rowing boats

[Sportsman]

Whatever boat you end up with, when you go afloat remember:

WEAR A LIFE JACKET!

[barrowlad]

as i said earlier ive got a bouncy aid jacket its a delta explorer 65n hopefully this should suffice

[Sportsman]

as i said earlier ive got a bouncy aid jacket its a delta explorer 65n hopefully this should suffice

 

 

65n refers to a buoyancy of 65 newtons which is a buoyancy aid rather than a life jacket. That would be OK for very sheltered water where rescue would be immediate (windsurfing etc) but it is not a lifejacket. A lifejacket is designed to turn you on to your back with your face clear of the water, even if you are unconscious. Dependent upon your size and how much heavy or waterproof clothing you will be wearing you would need an automatic self inflating lifejacket of at least 150n.

The other point, which should be obvious is that lifejackets only work when you wear them, no point in having them "somewhere in the boat:

[ooarr_not_a_maggot]

I hate to echo all the other replies but they're spot on and should be taken on-board.....quite literally

 

I've no experience of the mentioned waters but have fished on similar sized Scottish lochs, and bigger, all my life and the same rules apply. Large expanses of water + small amounts of wind = big waves. The conditions will change in an instant and you will, as Emma says, see 4 seasons in one day.

 

Stick to 12ft as a bare minimum but the bigger the better. I still find myself bouncing along in a 16ft longliner, on choppy days, with clenched bum cheeks! And get yourself a good reliable outboard. There's nothing worse than losing power on a big water, then having to row home.

 

Scrap the buoyancy aid and go with a life jacket, for reasons already mentioned.

[ColinW]

Don't be too quick to write off the kayak idea. One major problem you'll find with a "proper" boat in the Lakes is finding places to launch. Unless you are happy to fork out the ludicrous fees for the official launch ramps it usually means "bending the rules" a bit. Some lakes won't allow outboards anyway, so a kayak would open up a lot of otherwise unaccessible water. (I should state I haven't tried one yet)

One thing that might not occur to you is that a lot of the time on these big lakes you are trolling, and a short fat boat, especially one with a cuddy to catch the wind, is just the wrong thing for the job. That is why the charr trollers use very long narrow boats that will track a straight line even rowed with one hand. (Fishing kayaks are designed for trolling.)

There is no such thing as the perfect boat. If it has a cabin so you can get out of the weather, or kip after an illegal night launch, it will get blown all over the place. If it hasn't, you'll need to dress like a North Sea trawlerman or get soaked. Too small is not safe, too big is a pain to row ashore when your engine conks out (which it will after running at idle for hours on end)

It all comes down to compromise. In the end any safe boat is better than fishing off the bank!

 

PS. If you can find an old copy, try and get hold of a book called Big Water Pike Fishing - Book 2 - Boat Fishing by James Holgate. It's old but it is specifically about fishing Lake District waters from a boat.

Edited October 24, 2008 by ColinW

[barrowlad]

65n refers to a buoyancy of 65 newtons which is a buoyancy aid rather than a life jacket. That would be OK for very sheltered water where rescue would be immediate (windsurfing etc) but it is not a lifejacket. A lifejacket is designed to turn you on to your back with your face clear of the water, even if you are unconscious. Dependent upon your size and how much heavy or waterproof clothing you will be wearing you would need an automatic self inflating lifejacket of at least 150n.

The other point, which should be obvious is that lifejackets only work when you wear them, no point in having them "somewhere in the boat:

thanks for the advice on saftey mate and i know that on a lot of sites like this people feel obliged to surmon on the subject and quite rightly so imo ,but im allready quite aware of sfatey in the water having spent 8 years working on the north sea oil rigs,i doubt that many small boat owners that fish the lakes would take along as much saftey gear as i would ,inshore flare pack,fog horn,waterproff vhf radio and mobile phone,saftey whistle,mirror,waterprof tourch,compass,survival bag,saftey knife,first aid kit extra food drink and clothing, and in some ways your right about the difference between a life jacket and a bouency aid in that a life jacket would save u in the event of being unconscious ,but i prefer a bouency aid as its eaiser to swim in and get back in to a boat ive tryed both and find the bouency aids better and at 65n it holds me in the water no probs,mabey the sinking issue is more down to what anglers in boats are wearing, myself ile be wearing a long jhon 5mm wet suite with a couple of non cotton fast wicking thermal layers on top then a semi dry kag and trowsers like the kayakers do witch are lightweight and warm , also some wet boots not walking boots hope all this puts you at saftey fears at ease and we can move back to disscussing boats and there suitabilty thanks Rob.

[barrowlad]

Thanks for the tip on the book colin ile try and search that out,as for the kayaks ive had a quick go on me mates and it just wasnt for me all just felt a bit to confined as i lke to stand up now and then for a stretch although me mate loves his and goes out in conditionds i wouldnt dream of and catches plenty aswell ive reaserched launching and your right there are some probs this is one of the reasons i fancy a smaller craft,was just wondering if anyone else uses them by the way 9ft norwegian pram dinghys were use to fish the north sea years ago not sure how many survived though

[Sportsman]

thanks for the advice on saftey mate and i know that on a lot of sites like this people feel obliged to surmon on the subject and quite rightly so imo ,but im allready quite aware of sfatey in the water having spent 8 years working on the north sea oil rigs,i doubt that many small boat owners that fish the lakes would take along as much saftey gear as i would ,inshore flare pack,fog horn,waterproff vhf radio and mobile phone,saftey whistle,mirror,waterprof tourch,compass,survival bag,saftey knife,first aid kit extra food drink and clothing, and in some ways your right about the difference between a life jacket and a bouency aid in that a life jacket would save u in the event of being unconscious ,but i prefer a bouency aid as its eaiser to swim in and get back in to a boat ive tryed both and find the bouency aids better and at 65n it holds me in the water no probs,mabey the sinking issue is more down to what anglers in boats are wearing, myself ile be wearing a long jhon 5mm wet suite with a couple of non cotton fast wicking thermal layers on top then a semi dry kag and trowsers like the kayakers do witch are lightweight and warm , also some wet boots not walking boots hope all this puts you at saftey fears at ease and we can move back to disscussing boats and there suitabilty thanks Rob.

 

Then after 8 years and several survival courses you should know better.

Personally all I had was 18 years on the rigs and 15 years teaching sea survival and rescue techniques to the standby industry so what do I know.

If you go on the water with a 65n buoyancy aid instead of a life jacket it's your funeral.

[barrowlad]

Then after 8 years and several survival courses you should know better.

Personally all I had was 18 years on the rigs and 15 years teaching sea survival and rescue techniques to the standby industry so what do I know.

If you go on the water with a 65n buoyancy aid instead of a life jacket it's your funeral.

No need for that mate i was only pointing out that a buoyancy aid suited myself better espesialy on a boat without a boom so theres less chance of being knocked out,and i have been in the water with it over a dozen times and find it more than suitable,if they were no good at saving lives then why do at least 80% of jet skiers ,kayakers,and windsurfers wear them and if they were as bad as you say surley they would be banned.somehow ive a feeling that you were determind to hyjack this thread and srart a row as from ur first post in it your telling me that its no use leaving my life jacket on the boat where im prety sure i never mentioned doing this ,the choices i make in my own personal saftey are mine alone and im pretty sure ive got most angles coverd thanks but for a so called saftey expert to say the difference between wearing a life jacket and a pfd is death is total nonsence,ps i never asked for peronal saftey addvice it was about suitabillity of boats anychance we could get back on topic because untill you turned up i was actually getting advice on what i was asking .Rob

[Sportsman]

No need for that mate i was only pointing out that a buoyancy aid suited myself better espesialy on a boat without a boom so theres less chance of being knocked out,and i have been in the water with it over a dozen times and find it more than suitable,if they were no good at saving lives then why do at least 80% of jet skiers ,kayakers,and windsurfers wear them and if they were as bad as you say surley they would be banned.somehow ive a feeling that you were determind to hyjack this thread and srart a row as from ur first post in it your telling me that its no use leaving my life jacket on the boat where im prety sure i never mentioned doing this ,the choices i make in my own personal saftey are mine alone and im pretty sure ive got most angles coverd thanks but for a so called saftey expert to say the difference between wearing a life jacket and a pfd is death is total nonsence,ps i never asked for peronal saftey addvice it was about suitabillity of boats anychance we could get back on topic because untill you turned up i was actually getting advice on what i was asking .Rob

 

 

I go boat fishing quite a lot and I regularly see idiots going on the water without life jackets. I see many many people in small boats using their lifejackets as a cushion.

See; http://www.rnli.org.uk/what_we_do/sea_and_...jacket_campaign

That was what my first post was about.

 

The second post was to point out the difference between a buoyancy aid and a lifejacket, and also the uses that they are suitable for.

Many people read forums like this and pick up information and I think that it is important for the information to be accurate so it wasn't just for your benefit or even addressed to you.

 

As for hijacking your thread just to cause a row, you'll know when I want a row

 

You may have started the thread but it doesn't make it yours and you have no say in how it develops or what subjects are bought into it so sorry you don't like it but that is how it is.

I'm not sure what, if any of my posting you actually read but I cannot for the life of me see where I said that using a buoyance aid was a death sentence but I stand by the fact that a 150n LIFEJACKET is the minimum standard for going afloat in a small boat in the circumstances you describe.

You don't want to do that? see if I care, I won't be there but I will continue to make observations as I feel inclined, whoever thinks they own the thread