Thread: Boat setup - onboard necessities

Kept an eye out on the weather forecasts last week and things looked promising so took the wee girl out on her maiden voyage on Lake Roxburgh. Aside from the over-abundance of driftwood at the ramp and on the lake, it couldn’t have been a better day. Handled like a dream but my docking skill needs some work Happy with the first shakedown cruise and my wife was buzzing the whole day. Got her share of wheel time and she aced getting the boat hooked up and winched onto the trailer.

Looking great!

Docking. The best 3 bits of advice I've been given, and live by. Slow is good, slower is better. Get a stern line (short) on first.

On mine, I prefer to approach a Finger on the port side (looking forward from the helm on the starboard side, the jetty/finger is on my left/port side), and snag a cleat with a line on the boats port aft/arse quarter. Then just turn the wheel anti clockwise, and drop in gear but no more throttle.
Doesn't matter what the wind does(I'm also a HT) you'll be parked up tight asap.

The hardest thing is getting the rope hand (could be a relative, mate, child, or last time on boat person....) to flick the rope around the cleat, and not try to use the bow rope.....

Originally Posted by Beaker

Looking great!

Docking. The best 3 bits of advice I've been given, and live by. Slow is good, slower is better. Get a stern line (short) on first.

On mine, I prefer to approach a Finger on the port side (looking forward from the helm on the starboard side, the jetty/finger is on my left/port side), and snag a cleat with a line on the boats port aft/arse quarter. Then just turn the wheel anti clockwise, and drop in gear but no more throttle.
Doesn't matter what the wind does(I'm also a HT) you'll be parked up tight asap.

The hardest thing is getting the rope hand (could be a relative, mate, child, or last time on boat person....) to flick the rope around the cleat, and not try to use the bow rope.....

If you set up a loop on your stern cleat all you need to do is hook it over the corresponding hook or cleat on the jetty and stick it in idle ahead. Your advice is quite right - if you're going to crash, crash slow...

Best advice I got was put it in to neutral some distance from the boat ramp and coast in. Distance depends on wind speed and direction, but you get better at judging it over time. If you fall short, you can always put it in to gear briefly to get over the line. A boat hook is very useful.

Looks like a great spot
Just be thankful you don't have current to deal with. Coming into the ramp at Foxton, sometimes you need to be pointing up river and do a 90 degree turn at the last minute as you get into the last little bit by the ramp. Only managed to make myself look like a twat a couple of times but a wharf full of people make sure you have an audience which is always nice.

Hey @ Sidetrack, I have a boating/fishing checklist. It may/may not be useful to you, but happy to share via PM if you're interested.

Yes please, that would be much appreciated. Have started putting a spreadsheet together with permanent onboard and a separate packing list depending on the type of trip so will be very helpful.

Biggest issue I was having with docking is getting used to the control. It’s bigger and clunkier than the smaller units I’ve dealt with in the past but that should get sorted with time and practice I’m assuming. This boat carries a lot more windage as well so just need to get on top of it. It’s certainly a pleasure to beach and as you’ll have said, Slowly,Slowly!!
Thanks for the great feedback.

Originally Posted by Sidetrack

Biggest issue I was having with docking is getting used to the control. It’s bigger and clunkier than the smaller units I’ve dealt with in the past but that should get sorted with time and practice I’m assuming. This boat carries a lot more windage as well so just need to get on top of it. It’s certainly a pleasure to beach and as you’ll have said, Slowly,Slowly!!
Thanks for the great feedback.

Windage is a factor of planning ahead, it's fairly easy to sort that out if it's wind against tide as the tide will push more than the wind all things being equal. Not so easy when the wind and the tide are pushing in the same direction, but worse can be wind at 90deg to tide as that can cause the boat to turn in the wind which stuffs you up for what the current is doing. The easiest way around I've found while you are getting used to the behaviour of the boat is just set yourself up further away than you think you'll need - it's surprising how many times that you are still feeling rushed even though you've doubled your travel distance.

It's a matter of time as you say with the controls too, although if they are stiff or grabby that is not helpful.

Originally Posted by Sidetrack

Yes, have four onboard. Much more wearable full time.

Inflatables are a great idea in theory ...

I went to a swap your old life jacket plus a bit of cash for a new one.. It was run/organized by Coastguard .
A fella bought an inflatable jacket along to swap over and the Coastguard guy pulled on the string to inflate the old jacket.... It never inflated so he pulled the jacket to bits and the gas cannister was not even connected up to the inflation chambers, the fella that bought the jacket in went a bit pale. I asked the Coastguard fella how common is it that the blow up jackets don't inflate when they should. He said it happens way more than it should because people dont see what is happening to the cannister inflation area, they dont realise how old the jacket is and they dont service that all important part.

I bought new bulky jackets for my family that I know will not fail when I need them to work, hopefully I will never need them but I know they will keep our heads above the water, so did the fella that bought the blow up one in that didnt work.

Essential kit back in the day included a .375 H&H, but that was in case we had a hippo encounter!

Originally Posted by sore head stoat

Inflatables are a great idea in theory ...

I went to a swap your old life jacket plus a bit of cash for a new one.. It was run/organized by Coastguard .
A fella bought an inflatable jacket along to swap over and the Coastguard guy pulled on the string to inflate the old jacket.... It never inflated so he pulled the jacket to bits and the gas cannister was not even connected up to the inflation chambers, the fella that bought the jacket in went a bit pale. I asked the Coastguard fella how common is it that the blow up jackets don't inflate when they should. He said it happens way more than it should because people dont see what is happening to the cannister inflation area, they dont realise how old the jacket is and they dont service that all important part.

I bought new bulky jackets for my family that I know will not fail when I need them to work, hopefully I will never need them but I know they will keep our heads above the water, so did the fella that bought the blow up one in that didnt work.

Inflatables are fine as long as you check them and look after them - I think it's a bit of a misnomer that foam core jackets don't need care and servicing as well, as the foam core can break down or be crushed and not provide the float it is rated to when you need it.

The benefit of inflatables is that they can be worn the entire time you are at sea without getting in the way or being uncomfortable, which is a huge thing. Also, wearing foam jackets can be dodgy if its a rollover incident as you can be trapped in them and it can be difficult to get out of them.