Quote:
Originally Posted by OLLIE45
It's a motor boat with an outboard engine. As it looks like the thing will easily float in 2 feet of water, I am looking forward to doing some 'great creek crawling' as Kioni so happily put it!!
Ollie
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We did some great cruising in our GP14 dinghy (sailing, didn't even have an engine) and you can get into some really out of the way places and enjoy some peace and solitude.
Pack some drinks and sandwiches, some waterproofs and some local charts and head out. Keep a good safety lookout when you manoeuvre through all the moorings etc but once you get into the sorts of places you can go with a small boat there's going to be little to bother you. Don't forget basic safety gear (at least a bouyancy aid in a small boat - if you don't have any I have some spare ones I'm happy to let you have), spare fuel and, I suggest, a pair of oars and an anchor and off you go. A bailer (could be a bucket you keep the anchor and warp in) and sponge is a good idea too, in case you get a wee bit flooded for any reason.
Oh, in the summer you'll need lots of suncream and sunglasses, a small point but an important one, as you get basted twice by the sun, once directly and again reflected off the water just for good measure.
Conversely beware wind chill - make sure you have a fleecy middle layer and a windproof jacket for the less than ideal days or if it looks changeable. We bought those waterproof roll-top canoe-bag things to keep clothing and stuff in when we were in the dinghy - soft and easy to store and keeps your spare clothing nice and dry.
Browse around in Marinestore on Coast Road in West Mersea next time you're down if you need any odd bits and pieces - you don't need much but a few basic safety items and proper clothing make a huge difference to your enjoyment on the water. Hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs here...
Anyway don't forget your camera - the water is a magic place for photography, especially as the sun goes down... although if you plan to potter around after dark I would get a small set of battery powered dinghy lights if you don't have any (at least a white light which mounts on top of your outboard as they aren't much money, you don't need red/green) and a nice big waterproof (floating) torch
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