kids

two stroke mick · 03 May 2015, 12:09

at what age did you start teaching the kids how to dive the rib. I dont mean steer

beamishken · 03 May 2015, 12:14

My son just did PB 2 at twelve & competed in RYA rib challenge at 11 but he's been driving quite a while
I guess it's difficult to determine when steering becomes driving
First boat trip both our kids were only weeks old

Sam G · 03 May 2015, 13:59

Powerboat one is aimed at 8+ so that's a good indication, teaching a young person to helm the boat themselves is up to the individual for some it will take longer than others and some young people are far more sensible than others so it's really up to the individual and how confident you are in them that they can safely helm

Chris · 03 May 2015, 14:19

My 9yo is quite happy behind the wheel although I don't let him have the throttle yet.

treerat · 03 May 2015, 14:49

My lass was 8 when she was allowed the throttle, both started at four/ five with the steering.

I use a simple system to work it out. If I'm likely to need them to get me home if it goes wrong then the need to know how to engage gear and point it in the right direction with some confidence of not hitting anything.

Poly · 03 May 2015, 14:59

What do you mean by drive? Do you mean control throttle and steering with no input from you unless something is going wrong? Operate completely unsupervised? Handle all the control of the craft with you on board? Do everything except the close quarters stuff?

biffer · 03 May 2015, 15:18

There wasn't on 2 when my son started driving the boat, I don't think there was the R Y A or not much to speak of. A long time ago, he lives in Sydney now, has a boat and still can't park it

Sent by mobile thingy

Mollers · 03 May 2015, 15:24

The acid test of anyone's boat handling mettle, is would you be happy to let them take the boat unsupervised?

Our's range from 19-24yo. The boys are competent, the girls have their limitations, so forget kids other than supervised steering.

Shore approaches and departures in chop or surf sorts them out. I'd just trust one of them to manage this one. Get such manoeuvres wrong and the results can be disastrous.

In short, there's a big difference between steering a boat and having the full suit of skills required to handle a craft safely, unsupervised in all conditions.
All of the PB courses in the book won't give you all of the skills/experience.

HUMBER P4VWL · 03 May 2015, 16:28

I had a 12ft dory with a 15 HP on at 12 and my bro 14. Then a 15ft dory 75hp out alone on the Strait at 15. Didn't go far mind, shuttling people to yachts etc and dad often on shore at local pub/jetty.

treerat · 03 May 2015, 16:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poly

What do you mean by drive? Do you mean control throttle and steering with no input from you unless something is going wrong? Operate completely unsupervised? Handle all the control of the craft with you on board? Do everything except the close quarters stuff?

Would I let the daughter bring the boat alongside, close maneuvering in the marina? No.

Would I be confident that she could get the boat moving back towards the beach / harbour / marina after pressing the magic red button and speaking to the nice man at the end of the radio? Yes, and that's key in my book.

SPR · 04 May 2015, 10:31

we teach 8 year olds at out youth training events and the RYA honda youth rib challenge has age group 8 - 12 ...

Need to be 12 to get Endorsed level 2

S.

www.firstaidatsea.co.uk
www.SPRmarine.co.uk

mattwarner · 05 May 2015, 11:07

I had a small Flatacraft force 3 with a 25hp I used to take out unsupervised from 6 years old, my dad made a restrictor on the throttle so it would only go part throttle but looking back (and now having a 4 year old and 2 year old myself) I think he was nuts! However at 13 I could bring back our 33ft flybridge into our marina berth with no bow thrusters on calm days so I guess it helps to start off young, as mentioned earlier he always wanted me to handle a boat in case there was an issue onboard and I had to get us home.

jonp · 06 May 2015, 00:37

My daughter did her boat licence at 12 which is the youngest allowed here in Aus, she's now 14 and can handle offshore and bar crossings with confidence. Driving the boat back onto the trailer is a ramp dependant.

I personally think most kids don't see danger as we do when we get older so Im still reluctant to let her head offshore with a bunch of mates. If we have a cranky mako, or great white around the boat she's the first to want to get in

jonp

two stroke mick · 06 May 2015, 09:10

Jon

Makos et al are not problems we suffer from in the West of Ireland.