Brand new to boating. Advice please

[maguirex]

Over the past few sunny weeks I have been boating several times, both on the Thames in Oxford, up in Windermere and down off the coast of Devon. The girlfriend and I loved it and are now thinking of getting ourselves a small power boat.

We live in Lancaster and are therefore near to rivers (the Lune), the sea (Morecambe bay), canals and the Lake District.

Neither of us have any boating experience so hopefully someone here can help answer some questions.

1) Asssuming we stick to the speed limits are there any problems with taking a power boat along the canals (ie. Pub to pub)?

2) Are all power boats capable of off-shore travel, are there any rating systems etc to indicate where a boat should/shouldn't be taken?

3) Generally how much does it cost to run a small (16ft) power boat, maintenance/servicing, insurance, repairs, fuel etc?

4) I have seen some jet boats advertised. How do these compare to the more common power boat designs?

I have looked through this forum and plan to take the RYA course but any advice before I start spendig money would be greatly appreciated.

Paul

 

[Sixpence]

1 - The width of a canal is often only just wide enough for two narrow boats to pass , this limits power boats to wider areas

2 - Definately not , best bet is to find a boat , then ask if it is suitable or not

3 - Same as 2 , depends on the boat and the type of use

4 - I'll pass on that one , but no doubt the other answers will be disputed anyway

Welcome to the forum , and have a nice day /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

1) Yes you can use small power boats on canals but you'd get a bit bored after a while. Check the width of the locks against the beam (width) of your boat
2) Modern day boats are rated according to Recreational Craft Directive - approximately CatA (Ocean), CatB (Offshore), CatC(inland and coastal), CatD (inland). Most seagoing power boats are rated CatB. If you're looking at pre RCD boats, then post the details on this forum and somebody will comment
3) Generally 10% of the value as a rough rule of thumb
4) If by jet boats you mean PWC's, best not to mention those on this forum

 

[gjgm]

boats designs tend to be for a specific or perhaps a few, uses. Ski boats for example have very flat hulls so as not to produce wake. Offshore powerboats usually have have deep v hulls to cut through the waves;river boats,sportboats,etc... all have designs to cope with their intended use. Offshore (meaning miles, by the way) in a 16ft boat sounds somewhere between wreckless and insane, I think ! I d suggest you consider your boating grounds further,and then have a look at the type (and cost) of boat you see there, as a good indication of what suits those waters.
Others, good luck with the hunt, and bargain hard!!

 

[hlb]

I live quite close to you. On the Lancaster canal, but nearer to Preston.

I keep my boat in Plymouth. That just seems the easiest way to answer most of your questions.

The seas close to us have many difficulties with tides, sandbanks etc and are also very ugly.

The Lancaster canal is quite scenic. I'm not allowed to say different! But you need a canal type boat. You dont need to worry about the prop hitting the bottom every few yards and getting bent. You never get passed 4 knots, so it does not matter. The same boat might manage windermere, but not really the sea. A sea boat would be no good on the canal. So you have to make your mind up where you want to sail...Welcome.

 

[Gavi]

Am fairly new as well (I have about 2 months on you!).

An early lesson was that the boat you use the most will be a compromise of budget, type of use, frequency of use, and location. The post above me is a good example of this!

I started out wanting something nice and flash and have ended up with a floating caravan as I will almost always be on a river... and I love her. I took the view that I can hire something if/when I venture coastal. Until then, I've got a beer fridge under my helm and a plentiful supply of friends who can easily pop out for an afternoon or evening boating.

Great fun. Welcome!

 

[Nautorius]

Hi Paul,

I am from around your neck of the woods so have a bit of info.

Firstly, the canal. Yes you can use any boat on the canal as long as you have a licence. Your stretch is quite nice as well. One word of warning, I got banned from using high powered inflatables on the canal and Glasson dock because of excessive speed...it is just too tempting. Some locks are only 6ft 6inch but at the Glasson dock end you can have a much nicer run.

Secondly. A 16ft speedboat is not going to be capable of going offshore, however on a good day you can hug the coast around where you use it. Another thing is to use it in the estuaries and Rivers. The River Lune is OK, but the launching is not great. The river Wyre is a lot better. You can launch at Knott End oposite fleetwood which gives you direct access out of the channel to hop along the coast of Cleveleys for a few miles or go up the Wyre which is a little safer for a good few miles. Launching at Knott end is free, You can also launch higher up the wyre at Thornton, it is called Stanah. Here it is muddy but a little safer for a novice. You get about 2hrs either side of High water and the Skiiers love it. Just be careful of Blackpool and Fleetwood Yacht club which is upriver towards the bridge. Then of course you have got Windermere which I woukd keep clear of with a large barge pole /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Thirdly, running costs of a 16ft range from £500 in a good year to £2000 on a bad year. The majority of daily cost is Fuel and Insurance, which is about £500. The trailer will need some DIY to keep it good especially the bearings as being dipped in salt water is not good for them. So allow £100 for that. The boat should need zero maintenance except maybe on Auxiliaries such as batteries/stereo/nav lights. The biggest cost is the engine. Servicing a 70hp is about £125 a year and then if anything goes wrong think of pound signs! Outboards do go wrong and gearboxes are not cheap to fix.

Fourthly, Jet Boats. Keep well clear. The marrying up of Marine Petrol engines (normally ford 1600) and Jetdrives just was never reliable. In terms of performance they do not grip the Sea very well, struggle in reverse and are just plain useless for watersports. I have experience of Datelines and Super V's with Jet drives and again would not touch them with a barge pole!

Lastly, which Boat. For what you want I would recommend an outboard. Suitable boats are Fletcher 16s, Dateline Bikinis, Plancraft Sabres, Picton 15GTS. These are all esturial boats but Ok in good weather! You will need between a 60hp-90hp for decent performance. For Sea use the wider the beam the better so would tend to go for a Picton or Dateline. With a good engine a late 80's/early 90s boat will cost you £2.5-3k. If you are using it on the Wyre avoid Super V's as they bounce like mad!

You could also consider deep V hull boats such as Driver 550 and Ring 17 but these tend to have been smashed around offshore and are a bit tired.

So, have a look around, you are in a great area with lots of choice dependent upon tides and weather. Keep us informed with what boat/engine combo you are thinking about as we have a lot of experience amoungst us.

Good luck,

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[itsonlymoney]

Why would you not touch windermere ? Its a great place for a novice to learn the ropes.

 

[Nautorius]

Just bad blood, I strill am very angry and my therapist can't calm me down!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Anyway you have to register the boat for a whole year and buy numbers which is a ripoff if you only use her once. Also launching and Parking at £17.50 is not cheap....but yes it is aor was a great place to learn how to handle a boat in a safe environment.

Cheers

paul

 

[itsonlymoney]

Yes i see your point paul but with regards to the cost of launching etc its a drop in the ocean in a years boating budget and as for the speed limit what speed limit. Ian..

 

[hlb]

Acording to my resident expert. There are no locks on the Lancaster canal. I can confirm this having traveled most of it. It was built for barges of 14ft beam. Though I would not like to try and get a 14ft wide boat down it. There are however Locks down the cut to Glasson, but these again were made for 14ft wide beams. I have taken a 10.6 beam barge down them.

A planing 16 footer will feel crap on a canal, with no stearage at 4 knots. Just wobbling about. Besides, apparently theres nearly no water in the canal at the moment.

A Freeman is best for the canal, I am told. The Lancaster canal is home to all Freemans, that I can vouch for.

I remember launching a speed boat at Knot End once. Never did it again, cant remember why. Think we just went round in circles, then went back!

 

[maguirex]

Thanks for your help everyone, it is very much appreciated. It seems I might have been overly optimistic hoping for a boat that could do everything.

Now I'm torn between a canal boat, for going pub to pub, and a power boat for water skiing etc.

 

[Sultans_Kapitein]

Hello and welcome Paul, I have read you post with some interest and amusement at HLB's ,as usual, dry comments. Yes the Lancaster Canal is quite low at the moment but hey a bit of rain will help. A friend has been infected by my insanity and has just bought a Norman 23, it is at Bridge House Marina near Nateby, just past 'The Flag' when coming from Preston. Very busy little marina. But they have a brokerage so take a trip and have a look, all sorts to look at. I have a bad form of the madness and I bought a Steel Hulled twin diesel 48ft motor yacht ! then I ripped most of it to pieces and am waiting to get it back together. I have a mooring on the river douglas at Hesketh Bank, so a far a HLB's comment that it is just ugly, I say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, also I want my boat were I can get at it, but you do have to wait for the tides ! Go buy a boat and enjoy /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[gjgm]

just a note on waterskiing.. if you havent learned, go to a school or class so you know how to get up. Trying to get up with a marginal powered boat with not amuse you! You will probably need a bigger and so more expensive outboard than you might otherwise need if you want to ski... Also quite where you can ski, isnt so simple these days. Of course you need nice quiet still water... you may need to be a member of a ski club to use such locations. Open sea is free of course, but then you dont see anyone skiing out there for some reason! Depending where you keep the boat, you might well find a suitable location where you may freely ski isnt so simple...

 

[Gavi]

[ QUOTE ]
Go buy a boat and enjoy /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Fully agree! I bought a Freeman 24 for Thames use. Nice and easy to handle, sensible price (depending on your definition of "sensible") and should be easy to sell on once my boating experience and aspirations mature... should I want to!

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

Compromise might be a Norman 20 with 50 on the back. Semi d so will canal and sea OK, sea when its nice and calm. As for skiing, not sure about that. The Norman should give you change from £5K. May even have a trailer.