Top 10 Tips For New Boaters From Boat Owners

This week, we sat down with a lovely couple who bought their first Parker 800 Weekend boat from us in 2021; having looked around at other boat brands in the lead up to their boat purchase.

With a background in sailing, this adventurous and well-travelled couple were looking to continue to enjoy time and vacations on the water; and to have the ability to get to their destination more efficiently.

TIP#1

Choose the size and features of the boat specification wisely

The size of the boat and specific features of our Parker 800 means that we can spend anything from 1 day to 10 – 12 days onboard; the most time we’ve spent on her so far is 12 days. The most time that we’ve spent on her without having to visit a Marina was 7 days.

A great feature is the bow thruster. You are not as heavy as a sailboat with a long keel, so use the bow thruster to help you when you are manoeuvering.

We can create many good meals with our Wallas stove with its two rings. Quite often, we have the family onboard and there’s never an issue. Our portable Cobb cooker comes in very useful, too.

We can also charge all of our devices onboard as there are lots of charging points.

Make sure to have a cockpit enclosure; this will give you year-round boating and a heating duct in the cockpit creates a cosy space in the cooler evenings.

We have an anchor windlass and also a 150w Solar Panel which mostly keeps pace with the fridge usage.

TIP#2

Why buy a boat?

Having a boat gives us the freedom to escape. The minute we step on board we are in a different space. There’s no garden to mow or neighbours dropping in; it’s true escapism for us. It’s something we can either do alone or with the kids and grandchildren. Boating is a fantastic multi-generation activity.

TIP#3

Share some of your favourite things to do when out?

We love fishing and we swim off the back of the boat. Most of all, we love to be self-sufficient. So, provisioning is key for us before we even leave the dock. We take some emergency meals with us and prep some home made favourites such as such as spaghetti bolognese which we freeze; this also acts as an extra ice block.

One of the highlights for us is to have sundowners onboard; we always make sure we have our Mountgay Rum, skinny Tonic and fresh lime. As a long drink with plenty of ice, It’s our house cocktail!

TIP#4

Sleeping accommodation and what to look out for

The head room is impressive. The ability to sit up in bed is something of a bonus. We came from a sailing boat where we had to shuffle around in the main berth beneath the cockpit, so this is an absolute joy to have proper sitting headroom. It’s also cooler in the summer months as more air can circulate in a bigger space.

TIP#5

Build quality is important for so many reasons

You need a boat that you can trust in all seas; from gentle Summer days spent in a Harbour to taking the boat along the South Coast in bigger breeze and seas. You never quite know with the English weather and how the conditions will change in any one day or hour. Several clues into the build quality are the size of the cleats and the backing plates. We’ve had her out in a Force 5 in the solent and can attest to her sea worthiness in those conditions. We’d be very confident taking her across to Cherbourg.

TIP#6

How to divide the jobs onboard?

We naturally just fell into our roles; we both feel comfortable performing certain tasks and the communication has just got better and better.

TIP#7

What TIPS would you give to novice boaters?

If you and your family are new to boating, don’t rush to leave the dock unless conditions are nice and calm with little wind. Just spend time being onboard your boat, and get everyone comfortable and familiar with her. Get into it as a family slowly. As everyone grows in competence and confidence, you will all enjoy your new boat to the max.  

Do not frighten your family! Invariably there will be different levels of skills and competence on board so your perception of what’s normal might not be your partner’s or child.

A good idea is to take the Powerboat Level 1 & 2 courses: build your confidence on board with an Instructor to begin with. They will teach you how to come alongside and dock safely in all conditions.

If your motor control has a docking button, use it; this restricts the rev’s as you are docking so you don’t have any surprises!

A key tip is to learn how to anchor

Learn how to anchor: if you can anchor in any conditions, this is hugely valuable. If you know how to anchor, it is a great seamanship skill that will stand you in good stead. Don’t automatically rely on mooring buoys as you don’t always know how well they are maintained. If you pick up a buoy, its always a good idea to give it a good tug astern to make sure it is well attached. Consider if you ran out of fuel or break down; once you anchor safely you are back in control until you can get assistance.

A wise investment is SeaStart: for around £150 per year, you get peace of mind should anything happen whilst you are out. We’ve only used it once and it was amazing.

Learn your lessons: When we ran both our batteries flat, because of a faulty split charge relay, SeaStart were great and soon had us up and running. We now carry a jump start pack and always isolate our starting battery whenever we are stopped.  

Pack a soft bag with your clothes so that the bag can be reduced in size, rather than a hard suitcase. You never need as much as you think you will need.

TIP#8

How do you keep on top of your engine service hours?

We have a SIMRAD system on board that speaks to our Mercury Outboard. We simply have to press a few buttons to check where we are with engine hours and warranty maintenance.

We have a 5 year warranty dealer service that is helpful.

TIP#9

Do you use paper charts or guide books?

For the short trips we do rely on our SIMRAD nav. equipment. What we do, as a discipline if outside the Solent, is to take down and note our position every 30 minutes. As for Guide Books, we swear by Tom Cunliffe’s guides; they are brilliant and we don’t go anywhere without them.

TIP#10

What can you not do without?

Here’s a list of some of the things we can’t do without onboard:

Toast on board; we use the black silicone mats.

Ice for sundowners; we take 4 ice blocks plus we have our ice cube trays.

Full canopy; this acts as another room onboard and it’s very cosy in the winter.

Jump start kit.

Two buckets, two sizes; keep them under the stern seat – great for washing clothes, gutting fish, washing small grandchildren.

Buy a shower bag if there’s no sun to heat the water, simply fill the kettle and fill from there.

Snubber bridal; this type of boat can veer about quite a lot at anchor so we always use a snubber bridal on both fwd cleats to help dampen the veering.

BONUS TIPS

What are your favourite anchorages and why?

We love Newtown on the Isle of Wight. It’s a place to truly escape and it’s less expensive than other anchorages. We also love Poole; especially the mussels and the Poole Oysters.

What checks do you do after a day of boating?

We always have a good look round , check the bilges, check your engine mounting bolts etc. Our policy in terms of fuel is we  always prefer to leave with full tanks whenever possible .

We always flush the engine through and you’ll be shown this and given a gadget for this at handover. Remember aluminium and salt do not mix well!

Always check your engine cooling water tell tale is flowing .

In summary, if you could give your top 3 tips around safe and enjoyable boating, what would they be:

LEARN TO ANCHOR

DO NOT LEAVE THE DOCK UNTIL YOU ARE ALL READY

FUEL; ALWAYS LEAVE FULL