Anchoring out Etiquette

[magnawake]

I guess I Hi-jacked a thread and got off subect so this is to start a new thread to keep subject going. This is not to keep the "pot stirring" going. We stayed in Boot Key for 30 days and paid for a mooring ball which we loved. We shared the mooring field with over 200 others and 100 just (300 total, and there was awaiting list to get in) anchored where ever they could get a spot. Yeah it was pretty crowded but it all worked out pretty good. We saw one other Hatteras 48 LRC doing the great loop but no other HOF members. Most are sailboats and some trawlers mixed in there. Its almost a necessity to have an inverter if your going to stay long term like we did. Most people do the same thing charging batteries. Solar panels and wind genny's keep up the 12v systems but we have 110 energy hog and have the need to run the genset in the am and pm. I would say 30% of the people wait til a reasonable time in the morning and early evening to fire the power source up. I run mine 0700-0830 and 1700-1830. Our trip was in January so the weather was absolutely perfect (no need for A/C). I had all the windows open and enjoyed the cool breeze at night which made for great sleeping. There's nothing like drinking a cup of coffee in the morning watching the sunrise. Every evening when the sun sets, it is a custom that people blow the conch horns and its really cool to hear. Sound travels a long way on the water so its nice not too be too loud. We heard a couple loose their tempers about some mechanical issue. It would have been funny but I have been guilty of that as well so it kinda hit home what I sound like (yikes). There are some do's and donts to close area anchoring/mooring. I think there are rules set by the city like no wakes, no driving through grassy areas etc. so everyone can get along. So do you have any pet peeves, do and donts for getting along with your neighbors when anchored out. Hope you like the video and think its cool too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8TnjUt9kdI

 

[krush]

All I see are blow boaters in your video. Most of them don't even have generators!

 

[Boatsb]

So running yours would be rubbing it in I guess.

 

[Glory]

Most on board generators make little "noise", I call it the symphony of convenience, and on my boat
The orchestra is always playing away from the dock.

You may also notice the on board volume of a generator is often so low that normal conservation can
happen with out shouting while being within a couple of feet of the generator. With that said any
reasonable install would be less on the machinery noise overboard. Even in a tight mooring field you would be 50' or so from the next boat. And like the person who buys a home next to the airport and then complains about the planes landing, I think today if go to a popular mooring field/anchorage and expect all to ditch the the options on board, some expensive, to make the boating experience even better you likely mistaken.

JM

 

[magnawake]

So running yours would be rubbing it in I guess.

Ha ha. Well They know I have a full size refer and ice maker going. When I rattle my glass with ice cubes they know what the deal is. I would say about 30 % of everybody, even sailboats have generators and run them every day. They however run them all at the same time, morning/evening. I figure if I go into a crowded area maybe Im the one that sticks out and should follow the protocall. Late at night you can hear a pin drop. The only thing you hear is a few waves slapping on the front hull. Normally when the mooring field is that full its during the winter and its cool enough not to need A/C with the exception of keeping the food cold. If you go in the middle of the summer it will be hot as blazes and nobody will be there so no worries what you do. Its a cool sight to see 150 dinghy's tied up all at the place.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I tend to agree. You have to conform to what is going on in that particular anchorage but within reason. Like I said before, up on the lakes most observe quiet hours from 2200 though 0700 and that includes shutting down the genset, turning down the music, etc.

With today's technology, you shouldn't need to run the genny 24/7 unless you need air.

 

[krush]

Too many people! Who wants to anchor around that many people anyway lol

 

[Pascal]

It all depends on where you are.

I don't think it's fair for someone to anchor in a popular busy anchorage and expect silence. If you want a peaceful night pick a quiet empty anchorage or anchor further out and downwind space and condition permitting

Taht said if possible will try to minimize generator noise impact on neighbors by anchoring further away from boats with open hatches or on a boat with two genset by running the one on the opposite side

Some boats simply cannot be enjoyed without air con. The old classic hatts have good ventilation but modern boats don't. I m not going to be sweating all night ...

 

[Boatsb]

Too many people! Who wants to anchor around that many people anyway lol

Yeah.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

This looks better.

 

[Boatsb]

This looks better.

We had a band on one of the float boats, Food, drinks and about 300 20 somethings in bikinis. None of them in any way related to me so looking was allowed. Doesn't get much better than that.

At night it was all quiet probably because we were all too burned out from the party.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

We had a band on one of the float boats, Food, drinks and about 300 20 somethings in bikinis. None of them in any way related to me so looking was allowed. Doesn't get much better than that.

At night it was all quiet probably because we were all too burned out from the party.

That's just a different kind of boating.

 

[Boatsb]

That's just a different kind of boating.

Not really. Its the best of both worlds. Big yearly party during the day. Nice and quiet as all the little boats went home for the night.

 

[Angela]

It all depends on where you are.

I don't think it's fair for someone to anchor in a popular busy anchorage and expect silence. If you want a peaceful night pick a quiet empty anchorage or anchor further out and downwind space and condition permitting

Taht said if possible will try to minimize generator noise impact on neighbors by anchoring further away from boats with open hatches or on a boat with two genset by running the one on the opposite side

Some boats simply cannot be enjoyed without air con. The old classic hatts have good ventilation but modern boats don't. I m not going to be sweating all night ...

I'm going to agree with Pascal for the most part on this. Although I am an old classic Hatt, I am one of those boats that cannot be enjoyed without AC, for the most part. I live and boat in South Florida where AC is a necessity, nearly year 'round. The 58MY does not carry the breeze in the least bit anywhere on the boat, not even pointed bow into a gale force wind. And, unlike the 58YF and the 53MY, the aft deck does not enjoy the breeze due to lack of walk-around decks and wing doors, making the aft deck (my dining room) virtually unusable most of the year.

I LOVE the winter when we can turn off all the AC's on board and enjoy the peace and quiet. However, take last year, for example, we got screwed out of winter. I got to turn off all the AC for about 2 weeks (14 days total). I want a winter do-over. That wasn't fair.

So, in the name of boater etiquette, should I forgo using my boat most of the year so that others anchored near me who do not have generators can barely hear my genny? Let me tell ya, down here, if you got'em (gennies), you run them! Heck, I can barely hear my genny when I'm outside (only when I swim on that side of the boat), and I cannot hear it from anywhere in my boat except for the two forward staterooms and the pilothouse.

Etiquette is dictated based upon where you boat - location, location, location - the circumstances at hand. In South Florida, if you come down here and expect anyone/everyone to turn off their generators (and shut down air conditioning), you've got a rude awakening coming. It's easy to have a different opinion from the Great Lakes or the Northeast; again, it's that location, location, location thing. If I had 50 or low 60 degree temps at night, I'd gladly shut it all down and pile on the blankets. I utterly live for those scenarios. It's the end of October here, and we have yet to get out of the muggy, high humidity, mid 70s temps so far. It's going to be in the upper 80s for the foreseeable forecast. We usually have a nice cold front slap in the face by now, and it still has not come and is not in the 10-day forecast.

Discussing anchorage etiquette needs to take geographic location into consideration.

If you want to talk about what's rude (if not animal cruelty), here's a "rude boater" situation - I've got a neighbor who is keeping a large dog tied up on a finger pier at times and in the cockpit of a boat the rest of the time, and that big dog barks incessantly for hours and hours and hours on end all evening long. As soon as open window season gets here, if it does, we're going to have to have a talk with him. This is right up there with the "slapping halyard" thing.

 

[Walter P]

I wonder if that dog owner treats his kids like that as well. A dog, or any pet for that matter becomes part of the family and as such needs to be treated that way. My favorite old saying is "The more I know people, the more I love my dog"

Walt

 

[Angela]

I wonder if that dog owner treats his kids like that as well. A dog, or any pet for that matter becomes part of the family and as such needs to be treated that way. My favorite old saying is "The more I know people, the more I love my dog"

Walt

Oh, Walter, I'm all over that with you with all my heart...except that my favorite saying is, "The more I know people, the more I love my CAT." Still, I really hate to see any animal at all abused, mistreated, or treated like anything less than a member of the family. I quit eating Jimmy John subs because the founder is a trophy hunter who kills exotic animals for fun. Too bad for me (like Mr. Liautaud will ever feel the effect of my boycott!) - I liked their sandwiches and they are right across the street from my office, but I'm not missing it nonetheless, and every day I see that storefront, I remember the "trophy" pictures I've seen which disgust me.

The situation on my dock about which I speak, is a subcontractor who agreed to take care of someone else's dog (not the boat owner's) for a very short time, and that subcontractor has been permitted to live on the boat on which he is working until the job (engine painting) is done. It's been about 2 months now since he acquired the dog (no idea how long he's been painting)......how long does it take to paint two friggin' engines? And, more importantly, where is this dog's rightful owner? That dog lunged at me on the dock with a mouthful of growling teeth when the "caretaker" tied him up to a cleat near the gate while he went down to the other end of the pier to get a dock cart, and I was walking down the dock to my car. Now, that's just rude. I should have to negotiate a vicious dog on my dock?

 

[jim rosenthal]

Maybe a bribe with some biscuits is in order here....

 

[RT46]

I had a sailboater approach me one morning in an anchorage.

It was a couple in dinghy, they were passive-aggressive and friendly.

They said something like:

"hello, really nice boat, was that your generator on last night? the exhaust was blowing right in our
direction, so now you know, next time don't run your generator at night, it ruined our night"

I don't find the exhaust claim credible, the generator burns very clean and the loudest part outside of the boat is the raw water splashing out the discharge in a super calm anchorage.

They must have seen me with ice in my glass watching TV in the salon with the lights on. Or maybe they were upset because I took a hot shower and had warm towels and freshly washed (and dryed in a dryer) clothes on.

Next time I will throw on the tower lights and light off the DDs for them.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I think that the who was there first thing applies as well. If I was anchored and then some joker pulls up right next to me and then complains, well too bad. You could have dropped the hook on the other side of the cove.

 

[magnawake]

Location, location, location is a great analogy. If you are anchored in boca raton lake where you can hear lots of road noise it doesn't matter much. Angela, I have been anchoring out in Florida for the last two years and haven't had a problem with noise from generators. Most of the time we anchor in the winter. If you go to boca Chita in the summer it's horrible ran over just with bugs. The Windows must be kept closed. Barking dogs are a big no no in my book. I don't think it's fair to keep a large lab in a 27' sailboat long term. I've seen it and it makes my skin crawl. Slapping halyards are a pain as well, especially in a marina setting. Our 43 gets plenty of air flow thank goodness.