Dinghy regulations?

trap4

Forgive a completely newbie question but myself and a few friends are thinking of getting into water sports/recreation by purchasing the 4-person Inflatable Dinghy on offer in Lidl a the moment.

Can anyone tell me what are regulations applying to dinghy use, or point me in the direction please of existing online resources. For instance, could we just visit one of the many piers along the Shannon Estuary and launch from there without restriction? What about crossing the shipping lanes?

Could we also use the dinghy on the inland lakes of the Shannon without restriction?

Thanks in advance for any advice or pointers you can offer.

Pigeon Reaper

Try powerboat.ie as some of the people there will be better able to advise you. You will need lifejackets for everyone onboard. After that there isn't much else you offically need although it would be wise to talk to someone experienced even if it is online.

mathew

Well your gonna need life jackets as alreay mentioned.
You should also know the IRPCS (International Rules for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea), the also apply to rivers.

If its this boat here i dont see you going to far in it. It wouldnt be stable in any kind of roughness due to its light weight and flat hull.
Its plated a 9.9hp, youll probable need that if theres four of you in the boat, but if theres only one in the boat is could be quite over powered with 9.9hp

Personaly I would advise doing some sort of course before hand, idealy your powerboat level 2, which is the national power boat driving licence. Officialy its not necessary, but for safety purposes I would definatly advise it. I will give you a basic knowledge of how to use the boat, how to navigate (based on marks, shipping lanes etc) and safety, ie what to do if something goes wrong.

As for rules involving shipping lanes, in that small dingy you shouldnt be anywhere near. Its far to small to be that far out from the shore. Ships do have right of way in the lanes though as they are less manouverable than you.

Water is dangerous. The coast guard and lifeboat are working non stop through the summer because people who dont know what they are doing are getting into trouble on the water.

For courses visit The Powerboar School.ie.
If you decide to go without courses, at least get life jackets, tell someone where you are going, what you are doing and when you will be back. Only go out in fine weather. Keep a very good look out when you are in the boat. NEVER drink and drive a boat (same problems as driving), only go out during the day, bring some form of communication with you, check the local by-laws for restrictions and make sure you have enough petrol to get you out and home with 1/4 of a tank spare. Make sure the vent is open on the fuel tank!!

trap4

Thank you both very much for the pointers, plenty of food for thought there. Rest assured safety is top of our list and we're not entering into this naively or by taking shortcuts. That's why I'm on here! :-)