What haven't you checked recently?

genoa · 20 July 2007, 17:48

During the thread on the tragic accident off Bembridge, we all seem to be agreeing we have to brush up on some of our navigation skills. But what else do we "forget" to check as regularly as we should.
My paranoia with Ribbing is the engine. I know I don't know enough, but equally not sure what I should be expected to know with a big hitech V6 sitting behind me. Oh for the days of the little Seagull. I could strip that and rebuild it AND it still worked.
Experience from the diesels on the yachts - fuel is the #1 issue, so my first check should be condition of fuel line especially the rubber bit going to the engine as it sits in the sun and is waggled around. Perfect for perishing!

Over to you ....

Nos4r2 · 20 July 2007, 17:52

Not me personally, but water traps.

vince · 20 July 2007, 18:03

Allways forget to check the 2 stroke oil level !

Have run it with the level alarm going a few times!

Tims Osprey · 20 July 2007, 18:11

I do all of my necessary checks before going to sea i.e fuel, oil+ spare fuel and oil, battery etc but i must confess to not always wearing a life jacket, especially when the weather is hot.

J.C. · 20 July 2007, 18:57

I should really check that my flares are in date.... and, have all the kids lifejackets been checked for wear and tear?

nikster · 20 July 2007, 19:58

ok, so here i would like to throw open for some serious debate..........

Like many, many others on this forum, i live my life on the water and have been ribbing for more than 20 years.

Now ribbing and small leisure boats ski/cuddy/weekenders up to 25ft etc in general all fall into the PL2 type of category.

The RYA PL2 is an excellent course, but to be honest if you can drive a car and have half ounce of common sense then odds are your going to get through it...... however then you have this magic piece of paper which nobody ever seems to challenge or question as to your currency on the vessel your operating or other types you might operate.

However the biggest problem that i constantly come across as to the reason why people do not have the PL2 is the course is 2 days and £ "200 ish" and people either do not have the time, as they are likely to only use the boat 10 times a year or because they all want to be trained but with vary degrees, ie Dad must know everything or already does, mum just wants to know how to pull a ringo or dad on a wakeboard and the kids want to know how far they can push it.......!!!

Wherever i look i do not see many offers of "coaching" from experienced boaters that have so much expereince they could be an examiner but have never bothered going to get the ticket??... is it mainly because we have fallen into the RYA trap of if your not an instructor you cant teach / offer coaching????

So many people do not do the PL2 because of the time commitment issue.

Surely it would be so much better if there were "coaches" around that can at a boat owners request come out with them for a few hours to at least go thro the all the do's - dont's and cover as much essential info as time will allow or cover a PL2 for the family albeit without the paperwork over a period of a week or two in the evenings etc, or it may well be they have taken a year out from boating and are not the most confident of people in a boat in the first place and would just prefer an expereinced person to come out with them for a few hours to brush on a few skills??

The "coaches" would be ideal to educate the boaters on typical problems that happen ie outboard, fuel, electrics, syptoms, and suggestions etc.

If more independant "coaches" were around that advertised in the local marinas etc maybe a lot less incidents would happen???

The bottom line is - a lot of experience is out their and the RYA route is not the only way to harness it....?

what do you all think?

Biggles · 20 July 2007, 20:12

Good idea.

But we live in a compensation culture and I would be very careful about teaching anyone formally. Plus somehow we'd all need to be teaching to some sort of a standard to make it worthwhile. Starting to sound like the PB 1/2 a little.

I quite happily pass on my knowledge to friends and family with regards operating a RIB in the area I use. But I tend to start with the more mundane tasks like setting up fenders and warps then move on to the fun bits at sea. And I have even been known to invite a new crewmate round my house a few days before hand so we can run over a few things to avoid wasting time on the slip.

I think their is a lot to learn on a boat. In some ways navigating out at sea is one of the easier bits. Entering Harbours and using marinas can be more daunting especially if you have lots of people watching and your either on your own or with an inexperienced crew.

I also take out a proffesionally qualified skipper and because he's never done trailering before he's still learning lots.

A good idea but not far off the RYA route without the associated costs.

No doubt some more ideas will come soon.

NR.

Limey Linda · 20 July 2007, 20:13

I agree with you 100%. At age 16, I bought a 12 foot boat with a 15hp Perkins outboard. My Dad said " here is the RN manual of seamanship vols. 1 and 2. read them and there will be a test" He then proceeded to make a wonderfull spliced both ends, painter for the boat. We went out for about 4 hours. Value of lessons: Priceless. Talk to your boating friends and ask them if they can give you some advice/help. Most folks will be proud to do so.

nikster · 20 July 2007, 20:44

A standard disclaimer form saying you offer advice and experience and not structured training should suffice, after all they would not come to you if they wanted a PL2 as you would direct them to the nearest school.... im trying to get across the time issue that seems so inflexible in the RYA route.

I also fly and students can take their pilots licence over a period of a year - most people learning try and fly / have a lesson at least once a month sometimes twice and the lessons are 1 hr each with a supposed 30 min briefing before and debrief after... the point im making is the coarse is structured to be completed in anything from 30 days to a year.

Also once they have trained they need to remain current on the aircraft type they fly - whilst you could never police it or enforce it for the marine industry, it would be helpful for encouragement to be given to press home the point of the need for currency - as no 2 days are ever the same.

Why on earth has the L2 got to be crammed into 2 days, what guarantees are there that once they have done the course they may not go out again for another 3 months... but they have the ticket...

How many schools follow up on their students monthly ot bi-monthly after they qualified to check on expereince gained - questions - etc????

After students have qualified would be the ideal time to arm them with a list of coaches in their area that can offer advise and go out with you to brush up on skills or master weather organically - that seem too daunting to achieve????

Tims Osprey · 20 July 2007, 21:13

Oh er and yer so back to the checks anyway

codprawn · 20 July 2007, 21:31

Couldn't agree more Nikster. All these bits of paper annoy me - no subsitute for experience.

Biggles · 20 July 2007, 23:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikster

Why on earth has the L2 got to be crammed into 2 days, what guarantees are there that once they have done the course they may not go out again for another 3 months... but they have the ticket...

I did mine over 4 days. Lots of boring pontoon bashing (its stuff I don't normally do). Three months later my mate did his in 2 hours !!!!

DJL · 21 July 2007, 00:12

The RYA Level Two course is about educating people, making them aware of the dangers and giving them the basic techniques so they can become good boat handlers and overall to be safe when out on the water.

Instructors work hard to get to get some students up to the level required to pass the course - we want to give them the certificate and send them away after having a positive experience. Yes it is rare to outright fail a student, but it’s not uncommon to ask a student to come back and do a little more on one area before issuing a certificate.

Once you move up the powerboat scheme things start to get harder - passing an advanced course is much harder and certainly requires more than just common sense.

nikster · 21 July 2007, 08:53

djl,

sorry chum - you have just completely explained what is wrong with the concept and the RYA system for small boats under 25ft that exceed 18kts... you only see them for a couple of days - then you say just keep spending more money on more tickets that most people with their own boat will never want to aspire to??? they only want to get a cheaper insurance premium, yet when you speak to the insurers all they can legally try and insure is a "competant person".

In aviation every pilot has a log book, and every flight is entered, this is what his expereince is based on, not the tickets he holds. Just because you may fly 747's does not allow you to fly a Pitts Special stunt plane.......etc Likewise just because you are a Master Mariner or Boatmaster this should not automatically give you the right to start teaching on a Rib that is 7mtr and capable of 50+ kts

you must also completely detach yourself from boats occasionally and ask yourself this...... i am charging £200+ for this PL2 - with this guy that has just bought this £30,000 boat - clearly that man will be successful in business to be able to afford the boat, have you given him value for money in the PL2 or will he leave thinking............ what a waste of blinking time that was - they didnt really teach me much more than i already knew???

All opinions my own...................

Fab day down here.... calm sea blue sky..... bring it on...!

Tims Osprey · 21 July 2007, 10:36

you can't compare flying an aircraft to using a boat they are 2 totally different things, besides as well that flying is much more difficult which takes many air hours to achieve a level of competence that allows one to even take an aircraft up on your own. True we don't need incompetent idiots all over the place in power boats but thats not the case anyway, most people that are new to power boating usually show a good degree of common sense (of coarse there are some that don't) so i believe that taking a power boat handling coarse is a step in the right direction, taking rya power boat level 2 is i believe a good thing for beginners, you then at least gain sea hours with a basic correct understanding of power boats from the outset, nothing substitutes experience though.

genoa · 21 July 2007, 12:42

Great points about education - but start a new thread! - This one is about personal checklists. What becomes easy to over look?

Tims Osprey · 21 July 2007, 16:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by genoa

Great points about education - but start a new thread! - This one is about personal checklists. What becomes easy to over look?

Couldn't agree more

easy to get sidetracked and sucked into a different subject though.

Stoo · 21 July 2007, 17:26

Apart from fuel and batteries, I like to make sure the beer is properly chilled!

Tims Osprey · 21 July 2007, 17:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stoo

Apart from fuel and batteries, I like to make sure the beer is properly chilled!

Good one

nothing worse than warm beer. make sure them ice blocks are put in the freezer the night before and packed into the cool box along with the favorite beer of coarse

, careful though having a couple of nice cold beers while participating in our favorite pass time is frowned upon by many and now against the law, bothered

Ah just remembered Stoo your in Canada lol where grizzly bears are probably more of a worry than being pulled by the authorities for drink and ribbing.

PeterM · 21 July 2007, 20:21

I would disagree in a big way about flying & ribbing/boating . Everytime I fly I do the same checks - if its an aircraft i've flown 100's times or twice the same check get done . I take the same approach with the boat .

If I am planning to do something I think about the what ifs?

So checks are
Tides
Weather
BAtterry voltage OK
Engine oil OK
Fuel OK ( both tanks - not contaminated)
GPS ( main & backup agree & have full battery on back up )
Engine - full range of turn , trim / tilt
Lights ( even if full daylight - you never know! )
Bow & stern lines OK & secure
Anchor ( x2 ) main & Back up OK - lines not frayed & shackles tight/still locked tight
Bungs in
Nothing obvious ( cracks in hull / rips etc in tubes )
VHF - radio check ( & backup )
GPS tracked from home to slipway ( they do lockup & do fail )
PLans for the day - route / hazards / alternate ports of anything goes wrong

All the above adds maybe 10-15 mins & hopefully means I will get home with the same number of people as I left with ! and the boat still working & ready for the next time !

JUst my checks - I am sure I have missed stuff other do - woud like to hear ............................