Compulsory training for boaters

rubberduck said:
Does this mean the renter has to provide a sample, or is this taking the p**s?
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Very good :D
For what its worth I think basic training along the lines of young motor bike riders these days, with a certificate to say they have completed the course, & optional further Qualifications as we have now. I class the pb2 course we did as basic.
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Why does this need to be formalised? Only a few idiots buy a boat with no experience & no clue & don't get any guidance/ support from the seller. There are dozens of books freely available in the libraries with basic RYA course level stuff for people to swot up on. Who is going to check these "qualifications" & what powers of detention or fines will they have? How will they enforce them.

Just imaging a large gang of blokes one of whom has just bought a boat off e-bay & are determined to have a lark in it. They have already had a skinfull & have loaded a couple of boxes of larger aboard. They have no anchor, vhf, l/j's, oars or spare engine or fuel. And your average retired harbourmaster tries to advise them of the risks of launching onto a strong spring ebb as he observes that they have no safety gear & no clue of what they are letting themselves in for. WNS? Will he try to physically restrain them? I doubt it. Can he call the Police? Pity they don't have any water craft. What about the RNLI? They are not an enforcement agency & can only get involved once they are in trouble if someone alerts them. Err, any other ideas to enforce your rules then?
 
Searush said:
Why does this need to be formalised? Only a few idiots buy a boat with no experience & no clue & don't get any guidance/ support from the seller. There are dozens of books freely available in the libraries with basic RYA course level stuff for people to swot up on. Who is going to check these "qualifications" & what powers of detention or fines will they have? How will they enforce them.

Just imaging a large gang of blokes one of whom has just bought a boat off e-bay & are determined to have a lark in it. They have already had a skinfull & have loaded a couple of boxes of larger aboard. They have no anchor, vhf, l/j's, oars or spare engine or fuel. And your average retired harbourmaster tries to advise them of the risks of launching onto a strong spring ebb as he observes that they have no safety gear & no clue of what they are letting themselves in for. WNS? Will he try to physically restrain them? I doubt it. Can he call the Police? Pity they don't have any water craft. What about the RNLI? They are not an enforcement agency & can only get involved once they are in trouble if someone alerts them. Err, any other ideas to enforce your rules then?
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Pretty sure I said "optional qualifications".I just think some basic training would be a good idea. We bought our 1st boat from EBY, our training consisted of one of their lads taking it from Paglesham to Essex marina & mooring it with us on board, there you go, training over !
 
rubberduck said:
Pretty sure I said "optional qualifications".I just think some basic training would be a good idea. We bought our 1st boat from EBY, our training consisted of one of their lads taking it from Paglesham to Essex marina & mooring it with us on board, there you go, training over !
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And you didn't even bother to ask to try the helm or have a go at tying up yourselves!:eek:

My first time in a sailing cruiser was a charter out of Mylor. They insisted I take it out with an observer aboard. He showed me the controls & then watched me take it out, head to wind & set the sails. He then said "Head out that way to the big rock" & settled down for a snooze. His presence gave me confidence to do stuff for myself. SWMBO & I had never picked up a mooring before so when we came back he made us do it a couple of times & then told us to swop roles & do it again. Again it gave us the confidence that we could both either helm or pick up. Not exactly "training" but excellent confidence building.

Done lots of dinghy sailing before & much of it tidal, had completed an RYA corespondence course (from the library) and that was it. We made few mistakes on that holiday because we were cautious - mistakes came later when we got our own boat & tried more challenging waters & conditions. The people that have common sense will use it. No amount of traing will do much to help those who don't have common sense. "If not duffers, won't drown".
 
rubberduck said:
I used to let my son have a play with the steering wheel of a car on private land when he was little, but wouldn't have let him out on the road the next day.:p
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Me too, but a car can do up to 100mph in amongst pedestrians & in narrow streets, it is a fatal combination. My 7 year old twin grandkids have helmed the boat under my guidance & my 12 yo G daughter has taken her thro the Swellies, Puffin Sound & thro moorings in perfect safety. I wouldn't trust any of them with a car other than in an empty field. Boats only travel at a few mph & tend to have a lot of space around them. I wouldn't take any boat near swimmers or divers (equiv of pedestrians) - so there are significant differences between boat & car environments.
 
Now your just being silly. Eby sell loads of boats that do considerably more than a few miles per hour, out of Essex Marina. One such case was the guy that bought my 1st boat when I traded up to the Doral, a Rinker (with styre engine). He actually managed to ground & half sink it, ruined the whole boat which was later sold as salvage I believe. He then I understand blamed Eby for the boat not being any good, was fine for me. Perhaps a little "BASIC" training may have helped. Still next time you're pootling along the medway & some nut in a power boat nearly sinks you, just remind yourself that its OK cos anyone can take a high power boat out with no training.
 
Darwin's Law applies then doesn't it? I'll bet he didn't do that trick twice. Any one who does a Birmingham Navy trick like that deserves all they get. Fortunately, where I sail, there is a lot more water per boat (altho much of it is just as thin).

If not duffers, won't drown still holds true. It is up to us to not be duffers & not expect to be rescued every time we do something daft.
 
Searush said:
True, there is possibly a need where you are (err, not because you are there however) and on the Thames & Humber, but almost the whole of the rest of the country has no maritime police presence whatsoever.
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I think they're there to "encourage" the jet skiers to play in the proper places. I was moaning about a couple towing a ringo up and down the Itchen when up pops plod. gives them a severe dressing down and ushers them, at a suitable speed, off to the designated area. He then went off up the Itchen at about 10 knots (max wake speed) :rolleyes:

Friendly chaps though and always wave so that's OK ;)
 
jokerboat said:
I think they're there to "encourage" the jet skiers to play in the proper places. I was moaning about a couple towing a ringo up and down the Itchen when up pops plod. gives them a severe dressing down and ushers them, at a suitable speed, off to the designated area. He then went off up the Itchen at about 10 knots (max wake speed) :rolleyes:

Friendly chaps though and always wave so that's OK ;)
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LOL!
 
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