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1 hour + on waterpoint, am I paranoid?

TheWilk

By TheWilk
in General Boating

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TheWilk

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I'm in a large, deep water marina. I share a waterpoint with about 6 other boats, 3-4 of them usually occupied. One neighbour has been leaving his hose connected to the tap, with the tap open, for well over an hour almost everyday. The first time I found he'd done this I asked him if he wasn't worried about sinking his boat but he just said the hose was shut off at the other end.

 

Now I've only owned one of those new fangled hoses for a short time myself, and I've never had a washing machine on board (which I can only guess is the reason for such use) so I can't get my head around the risk involved here. The hose just gets left on and forgot about, when I need the waterpoint I feel fine about disconnecting it because it's always bursting out all over the place. I guess it only affects me if he sinks and takes everyone on the pontoon down with him, but how likely is this to happen? My gut is screaming "danger!" but no one else seems bothered.

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MtB Veteran II

MtBDonate to Canal World

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Ah yes. This was another reason for me leaving Thames & Kennet Marina.

 

There was one tap for each two boats. The neighbour I shared a tap with was a liveaboard and he kept his hose connected 24/7. He'd installed a float valve in his water tank.

 

A minor irritation but an irritation all the same.

 

 

Mtb

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Dharl Rising Star

Dharl

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Seen a few of these type of hose connectors on campsites. Simular thing was guy had a hose permantly hooked up to a tap with the other end in his watertank by his caravan. The other end had a float stopcock on it so when the tank was full it turned it off. It wasnt a problem for me as other taps where avaiable, but it is very inconsiderate of the guy!

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TheWilk Collaborator

TheWilk

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It's not too inconsiderate, I can hear when the hose isn't open because it drips into the dock at the waterpoint , and I have no qualms about disconnecting it and they've never said anything to me for doing that. I just worry if part of his plumbing was to fail, it is under pressure after all, and he was to forget about it overnight he'd be swamped.

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boathunter Rising Star

boathunter

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Ah yes. This was another reason for me leaving Thames & Kennet Marina.

 

There was one tap for each two boats. The neighbour I shared a tap with was a liveaboard and he kept his hose connected 24/7. He'd installed a float valve in his water tank.

 

A minor irritation but an irritation all the same.

 

 

Mtb

You moved? A couple of £ would have sorted it?

y_hose_splitter_2.jpg

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Higgs Influencer

Higgs

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It's not too inconsiderate, I can hear when the hose isn't open because it drips into the dock at the waterpoint , and I have no qualms about disconnecting it and they've never said anything to me for doing that. I just worry if part of his plumbing was to fail, it is under pressure after all, and he was to forget about it overnight he'd be swamped.

 

Maybe, maybe not. But, it's not your problem. The drip alone would annoy me, it would definitely be turned off at the tap. If I had to use the tap and disconnect their hose it would stay on the ground. The owner is relying on other people's good natures to keep him connected. It would be reasonable to forget to pay the hose owner any deference.

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TheWilk Collaborator

TheWilk

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OK, good, I am just being paranoid! I've not actually looked at where the hose goes, but on one boat I used to work on the inlet was next to the engine bay so I thought the overflow might run into there.

 

If I just thought it was inconsiderate I'd have said something by now. I might try and give him a heads up if I ever hear he's going cruising.

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mark99 Veteran II

mark99

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Reminds me of a hose I found underwater near a lock. I thought I would remove it as it was a prop hazard. Upon heaving on it it arose from the canal and shot across to a perm moored boat on the far side of canal. He was too lazy to move across canal to water point!

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Dharl Rising Star

Dharl

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The O.P. has a very selfish neigbour, it shouldn't be her job to diconnect his hose, it shouldn't have been connected at all, apart from when he's filling his watertank.

 

Peter.

 

Fully agree Peter,

 

that was the point I was trying to make in a roundabout way! IF you are topping your tanks off then when completed you should remove the hose and stow it away. Not only is it considerate for the other users of that facility but also its good seamanship/boatmanship practice as well as stopping accidents from happening like tripping over the hose!

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Naughty Cal Veteran II

Naughty Cal

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1 tap for 6 boats sounds a bit on the low side!

 

Doesnt change the fact that the chap in question is being selfish but would it be worth requesting with the marina that they might add an extra tap?

 

We can struggle with 1 tap for 2 boats at our marina on busy weekends blink.png

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mayalld Veteran II

mayalld

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Its a wonder someone hasn't suggested disconnecting it and cutting the connector off .

maybe asking marina for another tap would stir them into action

 

People do seem to have strong views on this!

 

I'm struggling to see it as such a huge issue. It isn't like hogging a public WP, because in this case, the expectation is that each boat with use of the tap can use it from their mooring.

 

If the boat uses a lot of water and tops up regularly, it might well be that he sees little point in unrigging the hose.

 

So far as I am concerned, provided the boater who leaves his hose attached accepts that others will disconnect him, and that they don't have to reconnect him it isn't an issue.

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WJM Veteran

WJM

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If you have a tank with a ballcock valve inside your boat and it is left permanently connected to the water main then a burst pipe will drain continuously into the hull of your boat. If you happen to be away for a few days then you will probably return to a sunken boat.

 

Darwin's theory is alive and well and living on a boat!

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Alan de Enfield Veteran II

Alan de Enfield

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If you have a tank with a ballcock valve inside your boat and it is left permanently connected to the water main then a burst pipe will drain continuously into the hull of your boat. If you happen to be away for a few days then you will probably return to a sunken boat.

 

Darwin's theory is alive and well and living on a boat!

 

I'm not seeing that :

 

You have a hose pipe connecting the tap to a hoze-lok type push fit fitting attached to a Ball cock.

 

If the ball cock fails and the water goes "free-flow" then the tank fills up, overflows and runs out of the scuppers in the normal way.

If the hose should split then the leak is on the outside of the boat and will just fill up the marina.

 

It doesn't appear to me to be any different to a domestic situation.

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