Respect the boat!

[Geko45]

Took some friends out on the boat yesterday. Just a quick run down to a lakeside restaurant for dinner and back. It was me, my buddy from work, his girlfriend and her two kids. Well, for some reason my buddy thought he needed to bring a cooler with snacks and drinks for the kids for this short trip. Fine, no problem.

Well, on the way there the little one was left unattended with a full bag of chips which ended up completely emptied onto the carpet in the bow seating area. The mom did try to pickup what she could, but they quickly ended up as trampled soggy bits that you can't pick up with your hands. Grrr, frustrating, but accidents happen (I've got to go back out there and vacuum those up in a bit).

On the way back, the same little one starts playing with the front locker hatch. Open, slam shut... Open, slam shut... You get the picture. I ask them to take it easy up there (my buddy and kids were in the front). What does my buddy do? He tries to physically climb into the freakin locker!? He seemed more concerned with making sure his girlfriend's kids thought he was cool than not damaging my boat. It's built tough so I'm sure it's fine, but still... WTH!?

What is with people and boats such that some turn into complete drooling idiots the moment they set foot on one?

:facepalm:

 

[Another retired guy]

Re: Respect the boat!

There always has been, and always will be, people like that
I guess you won't be inviting them back anytime soon!

 

[bear_69cuda]

Re: Respect the boat!

Bummer dude,

Never had it like that, but one of the reasons I sold my Cobalt 226, it was way to nice, and I was always stressed out about everything.... Most incredible boat I've ever owned, but now I have a little Key West CC, that you could, spill, bleed, sand, dirt, rain, vomit, fish guts, whatever and rinse it all out the scupper drains... The most stress free boat I can imagine... Maybe lay out some basic rules for friends/family before you're underway?

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Respect the boat!

first, those same people would act the same way at your house.

second, bearcuda has it right--unless you want to be as constricted as sitting in a fancy living room, and not relaxing as on a deck or poolside, get a boat that's made for outdoors. (that would apply to the potato chips, not the locker). or look at it another way, soem houses aren't set up (decorated and furnished) for young children* and some are. In your view, your boat isn't.

third, I have never had a problem telling other people's children what to do. Some are scared of me, some might not like me, all respect me. some whiney spoiling moms didn't like it either; they were also amazed at the results. I am not a bully or a screamer, but they get the point.

*I child proofed my house but they keep getting back in!

 

[spoilsofwar]

Re: Respect the boat!

You invited people with kids, you should be ready for antics. I'm guessing you dont have any of your own? Or maybe they're old enough that you've forgotten what its like when they're little...

I was one of those people perpetually annoyed with little kids tearing everything apart - then I had one of my own. Now I understand that even though parents usually try their best (the good parents, anyway), children will be children. They are not going to sit quietly with their hands in their laps for more then about 5 seconds. My 2 1/2 year old daughter causes me plenty of stress on my brand new boat, with the crumbs, the spills, the wanting to open and close the cuddy door endlessly... So I removed the snap in carpet, and I secure the cuddy door fully open. You adapt.

Remember, its just a boat. Your family and friends come first. And if they really are downright destructive and the parents totally apathetic, you know not to invite them again.

 

[Geko45]

Re: Respect the boat!

You guessed right, I don't have kids. But I have nine nieces and nephews and do understand that kids will be kids. I do however expect adults to be adults.

Why bring a cooler of chips and drinks for a 15 minute ride to a restaraunt where they will eat DINNER? Why leave a six year old with a full sized open bag of chips? Why goad them on with more antics rather than try to keep them in their seats while moving? You wouldn't do any of these things for a 15 minute ride in someone else's car? Why in someone else's boat?

I should add that I had just spent 3 hours cleaning the boat from bow to stern. Not for this occasion, it just needed it. The dinner trip was spur of the moment.

At any rate, after an hour and a half out here, all the chips are cleaned up. They had blown into every nook and cranny and had turned into a soggy mess.

 

[rbh]

Re: Respect the boat!

You want a clean boat?
Do not invite, people with food and kids or pets.

 

[spoilsofwar]

Re: Respect the boat!

Why bring a cooler of chips and drinks for a 15 minute ride to a restaraunt where they will eat DINNER? Why leave a six year old with a full sized open bag of chips? Why goad them on with more antics rather than try to keep them in their seats while moving? You wouldn't do any of these things for a 15 minute ride in someone else's car? Why in someone else's boat?

You bring food because kids are hungry one minute and not the next, and there is no rhyme or reason to it. I don't think I've ever left the house with my daughter without a snack and something to drink for her with me, even if she had just eaten. The concept of breakfast/lunch/dinner and "meals" in the adult sense mean nothing to little kids. They just know they want food NOW if they are hungry, and waiting 30 seconds to get their hands on something is not an acceptable option... Would it have been better if your buddy had brought nothing for the kids, and you had the privilege of hearing one whine, cry, or scream bloody murder for 15 mins because he was hungry? Personally, if kids are on my boat (never happened beside my own, yet), I am gonna have food for them to eat, immediately, potential mess be damned.

Don't get me wrong, I feel your pain. I also think it sounds like your buddy wasn't being very responsible. I also think that most of what I've said applies to children younger then those you're talking about.. 6 is old enough to have had decent manners and behavior instilled in him. But remember, your buddy isn't their dad, and he is probably trying to come off as a "fun guy" to them. And mom is probably trying not to seem like a desperate single mother and a nag in front of both you and him.

PS: keeping them in their seats, only works with restraints I doubt you've got any of those on your boat.

 

[rivermouse]

Re: Respect the boat!

when they are never invited again they may figure it out. Nothing you can do at this point.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Respect the boat!

You invited them.

It's not their boat and they don't have to worry about cleaning or fixing it.

It was a lapse in your own better judgement to invite people with small children on your boat... just be glad that one of them didn't puke or get a case of the Hershey squirts while y'all were out.

 

[coastalrichard]

Re: Respect the boat!

You want a clean boat?
Do not invite, people with food and kids or pets.

Or ME!

 

[Geko45]

Re: Respect the boat!

It was a lapse in your own better judgement to invite people with small children on your boat... just be glad that one of them didn't puke or get a case of the Hershey squirts while y'all were out.

I disagree. It would be one thing if we had spent a day on the lake, I'd expect to have to do a thorough cleaning after. However, when a 15 minute trip leaves the boat in a state of complete disaster then I think the kids (kid) are outta control and the adults are being irresponsible.

I'd have been less annoyed if one of them had puked from motion sickness. That just happens. No one's to blaim for that. It would have probably been easier to clean up too.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Respect the boat!

At least the uncaring peeps were guests. Less than an hour ago, I went to Kmart. A Harley was sitting in front. When I came out a little kid, maybe five or six was sitting on it and Mom was taking cell pics. Then Dad stepped up and straddled the bike with the kid on the saddle as Mom snapped more pics. I was waiting for a big, hairy biker (I know, I'm stereotyping) to come out of the store and start beating on Dad, but alas, it didn't happen.

What has happened to respecting others peoples property?

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Respect the boat!

However, when a 15 minute trip leaves the boat in a state of complete disaster then I think the kids (kid) are outta control and the adults are being irresponsible.

I'm surprised you expected anything other than this... from what I've seen out in public these days, this is the norm.

I'm surprised when I see well behaved children these days and actually notice it more than the ill behaved children because it's so rare.

 

[sasto]

Re: Respect the boat!

Awww shucks! I once tried to captain a sportfishing charter boat. I didn't have a choice on who came onboard. I lasted less than a year. The adults were the ones to worry about. Most were on vacation. They were here to have some fun, and some of it they would never do at home. Most were high powered and hardcore men. Get a group of them together, add alcohol, no food, a few big fish to tire them out, four foot rollers, then seasickness.....Oh heck, I've been one of them too myself.

You will learn many things over the years about boating, Geko, and something new every trip out. Point is, there will be many times when you may take a friend out that has never expierenced a day on the water as you do. Sometimes they get carried away. It's their playground....and you are the lifeguard.

I wouldn't hesitate giving this friend another ride. Explain this is serious business, and you have alot of responsibility on your hands. They must do as you say at all times. Then a day will come when you never have to give an order again. Maybe suggest snacks as grapes, carrots, fruit sticks, gummy gears.....I don't really know....but you get the hint.

Give him a job and responsibility. Clean the interior after a trip. Give the young'ns a job too. Maybe put them in charge of the lifepreservers or a throw ring. They may learn to enjoy and respect your boat....as you do.

Good Luck!

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Respect the boat!

*I child proofed my house but they keep getting back in!

aint that the truth. Aint life grand on a pontoon

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Respect the boat!

Here's a helpfull hint... just a couple of drops of paragoric in a childs juice drink while on a boat quiets them down a lot.

They don't want to eat or drink much of anything else, they just want to fall asleep to the drone of the engine.

 

[sasto]

Re: Respect the boat!

Here's a helpfull hint... just a couple of drops of paragoric in a childs juice drink while on a boat quiets them down a lot.

They don't want to eat or drink much of anything else, they just want to fall asleep to the drone of the engine.

Hmmmm.....Now I understand why my folks kept that stuff onhand. :facepalm:

 

[NYBo]

Re: Respect the boat!

The chips were a bad choice by the parents, but the moving around and such while underway is a safety issue. A pre-cruise talk about safety and following the skipper's order without questioning is obviously needed with this family, and a good idea with any passengers. So what if you end up looking like Captain Bligh? It's your boat and therefore their safety is your responsibility. Anyone who objects can walk the plank, i.e. the dock back to the parking lot.

 

[spoilsofwar]

Re: Respect the boat!

Here's a helpfull hint... just a couple of drops of paragoric in a childs juice drink while on a boat quiets them down a lot.

They don't want to eat or drink much of anything else, they just want to fall asleep to the drone of the engine.

Probably you're just being funny, but its a Schedule III controlled substance and only available with an RX, since... well, most of my life.