Never ever will i do this.

[Ron T]

Working on deck at my marina and I heard a woman crying, went dockside and asked if I could help. She had just come off her boat heading for her car with a arm load of boat junk. She had her car keys in hand to push the auto door lock. Going up the ramp she slipped and reach out to grab the rail. That is when her keys left her hands and hit the water. Mobile phone in car. a big 550 MB. Just locked boat and key also on key chain. So I gave her my mobile, once we were on land and she called her husband. From her face, not a good call. He would be down in three to four hours with spare keys. I have always put my keys in my pocket prior to getting off my boat or coming on to dock. She stayed on my boat until her husband finally came down over 4 hours later. I just left the area. Now I zip my pocket also. Lesson learned.

 

[timjet]

I keep a spare set of boat keys, entrance and engine start, in a hidden place on the boat. Car key another matter. Maybe I should keep a set permanently on the boat.

 

[psneeld]

also no paper/cheap plastic bags without hands underneath, women positively close their bags, guys take phones out of loose shirt pockets.

 

[Skinny]

I leave my keys in a cockpit locker with the door locked. If someone wants in bad enough, they will get in. Locks just keep honest people honest. Plus that is why I pay insurance. Old Derek used to get bent out of shape when leaving trucks, houses, boats, behind...new Derek says F it because that is why I pay my monthly "in case **** happens" bill.


Sorry to hear that this woman had a bad day. The first dinghy ride out to the mooring I realized that the keys could easily slip out of my pocket. I then proceeded to buy a floaty for my car keys

 

[Conrad]

And the 550's usually have keyless go, which means that you put the key in your pocket or purse and it will unlock your doors via proximity. No need to carry the key(s) in your hand at all.

 

[Donsan]

And the 550's usually have keyless go, which means that you put the key in your pocket or purse and it will unlock your doors via proximity. No need to carry the key(s) in your hand at all.

Betcha she had the key out to open the trunk door if she was carrying boat stuff.

 

[Carolena]

Davis Key Bouy is a great float for keys that isn't nearly as large as the foam floats. No luck trying to get it off the bottom? We've dropped stuff in the slip before, and in 10 ft of water were able to retrive by taking a fish net and extending the handle by attaching it to a dock pole with duct tape. Lost a phone in the drink a couple weeks ago - had it in the breast pocket of my fleece jacket and it fell out as I bent over to undue a dockline. I awlays have that pocket zipped, except for that day. Didn't bother trying to get it back, as it wasn't in a waterproof case. I was a little upset but remembering that one of my friends has lost FOUR top of the line iPhones that way just this year made me feel better. My phone wasn't that expensive.

 

[Carolena]

And the 550's usually have keyless go, which means that you put the key in your pocket or purse and it will unlock your doors via proximity. No need to carry the key(s) in your hand at all.

Yep, and those key fobs are EXTREMEMLY expensive to replace.

 

[Wxx3]

Getting off the boat last week, in my haste in putting suitcase on dock, I didn't notice it was unbalanced, so as soon as I let go, it promptly fell into the water.

I jumped off the boat, fished it out, pleased they it hadn't sunk.

It was only in the water about 10 seconds.

I was hopeful that my electronics had not gotten wet, my laptop, tablet, Kindle and iPod.

I had to literally run to catch the bus to Dublin. So finally, hours later, at the airport, I had a chance to check.

The four were a bit damp, but not dripping water

I was convinced all would be ok.

When I got to NYC, I let everything dry for two days before attempting to start.

Wrong, right, wrong, almost wrong

The laptop is still away having the mother board replaced. $200.

The tablet was fine.

The iPod needed a new hard drive $59 and then took me a full day to get it to sync.

The Kindle took another full day to recover, then is now ok.

So, my lesson learned, even packed away, I will pack all electrics in plastic bags.

But I must say, having crossed the Atlantic has changed my perspective of everything.

Incidents that would have caused all sorts of major anguish in the past, are now just minor annoyances.

Basically, I'm much less hard on myself and others.

 

[N4712]

Getting off the boat last week, in my haste in putting suitcase on dock, I didn't notice it was unbalanced, so as soon as I let go, it promptly fell into the water.

I jumped off the boat, fished it out, pleased they it hadn't sunk.

It was only in the water about 10 seconds.

I was hopeful that my electronics had not gotten wet, my laptop, tablet, Kindle and iPod.

I had to literally run to catch the bus to Dublin. So finally, hours later, at the airport, I had a chance to check.

The four were a bit damp, but not dripping water

I was convinced all would be ok.

When I got to NYC, I let everything dry for two days before attempting to start.

Wrong, right, wrong, almost wrong

The laptop is still away having the mother board replaced. $200.

The tablet was fine.

The iPod needed a new hard drive $59 and then took me a full day to get it to sync.

The Kindle took another full day to recover, then is now ok.

So, my lesson learned, even packed away, I will pack all electrics in plastic bags.

But I must say, having crossed the Atlantic has changed my perspective of everything.

Incidents that would have caused all sorts of major anguish in the past, are now just minor annoyances.

Basically, I'm much less hard on myself and others.

If it ever happens again try a tupperware of rice, put the ipod, tablet or whatever it may be and let it sit for a couple days.

 

[Wxx3]

Thanks Oliver,
good idea, as I'm too old to say it will never happen again

 

[Conrad]

Betcha she had the key out to open the trunk door if she was carrying boat stuff.

There is a small button/pad on the trunk lid that doesn't require the key to open, if it is keyless go.

 

[healhustler]

Yeah, but Ron, I'm gonna ask this before Don Moonstruck does. Was she good lookin'?

 

[Skinny]

Yeah, but Ron, I'm gonna ask this before Don Moonstruck does. Was she good lookin'?

A 550 MB...sounds like my new trust fund mama

 

[BaltimoreLurker]

Stepping into an elevator I once dropped my keys and they fell right through that slim opening in the floor at the door and all the way down to the elevator pit in the basement. Well after normal business hours.

It was a long wait. No Cougar to keep me company either.

 

[kraftee]

Conrad, that small button near the trunk on any Keyless Go Mercedes still requires you to have the key on your person to open (if the car is locked.) So she still would have been out of luck! (I was a Mercedes-Benz dealer for 20 years.)


ERIC

 

[Donsan]

There is a small button/pad on the trunk lid that doesn't require the key to open, if it is keyless go.

Was suggesting she wanted to push the door opener on the remote to open the trunk all the way before she got there. Do that all the time on our ML 350. Sometimes, it is hard to break old habits with some of the new tech in cars.

We can open the trunk without the remote button as long as the remote is on me.

 

[bligh]

Good argument for keeping a HD magnet and a length of string on board. My gramps had one for his dock that he used often.

 

[Larry M]

Good argument for keeping a HD magnet and a length of string on board. My gramps had one for his dock that he used often.

I couldn't resist. The Headmistress posted this ~4 years ago.

The Wild Magnet
Submitted by Peter Roach of Atlanta on 03/27 at 09:54AM
Peter was a participant in a sailing forum I've been on for more than 10 years...he kept his sailboat at Aqualand Marina on Lake Lanier. I'm not sure how long ago he posted this true story...I saved it and found it this morning while looking for something else. It may not be the funniest boating story ever, but it's definitely a contender...so pour yourselves another cup of coffee and settle back to read and remember fondly what it was like to be that young.
I bought a 150 lb magnet (that is the lifting ability not the weight of the* magnet). My slip is in about 45 of water and over time I have dropped an assortment of wrenches, car keys, bolts, nuts, multiple pairs of sunglasses, irreplaceable parts to my roller furling, etc. I could just picture sending this magnet down on the end of a line and retrieving all sorts of* treasures from the bottom. I even thought I might become the man of the hour by helping my lesser-equipped dock mates retrieve their lost treasures. In essence this magnet was going to make me look really cool.
The first lesson I learned with the magnet is one should never stand too* close to a car with a powerful magnet in a thin plastic bag. According to modern physics, if a magnet is designed to lift 150 pounds, it takes 150 pounds of pulling power to get it off of the fender of a 1993 Mazda Miata. Also we discovered, Mazda paint jobs will not hold up against a sharp metal object being pressed against it with 150 pounds of pressure. One piece of advice, if you decide to test this theory, make sure the young attractive girl that owns the Miata (and you have been trying to get a date with her for months) is not in the proximity of the test area oh well.
The second lesson I learned is one should never place a very powerful magnet near an electronic component. Usually electronic components and* magnets are natural enemies and the magnet is highest on the food chain. Like the lion and the zebra the magnet wins. This includes the compass on your boat (actually it was one of my crew members that attached it to the rail around the compass).
All of these problems seemed to be worth the effort in order for me to strut down the dock with my new purchase, tie it to a 50 line, and pull untold treasures from the deep and impress my friends on the dock.
As I calmly walked toward my slip, with my magnet sticking to my car keys thorough the thin plastic bag and my shorts, I beckoned to my dock mates to witness the miracle of reclaiming the abandoned and formerly lost treasures from the deep. Apparently, the confidence in my voice and the promise of untold treasures from the deep, caused a larger than normal crowd to gather on the dock.
Without even stopping to unlock my boat, I retrieved an old anchor line from the dock box. While I straightened out the dock line, a friend of mine (powerboater this distinction will become important in a minute) used all of his skills to tie the 150 pound magnet to the end of the dock line.
As I slowly eased the magnet over the edge of the dock I learned my third magnet lesson. Floating docks have a great deal of metal below the waterline. Since the water is rather opaque, I had not noticed the brace
10 below the waterline that ran between the ends of the finger piers to* keep them from floating apart. Having no eyes and an unnatural attraction to large quantities of metal, my magnet did not suffer from the same* handicap and firmly stuck to the brace.
The fourth lesson I learned is to never let a power boater tie a knot on something that is going anywhere near the water.
The fifth lesson (well ok I should not count this as a new lesson because I learned it with the Miata) is it TAKES 150 pounds of pulling to get the damn magnet off of a big piece of metal. YES this was a new lesson because I was 10 below the water, under my boat, holding my breath and pulling really hard.
My sixth lesson was learned shortly after pulling the magnet free. One should never hold onto a heavy object underwater without some immediate means of support. Luckily I was able to reattach the magnet to the metal beam as I accelerated toward the bottom. Actually I think the magnet had more to do with this than I did.
The seventh lesson I learned is one minute is a really long time to hold ones breath.
The eighth lesson I learned is always look up when you are coming up under a boat.
The ninth lesson I learned is you really run out of air fast when you are holding your head, seeing stars, and trying to find the surface.
The tenth lesson I learned is never invite a large crowd of people to watch you try out any new piece of gear.
The eleventh lesson I learned is never leave your cooler full of cold beer on the dock with friends on a hot day while you dive underwater (hey they were laughing at me and drinking my beer!!). I dont care what they say, one minute is way too short a time to declare someone dead and divide up their belongings.
Now that I had the crowd warmed up, I decided to take my three-strand* nylon anchor line and run it through the eyebolt of the magnet and back up to the surface. This way I would not have to risk a sudden trip to the bottom and I would not have to tie a knot underwater. Considering the day I was having this went amazingly well. It also gave those clowns on* the dock a chance to get another round of drinks from my cooler
Thinking ahead, for the first time that day, I realized that the support member was attached to the dock by a vertical piece of metal. Not wanting that evil magnet to reattach itself several times to the support member while it was on the way to the surface, I climbed onto the deck of my boat. When I pulled on the line I learned my twelfth lesson of the day (second physics lesson). A three-strand nylon line has roughly the stretching ability of a rubber band and while water has a natural resistance, it is not enough to keep a magnet from hitting the bottom of* your boat on the way to the surface. I also learned that a magnet can scratch gelcoat as fast as it will scratch a Miata.
In the end I finally got the magnet correctly tied to the line and on the bottom of the lake. After about an hour, with no beer remaining in my cooler and with only a small audience, I finally gave up on recapturing any* treasure. The only thing the magnet was able to find was a great deal of* rust shavings. I know the bottom of the lake under my boat is littered with all type of hardware, tools, coins, etc so I was amazed when the magnet failed to bring up even one small item. Maybe the fish are calmly swimming around with sunglasses, or they have constructed their own secret city out of all of the spare parts.
All was not lost with the magnet, though. My fellow boaters now play hand me the wrench with the magnet. This is a game they devised using the magnet, a metal wrench and a dockbox with a thin top. They first take the magnet and put it on the underside of the lid to the dockbox. They then attach a wrench to the top of the dockbox and close it so everything looks normal. They then pretend to be working on their boat. When the unsuspecting target of this game walks by, they ask him to hand them the wrench. It works every time and it is amazing how hilarious my dock mates find it when a new person joins the game. They seem to get particular joy in this game when they can think of new things to stick to the dock box or when* they can catch someone more than once by using different bait. They even had someone hide in the dockbox to pull the magnet away when his partner showed the victim that the wrench did not weigh 150 pounds.
The magnet also seems to be good for playing throw the metal object over the magnet, the worlds largest refrigerator magnet (WARNING apparently the magnet will scratch a Kenmore refrigerator as easily as it will a 1993 Mazda Miata), find the car keys in your wifes purse, and a* whole lot of other games. Hey we might not be too smart but we are easily entertained.
So in the end I guess the magnet was worth the price.

 

[bligh]

That's funny. I like the powerboater cracks!

 

[BruceK]

Stepping into an elevator I once dropped my keys and they fell right through that slim opening in the floor at the door and all the way down to the elevator pit in the basement. Well after normal business hours...

Commiserations! Did just that, years ago, in Canberra, leaving the Hotel on my way to work(Court). $300 for the lift mechanic, $300 to courier spare keys from Sydney, multiple cab fares...
A learning experience.I am now highly adept at key risk management assessments and procedures. There are times keys must not be in hand.

 

[AusCan]

I have 2 cockpit door keys and the swipe cards for the dock access gate on neck lanyards.
The rest of the boat keys stay on the boat with a float attachment, along with a spare set. So far - no mishaps.

Phones - that's another story.

 

[Steve]

A boat door key is hidden somewhere on the FB. A car key is in the chassis in one of those magnetic key boxes. I haven't dropped keys inthe water yet but did watch a cell phone take a dive.

 

[Bill Ranson]

I keep a full set of tools spread between my most often visited marinas........underwater of course ��

 

[Peter B]

Getting off the boat last week, in my haste in putting suitcase on dock, I didn't notice it was unbalanced, so as soon as I let go, it promptly fell into the water.

So, my lesson learned, even packed away, I will pack all electrics in plastic bags.

But I must say, having crossed the Atlantic has changed my perspective of everything.

Incidents that would have caused all sorts of major anguish in the past, are now just minor annoyances.

Basically, I'm much less hard on myself and others.

Yes, I can see how that might well change one's perspective on life, and what's really important. If you are out in bum-puckering seas, and there is something not working quite right on the boat, concern over an iPod working or not would hardly rate, would it..?

 

[Marin]

If one puts their keys on a float, it's smart to make sure the float will actually support the keys.

On the key ring for our Arima, we have the ignition key, the cabin padlock key, the trailer hitch key, the trolling motor clamp arms bar lock key, and the key for a cable lock that we use to lock the trolling motor to the boat itself.

We bought a fairly substantial float for this key ring. Looked like it should float everything, right? But on a whim I tried it in the bathtub. The keys sank to the bottom pulling the float down with it. So we added a second float.

This makes for a very awkward setup to stick on one's pocket, so we're on the lookout for a better solution. But best to check if the float on your keys will, in fact, float them before heading out to the dock.

 

[kthoennes]

I concur on the magnet thing. I bought one about as big as a brick at Harbor Freight a couple summers ago. I loaned it out and it got passed around to half a dozen slip neighbors. By the time everybody was done trolling with that magnet we could have filled a whole tool box with (mostly very rusty) tools.

 

[denloe1]

I have a smaller magnet and it works great for tool and part saves. About 1"x4" on 50 feet of para cord. Reminds me I need to make a spare boat door key. The big magnet lessons were hilarious. a fish cam on a pole to check out props and zincs could be Combined with a magnet for fast finding of stuff before having to jump in

 

[saltcod]

This reply does not involve a boat, although we did have one at that time. Early March, just after ice-out on a local lake, I took my 3 year old son Colby trout fishing. I dropped my keys into my jacket pocket, and began casting off a dock. After a couple of casts, my keys flew out of my pocket and into the lake a good 10 feet from the end of the dock. You can imagine my distress. I tried to catch the keys with my fishing rod, no luck. I eventually stripped down to my skivvies and dived into the lake. The temperature was paralyzing. All the while leaving my 3 year old sitting on the dock. I just could not find those keys after multiple dives. I've never been so cold. I gave up, and got dressed. Hiked a 1/2 mile to a payphone, called my wife, who called a friend, who brought a set of keys up. He thought it was pretty funny. I am extra protective of my keys since then. Over 23 years ago, I have not lost a single key since.

 

[Peter B]

If one puts their keys on a float, it's smart to make sure the float will actually support the keys.
This makes for a very awkward setup to stick on one's pocket, so we're on the lookout for a better solution. But best to check if the float on your keys will, in fact, float them before heading out to the dock.

Marin, you can get a type of floating key ring device which is about the size of a rolled up handkerchief, which if immersed in water, expands due to a chemical reaction releasing a gas I presume, and it will float quite a heavy weight, but is nice and small when that function is not needed. Here's mine. Clipper were giving them to owners at the boat show, but plain non-monogramed ones are available. However, you may well find GB have monogramed ones also..?