RNLI Sea Check - is it just a myth?

Oen

Oen

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You may recall my previous disappointment with the Sea Check scheme (attempted to book one, not because I thought there were problems with my boat, but interested in an umpteenth opinion). Briefly, requested one, heard nothing, asked, told someone would be in touch, no-one was, gave up.

So, with the boat in her new location, I started again, and six weeks after asking... Not a dickie bird.

I don't think I'll bother asking again. As a 'Governor' of the RNLI, I find this a very sorry state of affairs. If their Sea Check folk could be a tenth as efficient as their mail shot department, I'd be drowning in advice!
 
OK, where are you? PM me with a location & a contact phone number / name & I will pass them on to the powers that be in the SEA Check department. We get chased about contacting folk who request SEA Checks, and you should not have been ignored.
 
Interesting

I've had almost the opposite experience - once I contacted them their man phoned until he'd nailed me down

However. His inspection gave us a gold-badge-something when what I expected was a thorough 2 man (him & me) walk through equipment and procedures, with food for thought afterwards

In the end, didn't really feel that he was up to the task and perhaps the scheme sounded a damned good idea in some warm Poole committee room?
 
It would probably be much more valuable to someone new to the game with their first boat.

Go to any slipway in Summer and see how little kit is in some of the boats.We towed two lads in a speed boat one evening.Outboard broken down no paddles lifejackets or any means of raising the alarm when inevitably it went tits up.

they drifted past an inbound ship that fortunately saw them waving (it was almost dark)They didnt even have any rope to moor it with after we dragged them into harbour.

The RNLI could achieve more by chatting to people launching trailerboats on public slipways,
 
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They do. I've seen them on popular slips.

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Sounds like me reinventing the wheel again then /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Shanty,

I respect your approach...

But that's not the point. If I were a newbie with few ideas and little kit, I'd just be left high and dry.

This is a systemic problem, not a one-off. The system needs to be sorted out.
 
Another unintelligent rant from an anonymous NO NAME, NO HOME, NO BOAT poster - and we fall for it, wasting time with basic questions to find out where he is so we can help.

Why bother? He's made his mind up, and with limited experience and tunnel vision do you honestly think you'll educate him?

This Boat Safety Check is run by volunteers and does not have nationwide 24/7 coverage, so it MAY be hit or miss. But if you've assimilated RYA safety recommendations you should be ahead of the sherif anyway. What you may get is an experienced mariner spending his free time giving bone fide advice.

Useful? I don't think this candidate will profit at all, do you?

You don't have to be towed into port dismasted to appreciate the work that the RNLI do - but it helps.
 
Lets balance this up a little. I had an ex coxswain do a sea check on my last boat. He was thorough, spent all morning on the boat, talked me through the pros and cons of various bits of kit. We discussed how to improvise and I picked up much truth and wisdom from him. I also got the gold badge but what was more use was the food for though.
 
I wouldn't bother trying to reason with him - he's made up his mind to rant and moan about anything and everything - shame really - as I would've thought someone with his self reported experience could actually contribute in a positive way rather than just slagging everyone off all the time ...
 
Dear Chuggin,
yet another splash of ill thought out rubbish from you.
The original poster is an experienced, largish boat owning person, and we know where he is.
Pay attention at the back, make positive contributions, and dont expect anyone here to put their wares on display if they dont want to.

By the way, Oen, I agree that it is a patchy service, but a good one when you actually get thier attention. I think they prbably read your boat spec and prioritised you a bit lower.
 
Oen
As a sea check advisor I can only apologise for the bad service you seem to have received but in defence of the RNLI the sea check service is under going some major admin changes.
The biggest of these changes is that we (sea checkers) will be part of operations in future and working from particular L/B stations. This in turn has meant a complete over-haul in the command structure which is going to take the RNLI a couple of years to complete the whole country. As far as I'm aware they are about halfway though the changes so there's obviously still some holes one of which you seem to have fallen through.

If you would like to PM me I'll try and arrange for you to be contacted a.s.a.p

Peter.
 
When I bought my very first boat I was approached and offered a sea check, and a suitable time was negotiated. He was a very nice gentleman and inspected the boat thoroughly then reccomended that I invested in a set of flairs, some mast head lights and an anchor and chain. I should carry a bailer and set of paddles as well.

I was concerned that it was going to be very expensive and I had fears for the new equipment.
I asked at the sailing club what I should do and they reasured me that lights flairs and an anchor and chain on a laser sailing dinghy might be more dangerous to carry than leaving off!

Chatting to the safety man I discovered that they are all very busy, especially as they attend boat shows and jumbles to offer their services and they have jobs to do as well, it could be worth your while phoning them up to remind them that you are waiting, but perhaps after meeting you the guy was reasured that you were fairly capable of spotting problems in your boat and he might be doing checks on boats with very inexperienced and less knowledgable skippers first. Best wishes,
Chrissie
 
CHuggin,

Were those remarks directed at me?

...and has the mobo got to you so quickly? /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

I don't provide private information because my profession leaves me open to the occasional unwelcome attention of the press, and they're devils for digging around a person's private life to get to them.

I'm sure those who've sailed with me (on the Cherbourg cruise, for example - we did meet) would have one or two words to say about my 'limited experience and tunnel vision'.

The RNLI is a very well respected organisation. My point is that they spend a lot of time promoting the Sea Check scheme, but my experience of it has been very poor.

I don't want to see the RNLI's reputation in decline, and the best way to prevent that is to highlight failings and get them sorted out.
 
Chuggin has a bee in his bonnet about organising ...

For an actually intelligent person - Chuggin has an almost suicidal wish to upset all and sundry.

For some inexplicable reason he considers that ...

a) A Bio incomplete is to be condemned, despite many reasons that a person would wish to not fill in ....
b) That his boating experience far outweighs any others.
c) Spelling mistakes are indicative of "lack of intelligence".

It is sad actually that such experience over many years cannot be passed on in more favourable, friendly terms instead of raising everyones hackles.

As to RNLI ...... I agree with originators comments ... the RNLI is a marvelous voluntary organisation and a pity that that this scheme does have "holes" ... and agreed that if it was as efficient as their mail-shot system - no-one would complain !
That brings me onto another matter actually - the number of mailings out of mag's etc. by RNLI and the actual number of people who read etc. (EG - myself ... I am sent the mags but rarely have opportunity to read ....) I would prefer if that post cost was used more in ops than sending out a mag to me ... anyone else ??
 
So maybe a system run by volunteers has a few holes in it. Strange that! Let me add a positive view...

Seacheck bloke turned up as agreed within a week of my initial call, having driven a good few miles to my location. What followed was exactly a "thorough 2 man (him & me) walk through equipment and procedures, with food for thought afterwards." Good old RNLI, thought I. Despite reasonable experience on my part I still found all of his suggestions worthwhile and have endeavoured to bring my boat up to spec. Yes, I did have an anchor, but had not considered eg a backup VHF antenna. OK, so perhaps Seacheck is preaching to the converted, but it's still a very good service.

My eyes were opened on a North Sea passage on someone else's boat that I didn't know very well. Over the two days I noticed how everything was in its place, nothing - like miles of mooring warps - had to be hauled out of a locker to find the diesel funnel, and everything important was labelled for the use of sailors and non-sailors alike. "Oh," said the second crew when I remarked on how ship-shape everything was. "Didn't you know? - he's the local Seacheck advisor."

I went home and booked my visit straight away.

Regards, Mudhook
 
Hello, Oen.

If you would be kind enough to PM me with your name etc, I will rapidly investigate the circumstances surrounding your absent Sea Check. It would also be helpful to know when you asked, and if known, who you spoke to.

We try, within the constraints of budget and our wonderful volunteer network, to give as good a service as possible, and certainly would want to strive to improve when things go wrong.

Regards
 
Why an earth did an old dog like you need the seacheck man - you've probably done more than most of these guys put together you old scroat
 
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