Tom Cunliffe Day skipper book - relevant to motor boat owner?

[Murv]

I'm not going to do the courses as initially will just be pottering about in the river Medway & Swale but that will involve tangling with commercial shipping on occasion. Is the book relevant to motor boaters? I just want to do a bit of reading up on the subject.

 

[kashurst]

From memory I think that book is aimed more at sailing boats, however its well worth a read because the collision regulations section is true for all boats regardless of size or experience! If you plan to go onto the tidal parts of the medway you will also need to understand tides and currents as well. I think there is a bit on how to use ropes to moor up safely as well. If you are very new to this game its a good starting point. Although you said you aren't bothered about courses yet, I didn't do my day skipper practical course until I had owned a boat for @ 2 years. With hindsight I wish I had done it immediately.

 

[Murv]

Thanks for that, sounds ideal to be honest!

This is our first boat, it's small and it's old so not looking to invest in training at the moment. Well, not "official" training anyway, we'll be going out with guys at the marina who offer beginner type lessons.

I do have a reasonable understanding of tides and weather in the Medway, but colregs, mooring etc (in fact everything else!) I don't have a clue on!

 

[prv]

It is firmly based on sailing boats, but I'd say there's quite a lot that's relevant, yes. In fact, for the first trip out he advises leaving the sails down and just motoring around . The good thing about it is that despite the name it's not really aimed at people doing the RYA course. Rather, it tries to take you up to the same level of knowledge as someone who had done the course, but learning on your own with the help of the book, like people used to before RYA courses existed. It sounds like this is exactly what you want to do. There may be a more appropriate motorboat book out there which I wouldn't know about, but this one certainly wouldn't be a wasted purchase.

Pete

 

[Murv]

That's fantastic, thanks Pete.
It was recommended to me by the very nice chap who did our RNLI on-board safety assessment. Just wanted to make sure it was the right one and I hadn't got the wrong end of the stick.

 

[DAKA]

Its worth a skim read if you are thinking of taking an RYA exam but in the time it takes you to drive to a chandlers or await delivery of the book , you could learn far more from a quick youtube search !
Loads of quality footage taken of specific areas , you just need to find a few local to you , (preferably taken from a boat similar to yours. )

This one is shown as what not to do when anyone is watching

 

[DAKA]

 

[Cardo]

This is the book I read instead of taking a theory course. Whilst aimed primarily at yochties (of which I am one) a lot of the stuff will still be relevant (tides, colregs, weather, navigation, etc).
Very entertaining book, too.
Though there's probably one bit that is the opposite to what a mobo'er would do - when the wind is Beaufort 0, Tom recommends going to the pub!

 

[Murv]

I am a subscriber to KTL, most enjoyable films

Problem is that I keep taking more and more interest in sailing boats, something about the elegant shapes that appeals. These are feelings that need to be rapidly quashed. The whistle of wind through rigging cannot possibly compare to the whistle of a turbocharger at 100,000rpm.
Can it...?

 

[prv]

when the wind is Beaufort 0, Tom recommends going to the pub!

When we unexpectedly ended up with a gaff-rigged boat because my mum liked the look of it, I bought his gaff rig book. That has numerous references to drink - from whisky after reefing in heavy weather, to gin for the helmsman in light winds when the watersail blocks his view ahead, to rum after a perfect anchoring manoeuvre. And I still use his mnemonic for the circling of weather systems - in low-pressure bad weather, you unscrew the whisky bottle anticlockwise. In high pressure fine weather, you put the corkscrew into a bottle of chilled white wine, turning clockwise.

All in the best possible taste

Pete

 

[Murv]

I can see myself learning an awful lot from this book!
Thanks for the recommendations, I'm looking forward to it's arrival

 

[Elessar]

I'm not going to do the courses as initially will just be pottering about in the river Medway & Swale but that will involve tangling with commercial shipping on occasion. Is the book relevant to motor boaters? I just want to do a bit of reading up on the subject.

theory is identical for power and sail. Practical is 80% the same. And every good mobo-er should be a competant sailor in my book (and visa versa). So yes it's relevant!

 

[rwilson]

Buy it, col regs and navigation very well covered which is what you need.

 

[vjmehra]

Personally I think its a great book, speaking as someone who's done the sail dayskipper course and is intending to do the power practical later on this year.

That aside, whereabouts are you based on the Medway?

We moved our RIB to Gillingham at the end of last season, it should be ready to go for the new season, so if you ever feel like organising a small flotilla let me know!

 

[Murv]

Hi vjmehra, we're at Cuxton, sounds good to me (assuming I sort out the seacock first, otherwise it will be a sinkilla!)

 

[timgriffin]

Some good books on the RYA site
http://www.rya.org.uk/shop/pages/li...type=&sortby=&page=1&showall=1&course=&pList=
Tim

 

[epervier]

On the subject of books, I treated myself to Reeds Yachtsman's Handbook (hardback) Amazon warehouse clearance £3.98 postage £2.80 well pleased.

 

[vjmehra]

Ah cuxton, right round the corner, cool, look forwar to the sinkilla ;-)

 

[talltim]

I picked up a copy of Day Skipper Motor Cruising by Denise Brehaut and P aul Hay off of amazon for £1 plus postage is a like new 2nd copy.

They had another for around £3 iirc

Like Epervier I also got a Reeds Channel Almanac for around £3

 

[oldgit]

I'm not going to do the courses as initially will just be pottering about in the river Medway & Swale but that will involve tangling with commercial shipping on occasion. Is the book relevant to motor boaters? I just want to do a bit of reading up on the subject.

Loads of room