sean Posted November 8, 2004 Report Share Posted November 8, 2004 I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted November 8, 2004 Report Share Posted November 8, 2004 Lets start with the obvious - (1) Your own boat should be cheaper - see (3) (2) Their rib will be easier to handle (3) If anything goes wrong with their boat they will fix it / reschedule etc - if you have a problem you may end up having to rearrange but also pay out (I know someone who had a problem with their boat the day before the course and it cost them a full cancellation fee as no other boat was available (4) Their boat will be equipped to the required standard - it is wrong to see turning up in your's as a 'shortcut' to equipping it; get a sea check instead. (5) They know their boat so will spend more time training you than learning about yours. Personally I would recomend theirs in your circumstances - if you had a twin engined cruiser with outdrives and a bow thruster then things would be different! Enjoy the course (easier in someone else's boat) and enjoy applyiong your training in your own later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted November 8, 2004 Report Share Posted November 8, 2004 Some schools will only do the course on their boats while some will do it on any boats. The advantage of using your own boat is that it WILL BE about your boat and it will be 100% applicable to your boat, however, it tends to cost more if you use your own boat, reason being the instructer will have only you as trainee while if they use their boat they need a minimum of 2/3 to keep the cost down. I am thinking of doing the L2 early next year, cos I found a school which will do it in a 1 day (instead of the normal 2 days) course provided you have 1 year boating experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted November 9, 2004 Report Share Posted November 9, 2004 The level 2 course is a good course in basic boatwork, it is targeted to teach people with no experiance to a known level of compatence. It gives you a certificate that is recognised around the word and by Insurance companies. The full course is 2 days, but if you are more experianced it can also be done by a one day refresher course, 1/2 day instruction then assessment. Or by the direct assessment only. You would need to demonstrate to an instructor that you can do various manouevers and have the required knowledge of the rest of the course sylabus. The best way to check would be to get hold of the RYA booklet called "Practical course notes" in there you will find notes on how to do the various tasks that are required. Another book called the "Powerboat Logbook" breaks down what is required for the various courses and is sub devided under 3 headings Knowledge of Understands and Can They are a bit self explanitory, you ether need a bit of knowledge, or to quite fully understand the subject, The Can ones are the ones you will have to demonstrate to the instructor that you can in fact do if you are to be awarded the certificate. As to your first question, I would say use their boat, it will be rigged with all the required gear [perhaps even a double kill cord] and RIB's are much earier to handle in confined spaces, and bounce off of jetty's better while practicing than expensive GRP hulls You also will not need the extra pressure of being sure your boat is working 100% and the worry about launching or scratching it. Have fun its a good course Charlie RYA Instructor [in case you were wondering] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fritchy Posted November 9, 2004 Report Share Posted November 9, 2004 When I got my boat I did the course on my own boat - which worked well for me. As well as the important safety info etc which the instructor would give you irrespective of what boat you are on, it gave me rapidly build confidence when mooring in a wind/tidal situation. Having a few thousand pounds worth of boat under my control approaching a berth is pretty stressful at first. Maybe it would be less stressful in a rib, but having the expensive GRP hull at risk focussed the mind wonderfully! Also, when doing 'three point turns' in a marina with some seriously expensive boats around it was also good to get some practise under scrutiny of someone who appeared to know what they were doing. Because it was just me (and my wife) on the boat, we could spend proportionally more time on the things which are relevent to what we will use the boat for. (e.g. safely getting close enough to the beach to let my wife and kids off the boat so I can go fishing!). It was also very easy to ask all the dumb questions... I was starting from a pretty low level of experience....it might be different for someone who already 'knows the ropes'. Mike F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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