How a helping hand....Wasn't

[Jaxfishgyd]

We have all been there....
Getting ready to leave a dock and people want to "help you". And things go wrong....
Yesterday was my day.
We were leaving "The Landing" where we had been since Friday. I had a big sailboat about 20' in front of me, a 26' Shamrock 3' behind me.
We were casting off the lines when the owner of the Shamrock came by and offered to help with the stern line.
I told him to untie it and PLACE IT IN THE COCKPIT.
He's a full time fishing guide so I had faith in him...
I had a strong tide that would push me toward his boat so accepted his help as the admiral was in the bow.
I told him to untie me and PUT THE LINE IN THE COCKPIT.
He said "all clear Capt" so I started to leave...
"Seems he tried to THROW the line onboard and missed (the boat was NOT a foot from the dock). But I wasn't told of this "minor detail". Till it got caught in my starboard prop.....
And as I was only 4ft from the dock and still had to get by his boat.... This was not a good thing.
I was able to miss his boat as I could kinda use the starboard engine... The line wasn't wrapped so tight the prop wouldn't turn at all.
I got the line cut and was able to make it home at slow speed, but it's only a 30 min run at idle.
But the line is still wrapped around the prop/shaft so I will have to get it off before we can go off again next weekend......

 

[SKYCHENEY]

What a bonehead move. If you offer to help and you do something like that, at least you could call out and warn the capt before he wraps it around the prop.

Sorry to hear of your trouble, but as you said, it happens to the best of us at one time or another.

 

[spartonboat1]

No wonder Ronald Reagan went by trust but verify...and I'm not trying to be a smart aleck. I agree, poor professionalism on the helper's part!

 

[Walter P]

Let no good deed go unpunished!

You can't assume that anyone you meet knows what the're doing around a dock. How often do you approach a dock and toss a spring line to a dock hand and ask that he take a couple of wraps around the cleat near his foot only to have him stand there with a blank look on his face and a limp line in his hand. Obviously the situation goes downhill from there as there is usually a current, wind or some other peril or a combination of all.

The moral is don't trust anyone to do a job right unless you're experienced with that particular persons ability.

Walt

 

[Bob Bradley]

My favorite is the guy who has to "save you from hitting the piling" when docking. No matter how many times you tell the crew to keep their hands in the boat and don't touch the pilings, there's always one who instinctively pushes you off the piling you are about to pivot on, sending the boat in exactly the opposite direction you intended to go.

 

[Nonchalant1]

... and MY favorite is the guy that runs out to catch a line when you're coming in to the dock. Somebody mistakenly throws him a bow line and he short-stops it and pulls your bow in over the dock, or worse. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, throw the loop end of a line, not the bitter end. Tell them just to put the loop over the cleat and you can control your own boat. And usually always throw a spring line first, and a spring line ONLY. Then you can dock easily in almost every situation.

That's sometimes hard to do when the Admiral doesn't get the whole "spring line docking" deal, and doesn't particularly want to learn.

Doug

 

[Pascal]

geez Charlie, what a mess... i guess you cna't assume a fishermen can handle a boat!

this is why i dont' like to rely on any help unless i know they are used to this, although obviously you'd think a fishing guide woudl know better. Same goes for on board help from guests or friends, on larger boats it's much safer to tell them to sit down and relax, you can get hurt by a large boat, most people dont' get that...

Passing a spring line is indeed the best move. what i usually do is set the eye on the boat, throw the bight of the line on the dock behind the cleat, pull on the bitter end and tie it back to the cleat on the boat. it's very easy to catch the cleat and that way you don't need any help at all, it's all done from the boat even on a low floating dock. You can tie all your lines that way, safely walking back to the helm if you need to use the engines against the spring if the wind or current is strong.

 

[sandspur1966]

I would pop over the side or get a diver to come and cut that off. If you have a remnant of the line around the hub it can work its way into the cutlass bearing and turn an annoying afternoon into a pricey shorthaul and bearing job.

 

[bigbill]

i'm with pascal on this one, it is easy enough to tie up, and just as easy to release the line from the boat cleat and pull the other end from around the piling or cleat when it is time to pull out. no dock help necessary. bigbill

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

OH how I know.... 99% of the time we accept "NO HELP"...

In this case.... the "helper" has a fishing show on cable TV.....

He is not (until this point) an idiot.....

he DID have a female with "lots of silicon" with him who had little clothing on........

Botton line is.... "Guy is well known..... with a female "amply although not with only natural outlines"....

Equals..... both of us getting screwed.... But in differnent ways...

 

[nor'easter]

What a pain! Sorry to hear of this. Nothing gets me crazier than someone not following your instructions when close quarters maneuvering.

On SUN, my wife was walking the dock with my daughter while I was tending to something aboard. She offered to help a boat coming in. Liz wasn't sure what it was, but it was larger than our 39 and an "egg shaped cruiser" (her words). The woman on the bow was terrified and the hubby behind the wheel was not helping her out. She tossed the looped end of the line to Liz and Liz told her to cleat the other end on the boat. She didn't know how and started to cry as rodney plowed ahead. Liz quickly toseed it back and had her pass the loop around the cleat on deck. My wife snubbed the line on the dock and saved them a big bill for fiberglass repair. These folks not only didn't know what they were doing, but were scared and frantic. Not good at all.

 

[Glory]

I often tell guest and anyone on the dock if you would really like to help please watch. just watch.

JM