Don't touch me

sly_karma

sly_karma

Crew Member
I launched at the City of Penticton ramp on Skaha Lake this morning. The ramp has two lanes with a finger dock separating them.Takes a bit more time launching solo than if you have a helper, but it wasn't unduly busy and I've done it before.

After parking the truck, I jump aboard and take a few moments getting organized before lowering the motor and then hitting the key. It doesn't start first turn like usual. Next thing I know there's some guy at my elbow saying he can help, he's a mechanic. I say no need, it's been a couple of weeks since it ran and I forgot to prime the fuel. As I reach up forward to squeeze the ball, the dude reaches over the gunwale, starts the motor and puts it in gear then pushes the boat away from the dock. It's still tied to a cleat so it goes nowhere. I tell the guy to calm down, then I untie and head off.

It all happened in less than a minute after I stepped aboard. As I move away from the launch, I'm trying to process what happened. Some guy just tried to take control of my boat and boot me off the dock because my solo launch took a bit longer. WTF???

I went to the marina afterward and found the guy and had a word. Did he understand that he had tried to operate another skipper's craft without permission or warning? I was calm and the discussion didn't become heated, but I made it clear that a line had been crossed. I didnt get a clear apology. The ramp at that time was about 4/10 on its busy scale, there was no lineup to speak of except him with a forklift launching a customer boat. If he was just a well meaning bystander as he claimed, all he needed to say was hi, do you need a hand?
 
TBH it all happened so fast I was already idling away from the dock before I started to process it. I'm a few hundred yards out in a quiet spot putting up the Bimini and thinking, "some random guy just tried to start my boat and shove me off the dock."

Tben I had a couple of hours on the water to plan my words when I went to speak to him aftward, because I didn't want me or anyone else going full Vedder. Haha I just used it in a sentence, that's gonna stick.
 
Captain PartyMarty said:
What a strange thing to do. People are so strange now a days. Yesterday I was told to F-off by a cyclist who thought I was blocking too much of the trail in a no cycling park out here in Langley. All I did was point at the sign and asked if he could read….
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Love it, and I'm a cyclist. Albeit much older now and cranky with the one's that make the cycling community look bad. :rolleyes:
Of course in my not so distant youth there may have been times .... :cool:
 
Gong Show said:
Good job staying calm, never go full Vedder.
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This is tooo funny! I created an account just to give you kudos Gong!

Just thinking out loud here, but I think a lot of bad behavior is a result of the years of Covid isolation stripping away the checks and balances provided by normal social interaction. It looks to me like a lot of pent up frustration is coming through because of this and people have convinced themselves that their dickery is justified.

Going full Vedder, however, is another level entirely.
 
Totally unexpected said:
Standard etiquette is to never touch a captains vessel unless requested to do so,I always ask if people need a hand because that's just what I do after decades of boating and off roading but I only intervene if asked to. People are definitely different in this day and age...
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I see guys all the time untie guys boats and move them down the dock when there off parking the trailer.

reaching over tho and starting a guys boat is definitely over the line.
 
wildmanyeah said:
I see guys all the time untie guys boats and move them down the dock when there off parking the trailer.

reaching over tho and starting a guys boat is definitely over the line.
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Agree with both of the above.
 
Totally unexpected said:
Standard etiquette is to never touch a captains vessel unless requested to do so,I always ask if people need a hand because that's just what I do after decades of boating and off roading but I only intervene if asked to. People are definitely different in this day and age...
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Right? I was taught to ask vessels approaching a dock if they would like any help. If given a line or lines to handle, hold them without tension until given instructions.
 
sly_karma said:
Right? I was taught to ask vessels approaching a dock if they would like any help. If given a line or lines to handle, hold them without tension until given instructions.
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Drives me nuts when I repeatedly ask people NOT to touch the boat when I'm docking and they still insist on grabbing it. 9/10 times they force me to have to speed up or adjust what I'm doing. I like doing it myself, there's a system.
"Need any help?!"

"No, thank you"

"Well, I'll just go ahead and reef on your bow rails and pull you into the dock with no fenders anyways. I insist."
 
Last edited:
Yeah last year, early August was gong show of boats @ Cheanuh. I patiently idled and waited over 20 mins for a spot to tie up when I came back in. I had parked up the hill and when I got back with the truck my boat had been untied and pushed out off the dock with all 20’ of bowline retied to the end of the dock further out. Some knob had decided that I was taking to long and his boat was much more important and expensive than mine. I then explained to him and another fellow that I was already on the launch waiting to retrieve my boat and that they had jumped ahead of me on the dock. He was not receptive to me taking my boat out before his and very descriptive that compared to him my boat and I was crap. I just got in my truck and moved off the ramp until he had left, but I sure regret being so passive. Some people just don’t have any respect or patience for others.
 
Slabbedout said:
Yeah last year, early August was gong show of boats @ Cheanuh. I patiently idled and waited over 20 mins for a spot to tie up when I came back in. I had parked up the hill and when I got back with the truck my boat had been untied and pushed out off the dock with all 20’ of bowline retied to the end of the dock further out. Some knob had decided that I was taking to long and his boat was much more important and expensive than mine. I then explained to him and another fellow that I was already on the launch waiting to retrieve my boat and that they had jumped ahead of me on the dock. He was not receptive to me taking my boat out before his and very descriptive that compared to him my boat and I was crap. I just got in my truck and moved off the ramp until he had left, but I sure regret being so passive. Some people just don’t have any respect or patience for others.
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Don’t regret being passive. You can’t fix stupid, you took the appropriate action.
 
There's a reason I like to boat with my 45-70 lever gun close at hand and it ain't for cougars or bears when we go to a beach up an inlet.

Helps to keep interactions at sea calm and reasonable.
 
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