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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Tideminders

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Phredde
Navigator

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125 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/06/2018 : 15:03:11

Hi - the tire that goes around the piling at my marina went missing. I think its probably buried out of reach in the mud. My marina recommends this product called tideminders:

http://www.tideminders.com/

Does anybody have experience? $50 seems like a lot for 9 plastic balls. And finding another used tire would be a lot cheaper....

Thoughts?

Phredde
Catalina 25
San Francisco

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4303 Posts

Response Posted - 04/06/2018 : 18:07:23

Don't know anything about the Tide Minders but saw these and thought I'd make everyone aware.

I have no interest or affiliation with this product. Just saw it while researching the Tide Minders.

http://www.pilemate.com/

They are a tad bit more expensive than the $50 for the 9 pearls!

Association Member

GaryB
Andiamo
'89 SR/WK #5862
Kemah,TX

Edited by - GaryB on 04/06/2018 18:08:47

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4021 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2018 : 04:44:31

Tide minders,, I think I would cut a 1" or 1 1/2" PVC pipe into 4-5" sections and thread them all on a line.Might just work as well.

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Davy J
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1511 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2018 : 04:59:22

I have used Tideminders and they work as advertised. The piling they are used on needs to be clear of any other lines or cleats. The boat will still need a little room to move back and forth as the line with the tideminder will be at a angle to the boat.

Davy J

2005 Gemini 105Mc
PO 1987 C25 #5509 SR/SK
Tampa Bay

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5897 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2018 : 05:22:06

...or, string a few of these practice golf balls on a line.

Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind"
previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22
Past Commodore

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4021 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2018 : 06:02:19

Steve, I was thinking of something like those balls or even the floats on ski lines but the problem with them is that they are hollow and probably will crush creating a flat spot and stop rolling.

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5897 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2018 : 07:42:54

It's certainly possible that practice golf balls might be crushed, but I don't think it's a foregone conclusion. I think that might depend on the configuration of the slip and other factors.

Consider, for example, my Cal 25 slip. There are only two pilings, situated just about abeam. I tie docklines to the boat's bow cleats and lead them aft to the pilings, leaving a little slack to allow for the rise and fall of the tides. Those bow lines prevent the bow from drifting forward into the fairway. I tie spring lines from the same pilings aft to the boat's stern cleats, and adjust them so that the boat can't drift back far enough to rub against the dock. There's no finger pier, so I have to board at the stern. Those two lines restrict the fore/aft movement of the boat. Those pilings are only about 4-5 inches from the rub rail on each side, so they restrict the lateral movement of the boat in the slip.

Finally, I tie stern lines so that they cross the stern, to the cleats on the opposite sides. Those lines never bear much of a load. They simply restrain the stern from moving laterally against the boats on either side. Those are the two lines where a "Tideminder" type of device would be used.

Since the cost of making a tideminder clone out of practice golf balls would be negligible, I think it's well worth an experiment.

I'm an absentee boat owner during the winter, and rely on my dock neighbors and other friends to adjust my lines as needed while I'm wintering in Ohio. If it works, they might not have to adjust them.

Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind"
previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22
Past Commodore

Edited by - Steve Milby on 04/07/2018 08:15:47

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9076 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2018 : 08:18:00

I've seen docks attached to pilings in tidal areas with makeshift versions of the Tideminders, using chain and short sections of PVC pipe. The only concern I'd have for that in a slip would be the potential rubbing of the pipe edges against the hull. The Tideminders might also have the advantage of floating, which could ease their travel up and down with the tide as well as prevent your current problem.

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

Davy J
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1511 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2018 : 08:34:14

quote:
..or, string a few of these practice golf balls on a line.

The tideminders are larger than golfballs, more like the size of a baseball. They are also rounded on the inner hole to prevent chafe. I think I paid around $40.00, didn't feel like fooling around trying to reproduce them. I will say that they worked well, even at extreme low tides that had the device rolling on the barnacles.

Davy J

2005 Gemini 105Mc
PO 1987 C25 #5509 SR/SK
Tampa Bay

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2018 : 10:56:26

Yep, you can make something that will probably work with limits or buy a product engineered for the purpose. To each his own, but I would choose to spend the money and almost forget about the problem if tides weren't so limited where I sail.

Dave B. aboard Pearl
1982 TR/SK/Trad. #3399
Lake Erie/Florida Panhandle

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5362 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2018 : 15:02:16

Western LISound experiences tides in excess of 7 feet, and during spring tides, 8 feet. It isn�t like the a North Sea (w 5 meter tides), but it�s pretty demanding. I�ve spent about US$200+ on fenders. If I were on pilings I�d definitely go for these Tideminders since it�s worth it for me to NOT scrape up the hull�s and rub rail�s finish...

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5897 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2018 : 19:05:20

I just priced them online at about $40. each, plus shipping. I'd need two, and don't really think they'd work as hoped the way my Cal 25s slip is built, so I don't mind experimenting with an inexpensive DIY version first rather than spending nearly $100. and finding out they won't work in my application. Sailing, racing and maintaining two boats, I have no aversion to spending money, but I try not to burn it to no useful purpose.

Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind"
previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22
Past Commodore

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9076 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2018 : 20:21:40

quote:
Originally posted by Steve Milby

...Sailing, racing and maintaining two boats, I have no aversion to spending money, but I try not to burn it to no useful purpose.

Priorities rule!

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

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1520 Posts

Response Posted - 04/13/2018 : 08:02:08

The TideMinders look really nice, but my dock neighbors and I each have overlapping and frequently tangled dock lines on the pilings we share. The marina also has lines from every other piling straight to the dock that separate the neighboring boats.

They would be useful if I rented three slips in a row and cleared all the extraneous lines off of MY pilings. Not gonna happen!

JohnP
1978 C25 SR/FK "Gypsy"
Mill Creek off the Magothy River, Chesapeake Bay
Port Captain, northern Chesapeake Bay

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 04/13/2018 : 18:14:23

Oh, come on! What's a handful of thousand dollar bills.

Dave B. aboard Pearl
1982 TR/SK/Trad. #3399
Lake Erie/Florida Panhandle

Phredde
Navigator

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125 Posts

Response Posted - 04/26/2018 : 15:32:35

Thank you for all of the advice. I probably should have mentioned that I keep the boat at a marina in SF bay where the surge is pretty bad and the tidal range is ~6ft. So no, some plastic golf balls aren't going to cut it. And while the piling I need to tie off to is currently all mine, there is a slip next door that can use it too, so I was a little worried about possible tangling. I ended up waiting for low tide and used my boat hook to dredge up the auto tire from the bottom of the bay. Its the method that all of my other neighbors use to tie off. And it is free. Appreciate the advice though.

Phredde

Phredde
Catalina 25
San Francisco

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