Rich w

Richardwernham · 19 August 2015, 08:53

Hello all, just purchased my new honwave 3.8 after much deliberation & research on this site. It's still in the bag & dry so I need to change that as soon as possible! Am planning on buying the 20hp engine to go with it asap & then doing my RYA level 2 course. Lots of questions though, like insurance? Guessing I need it? Also I'm in the south east & want to take the boat as far as I can up the thames & maybe even into London?? Can it be done in a SIB? Thanks all, had a tonne of useful info from these forums already & very much looking forward to starting out on this road. I'm a complete newby to powered boating btw. Done a lot of kayaking but never had a boat under power so this is a whole new world for me.

Fenlander · 19 August 2015, 08:59

Yep I'd get insurance. For me and many here Craftinsure online are the company of choice. You can get insured at minimal cost (about £50) in minutes and print your own policy/certificate. You don't have to declare the actual boat/outboard make/serial nos just an overall value so if you wanted to get insurance to cover the new Honwave you could guestimate the outboard you're buying.

Are you going new 4-stroke or used 2-stroke?

Richardwernham · 19 August 2015, 09:13

Thanks for the info & quick reply fenlander, I'm going for the new 4 stroke. I'm planning on taking the girlfriend out on some fairly ambitious trips (once I'm a little less green) so don't want any dodgy engine issues to worry about mid ocean! It's a LOT of money yes but I'd rather buy it once & get a good one..

Fenlander · 19 August 2015, 09:24

If you're ok with the cost and weight over the more usual used 15hp 2-stroke for a medium size sib that will make a great combo.

>>>I'm planning on taking the girlfriend out on some fairly ambitious trips

Don't put her off for life!

Poly · 19 August 2015, 12:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenlander

>>>I'm planning on taking the girlfriend out on some fairly ambitious trips

Don't put her off for life!

This is good advice. Many a person has found their boating curtailed by a partner who just doesn't want to go after a bad experience. Starting short is a good idea (and getting to somewhere the other half will appreciate and is more easily reached by sea is a big help!). However the other thing is inspiring confidence in your crew: get trained, and have little "what if" plans in your head for as many cock ups as you can think of*. Stuff does go wrong with plans but the difference between an amusing anecdote and a terrifying adventure is mostly about having a sensible plan and appearing to be in control. She'll also probably feel more confident if she understands what is going on - so I'd encourage you to take her with you on the training. If you do it right before long she'll be encouraging you to take on longer passages.

* On the Thames that might be a good understanding of where you can get out and jump on public transport. But it can even be knowing where there is a cafe/pub to shelter from the rain in. Or some spare clothes in a dry bad. A forum-ite taught me that carrying a reasonable quantity of cash can be a useful idea as in a remote location as not only do many places not take cards but often cash can persuade someone to go out of their way to help you!

Richardwernham · 19 August 2015, 12:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenlander

If you're ok with the cost and weight over the more usual used 15hp 2-stroke for a medium size sib that will make a great combo.

>>>I'm planning on taking the girlfriend out on some fairly ambitious trips

Don't put her off for life!

Thanks! No i'll try not to

Richardwernham · 19 August 2015, 13:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poly

This is good advice. Many a person has found their boating curtailed by a partner who just doesn't want to go after a bad experience. Starting short is a good idea (and getting to somewhere the other half will appreciate and is more easily reached by sea is a big help!). However the other thing is inspiring confidence in your crew: get trained, and have little "what if" plans in your head for as many cock ups as you can think of*. Stuff does go wrong with plans but the difference between an amusing anecdote and a terrifying adventure is mostly about having a sensible plan and appearing to be in control. She'll also probably feel more confident if she understands what is going on - so I'd encourage you to take her with you on the training. If you do it right before long she'll be encouraging you to take on longer passages.

* On the Thames that might be a good understanding of where you can get out and jump on public transport. But it can even be knowing where there is a cafe/pub to shelter from the rain in. Or some spare clothes in a dry bad. A forum-ite taught me that carrying a reasonable quantity of cash can be a useful idea as in a remote location as not only do many places not take cards but often cash can persuade someone to go out of their way to help you!

Thanks Poly! Yes i'm planning on starting out small anyway & i'm pretty good at passing on lessons learned & training other folk so i'll pass on everything I learn from the course, not sure I can afford to pay for 2 though! Thanks for the tips re the Thames, I've just spoken to the environment agency about licences & think that won't be worth getting till jan so i'll stick with sunny days at the coast to begin with!

tonymac · 19 August 2015, 13:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richardwernham

Hello all, just purchased my new honwave 3.8 after much deliberation & research on this site. It's still in the bag & dry so I need to change that as soon as possible! Am planning on buying the 20hp engine to go with it asap & then doing my RYA level 2 course. Lots of questions though, like insurance? Guessing I need it? Also I'm in the south east & want to take the boat as far as I can up the thames & maybe even into London?? Can it be done in a SIB? Thanks all, had a tonne of useful info from these forums already & very much looking forward to starting out on this road. I'm a complete newby to powered boating btw. Done a lot of kayaking but never had a boat under power so this is a whole new world for me.

Enjoy!

Fenlander · 19 August 2015, 13:49

I'm very lucky my Mrs (my normal crew) has a sort of naïve over confidence so she's never scared. In fact I often have to reign her back in... such as this year heading out to the sound of jura in our Aerotec with weather already falling off when I'm wisely thinking of turning for home she wants to "just go round a bit more to that nice beach we visited the other year".

Last year however I took out a girl (in the boating sense) who didn't say much one way or the other about her keenness for the sea until were a little way out and then she froze with fear. Thankfully the waves were easier on the way back but she was very pleased to get a foot on the pontoon... as I was because it's no fun with a scared passenger.

John Kennett · 19 August 2015, 14:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richardwernham

I'm in the south east & want to take the boat as far as I can up the thames & maybe even into London?? Can it be done in a SIB?

Yes it can, and there are several reports here if you dig around. It's not a good place to be making mistakes though with strong tides and a lot of fast large commercial traffic.

However between Teddington and Richmond the Thames is much more benign and it's an excellent spot for family-friendly SIB trips. It's semi tidal (a barrier at Richmond keeps the water at mid-tide level or above) and no licence is required. There's a small slipway at River Lane in Petersham which is ideal. The road floods at particularly high spring tides so check the tide tables and park accordingly.

Richardwernham · 29 August 2015, 23:59

Fantastic, thanks john & especially for the whereabouts of the slip, I'm hawk eyes for potential slips everywhere I go now & making a note of them for future reference..

Richardwernham · 30 August 2015, 00:00

Hoping my mrs'll be the same! She certainly loves the canoe so reckon the SIB'll be a winner too

willk · 30 August 2015, 09:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poly

A forum-ite taught me that carrying a reasonable quantity of cash can be a useful idea as in a remote location as not only do many places not take cards but often cash can persuade someone to go out of their way to help you!

Cash - the best grease when you're really stuck