pdxsearay
Member
- Jun 4, 2020
- 89
- Boat Info
- 2005 Sea Ray 185 Sport
- Engines
- 4.3 merc
How can one tell from the water if a dock you are approaching is a public dock available for temporary (2 hours) moorage?
Obviously when a dock is associated with someoene's house/property/real estate, that's a no-brainer. But are there any standard markings for public docks that indicate "this is an okay place to dock your boat"? For example here in Portland on the Willamette and Columbia rivers there are a handful of docks near or in the city that are clearly not private property. Perhaps there is a large dock with a boat or two moored there and the stairs away from the dock go up near a park. Perhaps there is a huge dock with tons of boats. Is it public? For slip renters only? Are parts of it available for day use? Free or paid? how will i get back through the gate on the way back down to the boat? Is there any way to tell without docking and walking around looking for signs?
Anyway, sorry for the 20 questions. I'm guessing the answer is "research beforehand", but i'm curious if there are any standard indicators or any way to be spontaneous about this. Navionics isn't super clear (and also doens't have every dock or ramp listed).
Obviously when a dock is associated with someoene's house/property/real estate, that's a no-brainer. But are there any standard markings for public docks that indicate "this is an okay place to dock your boat"? For example here in Portland on the Willamette and Columbia rivers there are a handful of docks near or in the city that are clearly not private property. Perhaps there is a large dock with a boat or two moored there and the stairs away from the dock go up near a park. Perhaps there is a huge dock with tons of boats. Is it public? For slip renters only? Are parts of it available for day use? Free or paid? how will i get back through the gate on the way back down to the boat? Is there any way to tell without docking and walking around looking for signs?
Anyway, sorry for the 20 questions. I'm guessing the answer is "research beforehand", but i'm curious if there are any standard indicators or any way to be spontaneous about this. Navionics isn't super clear (and also doens't have every dock or ramp listed).