How do you folks communicate with your crew?
I would think communication would be important for dropping and weighing anchor as well as docking.
Loud speaker/PA would be out of the question for us. Do you have walkie talkies?
Head sets of sorts? How do you do it?
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?
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Never wrecked a boat while awake or sober
I rarely have a crew it's normally just the wife and myself. We have a set of headsets but haven't used them in years. She runs the lines and knows exactly what to do. Usually just a hand jester is all that's needed. Sometimes I will give a quick toot on horn to tell her I am ready.
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1991 70' Pluckebaum Baymaster 10' AB RIB 25hp Suzuki
I'm similar to Boatlover. Usually solo or with wife and kids. I rarely have "guests" help with crew duties, too often things that ae usually routine tend to get forgotten if I get to many others involved. With my wife or kids I gather them in cabin or on deck and review their jobs and I watch carefully, directing only when necessary. Our boat is arranged such that I can easily take two steps from the helm in a given direction and easily communicate with anyone onboard for any corrections or changes in plans.
We just talk back and forth. My helm is right up front so talking to someone on the front deck is simple. If we are in close quarters (in the marina) I like to have someone on the back deck just to give me a heads up. But, even at that I find out what is behind me before I leave the dock. I have a good idea of where things are. I don't really worry about other boats behind me as I'm not going fast and they will get out of my way.
We also have very good dock neighbors so when one of us is coming back in there are typically several people on the dock waiting to help.
I will say if I do have someone on the back I instruct them not to YELL things like "watch out". lol Try to give me some info. Like boat or buoy or dock and how many feet. That way I don't overreact and make a sudden move one way or the other. It's hard to do sometimes but with a big boat the smoother the better. Gunning it either forward or reverse just causes more trouble.
I used my VFH radio, which was installed in the lower helm, with a Ram Mic on the upper. It had an intercom feature.
That way, when I was on the upper helm and the wife was inside, I could switch to the intercom feature and say:
WIFE!! BRING ME ANOTHER BEER!!!!
When docking I was always on at the lower station, with a window open. But most of the time, we were so in tuned with each other, no words were used in docking.
We had it down to a science.
I also had a a PA / Speaker, but used it for other things, like speaking to a passing boat, or a shore crowd for fun.
I had a windlass for anchoring, the wife was next to me to flip the switch, while I maned the two engine controls.
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05/16/2012 08:34:09 PM
