what small boat question

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#1 Post by **donal** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 6:41 am

what would be a safe small boat ie car topable boat for use in the iner parts of galway bay its normall as calm here as a lake i was thinking along the lines of a bic funyak 252 tenders witch are unsinkable for aded safty any ideas i only got about 500-1000 to spend including engien and have so far ruled out inflatables

#2 Post by **kieran** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 9:58 am

Notwithstanding that it is very calm on occassion in Galway Bay, I would be concerned about going any distance offshore on a tender, dory or flat bottomed boat. You will feel much more secure in a 14 foot displacement hull boat. Check out buy and sell etc. for something like a second hand Arran or Daragh (OSM), both fair impersonations of the Orkneys. Far safer by far... To get a decent one you might need to add to your budget but there are a few bargains out there, although prices go up at this time of year and down in advance of the winter (people trying to see off to avoid storage costs)...

FWIW...

#3 Post by **Peter Kinsella** » Wed Apr 27, 2005 5:01 pm

From my experience, it often may look calm out on Galway Bay. But ----when out there it can be a different story. Yes the inner bay, east of Blackhead, is usually calmer than the outer bay. When, however, the wind is from the east the inner bay can be horrible.
To be quite frank, I just do not think it would be safe to take a 'car topable boat' out onto the bay.
Kieran's advice is sound, but don't forget to add the costs of safety gear to your budget. There are a quite a few items needed.
Sorry to put a bit of a damper on Donal's ideas - but safety is number one.
Another thought is that you can get buy many charter trips for your budget and have no worries about maintenance and storage.

Peter.