Brian J Goggin offers some essential dos and don'ts for the first-time inland boat-owner
DO ...
• Consider the needs of the whole family
• Take your time and talk to owners
• Get training
• Start early to look for a marina berth
• Join the IWAI
• Respect other waterways users
DON'T ...
• Spend too much money on a first boat
• Skimp on safety equipment
• Buy a second-hand boat without a survey
• Ignore the canals and the Barrow
• Buy a 'project'
• Damage the waterways environment
DO
Consider the needs of the whole family
But there's another difference between inland and (much) coastal boating: inland is much more a family recreation. You don't get 15 hefty men sitting on one side of your motor-cruiser; your crew may be parents and children, possibly quite young children.
That has all sorts of implications:
• who's going to be the skipper (on our boat, it's whoever fixes toilets)?
• will children participate actively, ignore what's going on or argue about everything?
• are they old enough to be given responsibility?
• have you room for a dinghy or a kayak the children can use in harbour?
• who's going to do the cooking and household tasks, probably in a smaller space and with less equipment than at home?
It's probably as well to think about some of those issues in advance. Going to the boat has to be enjoyable and relaxing for everyone, not just the skipper.
DON'T
Spend too much money on a first boat
If you have no previous experience of boating, how do you know you and the family are going to like it? You will learn a certain amount by hiring and by talking to other boaters, but some aspects just won't sink in until you're responsible for every aspect of your own boat.
There are lots of issues of layout, equipment, engine size, furnishing, systems and so on that you can't really get to grips with until you've had some practical experience. Then you find that someone else's boat has an alternative set-up, or a different way of doing things, and you're in a better position to compare the two approaches. But it's very hard to do that with a first boat.
For that reason, it may be as well not to spend too much on a first boat. Treat it as a training boat: you'll enjoy it, yes, but you won't expect it to be perfect, and you'll intend to move on to another one after a few years.
DO
Take your time and talk to owners
Before you buy, talk to people who already own boats. Most inland boaters are both chatty and friendly, and are only too delighted to talk to potential new recruits to the ranks of inland boaters. They're also convinced that their own boat has the perfect layout, fit-out, engine, equipment and so on, and will explain its virtues to you at great length. You can pick up a lot of information by looking at, and learning about, other people's boats — and by observing how they handle them.
Skimp on safety equipment
The waterways have a good safety record, but they do have their own dangers. Although the big lakes tend to be deep, rivers and canals can be shallow, and can hide hazards that the seagoing skipper doesn't have to worry about, things like weeds and shopping trolleys. Currents can be strong after heavy rain; markers can be blown out of position; big lakes can be very rough at times; a moment's inattention can mean a limb squashed between boat and quay wall; floating debris (e.g. branches) can be a hazard.
So don't skimp on safety: proper lifejackets for everyone on board, including some for visitors; lifebelts; flares; a VHF radio (the Coastguard does monitor the Shannon and there are lifeboat services on the Shannon and Erne); a first-aid kit.
Children are required by law to wear lifejackets, but the best way to get them to do so is for the adults to wear them as well. Modern self-inflating lifejackets are very comfortable to wear, and it soon becomes second nature to put them on. But check them regularly and do a major check once a year.
DO
Get training
If you haven't handled boats very much before, invest in some training: the Irish Sailing Association's Inland Waterways Motor Boat Training Scheme provides courses for both skipper and crew.
You may also need a course in handling VHF radio, and it is useful if at least one person has some knowledge of first aid.
Finally, don't forget the engine and other systems. Keeping that hunk of metal going is vital to your safety as well as to your peace of mind, so it's worth learning more about the beast.
Various IWAI branches (see below) and other organisations offer courses in VHF and engine maintenance over the winter months.
DON'T
Buy a second-hand boat without a survey
Before you buy a second-hand boat, get it surveyed properly. A good survey, done by a surveyor who is working for you and not for the seller, is well worth the money: you don't want to sink your cash into a boat that's suffering from severe osmosis (GRP) or has hazardous gas or other systems. Anyway, your insurers may well insist on seeing a survey.
Don't panic if the survey finds faults (no boat is perfect): if the list is manageable, you may be able to get the price reduced and you'll know what work has to be done on the boat and how urgent each item is.
If the surveyor will allow it (and they may hate my suggesting this), you could try to be there during the survey: you can learn a lot by watching the surveyor in action. And if there's anything you don't understand, you can seek enlightenment straight away rather than having to ask questions about the written report.
DO
Start early to look for a marina berth
Once you've bought a boat, you'll have to find somewhere to moor it. On the Shannon, that will almost certainly mean a berth in a marina, and in some areas — especially on Lough Derg — berths are getting scarce. There is no register of vacant marina berths, so there's no alternative to ringing around. The sooner you get started (possibly even before you buy a boat), the better.
On the Grand, Royal and Barrow there are few marinas; most boats are left at locations where boats congregate (e.g. Sallins, Lowtown, Hazelhatch, all near Dublin, and Shannon Harbour at the western end of the Grand). There is no formal security and there are few services but, on the other hand, the annual charge (payable to Waterways Ireland, the navigation authority) is purely nominal, although that may change when the byelaws are revised.
Ignore the canals and the Barrow
Most people seem to think of putting a boat on the Shannon or the Erne, and most modern cruisers seem to be designed for those waters. But the canals and the Barrow offer gentle get-away-from-it-all cruising; they are well underused and could handle far more traffic than they get. They also present their own challenges to the skipper's skills and offer some fine scenery and other delights.
Obviously a steel narrowboat or broad-beam narrowboat will be able to handle those waterways, but many displacement cruisers can also cruise them quite happily. A high flybridge would rule you out, and you have to be able to cruise at four miles an hour. Some (especially older) cruiser designs will open up the whole of the waterway system to you, rather than just confining you to the Shannon and Erne.
DO
Join the IWAI
The Inland Waterways Association of Ireland is a voluntary body of waterways enthusiasts, and the nearest thing to a users' association that there is. Join it to help in lobbying Waterways Ireland (and other powers-that-be), to meet other users and join in social and boating activities, and to get access to its services.
IWAI runs the biggest Irish waterways website www.iwai.ie with a huge amount of information on it. Waterways Ireland also has a site at www.waterwaysireland.org
DON'T
Buy a 'project'
A "project" is a boat that has been badly neglected but that would be absolutely gorgeous if it were properly restored. It costs practically nothing — in fact the current owner seems to be glad to be rid of it — and you could save a lot by doing most of the work yourself.
So you buy it and park it somewhere (usually on the Grand Canal, where there is no electricity supply) and, in September, you start going down to it every weekend to do a bit of work. You also sign up for classes in welding.
The first few wet weekends don't deter you; friends occasionally come to help and you find that there are a lot of people (none of whom bought it, you notice) who know every aspect of the history of the boat, including where it was holed the last time it ran aground and what sort of bus the engine was taken out of and why there is a washing-machine hose on the water intake.
Then you notice that the work the previous owner began all has to be undone: he used non-marine plywood, which is delaminating, and windows that he got cheap from a car-dismantlers. There is mastic everywhere and the inside of the boat is getting mouldy. So you dismantle all that and invest in a large tarpaulin.
By Christmas your friends are not taking your phone calls and your spouse and children haven't seen you at a weekend for some months, so you take a break and do a few jobs around the house. Then there are two very wet weekends in a row, and you're afraid that if you take off the tarpaulin it will blow away and the inside will get soaked again. So you decide to leave it until the weather improves in the spring, which it does around July, by which time you have an angry note from the Inspector asking you to remove the sunken boat from the canal.
There are people who have, after much effort, successfully restored very old boats. But far more people have started in hope only to abandon the project. Unless you are absolutely sure that you have the resources and skills to do the job properly, and you and your family find working on boats at least as enjoyable as boating, don't do it: buy something that is already in working order.
DO
Respect other waterways users
So you've bought your new boat with twin 500hp diesels and you're bombing down the river from Athlone to Portumna. Round the corner there is a canoeist, paddling slowly into the teeth of a strong southerly breeze. You see him and slow down, but it's too late: your wash overturns him.
Although cruisers are the most visible users of the waterways, they're not the only ones, and they don't own the place. There are anglers on shore and in boats, swimmers, canoeists, rowers, children in sailing dinghies .... As we get more boats on the system, the potential for conflict increases. It can be avoided by giving some consideration to other users and their needs.
DON'T
Damage the waterways environment
Finally, respect the waterways themselves. Keep the water clean: get a holding tank for your toilet waste and don't dump oil into the water. Keep your wash down on river sections and near the shore, especially during the birds' nesting season. Respect the waterways heritage and learn about their history. We want the next generation to be able to enjoy the waterways too.
Published in Afloat April//May 2008
