Are boaters better drivers?

[Guest]

Since we have started boating I have found myself being much more defensive in my driving,(on land this is) and much more aware of the physical condition of my vehicle. In addition I seem to have grown more spatially aware and am more confident in manouvering in close confined space as well. As well I am no longer as stressed and in a hurry to get places any more either.

ERGO; Maybe it would be a good idea to convince a insurance company to look at this more closely, and potentially offer cheaper motoring insurance to boat owners.

Anyone else think that this might be the case?

 

[Guest]

Dunno about that Doug, I am a lousy car driver and always get someone else to drive me at every opportunity. In fact come to think of it I don't own a car although my wife has two so I can always borrow the old station wagon... she will not lend me her good one.

 

[Guest]

I was going to post this under 'Weekend Sailors' but........

Can anyone please explain, to this humble motor-boater why, when on the correct side of the channel (Medina) I have to swerve my boat out of the way of a guy on catamaran who has left the tiller to sort out a fender, and as a result, surges across my bows out of control. And why, when there is a bloody great ferry doing four knots upstream, three 30 foot Moodys doing five knots try to overtake him on his port side through the moorings, oblivious to the fact that the ferry is about to turn to port into his berth, as indicated by the blistering sound signals coming from the irate ferry captain, And why, does some d*ck in a Hardy think that going downstream on the port side, thereby pushing all shipping, including the ferry, way over to the wrong side of the channel onto my bows, is a pleasant way to spend the weekend?

Boaters better drivers? My novice crew, first time at the helm today, said she'd never seen so many cretins in one place...

In moderation of this, all of the d*cks we met today except the Hardy Skipper had rags and sticks.......

Best

Sue

 

[Guest]

Sue just think of it like going on the dogems. It just adds to the fun. It's a bit boaring on a motor boat without a few things to dodge and it adds to your skill level too.

 

[Guest]

Grrrr. I've calmed down a bit now.

Where can I get stock of ex-naval torpedoes, or a six inch gun for my next foray through Cowes?

sue

 

[Guest]

Now Sue, you know why I hate the Solent!!

 

[Guest]

It was a beautiful day on the Solent this afternoon, the sun shone, cormorants sat on sticks drying their wings, there were no weekend yotties and all was at peace, except for a Blue Peter film crew at Cowes, doing silly things in a dinghy. I had a fine afternoon with a bottle of teak oil (it tastes better than the 'coffee'), got the teak coamings looking like wood again, and forgave all the silly sods at the weekend who tried to mow my small but perfectly formed ship down.

Well, nearly all of them.....

Sue

 

[Guest]

Re the original question. The answer is not necessarily. It all depends on the sex of the driver.

Nick

 

[Guest]

This is total bollocks. Friday evening - picture the scene, its not pissing down for a change, I decide to leave work early to go to the boat. I compress a busy day's work into 4 hrs, I arrive home stressed out, shout at the wife because she's not ready and she's bought enough provisions to feed a rugby team for a week, shout at the child because he'd rather watch TV than go boating, the dog's gone AWOL because next door's bitch smells interesting. So, we finally pile into the car, the wife tells me it's her or the boat (easy one, that!), the child tells me he'd rather live on his own and the dog's howling in the back. 1/2 a mile down the road the child announces he needs a pee and the wife announces she has to stop at the supermarket (again). 2 hours later than planned, we hit the M25 in the rush hour. Am I driving 'defensively', am I more 'spatially aware', am I 'not in a hurry to get there'?? You must be bloody joking!

 

[Guest]

Your request for 6" guns etc. is perhaps a just a little OTT. Your boat might look funny but how about a very sturdy pointed bowsprit? Most effective, no licence required. Might even get the Red Funnel ferry to divert out of your way seeing that you are a woman who obviously means business

 

[Guest]

Right then, in summation;

After polling the site its odvious that the answer is that we are all a bunch of loons, and are probably a hazard to both ourselves, and anyone who comes within a mile of us. Many of us would like to be armed, and the rest are totally stressed out and are keen to expend this energy on the motorway.

In fact, if anything, we should all have a insurance surcharge, and possibly even a total ban.

Well, if we had all played along with this we may have been able to get some gullible insurance company to do some discount scheme, but NOOOO we all had to go and tell the truth didnt we?

If truth be known my own arrogance is probably my worst enemy behind the wheel. My record for Nottingham to Brixham currently stands at 3.55 hrs. In a Disco. (if, on the M5, you see a Big green box with lights on in your rearview, get out of the way because we take no prisoners) That surely is saying something.

PS. Mike, if you could leave the Make and colour of your car on the site with your reg, then we will all be able to take early avoiding action. Have fun and drive safe this summer.

 

[Guest]

With pleasure, Doug. Family outings are generally done in a silver Saab estate (look out for the big brown horse-like creature in the back), solo missions in a silvery greeny BMW 5 series; minimum motorway speed of both these vehicles is 99.99mph so please give way. However, for serious search and destroy missions, I'm on a sickly yellow coloured motorbike and all rational behaviour dissapears completely

 

[Guest]

I ditched my Saab 95 after having a very narrow escape from plod near Gloucester last summer. They came in front, flashed the blues, then accelerated away. I thought, "hmm must get a car that can not cruise in excess of 100mph" I have found however, that the Disco can cruise comfortably and in all weathers at as high an average speed as the 95 could, so top end is down but overall average is the same. So I dont know if I accomplished much. My father is a biker (Pan European) but they scare the crap outta me, so I will leave that one alone .

 

[Guest]

Yeah, the Saab does cruise a bit too easily in 3 figures. Always fancied a Disco myself especially now we live down a road that would'nt shame an army assault course but I drove one a few years ago and it handled like a galleon in a storm. Is yours one of the new ones with active cornering? Had a Pan Euro myself; excellent bike but a bit heavy especially with me on it

 

[Guest]

NO mine is the galleon in the storm job. Bit noisy with the old tdi as well. I'm a Canuck though, so am used to driving the odd barge or two. If I was doing it again I would go the cherokee route. AFter the 95 I decided I was fed up with never owning the car and getting nailed on the values as well. Nice truck, all the toys, and very reliable and good off road, but if truth be told a bit tireing on the motorway. If you are thinking disco then get the ES because the power seats are way better. I looked at a newer one t'other day, nice truck but you lose the central diff lock, and there are more electronics, but the auto is better. Get a V8 and a LPG conversion.

I would have gone with a jeep, but my local dealer, who we also have had 4 Saabs off of, couldnt pull their thumbs out to get me a test drive, so I went down to a specialist used LR dealer who I deal with for our companies defenders, and he bent over backwards to help us.

That actually annoys me just thinking about it, I had four Saabs for my company off these guys, decided I wanted a new car for myself, and they cant even arrange a test drive for me, unbelievable or what. How do some of these places make any money at all!

 

[Guest]

Having been caught speeding twice inside a few months, the resulting 6 points have now made me stick to the speed limits like glue: cruise on as soon as I get to whatever the limit is.

In fact it doesn't take much longer to get anywhere and the petrol consumption is much improved. The downside is that it's so boring that I'm tending to fall asleep at the wheel. They say speed kills but, for me, lack of speed is much more dangerous. Anyone else found the same problem?

 

[Guest]

Don't even go there Nick !! ;-)

 

[Guest]

I know, it's pathetic, is'nt it. Lousy service and then you pay thru' the nose for the car. Despite recent cuts, UK car prices are still way above Euro prices (especially for Land Rovers, which really stinks). Sorry, going off on a tangent here, better stop before the Forum thought police get me for not sticking to boats

 

[Guest]

Have you been gatso'd? Take a look at www.morpheous.co.uk. I hasten to add I have no connection with the company but they make a GPS driven device which warns when you are approaching any fixed gatso camera in the UK. The beauty of it is that, unlike any other speed trap detection device, it is approved by the police who actually provide the positional information to the company and the device can be regularly updated with new information. Of course it wont warn of mobile speed traps.

Re speeding, personally I try not to exceed limits in urban areas but I do agree with you on motorway limits. I think there's probably an optimum speed at which there's a balance between safe speed and alertness which differs for every car/driver/road/weather combination but try telling that to Plod!

 

[Guest]

Doug as I use the M5 in Somerset and Devon most days can you please slow down for blue Mercs or failing that consider using the A38.