Philly HDR

I wanted to try to start taking better HDR photos. The main thing is making the images sharper.

I tried a few months ago of Philly, but was not very successful with the end results.
It was a great starting point at the time. As I have learned more, I just stop think it was a good photo and more mediocre.
Here is the new Photo I took last night and below will be the older one. Let me know what you think I am still doing wrong, and if the image has improved.

50mm f/1.8, 1/100s, ISO-800

50mm f/4, .8seconds, ISO-200

The before (Bottom) HDR picture I feel is too busy. The dock in the front is distracting, and the image looks too over processed.
The top image is calm, no distractions, sharper focus on the background objects.