New to boating

[ozkat]

Im reasonably new to boating (done alot of fishing tho) and living in S/E QLD our waterways are very busy. There must be a few people on Ausfish similar to myself who are inexperianced but wanting to learn the right way of doing things. Would any of the more experianced boat owners be willing to help out others in setting up their boat and teaching some boatcraft? For example: setting up the trim on your boat, how to handle the wake from large craft, anchoring, launching and retriving, basic maintainance, etc. maybe a boatcraft day could be organised? Id love someone to ride in my boat with me and tell me what im doing right and wrong. It may just save someones life. Cheers Shayne

[Gbanger]

gday ozkat,

i was in the same position late last year... i found just taking it easy on the water and reading plenty of ausfish threads has helped immensely...

i now take my boat offshore most weekends and am a hopeless fishing addict...

a couple of links i use to get accurate weather forecasts (one of the most important things) are as follows..

http://www.seabreeze.com.au/graphs/qld.asp

http://www.buoyweather.com/wxnav6.jsp?region=AE&program=MapsB (pick a red dot closest to you)

[1975fflh]

I am new as well just went from a 12 foot tinnie to a 5.2 metre rumrunner the people on this site are great, I have saved thousands with the advice offered, the is a line on trim that was really helpful.

I cannot thank the Ausfish people enough.

Just read through the different chat boards etc.

What a wealth of knowledge these people have

Thank you for sharing it with us.

[seatime]

It's a good idea, but, personal time is at a premium these days and a lot of people take every chance they can to get out in their own boats.

U might try offering ur services to crew on other boats and pick up some tips that way. I'm not even sure about any OH&S issues like 'duty of care' running a seminar like that. It may have to be organised under the umbrella of a boating club, VMR, RTO or similar. Then u would probably need to pay for a course, venue, trainer etc.
There are advanced type boating courses run by some of the BoatSafe training organisations, but I've never heard a report on one.
Try some of the fishing and boating clubs, they may run boating courses, or join a VMR, just stay involved after u have gained ur experience.
regards

[Bushfrog]

experience is the best teacher. dont take any risks and know the capability of your boat yourself and the weather conditions. use it in protected waters until you are confident. always have personal safety gear, vests, sea anchor, food & water and at least 2 means of communication e.g. CDMA and Eperb. always think ahead and imagine what you would do if you find yourself in difficulty e.g. in a rip (no fun in a small boat). Go out in a small chop and learn how to steer so that you do not get swamped. Never leave shore expecting the weather to improve - bad mistake. just a few thoughts that come to mind from experience.