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Your Boat, Your Friends and their s***


ah2oguy

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I am so fortunate. We have a nice circle of crew between around 8 to 10 boats. This has been going on for more than 40 years. On a Sunday afternoon with two or three boats, the crew may have 200 years of boating experience together. Literally.

We've been together so long, we all seamlessly crew to crew with zero issues. How lucky was I to hitch my wagon to this circle of friends since 2nd grade.

Steve B.

Edited by Steve B.
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7 hours ago, isellacuras said:

I used to have a list of rules. My friends even called me the boat nazi for a while. Now I just have fun and don't worry about the small stuff. As the captain, I try to limit behavior that will get someone hurt or break the boat but luckily I have a great group of friends that are respectful. If I don't like the way someone acts or they are out of control, they don't get invited back out. Our general rule is "don't break two rules at once" which is more referring to the law so we can limit our exposure to law enforcement. 

In the Military  "don't break two rules at Once" is referred as "Dont Compound Stupid"!!!

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No shoes, no pants, if you bring a cooler soft side only, bring your own towel,

kids need to have one parent on board, if kids on board no alcohol, 15 and under jackets at all times, if you can't swim jacket at all times, eating on swim deck/ table only.

we have set people to do jobs while docking and towing. 

Dont hurt the boat.

Edited by shadetreefab
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ahopkins22LSV
5 hours ago, Pnwrider said:

Damn, guess it's good to be the captain. I wouldn't want to be a guest on some of your boats. I try to treat our friends as guests. I invited them out after all, I'm not about to hit them with rules/lectures. No shoes, everything else goes within reason. Most of the people we have invited out, don't own a boat. I don't want them to associate boating with nazi rules, I want them to see fun on the water with family and friends. 

Agreed. It's a boat. Have fun on it!

I was very up tight when we first got ours though, now I am much more relaxed. It's not worth the stress. I don't have many rules now. Even allow red wine since my wife found sealed wine cups. Most of the people we have put have been coming out with us for a few years now so they know what the deal is. And if new people are invited, they typically ask what should we bring. So we mention please no spray sun screen and when we are getting ready to dock or anchor my wife explains no worries on needing to help. It's actually better if you just sit there and not grab anything lol.

I have never turned anyone down for wanting to help wipe the boat down though!

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9 hours ago, Pnwrider said:

Damn, guess it's good to be the captain. I wouldn't want to be a guest on some of your boats. I try to treat our friends as guests. I invited them out after all, I'm not about to hit them with rules/lectures. No shoes, everything else goes within reason. Most of the people we have invited out, don't own a boat. I don't want them to associate boating with nazi rules, I want them to see fun on the water with family and friends. 

The boat is a "toy"... albeit a very expensive toy.   With my Crownline (1997), I could be pretty easy going about it, and was.   With the new boat, I am determined not to go overboard with "rules" because I want to have fun.   There are some things I do to help mitigate issues:

  • We bring lots of towels.   We have found some MONSTER sized towels that I use to cover the sunpad when we are in a cove.   It is cooler, and it keeps protects the vinyl from sunscreen/other stains.  I bring enough towels that every seat in the boat can be covered if we want.  It is also nice if someone forgets (and they do).
  • Seatsaver... I had never heard of these until I came here.     Ordered one, will probably order another so I can have one in the bow, and another in the back corner.     Hope that protects the vinyl from seam splits.
  • I keep a BUNCH of sunscreen on the boat - various brands, and SPF.   All stuff that I know will not stain.    I just tell people I have it covered in case someone forgets...  I have never had a problem with a sunscreen stain (so far).
  • My dog DOES come on the boat (she is part of the family).   I know some would think I am crazy for doing that.   Her claws are always trimmed, and sanded.  See towels above... helps a lot.   Also looking at "Soft Paws", but have not tried that yet.
  • Cleaning supplies on the boat... in the even that we do have a spill (which we have), we are ready to clean before a stain can set.    A small spray bottle with some diluted simple green works pretty well on anything I have come upon so far.
  • Keeping stuff stowed when we are out... just keeping the floor open avoids a lot of "accidents" (stepping on a tube of sunscreen, dont ask me how I know that).

Do enough of this kind of stuff, and I really dont have to be as aggressive with the rules - and what I do have can be pretty simple (enough that I could put them on that one pager without being overly retentive).    Shoes off.  No glass.  Seated while in motion.  If someone forgets, I am still in a position to deal with it pretty easily.

 

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4 hours ago, JeffC said:

The boat is a "toy"... albeit a very expensive toy.   With my Crownline (1997), I could be pretty easy going about it, and was.   With the new boat, I am determined not to go overboard with "rules" because I want to have fun.   There are some things I do to help mitigate issues:

  • We bring lots of towels.   We have found some MONSTER sized towels that I use to cover the sunpad when we are in a cove.   It is cooler, and it keeps protects the vinyl from sunscreen/other stains.  I bring enough towels that every seat in the boat can be covered if we want.  It is also nice if someone forgets (and they do).
  • Seatsaver... I had never heard of these until I came here.     Ordered one, will probably order another so I can have one in the bow, and another in the back corner.     Hope that protects the vinyl from seam splits.
  • I keep a BUNCH of sunscreen on the boat - various brands, and SPF.   All stuff that I know will not stain.    I just tell people I have it covered in case someone forgets...  I have never had a problem with a sunscreen stain (so far).
  • My dog DOES come on the boat (she is part of the family).   I know some would think I am crazy for doing that.   Her claws are always trimmed, and sanded.  See towels above... helps a lot.   Also looking at "Soft Paws", but have not tried that yet.
  • Cleaning supplies on the boat... in the even that we do have a spill (which we have), we are ready to clean before a stain can set.    A small spray bottle with some diluted simple green works pretty well on anything I have come upon so far.
  • Keeping stuff stowed when we are out... just keeping the floor open avoids a lot of "accidents" (stepping on a tube of sunscreen, dont ask me how I know that).

Do enough of this kind of stuff, and I really dont have to be as aggressive with the rules - and what I do have can be pretty simple (enough that I could put them on that one pager without being overly retentive).    Shoes off.  No glass.  Seated while in motion.  If someone forgets, I am still in a position to deal with it pretty easily.

 

I am thinking I will use this sort of approach, the the "rules" being more about safety.  With my "new" boat, I really want to keep it nice, but also want everyone to have fun.

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On 4/15/2017 at 5:58 AM, RTS said:

No colored drinks, no Cheeze-Its.   I swear, you could use wet Cheeze-Its as mortar for building a brick wall.  Other than that...no real rules.  Everything gets eaten on the swim platform, anyway.  I once had a buddy leave a receipt on the engine cover.  It got wet, bled through, and left an exact copy of what he bought that day imprinted on the vinyl.  Thought I was going to have to look at that forever, but the sun took care of it...Magic Malibu Vinyl and all...

Yes, no Cheetos and no frozen Ding Dongs (trust me on this one). 

No shoes.

We keep a large supply of boat towels available for all.

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  • 4 weeks later...

We had a friend who at the last minute before getting on the boat sprayed her husband's feet with sun tan spray while he was standing on our vinyl dock.  Thought nothing of it.  About a week later, I noticed you could see an exact outline of Frank's feet on our vinyl dock.  About a year later, I noticed you could still see Frank's feet, clear as day, after I powerwashed.  Took me two more years and two more powerwashings for it to go away.  Kinda sad really, when Frank's feet disappeared.  It was something we pointed out to everyone when we asked them to please not use sun tan spray on our boat.  

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No shoes.  Never had anyone complain here, but we allow them on the tooner. 

I go with no tanning oil/sunblock with self tanner and have ample supply of other sunscreen if you didnt bring any.  Spray away if you stand on the swim platform and Ill put the boat in gear enough to blow it away from the boat.

No colored snacks/drinks during the day, but at night, have at it.  The boat wouldnt be the same without wine/sunset cruises and sunrise coffee cruises.

Mixed drinks need a lid.  Ive got at least 10 yeti-type cups for anyone that wants one for the day, all painted different colors.

No one uses my wakeboard (dont want to stretch out my bindings) but Ive got one for guests.

If youre new to the boat you have to pick the music for the first hour or so.  Nothing I hate more than people bitching about my music, Id much rather just listen to what you want instead. 

 

Im not hard up on any of these things and rarely need to say anything as everyone generally has common sense, but a few times Ive seen girls lathering on tanning oil and had to politely ask them not to only to get serious attitude back.  Those types of people are not often ones I invite and dont often get a second invite.

 

 

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On 4/16/2017 at 1:56 AM, Pnwrider said:

Damn, guess it's good to be the captain. I wouldn't want to be a guest on some of your boats. I try to treat our friends as guests. I invited them out after all, I'm not about to hit them with rules/lectures. No shoes, everything else goes within reason. Most of the people we have invited out, don't own a boat. I don't want them to associate boating with nazi rules, I want them to see fun on the water with family and friends. 

Yeah, every so often one of these threads get started.  It makes me realize how much fun can be had on our boat.  It's nice to be out with "boat" people that know the drill, but you simply change your expectations with those that don't.  Adjust as needed.  Provide instructions as needed.  Some kids will require more guidance, others won't.  Simple stuff.  There is not a single item I ban on my boat.  Smokes, drinks, skittles, I've had it all, and had a good time with it.  Adjust as necessary depending on the crew to stay safe.

The worst thing I had, was a kid that ran a 5k the morning before coming out with us.  Had his numbers written on the back of his calves in sharpie.  He lotioned up, and sat in the rear seat.  When he got up, the numbers were inked into the vinyl, in reverse.  Took me several different chemicals to remove, and I thought for sure I was stuck with them.  Acetone (very lightly) finally did the trick.

I guess I will say that if someone said "no life jacket for me" I'd call them out and it would pretty shortly turn into "Dude I'm simply not pulling you without a jacket, which one do you want".  And I have had to tell people not to grab the dock, including pounding a hand that is on the gunnel (of my own kids, when they were little) and say "the dock will crush and break it, and hurt 20x worse than that".

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I am very anal about our boat. But I am pretty relaxed about rules with others. All I expect is for a little respect if I do make a request. If you can't handle that than you're not invited back. Pretty simple. The only real rules that stand on our boat is....... no shoes and no cigarettes. If people don't want to leave shoes on the dock I'm fine storing them on the boat. Things that could potentially cause permanent damage are a no go. If it can be easily cleaned up, why stress about it. You can be anal about having a clean boat while being relaxed about the rules on the boat. I keep a good coat of wax on the fiberglass and 303 on the interior. With those 2 things, a simple wipe down at the end of the day makes the boat look new again. Wine, strawberries, etc. 303 seems to make that kind of stuff an easy cleanup.I am a stress bag at the best of times. Being at the lake and on our boat is my "release." My wife has done a good job at making me realize what is worth stressing about and what isn't. Enjoying time on the water with friends and family is not one of those times. Not to mention my 2 and 4 year old children absolutely love being on the boat. I want them to be that way for years to come. So we try to make it a great experience for them as well. My 2 year old is already talking about how she wants to "surf with Daddy this year." That's what this is all about IMO.

 

Edit: And there's the life jacket rule on our boat as well. It goes without saying, but kids have to always be wearing them. Heck, our kids aren't even allowed to be anywhere near the dock or the water without them. They know this, and they respect it. On more than one occasion we've started making our way down to the dock and the kids have reminded me they don' t have their vests on. Adults aren't allowed behind the boat without one. We've never had anybody argue this.

Edited by MaliWop
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We are very relaxed when it comes to rules on our boat. We enjoy having an older boat so stains and spills aren't the end of the world! My niece and nephew are 3 and 6 so there are spills and we clean them up and move on with the day. 

We have family and very close friends with us that have been out with us more than once. We will on occasion have a newbie out and they sit patiently until we get out into open water.

Most people know if they are coming to the lake with us they will be learning to surf or at the very least jumping off the cliffs. We try to keep everybody involved!

I'm the youngest of four boys in my family so we have plenty of hands for docking or tying up, and everyone does their part when the time comes. 

We allow pretty much anything on the boat, mostly just snack foods and canned or bottled drinks. We have never had anyone try to smoke so I don't think we have had to establish that rule yet. 

Alcohol is always on the boat but nobody gets drunk or out of hand. That helps a ton!

In conclusion, mostly everyone that comes out with us is very responsible and very respectful. When that is the case there is almost no need for all of the rules, it should be common sense.

 

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On 4/15/2017 at 0:38 PM, isellacuras said:

I used to have a list of rules. My friends even called me the boat nazi for a while. Now I just have fun and don't worry about the small stuff. As the captain, I try to limit behavior that will get someone hurt or break the boat but luckily I have a great group of friends that are respectful. If I don't like the way someone acts or they are out of control, they don't get invited back out. Our general rule is "don't break two rules at once" which is more referring to the law so we can limit our exposure to law enforcement. 

I must be caving in as well, we had Doritos and Sodas (Dr. P/Coke) on the boat last week.   For the most part for us it is definitely no shoes and just use common sense.  I also put a lot of towels out when we eat so people have something to wiper there hands on...  I want everyone to have fun and not be paranoid about accidentally spilling something.  For the most part we never have any problems... although now all my kids are teenage and above which has helped.

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no red drinks except wine ... I like it too once in a while ...

dry stuff in one compartment - wet in the other ...

and don't bring towels - I have so many from I don't know who that I always tell people to leave the towel in the car or at the dock for the dogs but not to bring one.  Part of loading is putting all the dry stuff in and everything in reverse when coming off and my friends know where to put it (including their life jackets and boards for those who leave it here ...

one thing I do get anal about is - hand rope/pull rope back in.  Got once a surf rope into my prop - just not worth it and pretty much ends the day.  So if you're not driving - help with boards and ropes - the dogs don't know how but probably would if they could

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14 minutes ago, Monkeybutt said:

So if you're not driving - help with boards and ropes

See, I'd rather they not handle the rope.  They likely will roll it up wrong so that it knots up and does not have a hanger to it, or they try to bring it in while I've started a strategic turn that will put it right to the rider and they are going to mess that up, or they are simply unaware of the spinning prop and what it will do to human tissue if the prop grabs the rope and the tissue is in the way.  Boards - yes, grab em. 

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5 minutes ago, Michigan boarder said:

See, I'd rather they not handle the rope.  They likely will roll it up wrong so that it knots up and does not have a hanger to it, or they try to bring it in while I've started a strategic turn that will put it right to the rider and they are going to mess that up, or they are simply unaware of the spinning prop and what it will do to human tissue if the prop grabs the rope and the tissue is in the way.  Boards - yes, grab em. 

I agree with the rope but with the boards I like to also have someone know what they're doing to grab them. It's so easy to put them in the racks wrong or bang them around. 

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On 4/15/2017 at 11:09 PM, Steve B. said:

I am so fortunate. We have a nice circle of crew between around 8 to 10 boats. This has been going on for more than 40 years. On a Sunday afternoon with two or three boats, the crew may have 200 years of boating experience together. Literally.

We've been together so long, we all seamlessly crew to crew with zero issues. How lucky was I to hitch my wagon to this circle of friends since 2nd grade.

Steve B.

It's so rewarding to boat with boaters.  Our ski team operates like that, we've gone out on our personal boats for the day just as friends and man it's nice to boat with people that know the drill. 

Muskegon Lake is about 4,000 acres, with several marinas and cool bars on it.  A few times a year guys will take 24' pontoons out with a boat load of women for a "girls night".  The girls want to boat but don't want to mess with the cover, fueling up, docking, anchoring, drinking/driving, etc.  I am proud to say that I am usually a "go-to" guy that will get a call to help the captain.  I like just being a part of any of that stuff.

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When getting on the boat, people hand me their stuff and I put it away, that sets the tone. I don't like having things flying around or out of the boat. When we anchor out it is a free for all. Coolers and food comes out (no cheetos or gold fish), kids jumping off the swim platform, towels on the tower for drying and shade, etc. It's a pleasure item made for fun, that's how we use it. When we go back underway, I just make mention to put it back where you found it. Then we sort it all back at the dock.

The only thing I get crucial with is screwing around with the tow rope. I don't want to see anyone get ripped up by it. 

 

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It is nice to see that everyone has certain ways they like to run their boat and not let the guests run the boat for you.

Really like the idea of the captain/owner getting in the boat first and putting things away for everyone to set the tone and not come across as a jerk for asking later.

 

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I just play Sandlers "Uncle Donnie" real loud while loading up. Hmmm haven't had a problem yet.

Seriously only real rules are safety, jackets, docking, in while moving, etc...

On shoes people tend to follow our lead.

If you hand your 2 year old a Hi-C fruit punch juice box and a bag of gold fish we are going to have a talk. Yes, this did happen.

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As for red/staining drinks, I have a small bucket on board. If someone cracks an offensively colored beverage, I grab my bucket and fill it with water and sit in on the engine cover. I let them know the bucket is essentially a fire bucket and should the drink be spilled it will be treated as a flaming inferno. I've only had to play firefighter once. One common attendee likes her wine, a lot. She brings a kid's sippy cup, it is appreciated. 

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