First time speedboat advice

[TurboMills]

A friend and I have just bought a Glastron 16.5ft speedboat

It is an '86 model with an '89 150bhp Mercury xr2 V6 outboard. It is in fabulous condition for its age, and we paid £2k for it, which after a fair bit of research seems like a decent buy.

Now I'm posting on here as this is mine and my friends first boat. I know the previous owner well and he has given us a few pointers on getting started, but only the basics. I'd just like some more advice from experienced owners, as we are planning to take it to Trearddur bay in the next few weeks for the first time.

Any tips and advice would be much appreciated

Edited by TurboMills on Wednesday 29th July 21:40

[OnTheOverrun]

Here's my advice:

Don't take it anywhere until you have:

1) Completed your Powerboat Level 2 course.

2) Equipped it with suitable life-jackets for all potential users and a coastal flare pack.

3) Equipped it with a working VHF radio and that at least one user has passed the mandatory VHF radio course and has a VHF licence.

4) Equipped it with as a minimum a GPS receiver or preferably a basic chartplotter and a set of paper charts for the area.

5) Stay well clear of the Swellies as that's no place for novice boaters to venture.

Have fun!

[AnotherClarkey]

Can only agree with the first reply - that is a pretty serious boat/engine you have scored there. You are not going to believe how rapid it feels when give it the beans!

[TurboMills]

Thanks for that OTO
I think i'll get my powerboat course booked this week, I have found quite a good deal that will tie in the VHF radio course with that as well. We made sure we put money aside to cover all the necessary equipment that's needed, and the boat comes with 4 life jackets and a flare pack so that should be covered (i'll be sure to check it all thoroughly though)!

Thanks again

[TurboMills]

AnotherClarkey said:

Can only agree with the first reply - that is a pretty serious boat/engine you have scored there. You are not going to believe how rapid it feels when give it the beans!

I know! It looks and sounds fantastic! I'm really looking forward to opening the taps once i've sorted a few things out! We pick it up next week so i'll probably end up posting a few pictures

[OnTheOverrun]

TurboMills said:

Thanks for that OTO
I think i'll get my powerboat course booked this week, I have found quite a good deal that will tie in the VHF radio course with that as well. We made sure we put money aside to cover all the necessary equipment that's needed, and the boat comes with 4 life jackets and a flare pack so that should be covered (i'll be sure to check it all thoroughly though)!

Thanks again

No problem, just take it easy your first time out as that's a lot of power for the length of boat and it will be easy to stuff in any kind of swell. Make sure you check the dates on the flares and the gas cylinders on the life jackets and replace as necessary. I know it sounds like a pain but you sound very responsible and it's less embarrassing than getting a starring role on 'Seaside Rescue'!

Enjoy!

[speedtwelve]

Here's my experience:

Pitch-up at Paphos harbour with an Air Force mate having asked the guys at the bar of the RAF Akrotiri Scuba club where the best place to hire powerboats was. Peruse the signs at said harbour offering hire of 30, 50 and even 80 hp boats by the hour. Approach 'ethnic' gentlemen, say we don't want any namby-pamby st, give us a real boat. Receive 2 minute brief on operation of powerboat with 200hp V6 Mercury outboard, back-out, clutch into 'ahead', select full-power, terrorise the southern Mediterranean Sea for 1/2 an hour, marvel at how much the boat rolls when it is fully airborne off those wave-crests, be amazed at how the GRP hull hasn't shattered in the landing impacts, go 'err, shouldn't we have life-jackets?', then attempt final head-on 'chicken run' with RoRo ferry before recovering to harbour.

Fun? Yes.

Recommended as applied technique? No.

[XJSJohn]

Another tip, have a look at a chart of where you are going to play, with the speeds that this thing is going to travel at, you will not have much time on the water so familiarise yourself with the landmarks, channels, depths and nasty objects (like rocks)

Also on that list of things that you need, get yourself a suitable anchor and rope (make sure that its not floating rope). Its much easier to anchor 50 meters off a beach and swim in that to beach it then realise the tide has gone out also allowes you to "park the boat" should something mechanical go wrong.

I do sailing mostly and off the top of my head the essential stuff we carry includes

Life Jackets
Life belt or throwing coit
Flares
Emergancy Bailer pump
First Aid Kit
suitable fire extinguisher
VHF
Waterproof pouches for cellphones (these days they work as well as a VHF when inshore)



Otherwise all advice above is spot on.

Ohh and remember to run the engine through with fresh water (stick it in a dustbin of water) after each run in salt water, and keep a rough count of how many hours you have run it. Service regularly to keep in tip top condition. Grease is your friend!

[Ayahuasca]

Having listened to an interesting Mayday call between a powerboater and Solent Coastguard a while ago, I would suggest also that your handheld VHF is secured to your person and not to the boat.


This powerboat took off from the top of a swell at night, flipped, dumped the crew into water, sank, crew only saved because one of them was wearing a VHF around his neck on a bit of string.

[XJSJohn]

hence my cellphone in a waterproof pouch. use them when sailing the cats. Regularly end up swimming about an inverted or dismasted thing and can make a phone call for help whilst doing the backstroke!

[TurboMills]

Thankyou for your comments

Obviously, the first task before we do anything is to make sure we have all the neccesary training and safety equipment. It's nice to see what kind of safety gear you guys recommend, and i'm sure i'll get a full run down on the powerboat course i've booked in three weeks time.

I pick the boat up tonight so i'm pretty excited, and we should have it out on the water in about 4 weeks time so i can't wait!

Thanks again chaps

[maser_spyder]

Just DON'T do this;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire...



Going seawards is great fun, just do everything with much more prudence than you normally would.

Check the weather in two different places,

http://www.bischofberger.info/meteosail/eu/fr/inde...

has the most reliable weather reports in my experience, we used this for months and is was almost never wrong.

Check fuel, filters, jackets etc. on every trip, and keep spares of everything on board just in case.

You can even get your boat checked over by the boat safety scheme people, they'll advise if you're missing anything, it's well worth the effort.

I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun, just be careful!

[Ayahuasca]

Watch out for fast moving posts:

[becker-on-ph]

Hope everyone was alright?

But can't help finding the name on the boat funny and the fact that they appear to have tied it up! LOL

[thinbloke5]

dont forget when going up rivers or go through deep channel markers you drive on the right, not like most of the idiots on the southcoast who rent a boat and then revert to driving a car i.e on the left!

enjoy!

[maser_spyder]

Ayahuasca said:

Watch out for fast moving posts:

Yup, that's safely secured, trailing ends tidied, engine off, blowers off.

To the pub then.

[Incredible Sulk]

maser_spyder said:

Ayahuasca said:

Watch out for fast moving posts:

Yup, that's safely secured, trailing ends tidied, engine off, blowers off.

To the pub then.

Bit of T-Cut, job's a Carrot.

[OnTheOverrun]

Ayahuasca said:

Watch out for fast moving posts:

They even wrote the cause of the collision on the side of the boat!

PS - OP, in addition to the other advice make sure your knowledge of the colregs is up to speed so you know who has priority:

http://www.bluemoment.com/colregs.html

[TurboMills]

Cheers for the links maser and OTO, there's some good information there

As for that picture, I hope those high powered wooden posts don't catch us out! They look like a nightmare

[Rum Runner]

You can do your PB2 here in Abersoch http://www.abersochsailingschool.com/