How long have you been boating.

[Artie]

Canoeing mainland - 15 years,
Diving CI - 18 years
Powerboating - 26 years

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[BrendanS]

Pottered around on/off in Shetland day boats on/off for years when kid/teenager. (Probably 4 years in total)
BIt of dinghy sailing
4 years coastal and offshore canoeing
5 years powerboating

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[pt8]

Motor Boating 30 years. Learnt as we went along and still learning!!

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[Col]

About 16 years now, all MB. Did sail dinghys (enterprise & mirror as a kid)

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/colspics> Cols Picture Album</A>

 

[Col]

About 16 years now, all MB. Did sail dinghys (enterprise & mirror) as a kid.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/colspics> Cols Picture Album</A>

 

[hlb]

So most of us have learned our selves. I must admit I tried the course and thought it shit. it could have done with a bit more but it was crap. And no help. Or very little.

<hr width=100% size=1> <font color=blue>No one can force me to come here.<font color=red> I'm a volunteer!!.<font color=blue>

Haydn

 

[Moose]

1 year and 1.5 months

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L' Moose

 

[whisper]

Summer & Easter holidays from 1958 - 62 worked on motor launches on Llandrindod Wells Lake, Radnorshire. Wooden Clinker built boats with Stuart Turner petrol engines - slightly unreliable.
1963 hired cruiser on Norfolk Broads with school mates - don't remember motive power, only the pubs.
1966 & 7 entered Rag Week raft race - River Don - tetanus jabs compulsory. Half timber, half oil drum. Paddle power - very poor cruising range and regular crew refuelling stops necessary.
1968 Weekend dinghy sailing at Burnham on Crouch. Power - nil, no wind. Scenery awful, just mud & more mud.
1960 - 1970 various trips to Scandinavia - by ferry.
1970 - 1986 Hiatus - too busy with other matters.
1987 to now :- 15ft Seasafe grp dinghy with 9.9 Merc.Outboard - latter expired during my first week with it. Replaced with Johnson GT10 ; Orkney Strikeliner + Johnson 25 - super little boat.; Bonwitco 440 fish & ski with Yam. 25 (4 str) whilst also borrowing Ryds 600 Big Fish with Evinrude(Suzuki) 70 (4 str) - incredible seakeeping for its size plus super engine ;
Ryds 23 T for the last 12 months - 150 DIESEL stern drive - great fun and so much cheaper to run, albeit a lot noisier at lower revs than the Evinrude. Plus over last 8 yrs - once or twice a year - charter one of those cruisery things with sails.
This must add up to around 25yrs I suppose. Loved every minute of it !! Well actually the R.Don wasn't very nice in all honesty.





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[Johnjo]

Thought I would go on the course,plus it was winter and I qualified for concessionary rates, thought why not ! but as you say most of us who have been around boats for so long have learnt most of it through experience, though I will admit i did pick up some good points,
As I have said on here before learning it is one thing , remembering it is quite another!Trying to learn all those collision regs, the thought of it still does my head in!

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[powerskipper]

Total so far 734 years and 1.5 months. wow. All that experiance around, and so varied. This is wonderfull,
I am going to try and get Kim and CO to post on this as well. That would as my son says be COOL/forums/images/icons/cool.gif
great stuff guy and girls

<hr width=100% size=1>Julie ,
IMOSHO of course,

 

[Renegade_Master]

Well you certainly have stimulated the forum Julie, got this lot of their assess. Nice to see a fresh thread maker.

Cant wait to see how long Wiggo's been boating guess it must be a hellaver long time with a name like that/forums/images/icons/wink.gif

I'll try to get Byron to report cos his history is very long I imagine

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.suncoastmarine.co.uk>Sun Coast Sea School & Charter</A>

 

[Alistairr]

Well Julie,

I am merely a baby on here, so everyone please be gentle with me/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

My TOTAL years of Experience on water is .........

2 Years.. /forums/images/icons/shocked.gif

So i think maybe Experience is the wrong word, maybe i should have said, 'Learning'!!

Sorry it doesn't help your total very much..



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[powerskipper]

every little helps, thanks. it will soon be more years nad hopefully many happy memories, chat later,

<hr width=100% size=1>Julie ,
IMOSHO of course,

 

[Pelican]

45 years ago, when I was a wee lad I was taught how to tie knots and row a boat by an old salt who in his hey day used to be a crew on square riggers sailing around the horn! Since then I have owned some 27 boats of all sizes n shapes from 8ft mini cabin cruiser which I built at 16 to present motor sailor on lake Geneva. Have lived afloat on various boats, rented many on the the European /north American waterways. The only time I was without a boat (from age 12 to present) was then I was at college. I navigate all year round as I just can't live without a boat!
Pelican

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[Dave_Snelson]

Since 1974, all in North Wales, all MB's. Started in a friends Fletcher 129 with 45 Crescent O/B. Got my own 129 and did complete restoration and fitted it with a 55 Archemedes. That was the fastest accelerating boat 0-30 that I have ever owned!!

Also skiing / doughnut and general messin' abaht.

PB 1&2 and ICC. Going for advanced next year (Jan / Feb time)

Done a tiny bit of sailing, but nothing much - jusy some crewing.

<hr width=100% size=1>Madoc Yacht Club
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.madocyachtclub.co.uk>http://www.madocyachtclub.co.uk</A>

 

[kingfisher]

14 years contiously, but started with optimists at 6.

Joined the sea-scouts at 18, sailed on everything from dinghies to yachts, motored with everything from outboard-powered buckets to a full size river barge (our floating logistical base). Bought my own boat in 1999.

<hr width=100% size=1>Group of people on the pontoon: skipper is the one with the toolbox.
http://sirocco31.tripod.com

 

[DavidBunn]

Hi Julie, good fred, wot a can of wormie thingies.
Got the bug at the age of 10, (1952) when my Uncle built GP14 Number 6 (I think). He sailed it from Follands sailing club on Southampton Water. Bought and raced my own Graduate from Worthing Yacht Club in 1960/61, then Scorpion, then Osprey. Did nav course 1974/5 and bought 32ft Ketch and did South Coast/Normandy/Brittany on dead reconing (recon if you get it wrong you are dead). Makes navigation today a doddle as long as you know which buttons to press, and the bloody thing works!! Went back and raced Dart catermarans with children. Then bought Sunseeker XPS 34 in the Med. Then Tomahawk 37 with twin 7.4 petrols (hooligan machine). Sold my S/S Travado 40 last year, and now keep a S/S Camargue 55 in Marine del Este on the Costa Tropica. Sorry, no qualifications to date, but a huge respect for the sea. So altogether, 51 years.....What memories.....

<hr width=100% size=1>Sea water is for boating on, not swimming in.

 

[Plan_B]

Re: And a few more years

Hi Julie,

A few more years for your total.

Started at 15. Dinghies mainly but some yachts 30 - 40 - 50+ ft in UK, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, France.
All boats belonging to clubs or organisations, but had to help with maint. out of season. Lots of racing and some cruising, lots of training courses (student and then instructor in later years). 2 years on a 17' dory with 135hp motor. 4 years boardsailing. Own saily boats from '95 onwards.

Total 46 years - still going - still learning.

Dave D


Fail to Plan - Plan to Fail

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[tcm]

Re: 102 years

I claim a total of over 102 years, arising out my own 14 years PLUS an additional 88 years which, as with conkers, accrues when they have smashed into me or vice versa.

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[powerskipper]

Total 1023 years and 2 months, thats going some guys and girls. Had to get the calulator out again,
Still more of you out there.
thanks to all so far/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>Julie ,
IMOSHO of course,