Boat safety

[Max...]

Originally Posted by jambo

After reading all the post including Polly's much which I agree, I do wonder how many people are in charge of boats and ribs on the sea and indeed members on here, that rely on years of experience as they were in and around the sea and boats well before there were bits of paper to say you were good!
A piece of paper does not maketh the man/woman: never seen a boat, buy one on Monday sit exams Tues/Wed and off you go on the sea on Thursday, yea I feel safe,not! Probably sh1t themselves first force 4!!!!Give me experience any day.

I could not agree more...BUT... the OP has zero typical UK coastal tidal experience, everyone has to start somewhere and PB2 is a great place to start. I spent years of holidays on the med driving a ski boat in clear blue non-tidal warm bays before buying a boat here, lots of experience but useless for the UK. Doing PB2 for two days taught me far more that was applicable to UK boating.

Polwart, this is all getting off topic but the road casualty figures in the early part of the 20th century when there were a minute fraction of the vehicles we now have on the roads were horrendous compared to later figures after the test was introduced.

Regardless I'm still surprised that some advocate those with no experience just jolly off onto the sea like they are driving down to Tesco's. Surely I'm not the only one who cringes at the idiots out there at the weekends with no LJ's on the kids, no safety gear or respect for others, blapping about like joyriders in a car park.

If you have no experience or no-on experienced to teach you the basics, you don't know anything about tides, weather or launching and manouvering, don't know an LJ from a DJ, don't know what sort of anchor to buy or how to use it, don't know how to pass another boat, want to keep your family safe etc, etc then get some training, simple as that! To suggest anything else is daft!

I'm bowing out of this topic now as I've become a grumpy git...

[Poly]

Polwart, this is all getting off topic but the road casualty figures in the early part of the 20th century when there were a minute fraction of the vehicles we now have on the roads were horrendous compared to later figures after the test was introduced.

actually IIRC before the introduction of the driving test there were a bit over 4000 road deaths per annum in the UK. Last year there were a bit under 4000. Given the improvements in vehicle safety and medicine that is not a big change. Obviously there are more cars (and if you present it as a ratio of deaths to cars it has fallen significantly - but its a gradual decline not a step change).

Regardless I'm still surprised that some advocate those with no experience just jolly off onto the sea like they are driving down to Tesco's.

who's advocated that on this thread? I can't see anyone suggesting that? I thought pretty much everyone had said go do a PB2. Indeed when it was suggested he could do it at a "local lake" people said - don't - go and do it in the sea because tides make life more complex.

[lightning]

This all makes interesting reading.

So........

A boat handling course of some sort is clearly a good idea, we'll do one before the Summer.
VHF radio, I will buy one for emergency use and read up on how to make an emergency call on it.
Flares, yes we'll carry those. An anchor? Not sure, the boat is only a 2.85m SIB. GPS, we'll carry one of these too, and I'll learn how to use it.
We carry oars as a backup and always wear lifejackets, so that's a start.
As already stated though, we won't venture out to sea in our little SIB for obvious reasons.

[Poly]

Everything sounds good, and when you do the PB2 course you will cover "essential" and "desirable" equipment.

Originally Posted by lightning

An anchor? Not sure, the boat is only a 2.85m SIB.

I would strongly suggest one, even in such a small boat (it only needs to be a very small anchor with some relatively thin rope in a bag). Your boat has no brakes, so if you get a problem - lets say your engine dies, you run out of fuel, you get water in your fuel, or even you just accidentally pull the kill cord and then flood it in the panic to restart. If you are close to a lee shore (wind blowing you on to rocks ) that is bad news with nothing to stop you ending up as fish food! Drop the anchor over the front then start investigating or wait for help. On the otherhand with the wind blowing you offshore you might find yourself getting into deeper water (both literally and metaphorically) - either drifting into the passage of a ship (they don't like this - your boney bits can scratch the prop as it minces you!) or finding yourself on the way to the Scillies in a tiny boat!

Oars/paddles are OK if the tide and wind are very light and you are close to shore but otherwise you will be working hard just to stay still, never mind actually get to safety or have time to start fixing a trivial engine issue yourself.

Personally I'd say it is more important than the GPS for the sort of boating that you are planning (people have sailed the seas for hundreds of years before satellites - but being using anchors for most of them!). I've had to anchor to sort a problem in nice weather.

It will also open up some other useful options:

(1) stopping a float for lunch
(2) leaving the boat afloat in a couple of metres of water and swimming ashore to avoid the hassle/risk of damaging the bottom dragging it up the beach
(3) hanging some string with a worm attached off the side in the vague pretence you will catch your own supper

[lightning]

OK you convinced me, that's another item on my shopping list.