I have heard them all ....... Now !

[thebulldog]

Heres the short story, so I want to rent a dock slip for my boat and of course leave it in the water for a week,
so i phone the fella up at the marina and tell him i want a week for the boat, so he starts to lead me into not leaving it tied up overnight, so i ask him, is there a problem with theft or vandals?
He tells me he has been a boater for years and the reason for hauling it out every night is if a storm comes and swamps the boat it can sink or get severly damaged !
O.K. I am not new to boating in my 15 years i have never had such a problem or heard of boats sinking from a storm,
I ask him just how much weed he smokes a day and drinks and hang up the phone,
the things you hear from Professional boaters !

By the way, I found a better marina !

 

[Philster]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

Correct: Needs to be covered if it doesn't have self-bailing decks. Sans cover(s), you don't leave it wet slipped.

Type of boat?

For the record, aside from recreational boat ramp watching, my other favorite activity is perusing the sunken boats at the docks after heavy storms along the Jersey coast.

Some have self-bailing decks; most are bowriders and runabouts.

 

[2ndtry]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

I would mention to him that the new fangled bilge pumps have float switches.

 

[tincanman]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

I would mention to him that the new fangled bilge pumps have float switches.

bilge pumps can, and will fail at the wrong time. Even more than one. Alot or recreational boats will only have one pump, and half the time it will be to small. Doesn't take long for a non self bailing hull to go under in a bad storm.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

Actually, it doesn't take too long for a self-bailing hull to go down either. At least one marine surveyor of some repute is known for ranting about drains so close to the waterline that they actually cause the boat to take on water and sink. All it takes is a jammed ball or flap valve, a little additional weight, and a non functional bilge pump.

 

[DBreskin]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

Even a big storm rarely dumps more than 2 inches of water in 24 hours. I doubt 2 inches of rain would swamp my boat.

 

[birdgod]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

bilge pumps can, and will fail at the wrong time. Even more than one. Alot or recreational boats will only have one pump, and half the time it will be to small. Doesn't take long for a non self bailing hull to go under in a bad storm.

Yeap, my friend in chicago leave his boat tie up with 2 auto bilge pumps and come visit me in KC. When he get back after a storm to find his boat in the water. Good thing is that the rope is still tie to the boat at the dock . He show me the pic before, i will ask if he can send it to me. Should have listen to the marina guy not to leave it on the water. Buy the way, we never figure out what happened, one theory is that, the water keep comming in, bilge keep working until no more battery......

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

This is a very curious thread. How many threads have I seen where iboaters talk about renting a slip for the season or "they can only go to their boats on the weekend. Her in South Florida, we are all about boats docked in the warer full time.

Never have I heard anyone say they should pull their boat out every night. Whatcs the purpose for renting the slip. Yet most posters here on this thread seem to be worried about leaving a boat on the water.

Curious

 

[jigngrub]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

Unless you know for absolute certain that your floatation foam is bone dry and you have enough or more than enough floatation foam to keep your boat afloat wet slipping can be risky for the reasons stated above.

It wouldn't take very much storm water to sink a heavy (waterlogged) "I'm going to run it on the water this season and restore it this winter" boat... whether it's glass or tin.

A good bilge pump is only as good as the battery that's running it.

Boats sink at marinas and tied to a dock or slip all the time, even in dry slips... like this one:
http://www.southeasternphotography....214_hHbGrj/92414975_Ev3xR#!i=92414975&k=Ev3xR

... and a whole bunch more on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9APa_IJbzW8

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

Boats sink at marinas and tied to a dock or slip all the time, even in dry slips.

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. That statement is simply not true, and anyone who lives in a boating community knows it. You may be able to scare some trailer boaters with that nonsense, but not anyone who spends time on the water.

And a "dry slip" is a parking place for your boat on the trailer at the marina. Only if the earth swallows it up can a boat sink in a dry slip. Your two wrongs don't make it right.

I agree with Captain Kickback. The statements here and fear of the water are just bizarre. Reminds me of the ones where someone gets all panicky about using an outboard in salt water for a week, and all these guys jump in with useless advice about flushing it out and washing it off daily OR ELSE!!! Nonsense.

As for the OP's post, yes a storm can sink or damage a boat, which is why we pull small boats out for hurricanes. A boat that is tied incorrectly can sink from storms or wave action, or get caught on/under the dock. Maybe the dockmaster felt like either your boat was not a good fit for his pier configuration, or you wouldn't know how to moor it correctly (it can be tricky) and he wasn't going to be responsible for mishaps.

A bilge pump can handle a rain storm. The boats that sink from bilge pump failure are the ones with weak batteries to begin with, or with batteries that run down from too much pumping without being recharged. A waterlogged boat, like a boat with too heavy a motor, is defective going in and really shouldn't be considered as what is normal or typical. And sure, a bilge pump can fail, just like a through-hull fitting, seacock, rivet or bellows, but that doesn't justify not using a boat for what it is intended; it is just as likely to be destroyed in a garage fire, tornado, or telephone pole falling on it on land. In fact, you expose your boat to as much danger riding up and down the highway as leaving it in the water.

 

[JoLin]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. That statement is simply not true, and anyone who lives in a boating community knows it. You may be able to scare some trailer boaters with that nonsense, but not anyone who spends time on the water.

I agree with Captain Kickback. The statements here and fear of the water are just bizarre. Reminds me of the ones where someone gets all panicky about using an outboard in salt water for a week, and all these guys jump in with useless advice about flushing it out and washing it off daily OR ELSE!!! Nonsense.

Couldn't have said it any better. Thanks.

 

[tincanman]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

not saying the op can't, or shouldn't keep his boat in the water w/o it sinking for a week. I can see how a marina would have concerns about a trailer boat not being prepared for a slip or properly maintained. A sunk boat is a major headache for a marina and maybe not worth the week's rent on a slip.

I am well aware that there are 1000's of boats that are in slips everyday, and I'm shure atleast a few of them make it through the night w/o sinking.

 

[2ndtry]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

Its just what your used to.

My father's boat has been tied up to the dock every day for the past 40 years. No pump. He watches the rain gauge, if it rains more than 2 or 3 inches he goes and bails it out. When he is out of town (not often) he gives the instructions to the kid who feeds the cat. Just about every boat on the lake treated likewise.

I realize the OP likely has a large boat with a bilge so this is not a great comparison. But seriously, its for a week and he will be close by to monitor the boat. I've tied my "sofa boat" up to a tree for a week many times when camping. If it rains, I go check.

 

[Philster]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

Wet slipping a boat = cover it

That's best practice (in practical terms/methods). That's what I am positing. Center Consoles are left uncovered. In that case, you concern yourself with deck and scupper design... and care and maintenance.

Lesser practice is relying on bilge pumps.

I saltwater wet-slipped a boat for 20+ years with bow/cockpit covers and spent darn near every inch of my young to middle life around docks and marinas. Couple of sinkings per year in my small marina of 36 +/- slips. T-storms and some wind. Some center consoles and most bow riders and runabouts.

I'm not scared of the water; I'm not scared of storms. I don't exaggerate. With a cover, you can become a rarity; without one... go ahead and calculate the odds.

Some guys had their boats sunk multiple times. Surveyors get their rocks off when insurance companies send them out. It's a good time for coffee and to cut the crap when they float the boat. It's a leisure activity along the coast: hang out and BS while they float a sunken boat. It's a right of passage.

 

[cgd7777777]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

Maybe the Titanic should have had a cover too!
Well why does this fella have slips if he dosent want to rent them out?
Glad you found another marina
You should take it out every day to make sure barnicals dont grow on it in that week and your prop dosent get water logged!!
have a great vacation

 

[greenbush future]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

Here in Michigan, there are 1000's and 1000's of boats that sit in the water all summer long, and then are taken out and winterized. If you don't have any comon sense, I guess you could sink your boat. Might even have a defective pump that might cause a boat to sink, but that's what insurance is for. And its so darn rare, because most people have and use their brain. Insurance companies would never cover a boat, if this was an issue that wasnt already considered. When you have tens of millions of value floating all around you, it isnt hard to figure out how to avoid such a silly issue.
Not using a cover is a great start to end up in "Stupid Human" forums.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

...For the record, aside from recreational boat ramp watching, my other favorite activity is perusing the sunken boats at the docks after heavy storms along the Jersey coast.

Some have self-bailing decks; most are bowriders and runabouts.

Notwithstanding my previous posts, I have also often made the "swamped boat tour" after the big squalls we get in the summer, but more 35 years ago than now. Back then, equipment wasn't as good, or "popular" so you saw several swamped boats due to equipment failure or no bilge pump. Even the old salts lost one occasionally. Now I rarely see it. Also, more boats on my river are on lifts.

Our (family's) first starcraft 16' didn't have a bilge pump, and we kept it in the water at the house. After it rained, you bailed some, then ran it and pulled the plug. SOP for many boats. If we went out of town, we put it on the trailer. We did, however, lose it when Dad first got it; the way it was moored exposed the low transom to waves, which got right high in the 50 mph squall, plus the rain. After we moored it with the bow into the prevailing wind we were fine. As a disclaimer, I was 14 at the time, previous boat was self bailing (plug-out whaler) and my mother grew up with row boats; my dad was from the mountains and not an experienced boater. From his experiences such as these, I have learned much.

 

[Maclin]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

I want to take the Marina owner's role if I may. He has experienced things at his place that caused many a heartache and hardship on himself and clients I am sure. He does not know the level of experience of the person on the other end of the phone, has no idea what kind of boat it is, condition, all that. If he is taking the chance of running away business then I would think he is doing that based on experience. Probably wants to mitigate any future bad days at the dock taking resources and time away from normal business to float a sunken boat. Sinking probably would not happen, but 100 successes can be negated by one mishap.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

Mine stays on a wet slip from march to november.

 

[Philster]

Re: I have heard them all ....... Now !

And...