Yeah, like "slow down, numb-nuts".
Another day, another boat crashing into my dock... sigh
- Thread starter bigredfish
- Start date
The pontoon had a clear view of the corner in the 50-75 yd straight leading to it
Then he had his head up his ass....
Boards along the outside so they at least slide down it when it’s not a direct hit? Maybe two rows concentrated where the gouges are already.
What about setting up a spray system. If they hit your dock, they get sprayed with water.
If the customers start getting wet because of the idiot boat "captains" hitting your dock, it'll stop pretty quick.
If the customers start getting wet because of the idiot boat "captains" hitting your dock, it'll stop pretty quick.
Parley
Known around here
I think this time it was the little yellow boat with the boy and girl in it that was causing the trouble. They were on the wrong side of passage way and two boats hit them with the large boat being one of them. .
StevenFromTexas
Getting comfortable
It didn't take long for the captain of the Dali containership that took out the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, 2024 to find a new job in Florida, did it? 
tangent
IPCT Contributor
- May 12, 2016
- 4,593
- 3,944
Here are a few devices you could use to sense impacts (likely need to be in a NEMA enclosure):
store.ncd.io
NCD USB Gateway Industrial IoT Wireless to USB Modem - NCD Store
www.monnit.com
www.monnit.com
Monit gateway: Ethernet Gateway For Wireless Sensor Communication
$75 (has wifi and BLE and SD card to log data):
www.sparkfun.com
$17 Extensive programming and some soldering required (could be quite a challenge, has BLE):
SparkFun Edge Development Board - Apollo3 Blue - DEV-15170 - SparkFun Electronics
IoT Wireless Acceleration Sensor and Impact Detection Sensor
Efficiently monitor and detect impacts with our advanced wireless impact detection sensor, featuring a wireless accelerometer.
store.ncd.io
NCD USB Gateway Industrial IoT Wireless to USB Modem - NCD Store
Industrial Grade Wireless G-Force Max-Avg Sensor
With an IP65 housing, this sensor monitors machine for g-force (capturing max & avg.) data. Use to track inclination & vibrations of industrial equipment.
www.monnit.com
Enterprise Wireless G-Force Max-Avg Sensor
This wireless accelerometer samples g-forces generated, capturing max and avg data. Track periodic movement of machinery, equipment & more.
www.monnit.com
Monit gateway: Ethernet Gateway For Wireless Sensor Communication
$75 (has wifi and BLE and SD card to log data):
SparkFun DataLogger IoT - 9DoF - DEV-20594 - SparkFun Electronics
The SparkFun DataLogger IoT - 9DoF comes preprogrammed to automatically log IMU, GPS, and various pressure, humidity, and distance sensors.
www.sparkfun.com
$17 Extensive programming and some soldering required (could be quite a challenge, has BLE):
SparkFun Edge Development Board - Apollo3 Blue - DEV-15170 - SparkFun Electronics
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I see a bunch of people that shouldn't be driving boats. Or cars for that matter. Or golf carts. Or . . .
cyberwolf_uk
Getting comfortable
- Sep 27, 2014
- 631
- 797
@bigredfish, Living there, seeing that happen at times would stress me out to the point I would do something I would regret the next day!
But apart from that, what a lovely dock area you have there.... Jealous
But apart from that, what a lovely dock area you have there.... Jealous
At the frequency it is getting hit, it will be more like "what a lovely dock area you HAD there"
tangent
IPCT Contributor
- May 12, 2016
- 4,593
- 3,944
Of the devices I linked above, the SparkFun DataLogger IoT 9DoF would be the simplest for your use case and cheapest of the ready to use devices I found.
www.sparkfun.com
It has a built in accelerometer, gyro, and magnetometer as well as built in wifi (note, there's also a version lacking the accelerometer which doesn't have 9DoF in the model). It will sync to an NTP server over wifi so it can accurately timestamp the data. In addition to the SD Card, you can either send the data to a server in your house or to a number of cloud services like ThingSpeak or AWS IoT (which at a quick glance appear to be the ones best suited to this application). With minimal effort you can have a cloud based dashboard that plots the data and could probably send yourself email alerts every time something hits your dock. You'd need to mount it inside a weather resistant enclosure and may want to apply a conformal coating.
Mount it in a box like this:
and power it via a USB-C charger.
SparkFun DataLogger IoT - 9DoF - DEV-20594 - SparkFun Electronics
The SparkFun DataLogger IoT - 9DoF comes preprogrammed to automatically log IMU, GPS, and various pressure, humidity, and distance sensors.
www.sparkfun.com
It has a built in accelerometer, gyro, and magnetometer as well as built in wifi (note, there's also a version lacking the accelerometer which doesn't have 9DoF in the model). It will sync to an NTP server over wifi so it can accurately timestamp the data. In addition to the SD Card, you can either send the data to a server in your house or to a number of cloud services like ThingSpeak or AWS IoT (which at a quick glance appear to be the ones best suited to this application). With minimal effort you can have a cloud based dashboard that plots the data and could probably send yourself email alerts every time something hits your dock. You'd need to mount it inside a weather resistant enclosure and may want to apply a conformal coating.
Mount it in a box like this:
and power it via a USB-C charger.
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Just put a couple big buoys with the primer perimenter alarms for noise. Shroud them in a tube with powder and you coat the boaters in water safe dye…
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Of the devices I linked above, the SparkFun DataLogger IoT 9DoF would be the simplest for your use case and cheapest of the ready to use devices I found.
SparkFun DataLogger IoT - 9DoF - DEV-20594 - SparkFun Electronics
The SparkFun DataLogger IoT - 9DoF comes preprogrammed to automatically log IMU, GPS, and various pressure, humidity, and distance sensors.
It has a built in accelerometer, gyro, and magnetometer as well as built in wifi (note, there's also a version lacking the accelerometer which doesn't have 9DoF in the model). It will sync to an NTP server over wifi so it can accurately timestamp the data. In addition to the SD Card, you can either send the data to a server in your house or to a number of cloud services like ThingSpeak or AWS IoT (which at a quick glance appear to be the ones best suited to this application). With minimal effort you can have a cloud based dashboard that plots the data and could probably send yourself email alerts every time something hits your dock. You'd need to mount it inside a weather resistant enclosure and may want to apply a conformal coating.
Mount it in a box like this:
and power it via a USB-C charger.
Thank you
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Nice. I like sparkfun.
Here's a solenoid operated valve if you want to figure out how to spray them with a sprinkler or something like that:
www.sparkfun.com
Here's a solenoid operated valve if you want to figure out how to spray them with a sprinkler or something like that:
12V Solenoid Valve - 3/4" - ROB-10456 - SparkFun Electronics
Have you ever wanted to control the flow of a liquid using your computer or microcontroller, but didn't know how? Well, here's how: The 12V solenoid contro
www.sparkfun.com
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
Automated Water cannon sounds appropriate.
tangent
IPCT Contributor
- May 12, 2016
- 4,593
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With this data logger product, you're paying a bit of a premium for the software they made, which isn't open source. So, you aren't going to be able to just easily use this board to trigger a relay without writing your own software. Easier to use something else for any outputs.
Just making it easy to find the footage of all the impacts should be a significant gain. Fun as it might be to rig up an electric start trash pump (firehose of canal water), it probably wouldn't be worth the ensuing lawsuit.
Do you have network access out there? Maybe a TioC with a tripwire and a custom mp3 screaming if they get within 3’
Yeah, you're probably right...but, it's just water...
I think there are a couple things that could be done that were mentioned.
1 put some metal bollards up in front of the pier.
2 regardless of if you do 1. Putting lateral boards up will greatly reduce the impact. If lateral boards were up that would have been a "glancing" blow instead of completely stopping the boat.
Here in Louisiana we still use timber fenders for some of our bridge pier protection systems. All of them are designed with lateral boards that wrap around the piers. I've seen barges go through and they rub up against them.
It's not ideal, but nothing protrudes to grab the vessels.
I think there are a couple things that could be done that were mentioned.
1 put some metal bollards up in front of the pier.
2 regardless of if you do 1. Putting lateral boards up will greatly reduce the impact. If lateral boards were up that would have been a "glancing" blow instead of completely stopping the boat.
Here in Louisiana we still use timber fenders for some of our bridge pier protection systems. All of them are designed with lateral boards that wrap around the piers. I've seen barges go through and they rub up against them.
It's not ideal, but nothing protrudes to grab the vessels.