Inflatable boat and outboard for UK waterways?

[ReadySalted]

Hi all,
I am a complete novice at all things boating. I'm a keen outdoorsman, and ex military so consider myself to be relatively practical, and love exploration but have never had much experience of boats, short of several raft races, and day's on the river wye in canoes. I did go to a kayak club some years ago but not for a particularly long time.

I'm interested in maybe getting myself a second hand inflatable dinghy, with a small outboard, that I can put in (or on top of) the land rover, and use for a days zipping up and down the river. Potentially even the odd trip stopping at certain points, and camping on the riverbank, if that's the done thing.

Firstly, what do I need in order to do this? Do I legally need to have insurance, or a certain license, or anything like that? or can I just buy a dinghy and go play. (If so, would this be pretty irresponsible without proper training?)

Secondly, any ideas on what I should be looking at. Finding a used dinghy and small outboard on ebay for under 500 quid seems just about possible.

Any answers would be very welcome, as this is outside of my comfort-zone, but something I'd love to get involved in.
Thanks
Dan.

[qsjustin]

Hi Dan

I was new to all this in June, having a dinghy on the water is great fun, I can only advise on what I have found
Insurance is recomended and required to use Canal and River Trust Waterways
I pay about £8 for a day licence to use the local river (Tees) about 14 miles clean none tidal water
Your budget is probably right to get started (I paid £800 for boat/engine/trailer) but you might get an end of season bargain.
It is adictive and you will want a bigger / faster boat soon.

[ShinyShoe]

As well as the boat you need (for need interpret that if you don't the RIB.net possie will eat you alive rather than the law requires it)...

• Lifejacket / Personal Floatation Device
• VHF Marine Radio (and an operators licence)
• Anchor & Warp (need to be able to 'park up' safely if your engine fails)

The RIB.net possie may also recommend some additional kit such as dry suits, flares etc.

[ReadySalted]

Hi Justin,
Thanks for you info.

This may seem like a stupid question, but how does getting a day license work?
Presumably you have to call the council or the particular trust and pay for each day you intend to use the boat. So for example, I couldn't just decide one afternoon to take the boat to the river for a bit of a blast, as I'd have to arrange insurance etc beforehand?

I must admit at the moment I'm thinking the smaller the boat the better, as it should be cheaper, but will be easier to transport, especially if it's collapsible and I can inflate in before use?

With regard to engine, I'd be after a 2, 4 or 5hp, 4t engine. Does this sound about right? Also what are the limitations to transporting the engine? I'm assuming if 4t it must be kept pretty much upright in transit? and would you suggest buying a dinghy without motor, and buy a motor separate or trying to find somebody selling the two together?

[ReadySalted]

PS I am reasonably savvy with radio equipment, but I imagine a VHF marine radio would be an expensive bit of kit. Could somebody please give me an example of a basic starter model so I can research their price?

Also, I imagine they're standalone bits of kit that require batterys etc.?

[qsjustin]

The day licence (for me) is dead easy, there is a manned office at the Tees barrage, you go in show your insurance, pay your money and your away. I presume similar arrangments for other waters, the canal and rivers trust do have a web page where you can pay online.
VHF, you can get a cheap handheld for about £50 but need a licence to legally operate, would not bother for inland water though.
Engine wise depends on weight/size and what you want to do, I have a 9.9 2s (which is light enough to carry) and planes 2 up on a 3m SIB, anything less I think would struggle. 4S wuold have to be careful not to spill engine oil when carrying in car.
Lifejackets a must though with a kill cord on the engine.

[IanH]

Some people would try and kit you out for the arctic just to go for a bit of pleasure cruising.

If on a river, forget the VHF. It probably won't be close enough to anyone to work anyway as a handheld probably has a range of couple of miles at best. A mobile phone and set of oars would likely be better, IMHO.

Different story if out on the sea.

Don't worry about 4 stroke dropping oil. They have big stickers on them to show which sides/ends up for storage/transport just incase you forget. Follow the sticker and it shouldn't leak anything.

[willk]

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

As well as the boat you need (for need interpret that if you don't the RIB.net possie will eat you alive rather than the law requires it)...

• Lifejacket / Personal Floatation Device
• VHF Marine Radio (and an operators licence)
• Anchor & Warp (need to be able to 'park up' safely if your engine fails)

The RIB.net possie may also recommend some additional kit such as dry suits, flares etc.

He's going up the river!! He needs:

Life jacket
Paddles
Insurance
Killcord
Flask and sandwiches
Tartan Rug

[Jeff Hutcheon]

Originally Posted by willk

He's going up the river!! He needs:

Life jacket
Paddles
Insurance
Killcord
Flask and sandwiches
Tartan Rug

And a copy of three men in a boat!!

[Fenlander]

Some areas make it harder than others. On the Anglian waterways (Nene, Ouse, Welland etc) you have to apply and have the day certificate posted to you... and it has to be for a specific day which makes planning around the weather hard... and blows out impromptu outings.

I would use our SIB on local Eastern rivers if the licence was a more sensible price but as our Honwave has a 15hp motor the yearly licence is over £250. At £50 I'd use the rivers but £250 is too much.

[stray]

The day licence (for me) is dead easy, there is a manned office at the Tees barrage, you go in show your insurance, pay your money and your away.

Whereabouts do you launch from at the Barrage? Are there any restrictions on speed or engine size? Always fancied a ride up the river.

[qsjustin]

Launch at the barrage from the slipway (clean side) on the south shore near the barrage, no engine restrictions, speed limit officialy 5mph but get out in the wilds and its quiet if you open the taps occasionaly

[ShinyShoe]

Originally Posted by willk

He's going up the river!! He needs:

Life jacket
Paddles
Insurance
Killcord
Flask and sandwiches
Tartan Rug

He didn't say which river... Some rivers are bigger than others...

I'd still say some form of method to park if things aren't going to plan. A wee grapnel anchor with some rope may be enough. But will depend on the river and how wide it is and how fast flowing and what you are likely to hit if you suddenly break down.

VHF - a non-waterproof low power handheld £50. A waterproof 6W version would be £120. Course is about £70-100 depending where you are. If you are away from other signs of boating and inland then a mobile phone in a waterproof bag may be more sensible.

Insurance - you'd normally buy annually rather than for the day.

[ReadySalted]

Thanks for everybody's input.

It's for the river Wye by the way. I can't say I'm likely to be venturing farther afield with the Wye practically on my doorstep, and the sea would be far too much out of my comfort zone for any of the foreseeable future.

So it looks like I'd need:
-A dinghy, and a 2 or 4 stroke motor around 4 or 5hp (with emergency cut off cord)
-Life jackets
-Insurance
-Paddles

-Maybe an small anchor
-Maybe a VHF radio

Does that sound about right?
And does anyone have first hand experience of gaining the permissions/ insurance for this sort of thing on the river wye?
Cheers

[ShinyShoe]

Not really my part of the world. So no local knowledge. But since I started off the VHF discussion, probably appropriate to respond.

Looks like responsibility is Gloucester Harbour Trust to the tidal limit then the EA's.

Environment Agency - Access
(maps are too low resolution to be useful!)

http://www.severn-boating.co.uk/wye.htm

It looks like boats may be able to get as far as Hay-on-Wye but dont quote me on that, but down to Chepstow looks like few other boats would be around. I'd expect VHF is probably fairly worthless down to at least Chepstow. And according to this: http://www.gloucesterharbourtrustees...ncejun2011.pdf you should assume useless in the whole of the Wye for anyone other than very local boats to hear you. The valley looks quite steep sided which limits the value of VHF which is pretty much line of sight. Certainly wouldn't want to rely on it as my only means of seeking assistance if something was to go wrong.

I'm sure someone local will be along to confirm but it doesn't look like you need a licence to use the Wye. BUT you may need to pay to launch...

[clydeoutboards]

Hi

my perspective on this:

1: keep it as simple and stupid as you can and that includes how much time it takes to get on the water from the time you say lets go. The shorter the time and the simpler it is the more you will use it.
2: dont bother with VHF and course or the anchor ( unless fishing) as you are going on a river.
3: if you have not used one before there are lots of great lochs and lakes that you can practice on before using it anywhere there is a strong current. This is not a must do but nice if you can do.
4: bit of a trip...... but the scottish boat show is this weekend so you could come up and look at few and even better get a cheap b&b and make a weekend of it.
Dave

[IanH]

Your budget is not looking for new, but if you do end up looking for a newer 4 stroke (2-strokes were effectively banned for new pleasure boating sales in 2006) then try a 6hp as it is likely to be physically identical to the 4 or 5hp models, but not restricted on power.

[ReadySalted]

Further to all my previous questions;

I have so far been only interested in petrol outboards, however I've seen a few cheaper ribs for sale with electric 12v motors on.

Firstly, these seem very flimsy, and from what I can see, hook up via power leads directly to a battery stood in the boat, which looks very temperamental, and dangerous?

However, they are alot cheaper to find, would negate the cost of fuel and some engine maintainance, and I am only going to be pootling up and down the river after all.

So what's the consensus on these?

Cheers

[ShinyShoe]

Depends a LOT on what u are planning to do.

Issues are not dissimillar to electric cars. Range. Access to charging points. Battery life. Weight of battery etc.

You mention in your OP that you might want to camp. You'd struggle to find anywhere to charge overnight. Run out of fuel you can usually find some way to get to a petrol station with a 5litre can... Run out of electrics and you look odd turning up at a pub with a battery and charger asking to plug in. Even odder when you are still there in the morning waiting for it to finish charging!!

The fishing guys on small lakes like them - but they tend to use for 15 mins, anchor up, fish for hours, motor back in.

You could find ways to smarten up the installation.

There are a few people on here who have one for canal type trips. From what I read the Wye is not like a canal. If your battery dies you can't grab the side of the canal, tie up and wander along the tow path.

[TomKat]

it all depends what you want to do with it, I started with a quicksilver 310 and 8hp 2 stroke and with 2 adults it was OK but fairly sedate progress so quickly bored of it and sold it and got something bigger and faster, the 380 size boat with a 15hp seems a good compromise for most.
I also have had a Zodiac 280 (slat floor) with a 3.3Hp and liked it as it was dead cheap so I could accept that it was slow.
I have also had a Tinker tramp with a 3.3HP and liked it a lot for the same reasons!

Buy the best engine you can as the boats can be picked up quite cheap in me experience, over the winter on eBay or gumtree you will get a bargain. I would recommend a 2 stroke but at the lower HP's get the freshest for the money.

Its also fairly easy (if you are handy) to fit a kill cord to an older engine so don't let that put you off.