Any Boat Experts?

[Tom D]

I've handled boats before, My dad has his skipper tickets so I'll take him on the maiden voyage.

 

Thanks for all the comments, I think its worth giving the old engine a go to see how she runs.

[codlasher]

Re your engine Tom D. If you can find a 205 litre drum (in old money 45 gallions!) Make a mounting plate from a piece of timber and bolt this to the top. You can then bolt the Yamaha to this and run it for a good while watching how it behaves.

Water should flow round the engine and come out of the right hole!

There may be sacrificial anodes in odd places, an internet search may help but these are a useful thing to find as they will let you know the state of the rest of the innards.

Running the engine this way will also find any faults/stoppages/cooling problems and save you a heap of hassle on your maiden voyage.

 

Don't go without a spare and let the Coast Guard know your intentions/schedule. You never know!

 

Lifejackets/kill switch, water, hand held VHF, a small set of flares (inshore pack), anchor, paddles, bailer, warps, torches (good quality waterproof) should be the minimum kit on board.

I have sat and watched many folk, in a hurry to 'get on the water' launch their vessels without starting their motors before casting off, forgetting to put the bungs in, no life jackets & etc. The RNLI comes across these a lot more when at sea!

An anchor ball can also be made from an old piece of plastic to let other people know you're stationary. I have been in a couple of near misses on the London river where supposedly 'professional' skippers of day fishing vessels haven't bothered to put them in view and when the tide is running they look like they are moving........But they aren't!

 

As has been said a RYA Day Skippers course is a very good and interesting course to do.

At least then you'll know the basic rules/signals/sounds in doing this. This little book is probably the best one to have to start with;[ame]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seamans-Guide-Rule-Road/dp/0948254580[/ame]

Here's another useful book which will put you on the right track. The RYA has a good selection of well written, practical booklets; RYA Day Skipper Shorebased Notes | | Shop | RYA)

Good luck!!

codlasher

Edited August 31, 2014 by codlasher
Addendum

[codlasher]

A couple of pictures of anchor related stuff.

A chart and the tide tables of where you are planning to launch would also be handy. Some slips are only useable at half tide and knowing when this is is useful.

C

Edited August 31, 2014 by codlasher

[Stu3k]

Best for advice & Parts on the Yam,Davie Anderson Marine ,in Newport on Tay. Would buy a 4 stroke suzy if you can afford one ,go with Garmin,but Raymarine dragon fly is excellent ,Icom M23 for a VHF, Fladen rather than Ki Elements suit ,go for good DZR fittings ,rule for a bilge , reeds almanac is a must .....List is endless boats just drink money ...

#

PM me if your looking for Creels....

Edited August 31, 2014 by Stu3k

[rovers90]

As part of my multi varied career, I work for a company providing training for commercial fishermen. I would strongly recommend life jackets no matter if you are going fresh water or salt water and doing a sea survival course. I always remember observing a course and the instructor relating a story from his days as a fisherman. He was sailing by himself and went overboard. He states he is only here today down to one simple fact - he always used to put a rope over the side and when he went in he was only able to get in by hauling himself up this rope.

 

As a non fishing person I am amazed at the number of commercial fishermen I deal with who do not wear a life jacket. Their main reason - their dad didn't, their grandad didn't and they do not want to be the first to do so! Simples, you get on a boat - put a life jacket on - it will save your life.

[monkeybusiness]

As part of my multi varied career, I work for a company providing training for commercial fishermen. I would strongly recommend life jackets no matter if you are going fresh water or salt water and doing a sea survival course. I always remember observing a course and the instructor relating a story from his days as a fisherman. He was sailing by himself and went overboard. He states he is only here today down to one simple fact - he always used to put a rope over the side and when he went in he was only able to get in by hauling himself up this rope.

 

As a non fishing person I am amazed at the number of commercial fishermen I deal with who do not wear a life jacket. Their main reason - their dad didn't, their grandad didn't and they do not want to be the first to do so! Simples, you get on a boat - put a life jacket on - it will save your life.

 

Great post! I used to be a fisherman in Oz and nobody ever wore lifejackets (in the 90s, don't know what it's like now but I'd imagine the same). Prior to that I taught watersports in N Wales and spent most days on the water in speedboats - again when in the boats we never wore lifejackets. I've been away from boats for a few years and recently went out with a mate on his RIB - he is an avid lifejacket wearer and quite rightly insists on it for any 'crew'. I'll admit to thinking he was over the top to start with, and felt self conscious wearing one in the beginning. Not any more - I can't believe what an idiot I was previously - if you are going out in any sort of open water wear a life jacket/buoyancy aid. If nothing else it will dramatically aid recovery if the worst happens - it is very difficult to spot a person in the sea in anything other than mirror calm water. And never ever ever use a boat without someone in the boat being attached to the kill cord - that really is a life saver.

[Mull]

Not wearing a lifejacket is quite selfish in my mind now, was a fisherman for many years and didn't wear one!

Have spent many day/weeks searching for for people that have drowned, it puts more lives at risk during the search, had they been wearing a lifejacket, even if it didn't save their life they would be easier found, therefore not endangering the life of others to the same extent.

[Ukulian]

I bought an old boat at auction the other day, .......

 

She has a low transom and so needs a short shaft engine, which are apparently hard to find in decent power ratings. This means I would probably need to stick with the old yamaha. My question is would you:

 

Extend the transom to take a long shaft engine?

Run the yamaha if it seems ok?

Or buy a small second motor to use as a spare?

 

The boat is a shetland 535 so anyone who knows anything about them please feel free to give any tips or advice...

 

Cheers

 

Tom

 

You didn't buy a boat, you bought a hole in the water in which you will now need to pour money into!

 

However, you have bought a solid piece of marine engineering that will last as long again as it already has, so long as you check for a few things.

Go over the hull and look for any blisters / soft areas of gel coat. If it's asted this long, there is probably no osmosis, but it would be good to check.

Don't try extending the transom. To do it properly and still expect it to take a 50hp motor, the whole stern needs to come off and be replaced.

 

Check all the buoyancy chambers are sound, along with any access hatches. If you do get swamped, these are what will keep you afloat.

 

All of the advice above is good, but don't rely on your Dad, especially if he did his Day/Coastal skipper stuff more than 5 years ago. The land based courses are not expensive and having two people on board that can take control is no bad thing. Do your day skipper and take Dad along for a refresher.

 

A 4 hp spare will be enough to get you home safe should your main engine prove to be temperamental, and a plastic dustbin filled with water that you can flush them both out with after a trip saves de-mounting them to stick on an oil drum.

 

Enjoy, but take care. :thumbup:

[Mull]

I should have added in my slightly downbeat post, boats are great! Enjoy it Tom.

[daltontrees]

There's a slight difference between buoyancy aids and life jackets. The latter will keep your head above water even if you're unconscious. The former just help you float. But they're much tougher day to day, tolerating fisk hooks, petrol spillages, knife cuts etc much better than life jackets will. I always liked wearing a buoyancy aid, it saves your ribs when you're hanging over the gunwhales.