Need help and advice about buying a small boat please?

[nickster666ni]

hi,

i moving to northern Ireland this year and im hoping to buy a small boat but i know nothing at all about the laws or if i need a license etc and if i cant afford a marina to keep my boat in where can i keep it as i dont have transport so not sure what to do on that part, also can you just put the boat on the water an sail out or....

please anything would be helpful and i really hope i put this in the right forum section!!

 

[Jamie Dundee]

If you’re buying a small boat one on a trailer would be favourite, you can keep it at home and launch and retrieve each trip. Best thing is to ring your local harbour and have a chat with the harbour master, he can tell you what other people in a similar position do with their boats.

 

[Hunterlees]

Where are you thinking of using your boat, and yacht or motor boat?
Where in NI will you be based?
I just sold my boat which was kept in Groomsport harbour near Bangor, about £350 a year on a swinging mooring.

 

[Caraway]

If you’re buying a small boat one on a trailer would be favourite, you can keep it at home and launch and retrieve each trip. Best thing is to ring your local harbour and have a chat with the harbour master, he can tell you what other people in a similar position do with their boats.

He doesn't have transport.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

hi,

i moving to northern Ireland this year and im hoping to buy a small boat but i know nothing at all about the laws or if i need a license etc and if i cant afford a marina to keep my boat in where can i keep it as i don't have transport so not sure what to do on that part, also can you just put the boat on the water an sail out or....

please anything would be helpful and i really hope i put this in the right forum section!!

You don't mention what kind of boat you would like to have, although you use the words "sail out" so on the assumption that it is a sailing boat you have in mind, I would suggest that you first of all get your self a sailing manual and read yourself into the subject. Here are links to two that I would recommend:
The Complete Day Skipper : Tom Cunliffe : 9781472973238

The Complete Sailing Manual : Steve Sleight : 9780241446379
Both have information on the rules and regulations. and what you need to equip yourself and the boat with in order to use it safely Also have a look at the RYA 's website. In the UK and Ireland you don't need a license to operate a leisure craft, but you will need one to operate a VHF radio. The same applies to motorboats if that is where your interest lies.
There is also a multitude of material on Youtube but confine yourself to British ones as the Americans use different terminology.
However, to get the best out of your chosen craft and to learn quickly and safely, my recommendation is that you partake in a course of instruction, either RYA Day Skipper or RYA Powerboat Level 2;
RYA Sail Cruising Training | Courses for beginners and professionals
RYA Powerboat Training | Courses for beginners and professionals

 

[Quandary]

If you fancy the idea of starting sailiing (or boating) join a club, anywhere in N,I. where there is water there ia a sailing club, Belfast Lough has several, Larne, Cushendall, Ballycastle, right round the coast and in Lough Neagh and Lough Erne. They are all friendly, want to encourage boating and keen to recruit new members. Many run courses in the summer for beginners or will take you out to try it. Some have clubhouses with a bar and restaurant others are smaller based around a harbour.
The only one that can be sniffy about new members is RUYC at Bangor, but just beside it is Ballyhome, across the lough Carrickfergus prides itself on being welcoming. Books are fine but people like imparting their knowledge and it will be attuned to local conditions.

 

[garymalmgren]

as i dont have transport so not sure what to do on that part, also can you just put the boat on the water an sail out or....

You are stuffed,
Sorry
gary

 

[Caraway]

Three days on. No response.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

hi,

i moving to northern Ireland this year and im hoping to buy a small boat but i know nothing at all about the laws or if i need a license etc and if i cant afford a marina to keep my boat in where can i keep it as i dont have transport so not sure what to do on that part, also can you just put the boat on the water an sail out or....

please anything would be helpful and i really hope i put this in the right forum section!!

Without transport (to tow or carry your boat) and without the funds for a mooring, you're limited to boats you can store on a launching trolley eg at a local sailing club and roll into the water yourself. So a dinghy. Or possibly a swinging mooring.

 

[Bodach na mara]

I bought my first boat when the only transport I had was Shank's pony, a bike and public transport. I lived by the water in Gourock which helped. So you are not necessarily stuffed. The boat was a sailing dinghy, GP14, and I kept it in a boat yard during the summer at a cost of £12. The next year I found out that I could join the local Yacht club as a junior for 4 guineas and keep the dinghy on their slip way free.
I found instruction books boring but was inspired by Robin Stevenson's book "When dinghies delight. " which is mainly about racing but also deals with his experiences in building and maintaining his dinghies.

 

[penfold]

I bought my first boat when the only transport I had was Shank's pony, a bike and public transport. I lived by the water in Gourock which helped. So you are not necessarily stuffed. The boat was a sailing dinghy, GP14, and I kept it in a boat yard during the summer at a cost of £12. The next year I found out that I could join the local Yacht club as a junior for 4 guineas and keep the dinghy on their slip way free.
I found instruction books boring but was inspired by Robin Stevenson's book "When dinghies delight. " which is mainly about racing but also deals with his experiences in building and maintaining his dinghies.

What he said; join your local sailing club, you may find someone selling up and in the mean time you can crew on other people's boats to find out what you like.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

If you fancy the idea of starting sailiing (or boating) join a club, anywhere in N,I. where there is water there ia a sailing club, Belfast Lough has several, Larne, Cushendall, Ballycastle, right round the coast and in Lough Neagh and Lough Erne. They are all friendly, want to encourage boating and keen to recruit new members. Many run courses in the summer for beginners or will take you out to try it. Some have clubhouses with a bar and restaurant others are smaller based around a harbour.
The only one that can be sniffy about new members is RUYC at Bangor, but just beside it is Ballyhome, across the lough Carrickfergus prides itself on being welcoming. Books are fine but people like imparting their knowledge and it will be attuned to local conditions.

All of the above advice is very valid, (at least from my viewpoint down here in the South), but I would advise the OP, as a beginner, to avoid Strangford and Carlingford because of the possibility of falling foul of the strong tides in those localities,

 

[Quandary]

All of the above advice is very valid, (at least from my viewpoint down here in the South), but I would advise the OP, as a beginner, to avoid Strangford and Carlingford because of the possibility of falling foul of the strong tides in those localities,

The tides are strong at the entrance, and can be a problem outside but that is 20 miles from the head, once you are in they just go up and down, I can not think of many better places to start sailing than Strangford Lough, my brothers school used to keep their boats there.

 

[Pcd]

+ 1.

 

[Stemar]

No transport and a limited budget? Seems to me that the best solution until those issues are taken care of would be to join a local club and use their dinghies. Bonus advantage: if the OP decides it's not for him, he just stays in the bar and lets the keen types get cold and wet

 

[andsarkit]

The tides are strong at the entrance, and can be a problem outside but that is 20 miles from the head, once you are in they just go up and down, I can not think of many better places to start sailing than Strangford Lough, my brothers school used to keep their boats there.

I started sailing there. Bought a wooden scorpion dinghy and kept it on the beach near Whiterock tied to a big rock. Left the sails and all the gear on board under a cover and never had any problems. Beautiful sailing around the islands. That was 45 years ago and I'm not sure if you can still keep a boat on the beach for free.