[Andrew65]

Hi All,

I am a liveaboard and use my dingy everyday, several times a day in fact. My boat swings on a bouy, so my dingy is my car. Well, the other day I was out all day and came back to see that my dingy was gone. At first I thought it could of untied itself, although highly unlikely, so I looked around to see where it could of drifted. No luck. Fearing the worst, I thought it was stolen, something of which very rarely happens at the marina. As I am sitting at the dingy dock all pissed off thinking I have to now swim to my boat, there comes a lady asking if it is my dingy they took to do general boat maintenance.

Needles to say to keep a long story short, I went off the guy and his wife and told him how I felt about his disrespect.

This incident prompts my question to the forum.

I now lock up my dingy, but what is proper dingy etiquette? What are your thoughts and/or experiences?



Andrew

 

[MedSailor]

Ummm.... I think it's okay to steal a dinghy to save a drowning person. Short of that, I have taken one to go 20 feet to get a floating object that is visible but just out of reach. Anything past that is theft in my mind.

MedSailor

 

[christian.hess]

funny story, however it does happen...Im all for lending and borrowing given the proper questions are asked, and in time...or in an emergency but I can never just grab someones dinghy thinking its ok then come back saying something like is this your dinghy with groceries in hand?

good for you for slapping them in the face if you will...

however if thats what everybody does in that marina or anchorage and you are the new person than either let them know you arent used to that or simply lock it up and make it known that way.

I have though from experience learned that being the sole person going against the grain if you will often becomes more of a burden than simply going with the flow.

with buddy boats or other cruisers I have borrowed, lended, etc...but its a given, especially if your are friends or have become comfortable with them...

my cents

 

[CarbonSink62]

I wouldn't think twice about climbing over someone's dinghy to get to mine.

I would (and have!) borrowed a bailer from the dink next door.

I would never untie someone else's boat and take it out. Anywhere. Ever.

(Well, ok. If it was an emergency, I'd steal one.)

I think it was pretty rude.

Ken

 

[Don L]

I now lock up my dingy, but what is proper dingy etiquette? What are your thoughts and/or experiences?

Andrew

I wonder if you left your keys in the car if those people would just decide it was OK to take your car to the store

 

[FarCry]

I don't borrow things without asking. I lock my dinghy up everywhere all the time. I leave the motor tilted down in the water when at a dinghy dock so as not to cause damage to another dinghy. I leave the painter tied long (long cable for locking) on a public dock so that others may push their way up to the dock and hope they do the same...

 

[tempest]

Don't touch my dinghy.. smile. I do exactly what Far Cry does.

 

[bblument]

I have no idea in the sailing world due to my lack of experience, but I've lived in various places that ranged from total unlocked, open door policy for everything (a small farming community, population 71... my neighbors and I routinely borrowed vehicles, tools, and other things without asking; keys were always in our cars or trucks) to more suburban areas where everything was under lock and key, and you wouldn't dream of walking onto anyone's property, much less actually TAKING their property without prior permission.

I had a funny thing happen a few days ago. My friend and flight instructor got into a bind with his plane and needed one... so he borrowed mine without contacting me.. then left it at another airport! THAT threw me for a loop.. but we talked it out. It's all good. If he had been a stranger, I would have had him arrested immediately.

Sure sounds like the folks who borrowed your dingy crossed a line pretty clearly, but who knows.. maybe it IS commonplace where you are. Maybe ask around?

Best to you,

Barry

 

[christian.hess]

it really depends where you are....

thats a pretty funny store above...basically the same thing but a plane? jajajaja

the french are renowned for "borrowing" stuff

Ive been in many anchorages where people go on other peoples boats all the time, borrow a tool or whatever then drop it back after use with a not or something...

the way I see it is communication is key...

just make your feelings known and continue on.

My point about knowing what he standard is in said anchorage is because if you are the only one locking up stuff, getting angry people touch your boat or you luck at them funny cause you feel offended there is a lax way of dealing with ownership of stuff...you will soon be singled out and it wont be fun anymore...

move to somewhere else for example...

reason is no 2 places are alike...just go with the flow, BUT make your position known.

while saying stuff my dinghy is off limits or you die is common some places, others its more lax and easy going...

I do beleive that yes those people were flagrantly wrong especially since its the first time...

especially if you are the new guy in town..again we dont know that.

cheers

 

[Ajax_MD]

Proper dinghy etiquette: Operating the engine tiller with your little finger upraised.


Ok, I'm kidding. Your location shows as Oslo, Norway.

I hesitate to cast judgement without knowing if there is a national or local custom where this sort of thing is accepted. I also wonder if the hapless couple is new to boating, and thought that the dinghy was placed there by the marina, for their convenience.

All I can tell you is that in my little corner of the world, that is unacceptable behavior. What was their reaction when you explained to them, that it's not acceptable?

 

[christian.hess]

Proper dinghy etiquette: Operating the engine tiller with your little finger upraised.

and sipping an espresso? jajaja

 

[capttb]

not right

I tale the "deadman" clip with me so they can't just start up drive away

 

[TQA]

I have been a liveaboard on the hook for 11 years now and in that time have had my dink 'borrowed' once and had to 'borrow' one once. Both times the time away from the dock was less than 10 minutes and while neither was a life or death emergency it was more than just getting out of the rain. I am OK with this.

I think that borrowing for more than a few minutes for something non urgent is not acceptable.

The one time I came across wholesale dinghy borrowing anarchy was at Antigua Race week in the 90s. Those were the days of 250 + entries many of which were chartered and with identical dinghies and engines. The dinghie docks were super crowded and 4 deep. Drunken revelers heading back out to there floating accomodation made no attempt to find 'their' dink but just took the first one they could get to. Things got sorted out on the last day, well mostly.

 

[Minnesail]

I wonder if you left your keys in the car if those people would just decide it was OK to take your car to the store

I pretty much had that happen. During a cold snap it's pretty common for people in North Dakota to just leave the car running if you'll be back to it within an hour or so.

I had to pop into a bar to give someone a message (pre-cell phones). It was twenty or thirty below, so I left the car running while I ran in. As you can predict just giving a message turned into a couple hours and when I came back out my car was gone.

It was so embarrassing to file the police report. "Yes, the keys were in the ignition and the engine was running. No, the doors weren't locked. Yes, it was right outside the front door of a bar."

They found it later that night about four blocks away in an apartment parking lot with the keys on the seat. They had changed the radio station, but other than that it was fine. I think someone came out of the bar into the freezing cold and decided they'd rather drive (and commit a felony) than walk four blocks...

 

[Minnewaska]

This is biblical stuff, folks. You don't take other people's things. Whether you're religious or not isn't relevant, these rules were written to create a norm among people. Hands off, unless you have permission.

Pretty rare, in my experience, to see a dinghy borrowed. However..... ladders!! My goodness, it's like everyone believes they fall from the sky for the taking. I lock mine to the stands in the winter, not because it will be stolen, but because I'm tired of walking the entire yard looking for it. If "borrowed" one would think it would at least be put back.

Once, I had to come the night before to unlock it from the stands, so they could launch me the next day. It was at a yard on a peninsula, with no good fence to go re-secure it to. I came back the next afternoon to sail her away and looked for my ladder. Gone. It was literally between about 5pm and noon the next day! I found it dozens of boats away, actually tied up to another boat's lifegate, like it was their permanent ladder. I just don't get what makes people tick sometimes.

 

[caberg]

It's interesting how some people have this overblown sense of "mine" when it comes to relatively inconsequential stuff.

I get it. And I respect it. But it's sort of amusing to see how anal some people get about their things. A ladder at the yard? I mean really, who cares. Okay, so not returning it can be considered rude, but an extra 5 minutes out of your day to locate your ladder. Again, does it really matter?

Personally, I'd rather live amongst folks who are a little less uptight and more easygoing about their things.

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

I now lock up my dingy,

Why in the world was it not locked up before??????????????????????

 

[blutoyz]

I used to leave my ladder unlocked at the marina when on the hard so someone that needed one could use it. Then I needed it at home and it was stolen from next to my garage for scrap:laugher

As for a dinghy, you have to be a special kind on "entitled" to just get in someone elses boat and row away unless it is an emergency

 

[MedSailor]

This is biblical stuff, folks. You don't take other people's things. Whether you're religious or not isn't relevant, these rules were written to create a norm among people. Hands off, unless you have permission.

Pretty rare, in my experience, to see a dinghy borrowed. However..... ladders!! My goodness, it's like everyone believes they fall from the sky for the taking. I lock mine to the stands in the winter, not because it will be stolen, but because I'm tired of walking the entire yard looking for it. If "borrowed" one would think it would at least be put back.

Once, I had to come the night before to unlock it from the stands, so they could launch me the next day. It was at a yard on a peninsula, with no good fence to go re-secure it to. I came back the next afternoon to sail her away and looked for my ladder. Gone. It was literally between about 5pm and noon the next day! I found it dozens of boats away, actually tied up to another boat's lifegate, like it was their permanent ladder. I just don't get what makes people tick sometimes.

In my experience boat yards usually have a ratio of ladders to boats of about 1:10 and everybody is always swapping the yard's ladders around. Is your ladder clearly marked with some kind of signage that indicates that it does NOT belong to the yard? If not, that could solve the issue. Of course locking it up would as well...

MedSailor

 

[SVAuspicious]

Personally, I'd rather live amongst folks who are a little less uptight and more easygoing about their things.

Well please stay away from my ladder, my dinghy, my car, my house, my boat, and the rest of my stuff. Stealing, even stealing and abandoning, is still stealing. Maybe that makes me uptight. Too bad. I work hard for my stuff and take good care of it. You can't take it without asking.