experience

[Timx]

Hi,

I am three yrs away from buying my own nb and plan to spend,6 mnths a yr on it have been on holidays for last three on them two or three times a yr from march to september so far, tried March this yr to try when weather wasnt great,for experience,my question is,as id like to experience hard bits,when i have support [no jokes] what do you reccomend to give me the experience I will ultimately need to travel all the system when i retire,and wont have the support of a boat yard etc, cant do the liverpool link till then but what else, what would gain me experience so will be more confident of going anywhere when not got back up, presume some rivers are an experience only done the ouse, any suggestions would be welcomed from those who have experience..i have three yrs to get it right,and am learning confidence is a good plus when experiencing things

Cheers Tim

[JDR]

It sounds like you've already got a fair amount of experience through hiring.A lot of people start off knowing nothing but learn quickly.You could volunteer in the crew swap section or maybe consider an RYA Helmsman course tailored to your needs.

 

If you want inspiration see if you can find Gazboatman's thread (Gloucester to Leeds as a first trip).Is there a particular waterway you are concerned about?

Edited March 19, 2012 by JDR

[Gazboatman]

Do what I/we did, buy a boat 100's of miles away from home and navigate it back home.

 

Great sense of achievement once completed and I'd happily go anywhere now.

[sheriff]

Do what I/we did, buy a boat 100's of miles away from home and navigate it back home.

 

Great sense of achievement once completed and I'd happily go anywhere now.

i agree,and good for the self esteem.be yourself and go for it...you have what it takes

[Purple Fairie]

Do what I/we did, buy a boat 100's of miles away from home and navigate it back home.

 

Great sense of achievement once completed and I'd happily go anywhere now.

 

Snap!

[Black Ibis]

Do what I/we did, buy a boat 100's of miles away from home and navigate it back home.

 

Great sense of achievement once completed and I'd happily go anywhere now.

 

Double Snap! Best way to learn is to get out there and make mistakes!

[Timx]

I realise the general difficulties, which i have been trying to experience,i.e. going out when its not just good weather,, which im fine with, two biggest mistakes ive had was because of the wind, recently overtaking a static nb when another boat was passing me on the left but as i manouvered the wind was blowing so hard i ended up scraping alongside the static boat, and i couldnt turn away from it,till i passed,despite the loud ""OI "" from the owner, but nothing I could do,and last yr by ely trying to slowly edge in between a nb and a cruiser and wind blew me into the cruiser with all aboard giving me grief , saying i should of asked them to pull forward first , but the wind gave me no time to judge, ask etc, but sure with experience , i would of done better,or had more confidence to explain it wasnt my fault, but was unsure if it was or not..but my main point was, i want to try difficult navigations, locks etc whilst i am still hiring, the basic steering etc manouvering will only come with time im sure, where do people think its difficult to go without experience ..?

Cheers Tim

[Guest]

I realise the general difficulties, which i have been trying to experience,i.e. going out when its not just good weather,, which im fine with, two biggest mistakes ive had was because of the wind, recently overtaking a static nb when another boat was passing me on the left but as i manouvered the wind was blowing so hard i ended up scraping alongside the static boat, and i couldnt turn away from it,till i passed,despite the loud ""OI "" from the owner, but nothing I could do,and last yr by ely trying to slowly edge in between a nb and a cruiser and wind blew me into the cruiser with all aboard giving me grief , saying i should of asked them to pull forward first , but the wind gave me no time to judge, ask etc, but sure with experience , i would of done better,or had more confidence to explain it wasnt my fault, but was unsure if it was or not..but my main point was, i want to try difficult navigations, locks etc whilst i am still hiring, the basic steering etc manouvering will only come with time im sure, where do people think its difficult to go without experience ..?

Cheers Tim

 

We still have difficulties in the wind though it does get better and easier with experience - the problem with a NB is it is a slab sided metal sail attached to a hull that doesn't have a lot of depth, a flat bottom (usually) and no keel (rarely anyway) so the wind will simply blow you across the water.

 

There are still days now when we don't go out boating if it's blowing particularly hard - it's no fun so we sit tight if it's blowing bad enough.

[Gazboatman]

We still have difficulties in the wind though it does get better and easier with experience - the problem with a NB is it is a slab sided metal sail attached to a hull that doesn't have a lot of depth, a flat bottom (usually) and no keel (rarely anyway) so the wind will simply blow you across the water.

 

There are still days now when we don't go out boating if it's blowing particularly hard - it's no fun so we sit tight if it's blowing bad enough.

We had a lot of fun with the wind on our maiden voyage, but we didn't have the time to sit it out as we were trying to beat stoppages. We got all the way from Glocester and almost to our final destination in Leeds without touching another boat, then a few miles off in Bingley a gust of wind got me as we were passing a moored boat and blew us in to it. Only slightly touched it but it really anoyed me.

 

To the op, try doing some night cruising, that's a challege.