What has happened to etiquette ?

[dburne]

Seriously, ok just venting here. The ramp I normally put in at on the lake the wife and I generally go to, seems to have gotten really crazy this year. Major crowded, lots more pontoons than last year. Which is fine, they certainly have every right to be there same as I. But wow, etiquette seems to have flown out the window. So a boat was pulled up on the right side of the loading dock , and I was waiting to pick up my family so they could board,. The boat was a pontoon, so it took up most of the area, and come to find out from my family, they were just waiting there at the dock for a friend to show up who was on the way. I mean really, when I am waiting on someone, I back out into the lake out of the way so folks can get in and out of the loading dock. Then, coming back in, I was almost to the same loading dock, and a ski boat out of nowhere zooms past me to get to it first - and I was about 50 yards away. Ended up having to wait a while for them... Ok sorry for venting, the wife and I are still fairly new to this, got this boat in June of last year, but even then I had read up and knew the proper etiquette... and regulations... Ok so by the way, how come I cannot hit enter to create another paragraph when I post here? Lol, long day.

 

[MonacoMike]

Dead!!!

MM

 

[mistercomputerman]

I have had 4 boats. I trailered the first. That was enough for me and each of the others have been wet-slipped. I even rent a slip for the Waverunner to sit in all summer so I only have one in and one out at the ramp for it each year.

 

[SeaRide]

Well, just be thankful you were not behind them while launching as I am certain they transferred their buckets of KFC, Milwaukee's Best, plastic patio furniture and etc. from the truck to the canbote at the ramp rather than clearly marked staging area.

 

[spfortjohn]

That is why I dry store my boat. We have a public ramp down the bayou from our condo. Good place to sit and have a cocktail and watch the idiots

 

[Chris Nowell]

We trailered for our first few years of boating too and experienced everything from rude to violent on the ramps. After the first year we put our names on the waiting list for a slip but it took two years to get one. We don't use it as a permanent mooring but we do use it for a few days to a couple of weeks at a time. Being as I am an early morning person I can have the boat launched and tied up in it's slip before most people are even up. When it comes time to pull it out I simply wait for a Monday morning and just leave for work an hour early. It sure helps to live in a condo right downtown and only 5 blocks from the yacht club and 6 blocks to the boat launch. I'm pretty sure we planned it that way, at least the ADMIRAL planned it that way. I still miss my shop though. Don't know how long the wait lists are for moorage in your area but you might want to consider getting on a list. The problems at the launches are only going to get worse and parking will eventually be hard to come by too, if it isn't already. Good luck.

 

[AFD]

wait list is over 10 years now where i am for a mooring, it was 7 when i put my name in 6 years ago...still haven't heard. my grandparents still have 3 moorings right out in front of their dock down the cape that they wont give up because they have a couple of boats and use at least 2 every year. unfortunately the town will not allow anymore docks to be built by private residents so everyone who moves into the neighborhood complains and tries to use my family Dock. it gets really hectic when you have to interupt a family cookout in your back yard when people think that because they rent a house 4 blocks away your private property belongs to them. we have come back from a restaurant for dinner to find people drinking on the dock, we have come back from the vineyard on the formula late at night and had people hanging out on the dock try to tell us it was private and we couldn't use the dock (it's ours and private), we have come back to find boats just tied up pretty frequently. harbor master and police are called. boat is towed away but then you have to worry about people retaliating against you. people in this country just woke up one day with a undeserved sense of entitlement. I don't know where it came from but i don't like it.

 

[Chris Nowell]

Just hang in there for your turn at a slip. Our first couple of years were sub leases because once you work your way to the top of the wait list you qualify to sub lease the spots that the registered owners won't be using for one reason or another. It helps them recoup some of the yearly fees. When we finally qualified for our own slip we requested one close to the causeway so we could be near all the action. Well, within a few years the "action" turned in to "nuisance" and we ended up requesting a move to a spot way out near the end. So now we have a good 150 or so yards to hike out to our spot from the main gate, but wow, is it ever quiet out there. You eventually get to know all your neighbors too and soon find out that's why THEY are out there too. Besides, the view is way better and we're closer to the exit and entrance of the basin. Oh yeh, the Admiral just said "it's a must to have an on board head when you're way out here". Hope they call ya soon. Can you ask them where you are on the list now? Our move/wait list is posted online.

 

[Chris Nowell]

Just a thought,,, can you launch early like I do and ANCHOR your boat for a week or two in front of your grandparents' place? I don't think there are any laws preventing you from anchoring, as long as it's in an area that won't interfere with traffic.

 

[Uplate]

Which lake and where do you launch?. my daughter has a boat they launch at 7 points on Priest Lake. They say its getting crowded and have stories similar to yours. I am at Elm Hill and wet slip all year. Not sure that I would trailer a boat anymore, but it really has advantages of exploring new places.

 

[dburne]

Which lake and where do you launch?. my daughter has a boat they launch at 7 points on Priest Lake. They say its getting crowded and have stories similar to yours. I am at Elm Hill and wet slip all year. Not sure that I would trailer a boat anymore, but it really has advantages of exploring new places.

Our main lake is Percy Priest. We live in Murfreesboro, and Stewarts Creek is where we put in. It was busy last year, but this year has gotten crazy. Parking very hard to come by, way more pontoons, and way more rudeness. After we put in we cruise up to Elm Hill Marina to either eat breakfast, or lunch depending on how early or late we put in. Yesterday, we took my wife's daughter, her boyfriend and their kids, out for the day, We beached the boat at a decent spot to grill out hamburgers. Boats were coming by within 50 yards running on plane, and the wake was really banging my boat around. I would never run like that close to a beached boat. And I really do prefer trailering as we have the options of going to different lakes, which we do from time to time. Much easier to keep it clean I would think, I typically wash the outside while my wife cleans the interior. I have noticed going up the lake that Long Hunter Boat Ramp is hardly ever crowded, and also has a docking platform to load passengers. It would be about an extra 15 minutes for us to get there instead of Stewarts, but I am pretty certain I am going to try it next.

 

[dburne]

Well, just be thankful you were not behind them while launching as I am certain they transferred their buckets of KFC, Milwaukee's Best, plastic patio furniture and etc. from the truck to the canbote at the ramp rather than clearly marked staging area.

Yes they were doing that as well, I was waiting and waiting out in the water to pick up the family, I thought when they got done loading it they would leave which was not the case, they just kept sitting there. Their kids were running up and down the dock playing while they sat there After finally being able to idle in and pick up the rest of my family, that is when I found out from them that they were waiting on a friend who had not even arrived at the lake yet. Even my stepdaughter knew this was rude and she is not a boater... Heck I was new to this once about a year ago, but that kind of stuff is common sense to me, not something you need someone to tell you or read in a book! Heck even when I was learning to launch and load the boat on the trailer, I would try to wait till no one else was waiting to do so, just so I would not make them wait while I was getting the hang of it.

 

[dwna1a]

Stories like these are why I kept all of my boats in the water ALL season long. Starting from my first 18' till now with my 30'. I disliked the launch process and some of the folks around the ramp.

My wife the teacher says all etiquette went out the window as soon as parents stopped teaching it years ago

 

[BritLady]

My wife the teacher says all etiquette went out the window as soon as parents stopped teaching it years ago

She's correct there! Although, we deal mainly with the elderly in our biz and a lot of them have no idea of etiquette either so they would not be able to teach their children because they didn't know any My pet peeve is men (I can't call them gentlemen) you will often see in very nice restaurants eating with thier base ball hats on! Very bad manners! Then when finished they leave their cutlery miles apart on their plate.....they are supposed to be put together!

 

[beernutz]

She's correct there! Although, we deal mainly with the elderly in our biz and a lot of them have no idea of etiquette either so they would not be able to teach their children because they didn't know any My pet peeve is men (I can't call them gentlemen) you will often see in very nice restaurants eating with thier base ball hats on! Very bad manners! Then when finished they leave their cutlery miles apart on their plate.....they are supposed to be put together!

Here I have to part company with you as to me, etiquette is something that has a real positive or negative impact on someone else who is in my company. Knowing which fork to use to eat my salad or knowing what to properly do with my cutlery after I've finished eating, other than not throwing it at my dinner company, is not to me etiquette. If someone is offended by me violating some unwritten, or even unknown rules for dining behavior that is their problem not mine.

 

[BritLady]

Here I have to part company with you as to me, etiquette is something that has a real positive or negative impact on someone else who is in my company. Knowing which fork to use to eat my salad or knowing what to properly do with my cutlery after I've finished eating, other than not throwing it at my dinner company, is not to me etiquette. If someone is offended by me violating some unwritten, or even unknown rules for dining behavior that is their problem not mine.

The definition of etiquette is: good manners, protocol, custom, propriety, decorum.... The rules of conducting oneself when dining with others is not unwritten or unkown by many, just unread and not known by some...... BTW placing one's knife and fork together at the end of a meal is the universal signal that one has finished eating which is to assist those waiting on the table (common sense really). The title of this thread is, "what happened to etiquette"? Good manners are the basis of etiiquette whether one is dining with others or waiting to launch or retrieve your boat at the ramp. Good manners sets people apart from those that don't have any and those that do have them are generally much better received in this world than those that don't, which is why the OP of this thread started it....no manners or etiquette at the boat ramp.

 

[Last Dollar]

It's no wonder we see such behavior on the launch ramps when we see rude behavior on the highways heading to the ramps! People just act like jerks sometimes and courtesy is the farthest thing from their minds. I have always trailered my boats because I see what outdrives and hulls look like that are left in the water!!! It's nice having it sit in the yard under a roof. I can always do maintenance and cleaning during the week in preparation for a weekend. The launch ramp crowd is hard to deal with but if we get out by 10:00 AM it's usually not a problem. Coming back in later always helps with getting it out of the water. If a storm comes in we just find a cove and sit it out because everybody heads to the ramp at the same time. It's fun to sit nearby and watch all the crazies go at it. I've seen people display some really rude behavior on the ramps. Some guys will back it in the water and proceed to do engine maintenance. This really ticks me off.

 

[IanBat]

It's the same the world over, last time we put in at the ramp, we had 2 separate incidents with arrogant people. We were just shaking our heads.

2 lane boat ramp, they park in the middle of it, then decide to star untying it, then think about starting a motor they obviously haven't started in 3 years. Then can't get it off the trailer.

Then abuse me when I finally suggest maybe they could move over 2'. Finally I said get in your car, I'll get the boat off for you.

Oh, and this was a 10' tinny, and it was 6am! Not even the late morning crowd.


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[beernutz]

The definition of etiquette is: good manners, protocol, custom, propriety, decorum.... The rules of conducting oneself when dining with others is not unwritten or unkown by many, just unread and not known by some...... BTW placing one's knife and fork together at the end of a meal is the universal signal that one has finished eating which is to assist those waiting on the table (common sense really). The title of this thread is, "what happened to etiquette"? Good manners are the basis of etiiquette whether one is dining with others or waiting to launch or retrieve your boat at the ramp. Good manners sets people apart from those that don't have any and those that do have them are generally much better received in this world than those that don't, which is why the OP of this thread started it....no manners or etiquette at the boat ramp.

This is my last post on the matter as I don't want to hijack the thread. What you call universal, I call obscure, antiquated, and irrelevant. How can something be labeled as universal when I would guess at most no more than 1% of the population of the "civilized" world could name more than a few of these "rules" of dining etiquette you refer to?

Manners are not the same thing as etiquette in my opinion either. Manners are imo the general guidelines for how to respectfully interact with others. That has nothing to do with some de facto etiquette rules of behavior which frequently have no logical basis--your example of placing a knife and fork together being a case in point. I teach my children manners. I do not care a bit whether they know or follow anachronistic dining etiquette.

 

[beernutz]

It's the same the world over, last time we put in at the ramp, we had 2 separate incidents with arrogant people. We were just shaking our heads.

2 lane boat ramp, they park in the middle of it, then decide to star untying it, then think about starting a motor they obviously haven't started in 3 years. Then can't get it off the trailer.

Then abuse me when I finally suggest maybe they could move over 2'. Finally I said get in your car, I'll get the boat off for you.

Oh, and this was a 10' tinny, and it was 6am! Not even the late morning crowd.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

It is when you hit the trifecta of ignorance, stubbornness, and arrogance (though there isn't much practical difference between the last two), which it looks like you did, that you know you are really in for a delightful morning at the ramp.