Radio arrived

[Adey]

Mmmmm, boat gadget

[jeffstevens763@g]

mester's toys

[simonafloat]

Nice. Shame I got rid of my handheld in order to part fund a fixed dsc radio. Those little handhelds are bloody useful bits of kit and I was impressed with the range on mine.

[wiLlfish]

Originally Posted by simonafloat

I wasimpressed with the range on mine.

heez inn dudlai

ifn hee gets de cowstgard nobburs Fromm their, iyll bee imprest

[smallribber]

In my opinion you need a handheld and a fixed radio

[Duggy]

Question - do you have to have taken the RYA course to use one?

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Duggy

Question - do you have to have taken the RYA course to use one?

To use a marine VHF legally you must either:

- have the relevant operators certificate (RYA course and exam). OR
- be supervised by someone who has that. OR
- be in an emergency. OR
- be using a private channel.

The radio itself (or more accurately the boat) should also be registered FOC via the Ofcom website.

Some people take the view that the cost, or the time to take the course are not worth it and they will only use it in an emergency. A VHF has more to offer than just a "999" service. Even as an emergency tool it is probably useful if you have never used one before to work through the process of making distress calls etc, so if you ever need to it is less of a panic.

[Phil M]

Originally Posted by Poly

A VHF has more to offer than just a "999" service.

Yep, our local slip is in a locked marine and they won't open the lock gates unless you have a VHF.

Phil M

[Duggy]

Thanks for the info.

I thought that the course and qualification was a legal requirement but wanted to make sure.

I shall endeavour to get myself trained next year.

[simonafloat]

Duggy, depending on where you live I would find and book a course well in advance. It takes absolutely ages to get on a course where I live, as the course is only run once sufficient people have booked up. The alternative is to pay a lot more for a one on one.

[Duggy]

Originally Posted by simonafloat

Duggy, depending on where you live I would find and book a course well in advance. It takes absolutely ages to get on a course where I live, as the course is only run once sufficient people have booked up. The alternative is to pay a lot more for a one on one.

Near Bromsgrove. I did a quick check and there seems to be a couple of places not too far from me, one at Stourbridge I think.

On an even brighter note, I finally got the boat in the water today. Have been down in Somerset for a couple of days but on the way back I called in to see a chap I know who runs the Boat House at Lower Load and spent a couple of hours testing the boat/motor handling on the lower Severn.

As others have said, the T40AE is a bit cumbersome to launch on my own and the Mariner 20 4 stroke is heavy, but once in the water they seem a very good match. The boat planes well and seems much MUCH more rigid than my last wooden floored SIB.

Lessons learned from today, I need a longer fuel line so I can secure the tank in the bow for better weight distribution. I also need to build a little trailer to carry it in as it consumes too much of the boot of my bus.

Also, I highly recommend the Bravo 20 rechargeable pump, a really excellent bit of kit. Took about 10 minutes to pump it completely up from stored and for a 4m boat that's impressive.

[Adey]

Hey Duggy,
Great to see you got the boat wet.
I can't wait to try ours out for the first time.
Like you, I'm hoping to get on a river or somewhere inland to test her out before going in the sea.
Is the spot at Lower Loade, available for anyone to use?
Cheers
Ade