Slipway Priority, (Northney)

[Phil]

my procedure was (at Levington)

find a place to park the boat
get in line to recover
reverse the rig down the slip
get out of car -proceed to boat
drive boat on to trailor
off baot into car
drive up slip
breathe igh of relief

[Jimbob]

i used to be at Northney and used to try and get ready before launch, however my missus would not drive the trailer up the ramp so i ran round,,,,,however someone had a go at here,,,,,needless to say i told him to take it easy - thats the point we are supposed to be enjoying, so everybody need to be considerate and take it easy

[Sarah G]

Gotta say that on Saturday at Northney, it wasn't too bad although we all came back at the same time. It generally worked fine, my feeling is that everybody needs to leave room at the bottom of the slip (especially at low tide) so that you can get a run up at low speed - maybe as a relative newbie but I need a little space.

If you get to your car and trailer first - so be it.

We recover as quickly as we can then drive around to the hose and whilst the engine is being cleaned through, we empty the boat of all the usual beach day clobber and then wash the rest of the boat down. Then park further away from the hose and tie on the registration board, ties, etc.

There was a complete T*AT there on Saturday though and as I just start to clean the boat, say 'I say have you finished with the hose yet' - I look around as no boat has been recovered - look at the guy and say where is your boat - 'Oh haven't recovered it yet'.

Then he recovers the boat - very quickly actually, I'm just finishing up trying to get rid of the sand that appears glued to the deck - 'I need the hose now - have you finished'.

I was very polite on this occasion and explained that when I have finished I would switch off the hose and move the boat out of his way so that he could clean his boat. Next time, I won't be.

He then nearly reversed into me, in his rush to get to the hose - which incidently he wouldn't be able to reach until we moved, he then nearly drove into another car.

I then had to position myself in such a position so that he couldn't reverse the car to the hose and then block the entire slip and drive way. We escaped and left the rest of the slip way to kill the guy. Thankfully he didn't have a rib - just a 1970's ski boat!!!!

[Mike C]

Originally Posted by Sarah G

Gotta say that on Saturday at Northney, it wasn't too bad although we all came back at the same time. It generally worked fine, my feeling is that everybody needs to leave room at the bottom of the slip (especially at low tide) so that you can get a run up at low speed - maybe as a relative newbie but I need a little space.

If you get to your car and trailer first - so be it.

We recover as quickly as we can then drive around to the hose and whilst the engine is being cleaned through, we empty the boat of all the usual beach day clobber and then wash the rest of the boat down. Then park further away from the hose and tie on the registration board, ties, etc.

There was a complete T*AT there on Saturday though and as I just start to clean the boat, say 'I say have you finished with the hose yet' - I look around as no boat has been recovered - look at the guy and say where is your boat - 'Oh haven't recovered it yet'.

Then he recovers the boat - very quickly actually, I'm just finishing up trying to get rid of the sand that appears glued to the deck - 'I need the hose now - have you finished'.

I was very polite on this occasion and explained that when I have finished I would switch off the hose and move the boat out of his way so that he could clean his boat. Next time, I won't be.

He then nearly reversed into me, in his rush to get to the hose - which incidently he wouldn't be able to reach until we moved, he then nearly drove into another car.

I then had to position myself in such a position so that he couldn't reverse the car to the hose and then block the entire slip and drive way. We escaped and left the rest of the slip way to kill the guy. Thankfully he didn't have a rib - just a 1970's ski boat!!!!

Hi Sarah,

I came in about 4:30 on Saturday and left my boat on a pontoon overnight.... Glad I did!

No one's complaining if you're a little slow on the slip by the way, we all get quicker. What's not acceptable are those people launching who occupy the slip and only then start taking off their straps and trailer board….. Or those, recovering who 'claim' an empty slip when their mate with the car and trailer is nowhere to be seen!

It’s a bit like those people at airport baggage re-claim areas. Their bag is still on the plane, yet they stand huddled around the belt stopping those whose bags ARE there from getting them off.

If you are recovering and your trailer’s not yet ready, please moor behind the yellow line!

PS – My vote for the most organised Slipway in the UK is Balloch at the Southern end of Loch Lomond. Two lines of ‘Preparation Area’ prior to launch. A double slipway with adjoining pontoon, good parking and another area to get your trailer road ready before you leave! Top Marks to the Park Authority!

[Roy Smith]

I have noticed this year that the stress of launch and recovery for most people
as got a bit much for them, most seam ready for a fight at the drop of a hat, others assume that the hose pipe is there,s and a full valet of the boat is not
unreasonable even though they can see you waiting to flush the engine.
Now when the sun shine,s at weekends we tend leave well alone or leave the boat over night on Friday.and collect it on Monday.
it should not have to be like this, but untill MDL at Northney but some one on the slipway, i suggest you buy ear muffs or a gum shield

[Biggles]

Do you get all and sundry still using Northney ?

When I was using about two years ago you used to find that most of the punters hadn't paid to use the slip. It did get very busy as well.

Not a good location to start from though as its miles from the open sea and takes ages to get anywhere unless its on the rising tide and you blast through Langston which is just an abuse of the skiing area.

[davecb]

As a regular user of Northney this summer have watched this thread with interest. I have learnt to expect delays in recovering on a weekend if the weather is reasonable. Most RIB recovery is pretty slick however have seen everything go wrong from underpowered cars, out drives not raised and hitting the ground to boats slipping off trailers. When this happens large queues build up on pontoon and immediate pool and driving on can be difficult- if just with kids sometimes I resort to pulling on from the pontoon and winching which is invariably quicker than several botched approaches. Mostly, the queue order is pretty clear and if is rare that the slip is empty however if the boat ahead of me doesnt appear ready, a request to go first is rarely refused. Tempers do get frayed if someone appears to queue jump (particularly if they then take for ever as werent properly ready) and mistakes happen if people are rushed. My message would be to stay patient, tolerate those who take their time- including novice reversers and remember we are supposed to be enjoying ourselves!