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LMAO at Marina Yesterday
Willhound
Member Posts: 4,188 ✭✭✭✭✭
Spent the day yesterday in the storage yard working on the boat. Had a couple of good laughs.
Heard what sounded like a 10 ton truck backing into the yard which was just freshly covered in crushed gravel last fall. I can hear tires spinning, cursing (in Russian I believe) and repeated forward and reverse movements. Finally into sight comes an empty tandem trailer with the rear wheels locked solid making trenches deep enough to plant potatoes in. After about a half hour he gets it into an empty spot. Trying to be helpful I wander over as he's disconnecting and ask whether he has electric or surge brakes (I suspected surge) and he replies "Don't know". I mention that if surge there's a pin he can place in the coupling to keep the brakes from locking in reverse. Gives me a wild look and starts muttering in Russian again, so I walk away. Don't know how he ever managed to back down the ramp with a boat on it.
An hour later the guy that is stored next to me shows up and starts taking the tarps off his older SeaRay 270. Not big on maintenance this guy, and cheap. We often catch him in the middle of the night hauling in 5 gallon cans of gas and dumping them into his boat (a big no-no around here). Won't pay for shrink wrap and doesn't bother getting a big enough tarp to wrap the entire boat, so once the tarps are off he climbs in and I hear a yell followed by cursing and a small scuffle ensues. Out ambles a young raccoon that had found the half open boat an enticing place to set up home. Had clawed and eaten all the seats and upholstery and crapped everywhere. I know this guy a bit as he's been two slips down from me for the last 3 years so after he calms down a bit I comment "Geez, that's too bad, maybe check with your insurance company". At first he smiles, but then looks dismayed. Because we were delayed launching due to Covid he had pulled his insurance at the beginning of the month to try and save a whole one months payment, probably about $45.
Gonna cost him a lot more than that.
Third guy shows up with entire family in tow. We're supposed to be keeping our distance but he's letting his kids run all over while he hauls out a full size BBQ from out of the back of the SUV and starts cooking lunch. Again, a big no-no with all the boats in the vicinity. After a bit he takes off and comes back with his pressure washer and eyes up the hose sitting coiled by the gate. The hose is there mostly for marina staff to use to test run boats on muffs. There's a small service building with toilets and showers but it only has a shallow ground water well with a pump so the water isn't meant to be a free for all. Takes a toll on the pump and the well. I've been around long enough and they trust me, so I have the combination to the building and also know how to open up the crawl space inside to get under the building, hook up the hose and run the pump. It's used sparingly and once finished, disconnected and shut back off.
Buddy hooks up the pressure washer gets it all ready and then ambles over to the building only to find that the hose runs inside with no way to turn it on outside. He comes back complaining and asks me about it. I feign ignorance because I don't want to screw up a good thing and let him know he has to ask at the office about using it. Marina staff comes over, takes one look at the flaming BBQ and kids running amok and basically tells him to pack up and get off the property.
Our location just north of Toronto means a lot of city dwellers in the marina. And the new owner's have been advertising like crazy to get new members (I get it, it's a business) but most of them are brand new boaters and most don't have a lick of common sense. We refer to them as the Cidiots.. and we also give them large berth out on the lake.
Edit: Ok, I'll acknowledge I shouldn't generalize, there are a lot of decent knowledgeable folks in urban settings. We just seem to get a lot of the dumb ones.
Heard what sounded like a 10 ton truck backing into the yard which was just freshly covered in crushed gravel last fall. I can hear tires spinning, cursing (in Russian I believe) and repeated forward and reverse movements. Finally into sight comes an empty tandem trailer with the rear wheels locked solid making trenches deep enough to plant potatoes in. After about a half hour he gets it into an empty spot. Trying to be helpful I wander over as he's disconnecting and ask whether he has electric or surge brakes (I suspected surge) and he replies "Don't know". I mention that if surge there's a pin he can place in the coupling to keep the brakes from locking in reverse. Gives me a wild look and starts muttering in Russian again, so I walk away. Don't know how he ever managed to back down the ramp with a boat on it.
An hour later the guy that is stored next to me shows up and starts taking the tarps off his older SeaRay 270. Not big on maintenance this guy, and cheap. We often catch him in the middle of the night hauling in 5 gallon cans of gas and dumping them into his boat (a big no-no around here). Won't pay for shrink wrap and doesn't bother getting a big enough tarp to wrap the entire boat, so once the tarps are off he climbs in and I hear a yell followed by cursing and a small scuffle ensues. Out ambles a young raccoon that had found the half open boat an enticing place to set up home. Had clawed and eaten all the seats and upholstery and crapped everywhere. I know this guy a bit as he's been two slips down from me for the last 3 years so after he calms down a bit I comment "Geez, that's too bad, maybe check with your insurance company". At first he smiles, but then looks dismayed. Because we were delayed launching due to Covid he had pulled his insurance at the beginning of the month to try and save a whole one months payment, probably about $45.
Gonna cost him a lot more than that.
Third guy shows up with entire family in tow. We're supposed to be keeping our distance but he's letting his kids run all over while he hauls out a full size BBQ from out of the back of the SUV and starts cooking lunch. Again, a big no-no with all the boats in the vicinity. After a bit he takes off and comes back with his pressure washer and eyes up the hose sitting coiled by the gate. The hose is there mostly for marina staff to use to test run boats on muffs. There's a small service building with toilets and showers but it only has a shallow ground water well with a pump so the water isn't meant to be a free for all. Takes a toll on the pump and the well. I've been around long enough and they trust me, so I have the combination to the building and also know how to open up the crawl space inside to get under the building, hook up the hose and run the pump. It's used sparingly and once finished, disconnected and shut back off.
Buddy hooks up the pressure washer gets it all ready and then ambles over to the building only to find that the hose runs inside with no way to turn it on outside. He comes back complaining and asks me about it. I feign ignorance because I don't want to screw up a good thing and let him know he has to ask at the office about using it. Marina staff comes over, takes one look at the flaming BBQ and kids running amok and basically tells him to pack up and get off the property.
Our location just north of Toronto means a lot of city dwellers in the marina. And the new owner's have been advertising like crazy to get new members (I get it, it's a business) but most of them are brand new boaters and most don't have a lick of common sense. We refer to them as the Cidiots.. and we also give them large berth out on the lake.
Edit: Ok, I'll acknowledge I shouldn't generalize, there are a lot of decent knowledgeable folks in urban settings. We just seem to get a lot of the dumb ones.
"Knot Quite Shore" - 2000 FV270 (Sold)
2018 Cherokee 39RL Land Yacht (Sorry...)
2018 Cherokee 39RL Land Yacht (Sorry...)
Comments
What a day!