View Full Version : The mind boggles!!!
Got a call from my harbourmaster today who knows I do boat electrics and electronics. New boat owner in the harbour Pete he said. Got a problem with his fishfinder, could you have a look at it for him please. Yes, I said, no Prob.
Got down there. Great boat 25ft GRP, inboard 30 horse engine, fully fiitted out wheel house with GPS, Radio, fish finder, the works. New owner was there to meet me. Ok I said what's the problem. That thing there, (pointing to the fish finder) doesn't work he said. It didn't take long for me to deduce that this chap was not very experienced. Have you been to sea before I asked. Nope, he says, never, and I don't know anything about boats. What the hell have we got here I'm thinking.
OK, I said, lets have a look. The fish finder unit had a pushed in pin on its combined power/transducer socket - a very common problem. OK i said I'll take this back to the workshop and fix it for you. Ok he said. I took the unit back, opened it up , pushed the pin back out from the inside and araldited it there from the inside so it would never push in again.
Met the owner at the boat a couple of days later. Switched the fish finder on and it worked fine. I thought I should do a bit of fishing. Nice DSC radio I said, is it hooked up to your GPS? He looked at me with a vacant smile. What? he said. Your DSC radio, I said, is it connected to your GPS so that your radio knows where you are if you have to transmit a distress message. Long silence....How do I switch the radio on he asked. I shuddered and went kind of cold.
Long story short. This chap had just bought a boat, very nice boat mind you, and a boat that I would die for, knowing nothing whatsoever about boats, the sea, safety, or anything to do with it. Yet he was going to go to sea in this boat by his own admission with his family and friends without having the faintest idea about the business of being in charge of a boat at sea.
Surely to God we have got to have a law which prevents such utter stupidity from happening. I know there are threads in other forums about licensing recreational boat owners, and I have voiced my opinion on them, but this little episode has convinced me that something has to be done in law to protect innocent people from being taken to sea in boats by incompetent boat owners.
PB
Happens all the time, particularly around the weathier areas near London. What often happens is they go out once, get scared/lost/sick, come back and say boats are nasty things then sell it off cheap. I just missed buying a beaut in Cowes, specially built for the owner who used it twice, and was sold for a THIRD of the money he spent on it. I could weep....
Audrey S
05-03-2006, 00:05
Got a call from my harbourmaster today who knows I do boat electrics and electronics. New boat owner in the harbour Pete he said. Got a problem with his fishfinder, could you have a look at it for him please. Yes, I said, no Prob.
Got down there. Great boat 25ft GRP, inboard 30 horse engine, fully fiitted out wheel house with GPS, Radio, fish finder, the works. New owner was there to meet me. Ok I said what's the problem. That thing there, (pointing to the fish finder) doesn't work he said. It didn't take long for me to deduce that this chap was not very experienced. Have you been to sea before I asked. Nope, he says, never, and I don't know anything about boats. What the hell have we got here I'm thinking.
OK, I said, lets have a look. The fish finder unit had a pushed in pin on its combined power/transducer socket - a very common problem. OK i said I'll take this back to the workshop and fix it for you. Ok he said. I took the unit back, opened it up , pushed the pin back out from the inside and araldited it there from the inside so it would never push in again.
Met the owner at the boat a couple of days later. Switched the fish finder on and it worked fine. I thought I should do a bit of fishing. Nice DSC radio I said, is it hooked up to your GPS? He looked at me with a vacant smile. What? he said. Your DSC radio, I said, is it connected to your GPS so that your radio knows where you are if you have to transmit a distress message. Long silence....How do I switch the radio on he asked. I shuddered and went kind of cold.
Long story short. This chap had just bought a boat, very nice boat mind you, and a boat that I would die for, knowing nothing whatsoever about boats, the sea, safety, or anything to do with it. Yet he was going to go to sea in this boat by his own admission with his family and friends without having the faintest idea about the business of being in charge of a boat at sea.
Surely to God we have got to have a law which prevents such utter stupidity from happening. I know there are threads in other forums about licensing recreational boat owners, and I have voiced my opinion on them, but this little episode has convinced me that something has to be done in law to protect innocent people from being taken to sea in boats by incompetent boat owners.
PB
It's frightening mate isn't it, if it weren't such a sad fact it'd be funny
Ubd
I've been saying it for years - totally unnacceptable to have a free-for-all where anyone can take a boat and passengers to sea without any experience.
Whilst I'd hate to see the leisure boating industry bogged-down by over- restriction, at the very least, basic safety equipment and third party insurance should be mandatory.
The positive side, as Salar says, is these incidents do provide a steady stream of cheap boats to the second-hand market.
The down-side is that they will also provide a steady stream of business to undertakers.
Pelagic.
kababusmaximus
05-03-2006, 09:39
just had to look at the calinder thought id slept in and its now the first of april like you seid most boat anglers me included would love to own a boat like that did he have any insurance couse it sounds like he will be needing it on his first trip perhaps the harber master should have phoned the r.y.a dont know if licences are the answer more like an l plate skeam so you can keep an eye on them and keep a good distance away (bonkers) 10 out of 10 :nonono: :nonono: :nonono: :nonono: :nonono:
kababus
blueskip
05-03-2006, 15:19
We are coming up to THAT time of the season! When caravan owners start tracking their vans to that "special little somewhere" they have been going to for years, & they are always in front of ME en route!
Plus its time for the "Birmingham Royal Navy" to blow the dust off those quaint little skippers caps they wear, you know the ones with the anchor badge on the front, & head for Aberystwyth, Swansea, & many other marina's around the Welsh Coast.
Time to rev up the "Offshore 32" turbo diesels & have a spin around the bay, call on those nice angler chappies anchored over there, & give them a friendly wave from the flying bridge, as we cream past them at 25knots 30 yards off their beam.
"Why are they shaking their fists at us darling"? "Thats typical of those bloody people darling, you try to be friendly, & that's the thanks you get"!
"Lets take a spin down Gower & see if we can spot our holiday cottage from the sea"!
"Why have we stopped darling, out of diesel, how silly, still those nice anglers that we just passed can help us perhaps, call the coastguard darling & tell them whats happened, then they will ask those anglers to come to our aid, by the way, where are we exactly"?????
Am I being too cynical or what?
blueskip
sabretooth
05-03-2006, 17:02
seen it to often in the bay with the yachties that go by so close they nearly pick up your warp, even with a buoy out. cannot count the times i have had to wave them off
dave
Gethyn Owen
05-03-2006, 17:49
There is a place called The Fangs near Trearddur Bay on Anglesey (not a terribely dangerous spot of water, but with two particular rocks awash, you need to know what your doing).
We drift here often for nice wrasse, I had just moved up to the Fangs one day last year, to allow the ebb tide to push me out when a yachtie under power motored passed my bow approx 20yards ahead. Collision course, luckily the yacht missed the rocks and carried on. I called them up on the VHF but to no avail.
The following day getting back into the Marina at Holyhead, one of the lads there asked if I'd seen the 'action' off the Fangs. Yep, another yacht had hit the rocks and the RNLI and Helicopter were required:banghead: :banghead:
seen it to often in the bay with the yachties that go by so close they nearly pick up your warp, even with a buoy out. cannot count the times i have had to wave them off
dave
Did you have your black ball up? I've been in yachts skippered by non-anglers, and they seem to assume we are either motoring or drifting, i.e. can get out of their way.
andyhunt
06-03-2006, 00:12
i really cannot comprehend how these people have no fear, are they brave or stupid. i purchased my first boat in september last year and have spent the winter gathering all the information i can from you boys about safety and the like so that when i go to sea i will be as well equiped as possible, i think time and money spent on safety is very well spent, as for experience, well until i get some i will use someone elses, a mate of mine who knows the sea, boats, and the weather will be my guide, it's very cold and lonely out there, not a nice place to die,
so any newbies out there like me please get help, the sea is bigger and harder than you, she don't care, and she plays for keeps.
i want to thank all the people on the forum for your help, and heres to a great spring,
stay safe all
JeremyFisher
06-03-2006, 01:17
Plus its time for the "Birmingham Royal Navy" to blow the dust off those quaint little skippers caps they wear
Blueskip,
I appreciate your knowledge and experience but please do not tar us all with the same brush! Just because I am landlocked and have a midlands accent don't assume I am party to the folk you describe:nonono:
:) :) :) :)
Blueskip,
I appreciate your knowledge and experience but please do not tar us all with the same brush! Just because I am landlocked and have a midlands accent don't assume I am party to the folk you describe
Do you wear a skippers cap too? :uhuh:
Got a call from my harbourmaster today who knows I do boat electrics and electronics. New boat owner in the harbour Pete he said. Got a problem with his fishfinder, could you have a look at it for him please. Yes, I said, no Prob.
Got down there. Great boat 25ft GRP, inboard 30 horse engine, fully fiitted out wheel house with GPS, Radio, fish finder, the works. New owner was there to meet me. Ok I said what's the problem. That thing there, (pointing to the fish finder) doesn't work he said. It didn't take long for me to deduce that this chap was not very experienced. Have you been to sea before I asked. Nope, he says, never, and I don't know anything about boats. What the hell have we got here I'm thinking.
OK, I said, lets have a look. The fish finder unit had a pushed in pin on its combined power/transducer socket - a very common problem. OK i said I'll take this back to the workshop and fix it for you. Ok he said. I took the unit back, opened it up , pushed the pin back out from the inside and araldited it there from the inside so it would never push in again.
Met the owner at the boat a couple of days later. Switched the fish finder on and it worked fine. I thought I should do a bit of fishing. Nice DSC radio I said, is it hooked up to your GPS? He looked at me with a vacant smile. What? he said. Your DSC radio, I said, is it connected to your GPS so that your radio knows where you are if you have to transmit a distress message. Long silence....How do I switch the radio on he asked. I shuddered and went kind of cold.
Long story short. This chap had just bought a boat, very nice boat mind you, and a boat that I would die for, knowing nothing whatsoever about boats, the sea, safety, or anything to do with it. Yet he was going to go to sea in this boat by his own admission with his family and friends without having the faintest idea about the business of being in charge of a boat at sea.
Surely to God we have got to have a law which prevents such utter stupidity from happening. I know there are threads in other forums about licensing recreational boat owners, and I have voiced my opinion on them, but this little episode has convinced me that something has to be done in law to protect innocent people from being taken to sea in boats by incompetent boat owners.
PB
In no way am I condoning this would be sailor. But I have been pondering over whether to buy a boat or not,
In no way would I put myself at risk, or any one on board, I have absolutely no experience what so ever,
The shear prospect of being on a boat, in open water, without a clue scares the hell out of me,
My question is this?
Where do I obtain experience!!
In no way is this question meant to be sarcastic in any way.
But the sad fact is, a ten year old can buy a boat, if he had the cash,
You buy a boat,
“hear is the keys. Sod off I have made my sale”
You’re on your own!!
I think the should be a minimum require-ment of skill, to officially buy a boat.
Is the a training curse I can go for. If any knows of one please please pm me
blueskip
06-03-2006, 10:31
JeremyFisher I dont presume you are a matelot in the said Navy, however "all are guilty, until proven innocent" (Robespeare)!
blueskip
38 years ago I wanted a boat, not like other 12 year olds who wanted a bike, my love was the sea. My parents bought me one, a little 12 footer with a Seagull outboard and off I went. I learnt as I went along, the boat was so small I had to learn how to take the wake of passing boats, to use the tide, to navigate. It was frightning at times, I got things wrong but survived. I read every book there was in the library and got out on the sea every chance I got. I crewed for free on charter boats to gain experience. The small boat clubs were few and far between then, most boat angling was done on charters.
I now have my own son, he has been on the water since he was 4, I bought him his own dinghy at 12, he did a course, RYA Level 2 at 16 (minimum age) which is the basic proficiency test for boat handling in the UK. On the second day he was told by the Chief Instructor that the course was a waste of time for him. Now he takes my boat out, has his own RIB and has an International certificate of competence which allows him to hire a boat anywhere in the world. He recently hired one in Malta to explore the Islands with his mum, gave him a real buzz to be able to do it. http://www.rya.org.uk/
My point is there is no substitute for experience.
The RYA run courses and they are a good start. The Level 2 is a basic boat handling course and designed to give you hands on experience. If you want to learn the water get a small dinghy and low power engine. With a larger boat and big engine you can go against the sea but one day it will bite you. With the experience you gain from the dinghy in estuarys and sheltered water you will be able to see it coming. Join a small boat club, there is a huge pool of experience there and the members will share it with you gladly. If you want to get hands on experience you will soon get to know the experienced members of the club who are willing to share their knowledge. For your part you can pay for the petrol for the day out, clean up the boat when you are comng back, haul the anchor, etc. The RYA course is about £75 a day, so £30 in petrol is not a lot for a day of experience for you. You are going to get information on marks and techniques at the same time. Learn the rules of the road, the RNLI site has an interactive quiz to help you learn. http://www.rnli.org.uk/
Don't be in a rush to buy that first angling boat, try out other people's boats if you get the chance. The boat yards are full of boats that were not suitable or people are selling because the sea bit them one day due to inexperience and they are put off for life.
When the big day comes that you got your ideal boat and you are on the slipway for your first launch have a guardian angel with you. Somone who is experienced and can bail you out when things go wrong. For your first launch pick a mid week day to minimise the chances of someone else wanting to use the slipway, also pick one where you have settled calm weather. This allows you to take your time, takes away the pressure you would feel if you had spectators and gives a calm sea for your first trip. Launch when the tide is coming in, if you get it wrong and drop the boat onto the ground the incoming tide will float it for you. If you get stuck you can drop the trailer off and get your vehicle out. A long rope from the vehicle to trailer will allow you to get the trailer back when the boat floats off. Recover when the tide is falling, should you get the car stuck with a loaded trailer you have time to get it unstuck, if the tide is coming in you will have no time at all.
For anyone in North Wales there is a slip outside Caernarfon which is ideal for a first launch. The guy who own it launches you with a tractor at any state of the tide, so the vehicle is removed from your list of worries. You launch into sheltered water with no underwater rocks to find, the current is minimal and there are sandbanks to help you with your navigation skills. If you find one it is at the worst an embarrasment. I will be glad to act as Guardian Angel to anyone launching there.
i really cannot comprehend how these people have no fear, are they brave or stupid. i purchased my first boat in september last year and have spent the winter gathering all the information i can from you boys about safety and the like so that when i go to sea i will be as well equiped as possible, i think time and money spent on safety is very well spent, as for experience, well until i get some i will use someone elses, a mate of mine who knows the sea, boats, and the weather will be my guide, it's very cold and lonely out there, not a nice place to die,
so any newbies out there like me please get help, the sea is bigger and harder than you, she don't care, and she plays for keeps.
i want to thank all the people on the forum for your help, and heres to a great spring,
stay safe all
I have had boats for 20 years and never take safety issues lightly after losing 4 members of my family in a boat off Rye in 1976 but anyone with their own boat should seriously consider taking the RYA powerboat course 1 & 2 at the very least. You will learn more in a day than 10 years of experience! Very cheap compared with a life!
polarstu
25-03-2006, 16:21
JeremyFisher I dont presume you are a matelot in the said Navy, however "all are guilty, until proven innocent" (Robespeare)!
blueskip
Just because you live by the sea does not make you a master of it, neither does being landlocked mean you know nothing of it, this is a serious thread not another wsf slanging match.
blueskip
26-03-2006, 13:15
Not another one who who cut his teeth on Hockley Brook! No, the fact that I live by the sea doesn't make me the master of it, but it gives me much more access to it, than if I lived 100 miles away from it!
Going out in a boat is something I have the option to do every day (if the weather is suitable), I dont have to wait until the weekend, or until my holidays, I can, & do, go out every single day when weather & tides permit, so I gain more "boat time" experience, than somebody who isn't so fortunate.
I dont make up these stories, my imagination isn't as fertile, as is the reality of the stupid things some of these people get up to! Do you not see these things for yourself when you are out? It appears that others do! or is it just because the vast majority of them are from areas that are long on cash, & short on seamanship that strikes a nerve? This thread started when somebody who was totally inexperienced, bought a boat because he could afford one, & was obviously not fit to be taking it out, everything else has followed on from that! Doubtless he will transport it to Swansea Marina, & I will run into him (or vice versa) sometime this summer.
blueskip
JeremyFisher
26-03-2006, 13:52
this is a serious thread not another wsf slanging match.
polarstu,
There was no slanging match going on in my mind, just a bit of light hearted banter between myself and blueskip, which in this day and age can't be a bad thing can it?
I consider myself a virtual virgin when it comes to boat handling and the sea compared to some. Listening and reading to what more experienced people post on here has been very informative. You are correct this is a serious topic, but come on, lighten up a bit:yeah:
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