Boating Beginners

We have added some articles which Boating Beginners may find of use. We would like to thank our friends at  Club Powerboat.ie which is Ireland’s largest boating website, for permission to reprint their articles from their own Beginners to Boating advice forum on their site.

Sublects covered are:

Club Powerboat.ie

Before Buying your First Boat – Get Professional Training !

One of the nicest perks about running a powerboat school is the sheer buzz you get from introducing first timers to the sport you adore. Without exception, every student at Lough Ree Power Boat School will have talked in detail to either myself or one of our senior Instructors before coming on one of our courses.

There is of course a very good reason for this!We need to know where each student is coming from before we can tailor a course for his or her individual needs. Ideally we would suggest that newcomers come and do a course before buying or even spec’ing their first boat.

A two day course for will not alone teach you how to drive your new 10, 20 or 30 €K investment safely without crunching it, but it will also ensure that your hard earned cash is spent on buying a boat that really suits your individual needs. More than one boat supplier has told me in recent times of their frustration when they sell some one a brand new boat only to see it returning for major repairs a few weeks later after a prang. Boat repairs are not as lucrative as new boat sales which is why several Irish boat suppliers are now sending new boat buyers on a 2 day powerboat or motorboat course free of charge as soon as they have paid the deposit on their dream boat and before they take delivery

Here’s how it works!

A Client who would like to get into motor boating or power boating gives us a call. We chat to them about what kind of boat they would like, explore their own particular circumstances and make a recommendation as to what type of boat best suits them.

They then come on a two-day course with us. After this course, not alone will they know how to drive the boat of their dreams, they will also have a much better idea of what they can buy and what they should buy – Should they spend on a water proof VHF or on designer label sail wear. Should they buy four stroke or two stroke?

Trust me! A two day Boat handling course will not alone teach you how to drive a boat it will also equip you an unbelievable amount of basic background knowledge.

Get your quotations from the various manufacturers and give us a look at it. Your big brother in LRPBS will advise you on the good and bad bits of each quote.

Select your supplier and place your order. If you like we will even throw a check on your boat either while it is being built or pre-delivery before you pay.

So what next?? Lets talk about equipment in the next post below !

Safety Equipment for your Boat

Buying a boat is not always like buying a car! It still amazes me that while some of the nicer posher boats come equipped with cd players and cup holders, they do not come with essential basic equipment such as anchors, fenders or safety kit. Imagine buying a car with no indicators or door locks!

Essentially, extra kit on a new boat can be divided into Essential, Nice to Have and Fashion Accessory!

Essential

Life jackets – 150 Newton CE marked automatic with crotch straps one for each passenger space
Anchor suited to the boat with 2 metres of chain and 20 metres of good quality Rope or Warp (Not that cheap and nasty Blue clothes line stuff!)
Paddles
Painter or bowline – Shorter than the length of the boat so it does not reach the prop if it falls in
Knife
Throw Bag
Boat Hook – plastic blunt nosed and telescopic
Water proof case / aquapac for Pencil and writing materials and mobile phone.
Bailer
Compass
Charts
Fire Extinguisher
Coastal Flare / Smoke Pack
Master switch and spare keys on a float key ring

In my opinion this is the least amount of basic safety kit that a supplier of a new boat should include as an integral part of any New Boat package!

Need to have

Sensible clothing and non-slip footwear
Lights – All round white mounted one metre above Port and Starboard lights
Fuel filter and water separator
Spare Kill Cord
Again ! Flares and Smoke and Cylumes – Smoke for day use and flares for night use
Spare fuel / oil and filter
Tool Kit
Flask (Full!) and Nosh bag
Spare tow lines 20 metre and 10 metre
Waterproof torch
First Aid Kit Marine
VHF and training in how to use it
Mobile phone in aquapac waterproof case
Waterproof Kit bags / spare clothes

Nice to have

Sea anchor or drogue
Spare Prop and fittings
Waterproof Torch
Dry suits
Depth sounder
Radar reflector
GPS Satellite Navigation System / chart plotter
GMDSS
EPIRB 406mhz rather than 121mhz
Towing Bridle
Jump-start battery pack

Of course this list is subjective, but it is based on experience!

Another good idea is to request a free Sea Check Inspection of the safety kit aboard your boat by a qualified RNLI Sea Check advisor.

Sea Check is a free service offered by the RNLI to owners of boats under 13.7 meters.

At the owner’s invitation, a highly trained RNLI Sea Check volunteer will visit you and your boat to check relevant levels of safety equipment appropriate for that craft and its operating area.

Essentially the RNLI realized some years back that the majority of call outs to leisure craft could have been prevented if these craft had carried proper basic safety equipment. It is therefore more cost effective for the RNLI to send a sea check advisor out to visit loads of people and improve the standards aboard their boats if it prevents them having to send a very expensive Life Boat and Crew out on a callout to a preventable incident.

So, In Summary ….

If you are buying your first boat,

  • Do take aPowerboat or Motorboat course and avail of the advice that comes free with the course.
  • Allow some of your budget for the Basic Safety Gear that might not have been included in the Bare Boat Price and of course.
  • And Most importantly ………………Have Fun out there!

How to get a SEA Check: Dial 1800 789 589 in the Republic of Ireland and talk  the RNLI’s Sea Check team here in Ireland.

The Lough Ree Powerboat School’s Boater’s Code

This code was created in 1998 by the original founder of Lough Ree Powerboat School Stuart McNamara. Here,  we republish Stuart’s original article.

I have always felt when I think of Jet Skiers, that there is a selfishness and arrogance about people who would claim the waters for their own little self interest group without any care or consideration for the feelings of other water users.

Believe it or not I am not talking about the Jet Skiers, but the Hang em! Shoot em! Burn em! Brigade who sees himself or herself as the self appointed judges of how people should be allowed to enjoy themselves on the water.

Over the years I have enjoyed power boating, sailing, motor boating, fishing, canoeing, diving and swimming and Yes. …even jet skiing. I am not a water skier but I look forward to learning about it some time soon!

That’s the thing about water sports . You start in one sport and through that sport get involved in other water sports and even make new friends along the way.

The waterways, both inland and around our coast are there to be enjoyed by everyone including jet skiers. There is room for everyone out there once a few simple guidelines are followed.

Here in Lough Ree Power Boat School I came up with a very simple Boaters Code, which runs along the following lines.

You can do any thing you like on the water once your actions:

  • Do not compromise any ones safety.
  • Do not compromise the amenity.
  • Do not compromise anyone else’s enjoyment of the amenity.

Let’s examine these in detail.

Safety
Your actions should not compromise anyone else’s safety. Obviously we are talking about the safety of other water users, but we are also talking about your own safety and most importantly the safety of the brave members of the Rescue Services who may have to put their own safety at risk because of your silliness.

Amenity
Your actions should not compromise the amenity. Either by pollution, noise or wash. Wash ( which is the wave your boat may generate as it goes along ) is so often over looked especially by the people who make the laws and put up the signs. On the Shannon for example we are nearly littered with 5 KPH speed limit signs which are placed beside every harbour. All very fine and laudable but about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike in preventing accidents.

Firstly, very few people have any kind of an idea as to how fast or slow 5 kph is. In fact it is so slow that many craft, if they were to obey these signs would not have sufficient speed to even maintain safe steering! Many responsible and well meaning but inexperienced planing boat users see the speed sign and bring the boat off of the plane thinking they are obeying the speed limit. What they would also realise if they looked behind them is that their boat is actually ploughing through the water with a huge bow wave and stern wave. This usually results in dangerous rocking of boats in harbours, much waving of fists and a bemused powerboat or motorboat driver who wonders why every one is giving out to him after he obeyed the sign and slowed down!

A far better signage plan (In my humble opinion!) would be to have No Wake! Zones as you enter the vicinity of a harbour area. These signs should say

No Wake Zone – Slow Down!

This works for two reasons. The slow down bit ensures that they slow down enough to ensure there is no risk of collision and the no wake bit ensures that their wake or wash is not creating further danger.

Enjoyment
Your actions should not compromise any one else’s enjoyment of the amenity. Your jet skiing should not upset the Fisherman. Fishermen should not try to troll through a sailing race. Sailors should not tack or race through busy navigation lanes. and so on and so on. It also extends to those people not into water sports. The family enjoying a picnic on the beach or lakeshore should not have to put up with the noise from Jet skis or motorboat generated pollution or wash.

Common Sense and Compromise
What we are really talking about here folks is the application of a little bit of common sense and a willingness to compromise a little for the common good.

Zoning of waterports does not have to mean the creation of a Police State. All it means is having a bit of respect for other water users and vice versa. I have recently seen some disastrous attempts at zoning by local authorities in the midlands .In this case; banning was used under a zoning flag of convenience. The effect was to drive jet skiing underground and just move the problem sideways. Local authorities should first try to learn about and understand the problem before they make crisis management decisions. A day spent on the water by some of the suits who make decisions would be more valuable than a week of meetings and conferences . It might even be Fun !!!

So once again, Stuart’s Boaters Code!!!

You can do any thing you like on the water once your actions:

  • Do not compromise any ones safety.
  • Do not compromise the amenity.
  • Do not compromise anyone else’s enjoyment of the amenity.

Have Fun out there and Please ! Please !! Please !!!!

If you heed only one of my bits of Safety Advice …………

Wear a Life Jacket and a Kill Cord !!!!