sail boat is so perfectly trimmed and in balance leaves one feeling that that all is perfect in the world, for at least that moment.

Things I don't like:
1) It takes 3 hours to get anywhere! How do people do this? And when you get to where you were going it takes another hour to put away all the sails and lines that have been used.
2) Taking crap for how little gas sailboats use. I get that 4 day cruising trip in the Puget Sound is 8 gallons of diesel. Of course the ugly secret most of the 4 days is spent moving the boat from place to place watching all the powerboats go by. No wonder sailors are so angry. The thing is, while I do spend quite a bit on fuel, it is pretty close to what new sails are needed for a strong racing program (some sails are $6,000 and you need at least 4 good sails). I have concluded the costs are pretty equal; I just get to my destination prior to cocktail hour.
 
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