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Write up of my first rib experience
Hi all, I promised on another thread I'd write this up as it was our first boating experience.
We bought the boat from Dulas Boat & Caravan shop on Anglesey - lovely bunch of people! We bought it about a month ago on a previous visit, but as we also tow a caravan, getting the boat back to Bradford was going to be a challenge! It is a Europa R380 Sport with A-frame and jockey console. It was used, but only just - previous owner had it for 5 weeks before deciding they wanted a bigger boat, so it also came with an Extreme Roller trailer :-)
We've decided to keep it in storage with them, so we can take the caravan over, then pick up the boat for the weekend/week.
As some will know, I was worried about the whole process from registering the boat with the council, to launching, accessing slipway, parking etc etc but this weekend couldn't have been better for us!
Here's a summary of the weekend:
Thursday PM we arrived at Home Farm caravan site in Anglesey - van all set up. Spoke to reception about storing the boat on site for a couple of nights (so we could come home after 5pm when Dulas shuts) - it turns out we couldn't have picked a better site - even though we've been going there for years! They have dedicated boat storage yard for £4 a night, along with a Wash Point - so you can flush the engine (50p) and a nice jetwash (£1.50) before sticking it in the yard! Well happy so far!
Friday morning we picked up the boat, and took it down to Treath Bychan. Interesting to see the parking for a car + trailer on Anglesey is now £20....gulp! Anyway, with a North-Easterly wind there was quite a chop on the water which made the Mrs a bit nervous. Thanks to the advice from Alwyn at Dulas, we decided to head over the other side of the island to Treaddur Bay at Holyhead.
What a difference! It was like a millpond. They have a decent carpark for trailers too (still 20 quid though!) so we stopped there, prepped the boat then crossed the road to the slipway. Beach Warden there kindly spotted the the boat was already registered with the council for the year - and as a bonus the previous owner had paid for a seasons launching too. (I may have forgotten to tell the warden that the sticker was on the boat when we bought it.....) Anyway, he was happy, so I was too - we took the boat down onto the beach - reversed into the water, and the boat was away.
Drove back up to the car park, paid the fee and headed off for a couple of hours playing with our new toy.
As I've mentioned elsewhere, it turns out the boat only has a 12 litre fuel tank which to be honest for a 30hp engine is a bit crap. One of the guys at Dulas said we'd struggle to get a 25l tank into the storage space = it goes under the seat on the jockey console. The 12l tank is tight but it fits on it's side. (I'm wondering if I can find a wider tank that is the same height,, so it will fit in, but will I be able to turn it upright?)
Anyway, we used about half a tank in the 2hrs of pottering around. Eventually took the boat out, back to the site and flushed it. Maybe didn't need it after 2hrs on the water, but for 50p?
Saturday was even better - the sun was shining and the water was flat again.
Went down to a small bay and did some snorkelling - saw a seal and a pod of dolphins. Why have we left it so long to get a boat?!!!
So - apart from "we need a bigger boat", we had a fab time - storage on board is an issue, could do with some advice on that front. There's only a small locker under the bow seat, but that is all the anchor stuff so we're a bit tight for towels, picnic, safety kit etc. Wondering about something to connect to the a-frame like bigger boats have for flares etc?
Anyway, thanks to everyone for the help and advice while I dipped my toe in - it was invaluable and continues to be so.
I'll try attach some photos of the weekend....
Cheers!
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