Owning a small boat

scwazrh

So my wife and I are day dreaming about having a boat to use on blessington lakes and being able to take it out at skerries , arklow , howth , bray etc. with the kids for a day.

Can anyone tell me what are the practicalities of this ? Can i just buy a boat from done deal or similar and head off on the water?Do i need a license? Do i need training ? Is there different boats for the lake or sea ?

Any help or advice appreciated.

Steve

What kind of boat?

Are you thinking something with a cabin, an open boat for day fishing, something that goes fast, sailing boat etc?

You don't need a license but I'd recommend doing a boat handling course. Depending on size, you'll may need to register it.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/recreational_activities_in_ireland/sport_and_leisure/licensing_of_boats_and_watercraft_in_ireland.html

You'll also need a VHF radio and at minimum a hand-held GPS / chart plotter to navigate.

The only thing I can tell you for sure is buying it will be the cheap part

Boardz Fiend

scwazrh wrote: »

So my wife and I are day dreaming about having a boat to use on blessington lakes and being able to take it out at skerries , arklow , howth , bray etc. with the kids for a day.

Can anyone tell me what are the practicalities of this ? Can i just buy a boat from done deal or similar and head off on the water?Do i need a license? Do i need training ? Is there different boats for the lake or sea ?

Any help or advice appreciated.

The sad reality in Ireland is that there is little to no regulation meaning anyone can buy a boat and head out to sea with no training or experience.
The sea can be a treacherous and unforgiving place, even for the experienced. Do not take a boat out until you have at least had some basic boating training, gained a knowledge of tides and winds, harbour etiquette as well as taking a safety course (one offered by BIM) and also take a VHF Radio course. Then there is the maintenance side of boating such as anti-fouling. be prepared, they say a boat is a hole in the water in which to pour your money

scwazrh

thanks guys .

We are thinking of something that we can head out either on a lake or very close to shore and do some fishing. Would prefer a speed boat with a small cabin.

Boardz Fiend wrote: »

Do not take a boat out until you have at least had some basic boating training, gained a knowledge of tides and winds, harbour etiquette as well as taking a safety course (one offered by BIM) and also take a VHF Radio course. Then there is the maintenance side of boating such as anti-fouling.

Where can i do a course on this?

Steve

Where are you based?

The ISA have training centres and affilliates around the country, If you are in Dublin or thereabouts, check out http://www.powerboatschool.ie/

fergal.b

Another thing to think about is the weight of the boat with a standard driving licence you can only tow up to 750 kg for anything bigger than that you need an EB licence.
Most speed boats with a cabin will be over 750kg so you might be better off looking at something like an Orkney.



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Del2005

fergal.b wrote: »

Another thing to think about is the weight of the boat with a standard driving licence you can only tow up to 750 kg for anything bigger than that you need an EB licence.
Most speed boats with a cabin will be over 750kg so you might be better off looking at something like an Orkney.



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You can tow a combination of 3.5t on a B licence. The DGVW of the tow vehicle and trailer are what counts.

JamesM

scwazrh wrote: »

So my wife and I are day dreaming about having a boat to use on blessington lakes and being able to take it out at skerries , arklow , howth , bray etc. with the kids for a day.

Can anyone tell me what are the practicalities of this ? Can i just buy a boat from done deal or similar and head off on the water?Do i need a license? Do i need training ? Is there different boats for the lake or sea ?

Any help or advice appreciated.

You can't just take a boat out on the lakes at Blessington. See this link http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055720201
Jim.

Bigus

"
We are thinking of something that we can head out either on a lake or very close to shore and do some fishing. Would prefer a speed boat with a small cabin."



Very close to shore is potentially the most dangerous place in the sea.


Do at least a one day power boat training class maybe followed by a one day sailing class in somewhere like dun laoghaire, you'll save the cost of the course 10 times over when you it comes time to purchasing a boat never mind how much safer you and your family will be if you're still keen to hit the open water.