To think it can't be that hard to drive a boat?

[CatThiefKeith]

I've never really driven a boat, but I was a sea cadet, and I've done a bit of canoeing.

And today I bought a boat. A little (ish) cabin cruiser. With money my parents have given me, on the condition I take them out in it occasionally. (It was pretty cheap in boat terms)

Dh thinks I've finally lost the plot, and that I will inevitably sink it on my first outing.

Aibu to think it can't be THAT bloody difficult, given that hundreds of thousands of people manage it perfectly well?

PLEASE do some form of training

Yes, its not hard to drive a boat but you need to know rules of the road, how other water users might be acting and why (vessels constrained by draught for e.g), what buoys mean what (cardinal markers, isolated danger markers), how to tie knots so that your boat won't drift away but also can be untied

Power board level 2 would be ideal and they would (should) teach you some engine maintenance.

Madblondeog. Had you read the thread you would know that

1. I am an ex Sea Cadet and am a bit of an expert at knots

1. I am an ex Sea Cadet and a bit of an expert at buoys

1. I am doing PBII on my own boat, rather than an 8ft RIB with a petrol outboard that bears no actual relation to my 25ft boat with 2 x 2.5l Ford Transit diesel engines!

Trust me, it'll be fiiiiiine!

Congrats!!

I want to get a little sailboat, clinker built, "Swallows and Amazons" type (there are some in the local harbor).

DH wants to get an Oppie for DD and a small rib (safety boat aka speed mobile!!) for us.

Eventually, we are likely, I hope, to get a decent sailboat and potentially take off on proper adventures. It will also have an engine though.

(I was a girl guide and scout, on land. But did coastal rowing and won a national medal for it, our team were HARD CORE on training runs and went out in 8 foot seas. And quite liked mucking about in canoes on occasion. DH gets sea sick on ferries, and on the rib that he used to go scuba diving on - but likes the sea. DD is not only in the local sea scouts, as a Cub, but is also learning to sail locally and really really loves it!).

I reckon my first 2 courses I need as sea scout leader (as I am not bad on the actual scouting and adventure parts) are the VHF radio course and a sailing course (which may be in the sailing school next door to scouts).

Biddy I loved sailing as a cadet, an I was a demon in a topper but wanted something we could sleep on, and that I could handle with just me and dd. (Dh works a lot).

Good luck with your boat.

Just to reassure you all, I have taken a cancelled place on a powerboat level II place tomorrow.

Not sure that's reassuring.
Powerboat you say?
Let us know when you pass, rather.

It'll be fiiiine! It's a rubber dinghy with an outboard, which is nothing like my boat, but lots of posters thought I should do it.

I am being v responsible. Bizarrely you need no qualifications or licences to drive a boat on uk inland waterways, no matter how powerful your boat (not very in my case)

Splice the mainbrace! (or not..lol)

Port out Starboard home ;)

Good on you x

I'm well posh me! 😀 and I can splice, back splice and tie knots, because I was a superstar sea cadet.

Parking / mooring the boat is where I might, possibly, need some work, but again, how hard can it possibly be! 😂

Just as long as you're not called Sandra Bullock

CTK I am well jell.

Congratulations on your gorgeous little number!

I grew up in, on, around, under boats, both sailing and cruisers along with a fair whack of canoes and kayaks (YES there is a difference). My parents had a boat the entire time, although it was on one of the Great Lakes and so could not be moored at the cottage and DDad was too cheap to pay for the mooring at the local marina so it lived on its trailer in the barn

Moving back to Canada this summer and one of the best things about it is that we can get a BOAT!!!!!!! Need to convince DH though, he is not a boat-y or even much of a water-y person.

Give us more photos please!

I quite like the idea of pottering up and down canals or rivers. Sounds nice. I (foolishly) bought my husband a clinker built boat for his birthday because he was a fisherman for 30 years and was missing the sea. Bad move. We live on a remote Scottish island and now I have to spend my summers avoiding boat trips. I get violently seasick and I'm a complete failure in my attempts to enjoy fishing stories (mostly about boats that sank, horrific injuries sustained etc).
I'm hopeful that the children will eventually like the boats (someone "kindly" gave us another one, so we could go out on the east or west side of the island without having to move the boat) enough for nobody to notice that I'm not there.

This thread title reminds me of when my DH said that he'd feel much more comfortable flying the plane than being a passenger

To be fair I'm sure a boat is much easier than a plane!

OP how was your powerboat course?

I passed! It was lots of fun, and I feel much more confident. The instructor is a friend and is going to come out and do some own boat tuition with me too.

Can i come for a spin on your boat Keith??? i can drive a car and haven't had many crashes, i could take the steering wheel for a bit whilst you drink gin.

Yay! My granddad used to have a boat that looked just like that. It spent most of its life parked beside his house with small grandchildren playing houses in it and hanging off the prow pretending to drown in 8 feet of air

He went out to sea and ran out of petrol. He had to radio the coastguard. Then on another occasion he crashed into the harbour on his return. Ah, happy days!

Glad you didn't end up in Holland or up a tree.

Cheddar a childhood friend of mines grandad had a boat half submerged in his lawn as a playhouse. It was awesome.

Everyone can come for a spin on my boat. Not all at the same time though obviously. It's not very big!

Keith!!! High five, mate!

Well done you, I wish you many happy years boating

P.S. Make sure you have even numbers on board

Aw thanks Luis, I'm getting very excited about anti fouling her over Easter!

Lol, bless you! Prep for the season is almost more exciting than the season itself!