Wouldn't board somebody else's boat without permission unless it was a serious
emergency.

Smoke pouring out a cabin window, (smoke that doesn't have a relaxed and
friendly smell, of course)? I'm going aboard. Line chafed almost through and
boat in danger of getting loose? Same thing.

Loud stereo with nobody aboard? Nope.
Just grumble in an extremely animated manner when the owner comes back around.

People are unpredictible about a lot of things. You have to be sure you're
willing to put up with the grief the owner will give you. Will the guilty
conscience be worse than the tongue lashing?

Not exactly the same thing, but same moral question. Years ago, when I was an
automobile salesman, we had a woman come into the showroom with a little kid
probably 3-4 years old. The woman parked her son in the back of a pickup truck
on the showroom floor while she went into a closing booth to dicker price. I
guess she thought the kid wold just sit in the truck, and not get restless.

The kid climbed up on the front wall of the pickup bed, stood there, and within
the blink of an eye climbed up onto the roof of the pickup. He was on his hands
and knees on the roof of the truck, and began sliding toward the edge. It would
have been
almost a seven foot drop onto a concrete floor, possibly head first.

I scurried across the showroom and grabbed the kid, just as he was sliding off
the roof and hollering "help!" in a very frightened voice. At that point, his
mother looked up to see why her kid was hollering for help, and there I was,
holding him.

I though she was going to kill me. "What the hell are you doing, touching my
kid! You must be some kind of pervert! I think I'll call the police! You
asshole!.......etc,etc"

When I could get a word in edgewise, I said, "Lady, I grabbed your kid because
he was on the roof of the truck and was about to slide off onto the floor!"

Never forget this world class mother's response: "That's pure bull****. I
looked at the door to check on him just a minute or so ago. He was not on the
roof yet, he was on his way *up* to the roof!"

Never can tell when the guy or gal who owns the boat next door might be as
crazy as that little kid's mom. :-)