SeaStart our gardian angel

[Dave_Knowles]

Last night SeaStart did again - SAVED THE DAY.
We set out for a short trip, bit of fishing, some food and be back before dark. The trip down the Beaulieu River was uneventful. I had done all my pre trip checks, oil etc. Engine sounded fine.

Got into the Solent opened her up and after about 5 mins the engine just stopped. I tried to restart it and although it turned over it was obviously not going to fire up again. We decided to drop anchor as the boat was drifting pretty fast towards some very shallow water and then phone Sea Start. Within an hour they were with us by which time for some reason the engine ahd decided once again to start, checked everything out and followed us part way back to our mooring just in case we had any further problems.

Our history with Sea Start:

After my first trip out just a few weeks after buying my boat I joined Sea Start and they have been the best investment I have so far made. In the early days we had two major breakdowns where we needed towing in and they were there within 30 mins to save the day. The wonderful thing about them is how helpful they and the feeling of security you have if like last night as the sun gowes down your engine dies and refuses to start.

Thank you Sea Start and especiall Bob and Murphy (his dog) who we draged out last night. It was great to see you as we sat there alone in the Solent. Keep up the good work.

<hr width=100% size=1>Take care.

Dave

Dave Knowles
Southampton - UK

http://www.MyCleopatra.co.uk

 

[burgundyben]

I'm not a member of sea start, got two engines and shafts and props etc, so have not bothered but I have to say that Bob, never met him, seems to get endless accolades from Solentites, surely he deserves some kind of award?

Friend of mine carries an empty toolbox with Bob's moby number written on the lid, I dont condone it but it demonstrates the faith people have in the Sea Start service.



<hr width=100% size=1>Sod the Healey - I think I'll buy an E-Type.

 

[andy_wilson]

I think it's great that someone who clearly has nothing better to do is prepared to rush to ones assistance when a breakdown or accident occurs.

The man should indeed get a reward.

This would only happen in Britain with it's eccentricities.

In any other country he would not only call himself 'Sea Start', but charge an annual fee, and underwrite his costs with insurance.

If it was The States they would limit the number of call-outs and not attend certain types of call.

Three cheers for Bob. The fifth (p'raps sixth) emergency service!

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[Happy1]

Dave you are either very unlucky, have a crap engine or don't service the boat properly. I invested in a spare engine for my boat which cost quite a bit, I considered sea start but they are not in my area. I have never broken down yet, touch wood, but have he knowledge that I can get home. I carry spares that I would need, including a battery booster.

It seems to me that Sea start is the cheaper option of having to worry about self help. I would not join for the reason that I would be subsidising people who don't seem to want to take on their own responsibilities, don't get me wrong, if you are getting the service then good for you, but some mug somehere is paying for it (not me thank goodness) /forums/images/icons/wink.gif Sea start is a business, it is not run as a charity, so I don't really know what the big deal is. It does seem the the enterpenoureal guy is giving a good service, well done to him. But if you carry on the way you are going, I am sure the fees will increase next year. Bit like the AA or RAC, I was a member for over 20 years never broke down, but would always see the ill maintained cars calling them out.

I know there were genuine cases with the AA as well as in Seat Start, but my risk asessment has shown me that if I had an emergency I would want to deal with it and have the capabiities, an hours wait could be disasterous in certain conditions, not like sitting at the side of a road waiting for the AA. Don't take this as a critisiscm of you, I have just put it up for discussion to balance things /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

BUT it is not normal to have all the problems you have, how can you relax when it keeps breaking down, get that boat checked out properly, next time you may not be so lucky /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple> "You only see what you recognise, and you only recognise what you know" <font color=purple>

 

[Renegade_Master]

"In any other country he would not only call himself 'Sea Start', but charge an annual fee, and underwrite his costs with insurance".

Now theres a thought "Sea Start of Spain" or SSOS for short uummm


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

 

[lanason]

Not the reply I expected from you - I would have thought that the additional safety net of SeaStart would be a very sensible thing to do. Even the newest and best maintained boats break down (all though - I agree the odds are lower).

I think you have been lucky not to have had a problem and needed assitance. Many people are boating on a shoestring and are working with limiited funds.

My boat was serviced by a "professional" and was not sorted - so now I'm doing it myself. And as Col put it - at least I'll know whats been done. The level of service and professionalism in areas of the Marine trade make SeaStart an excellent serivce. Even though I spend little time in their area of coverage I nearly joined - had it not been for the job situation.

Not mugs - responsible boaters -

heres the number for you to join 0800 88 55 00 or even <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.seastart.co.uk/seastart.html>http://www.seastart.co.uk/seastart.html</A>

<hr width=100% size=1>Adrian
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/kelisha>More Pics of Kelisha</A> /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[studgies]

I agree, no matter how good you are at fixing your boat (we do all our own maintenance) there are things you just can not fix yourself. My neighbour set off for Cowes last tuesday from the Itchen. His boat is 14 months old, still under warranty and was just serviced by a mercruiser dealer. 3/4 of the way there something went dramaticaly wrong and it dumped 6 of the 7.5 liters of oil either into the bilges or into the atmosphere as smoke. No number of onboard spares would fix the problem and the thought of coming all the way home against tide with an auxiliary motor is not a nice one. He called sea start who came out and got him home quick smart, if it was not for this service what could he have done, he would have to put himself at the mercy of a passing craft or call the coast guard for assistance.

It made me think about it and even though I have 2 diesels with so far have been 100% reliable I plan to join this weekend.

As has been mentioned a well maintained engine with a knowledgeable crew will very seldom if ever need emergency assistance but how much would you pay to never be in the situation where you are miles from shore with deteriorating weather, a terrified crew and no engine! My risk assesment says pay up!

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[tcm]

Disagree

Sea start is generally aimed at more serious seagoing boats where it's not feasible to carry a so-called "spare engine" - i In any case, against wide and tide, being able to do a handful of knots with an outboard rigged is no good anyway and possibly a load more dangerous than getting an engine problem fixed. And of course...oh, never mind.

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[EME]

Flawed

1) And you have never taken out any form of insurance: _ Life, medical, holiday, house , contents etc. on the basis of personal risk assessment and avoidance?

2) Following your logic I should personally never contribute to RNLI again as you are a possible beneficiary.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=blue>I am WHAT I say I am</font color=blue>

 

[miket]

Don\'t abuse it!

There have been a number of excellent reports of Sea Start. Congratulations.

Like all these sort of services though, if it is abused it will either get too expensive for most people or go under.
I believe the AA now reserve the right to refuse membership renewal if they feel that the vehicle is not being adequately maintained. I hope Sea Start adopt a similar sensible attitude.

As for towing. I believe that most responsible boat owners will offer a tow if hailed. I answered a call from Solent Coastguard to assist a speedboat broken down outside Southsea. We were in the entrance to the harbour at the time and it only took about 10 minutes to find them. It was actually rather good practise as we were due to be examined for our Yachtmaster Offshore the following day. SG were very appreciative as were the very attractive young ladies in the speed boat !!

Sorry if I did Sea Start out of a customer, but presumably he was not covered.

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[Dave_Knowles]

Happy 1,

My original posting was as a thankyou to Sea Start. I am a little upset with your inference that I am both unprepared and have quote "a crap engine".

Not all of us can afford vast sums for either new or nearly new boats and when you buy a boat you have to sometimes learn how well it has been cared for the hard way. On the face of it my engine looked good sounded good but it has needed a number of things done. I have rewired the boat, serviced the engine, had a Volvo engineer check it out, serviced the outdrive including new rams, iIt now has a bilge pump that works, fire fighting equipment etc. etc - but it is old and has not been given enought tlc in the past. We are getting there though.

I would point out the call outs were for the following:

1st we blew the rubber bajo on the exhaust manifold. They tried to fix it but couldn't on a Sunday. Maybe you carry a spare.

2nd. Out steering box seized up inside due to a cog breaking. Maybe you carry a spare streering box.

3rd Last night which you know about.

As for Sea Start if everone took your attitude they would not exist as neither would the AA or RAC. Having me the owner and talked to him about call outs he said that it evens out. They have many members that have never called them out but are members just in case.

Boats do break down even new ones I just hope one day you don't have to eat your words.






<hr width=100% size=1>Take care.

Dave

Dave Knowles
Southampton - UK

http://www.MyCleopatra.co.uk

 

[Solitaire]

Well said Dave - I only have praise for the guys at SS. I was going to respond to H1 - but it would only have wound me up even more. Still its just another example of ill-informed comment by someone with no real expereince and likes to wind folks up. It's comments like that that lead to problems in the first place - perhaps when he has been boating for a few more years he'll understand.



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[oldgit]

Do not think that H1 was having a go at your competence.It just appears that having one breakdown is unlucky,having two is very very bad luck but having three tow in events in a short space of time(we assume).Perhaps the boat is being asked to do a bit more than it is able to give.
My boat is 20 years old.Absolutely every thing that the old girl is asked to do,where and if we go,is with that fact in mind.

<hr width=100% size=1>Two boats please one here n one in the Med

 

[TwoStroke]

Did consider joining Sea Start when I bought the boat, but unfortunately they only cover shore based past east of Selsey. Am now contributing to the RNLI in case of emergency (fingers crossed).

<hr width=100% size=1>How much to fill'er up!

 

[Rob_Webb]

Don't worry about H1. Whether you agree or not with his sentiments, chosing his words carefully has never been his strong point with the result that one's hackles are usually raised to the extent that his 'point' disappears into a red mist!

Anyway, I think we are mostly in agreement that joinging SS is a perfectly sensible thing to do and you should call them whenever necessary - just expect them to take a look at your premiums if and when your call record climbs.

The only other aspect is that to some of us raggies, the concept of setting out to sea with nothing other than a single engine for power is anathema. I am always 1% nervous when motoring in a flat calm for instance because I know that if anything happens I am already down to my last option for motive power.

So some of us regard the act of willfully setting out without any form of backup/wing engine etc as either incredibly bold or a little bit reckless - namely because this creates an overdependence on others to help you out of a pickle.

So I can understand other people suggesting (as indeed I do!) that you might consider some kind of alternative get-me-out-of-trouble power option but at the same time keep the SS membership fully paid up!

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[h4nym]

You do this deliberately H1? Kim got u on a commission to stir up animosity? For some of us, boating is a pleasure, not a mission!

H4

<hr width=100% size=1>Life balance?

 

[markc]

arse!

I hope Happy1 that you do not have any insurance too, because that also relies on the many non-claimers funding the few claimers. But there again, you're just a nonsensical opinionated loudmouth in the same, non-accusatory way as Dave has a ‘crap engine’

<hr width=100% size=1>http://www.geocities.com/jinto100/Jintopics.html

 

[lyc]

Re: Happy Bashing

Can we stop this Happy bashing before the whole board is brought down to the same childish level.

Please......

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BroadsandEastcoastBoating/>Broads & East Coast Boating</A>

 

[Happy1]

Full explanation for gnats

Blimey, out for the afterrnoon and evening on the boat, get back, log on, and all hell's let loose /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

Explanation for the few that have the post reading skills of a gnat, and are part of the lynch mob /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

"Dave you are either very unlucky, have a crap engine or don't service the boat properly"

Dave admits that the engine he bought had no TLC, therefore he is having to do a lot to correct it, it was left for him to decide which of the three categories it should go, only he would know, I didn't pick any one of them. See Daves admission on PBO :- "I have rewired the boat, serviced the engine, had a Volvo engineer check it out, serviced the outdrive including new rams, iIt now has a bilge pump that works, fire fighting equipment etc. etc - but it is old and has not been given enought tlc in the past. We are getting there though with a little help from Bob and his dog"

"I invested in a spare engine for my boat which cost quite a bit, I considered sea start but they are not in my area. I have never broken down yet, touch wood, but have he knowledge that I can get home. I carry spares that I would need, including a battery booster"

This was details of my own personal back up plan, not full proof, but I do not have sea start in my area as I stated. Due to this I have to be as self efficient as possible, I will give details of an incident I had yesterday at the end of this.

"It seems to me that Sea start is the cheaper option of having to worry about self help"

It has cost me a lot of money to get my back up systems and spares, would I have bought them all if I had been able to have sea start here? I don't know as it was never an option. So is it a cheaper option if you do have them in your area, well that was for discussion, and could have been before the gnats got personal /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

"I would not join for the reason that I would be subsidising people who don't seem to want to take on their own responsibilities"

I have now had my spares and back ups in operation and feel comfortable with what I have got. I know believe that with MY present boat and back ups, I do not need sea start


"don't get me wrong, if you are getting the service then good for you, but some mug somehere is paying for it (not me thank goodness)"

From reading Daves exploits he has had his money's worth already, somebody is paying for that, if there were another 1,000 of him with his luck, sea start would be out of business. I had the choice of buying a bigger older boat which could have unknown problems, but I decided to go for new and smaller, and hopefully more reliable for my circumstances. Everyone makes their own choice, if someone goes bigger than they can comfortably afford keep in a safe Seaworthy state, well IMHO that is down to them, I do not want to subsidise them whilst I am making do with something smaller. I could not even afford an oil change in TCM's boat /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

"Sea start is a business, it is not run as a charity, so I don't really know what the big deal is"

I had the feeling that some people did not know it was a business with an annual subscription. I think they thought he did it for charity, I was confused about this.

"It does seem the the enterpenoureal guy is giving a good service, well done to him. But if you carry on the way you are going, I am sure the fees will increase next year"

From what I have read sea start is doing a good service for it's members, i have given credit to them for this, but perhaps it is not for everyone, hence again the offer of a discussion on it.

"Bit like the AA or RAC, I was a member for over 20 years never broke down, but would always see the ill maintained cars calling them out. I know there were genuine cases with the AA as well as in Seat Start, but my risk asessment has shown me that if I had an emergency I would want to deal with it and have the capabiities, an hours wait could be disasterous in certain conditions, not like sitting at the side of a road waiting for the AA."

This is my personal experience of keeping a vehicle maintained well, it has cost me over 20 yrs with the AA, I have now cancelled my membership as I get a free service from my car manufacturer at the moment. This AA experience came into MY risk assessment re sea start, but was not required when I found they did not operate here anyway. I also confirmed that I was aware of cases where thigs just went wrong for whatever reason, new boat or old, and accepted that. I also looked at the experience of a sea start call out taking 1 hr, I know that 1 hour at sea could be dangerous withot power, compared to sitting at the side of the road waiting for the AA.

"Don't take this as a critisiscm of you, I have just put it up for discussion to balance things"

I said this as I felt that Dave could have just had bad luck, he could have been one of the 'unlucky' ones, I don't know, but three call outs so close does put the spot light on things a bit. I felt that we could have a discussion as to others ways of dealing with emergencies, but Oh No, the lynching mob appeared making a total fool of themselves, and showing they did not read what had been written.

"BUT it is not normal to have all the problems you have, how can you relax when it keeps breaking down, get that boat checked out properly, next time you may not be so lucky "

This was a continuation of the above, I felt that perhaps a look at what the spot light was shining on may be a sound investment. And as for not being so lucky, what if sea start broke down on route to you?

I do hope that some of the gnats will take a close look at this and then send me a PM apologising. I think my post made a lot more sense than the childish jibberish comments of some replies /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

Well this is long enough so I will save my emergency tail for another day on a new thread.

<font color=purple> "You only see what you recognise, and you only recognise what you know" <font color=purple>

 

[Dave_Knowles]

Re: Full explanation for gnats

You seem to have completely lost the point of my original posting. The breakdowns have been over a reasonable long period of time and the comment "We are getting there though with a little help from Bob and his dog"
was suposed to be light harted. All I can say is you have your views and a lot don't agree, That's life.

<hr width=100% size=1>Take care.

Dave

Dave Knowles
Southampton - UK

http://www.MyCleopatra.co.uk