sib on the beach

[mat8739]

may be me being thick but ,,lol,,do yo have to have a license to have a sib in the water,,and can i launch of any beach on y holidays without paying???

[akirk]

possibly & possibly

to run a boat on the oceans requires no licences / qualifications / etc.
however some waters have licence requirements (e.g. the River Thames)
launching - costs depend on land owner's decision, so some launching is free, but many launching points will charge - here on the Thames as my example, to use the local public slipway is free, but too narrow for my rib (designed for canoes), the local marina is c. £15 the local pub is £5 and I put it in the water from a friend's field (off the bank) free of charge - all varies

Alasdair

[mat8739]

i will prob just be using the sib on the sea ,,cant i just pull it on to a PUBLIC beach and chuck it in ,,and away i go ,,i wont go out in bad weather but what do i have to do to check tides,,whats good and bad tides..

[m chappelow]

Depends on the local council and their bylaws ect ,some like in yorkshire /cleveland areas ,Redcar its free and no one will bother you but down the coast into scarborough, flamborough,bridlington the council want to see insurance cert and not a duplicate and you have to have minimum safety equipment ,

[Max...]

Always apply common sense to it too - keep away from busy public beaches - most areas of coastline have 'known' sites where people launch boats away from the masses.

PB2 is always a good idea too if you are new to boating and only a fool would go anywhere near a public area without insurance so make sure you have that - it will only cost around £50 a year for a SIB.

[mat8739]

thanks for the insurance tip ,,so no license ??,,i was gettin a sib so i could fish close in the shore line without payin 25-35 for a few hours fishing,,if i have to pay to launch i think i will have to weigh things up again shame i was really gettin excited

[actions]

I had a sib before my rib, just walked down to the beach with the boat, returned for the outboard and away i went. No need to pay any launching fees if on a public beach normally.

As stated some councils will want to see insurance but thats only if using their slipways. For instance Thanet council require an insurance certificate and yearly payment. In return you get a key to open up slipway gates. but if your not using their slipway they dont bother you at all.

If using close into shore common sense applies, some areas dont allow powered craft within 300 yrds of the beach, some allow it but under 8knts.

Loads round here use sibs and canoes to fish from and nearly all launch from the beach itself.

Always check your tides before going and weather. Ensure you have safety gear too.

[Poly]

mat - its not necessarily a cheap solution. Servicing the engine, insuring the boat, fuel, kit like lifejackets etc, some training, the boat and engine etc will all add up. You'd probably need to spend 10-20 days a year for 5 years to work out cheaper than the £5-10/hr you are currently paying...

[mat8739]

thanks so much ,,but how do i check if tides are to strong and could be dangerous,,is there a weather station on the radio or sumthink

[Poly]

Mat - I'd suggest you look at getting some training (RYA Powerboat Level 2 is usually considered the "entry level" for new skippers). This will include some basic info on how to find out about tides, and understand when they will be at their fastest etc. Depending on where you are in the country they may not be an issue but in other cases they might.

[Cookasaurus]

Yep search and you shall find!! It's easy enough to ask everything you want to know, but why reinvent the wheel

Even on this sub-forum you'll find weeks of relevant reading material (or so I tell myself)!

[m chappelow]

Its not a bad idea if you know what area you might be going to use ,to have a look at what the locals do with regards to launching /beaching or local conditions ,

Beach launching can be a hard game and many first time boaters or the inexperienced are often put off if the wrong beach or sea conditions are not right on the day ,especially if a couple of waves slosh into the boat at the surf line or the boat gets knocked sideways whilst starting the engine ect morall can soon diminish .
sometimes just a bit of local knowlage or tips can go a long way in making your day a fantastic one or a cold wet one . (though in a sib sooner or later your going to get your arse wet )lol.

as cookasaurus says ,youve come to the right place on Ribnet and you can spend many hours looking through threads and posts gaining knowlage or on deciding how to tackle things or what equipment is best for your needs .
as Polwart says an RYA Pb2 will give you a good grounding and hopefully make things safer .

[mat8739]

thank you asll for your advice ,have been reading about wind today lol trying to judge and know what what strength maybe like on the water and the scale of the wind which is ok for a sib i am looking for...

[squiddy]

Originally Posted by m chappelow

Beach launching can be a hard game and many first time boaters or the inexperienced are often put off if the wrong beach or sea conditions are not right on the day ,especially if a couple of waves slosh into the boat at the surf line or the boat gets knocked sideways whilst starting the engine ect morall can soon diminish .

Yes, I had experience of this on first ever launch - made me worry and stress out. Was fairly large waves though. Tried reversing into waves (I got wet) , had boat kicked sideways by waves as I was approaching beach (i got wet and then fell out, landing on my feet!) etc etc. Not a great deal of fun. Now, if there's no slip, I just paddle out from beach, if i'm solo and the waves stop me paddling then I dont go from beach - means that if engine gives up then I know i can safely paddle back. By the way, I sit at the bow with a kayak style paddle - more powerful and controllable than sitting on bench and rowing IMO. I can get some good pace up paddling the aerotec solo that way, much to my great relief.

[frankc]

Rule of thumb is to square wind velocity and then multiply by 0.02. As an example, 15 MPH winds squared = 225, then x 0.02 = 4 1/2 ft waves. This will get you in the ballpark, but tides, currents etc will have a big influence on what the waves are. The surf will vary depending on which way the wind is blowing and other factors, so do not equate surf conditions by wind speed only.

I supose if you knew the wave speed and factored this in to the equation, it would be very accurate.

Like someone said, local knowledge is invaluable. That is a big ocean out there, and it will eat your cake if you get careless.

[Poly]

frankc - that is an interesting way of estimating wave height - but I'm not sure it will be that reliable (my gut feel is it over estimates for the sort of conditions/area I typically go out in; but then if I start assuming that in reality it will be much less - one day I'll get a fright!).

To my mind as well as local effects like tides, currents, headlands, a bar etc which have a very local effect the two big factors in wave height on top of the wind speed, are the fetch and the time it has been blowing for. There is no doubt that the further the wind has travelled the worse the waves will be. So 20 mph which you would predict to give 8ft waves will potentially only have 2-3 ft waves in the lee of an island, or large headland etc. On the otherhand if its been blowing F7 for the last week then even if the wind now drops to 5 mph (where you would only expect 6" waves) then the swell will be much higher.

[frankc]

The equation comes from Chapman's book and is a pretty dependable method. Now if there has been an offshore storm, the seas will be larger until the effect of the storm has passed. In the event of an area being protected by a land mass or something, they may indeed be lesser sized waves. Ground swell is a whole different story and generally is no problem.

We used to do a lot of offshore fishing, and the formula was pretty much right on offshore. You had to watch inlets though, as currents either opposed or running with the wind made a big difference. We have one river mouth where you just don't go with a strong onshore wind and an outgoing tide. The place looks like cotton balls cover the area at times due to breaking waves. Local knowledge is priceless.

Shallow water would cause the waves to be steeper close in, and always had to be approached with caution with an onshore wind. The sand bar location off the beach was where the surf started breaking. Your shore and sea conditions probably differ by the graduient between deep and shallow.

Normally seas here run about 2 to 3 ft on a good day. Due to the short distance between waves, I would not feel safe out there with a small boat whereas down in the Florida Keys, you could run out pretty far in one.

[Max...]

At the end of the day anything more than a slight is a total PITA in a SIB!

[frankc]

Well, Max, I think you summed it up right on the money. We are all saying the same thing in different manners, but your remark covers it all.

[mat8739]

you lot lost me way back in the converation lol