How much experience to hire a crusier boat?

J

Janeom

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Hi,

My sister wants to rent a crusier on the river shannon for my parents for a 40th wedding anniversary.
However they are both in their 70's and I'm just a bit concerned...the blurb on the website says they'll show you how to operate it, moore it etc. that it's very easy etc. (my view is that....it would say that though as they don't want to discourage potential customers). Maybe a more capable youger person would pick it you easily but for example my father is not comfortable driving in cities...

My father would have some experience 50 years ago (!) in handling rowing boats but a crusier is a big step up.

While she is viewing it as a nice treat for them I would n't like to be surprised with such a present and then feel forced into taking the responsibility of such a boat.

Maybe I'm too cautious but what does anyone else think?

Thanks
Janeom
 
It can be quite tricky handling a boat, although these cruisers are well designed with gadgets to make things easier. The trickiest bits would be mooring, just because you are coming in close quarters to hard stuff that you don't want to crash into, and making sure not to run aground. All kinds and ages of people rent these all the time but whether it will work for your parents will depend on their attitude. If they were based in or close to a nice town they could use it as a hotel and not move much.
 
dont dream of it!
We did it when our kids were young and even with (an hour's) "training" -it was very tricky and we had some very scary incidents----
Nowadays too--there are so many more boats-last weekend in fact--I watched the lock at Knockvicar--there wer abotu 12 boats tring to get through, adn it had to be opened and closed three times. There is sooooooo much more traffic on the rivers than used to be- and moorings can be difficult.
An alternative is for someone in the family-- a younger person, to do all the driving for them.
Why not ASK them if they'd like it?
I thought it was like sitting on the roof of my house and driving it--LARGE cumbersome, slow-moving-- nothing like driving a car. And the locks are narrow....
Good Luck whatever you decide
 
As another poster has mentioned, traversing the locks and mooring and tying off are the tricky bits.

Sure footing, quick reactions, strong hands and a cool head are all necessary if things get tricky.

If you do things by the book on navigation you should be okay, but we saw a big cruiser being towed for repairs with half the reed bed wrapped around the propellers.

Its easy to misunderstand the situation on the water and what you should do to not make matters worse - revving the engines when you're already in the reeds would not be a good idea.

We've been on the Shannon twice, once as honeymooners and once again more recently with the family.

An eight year old can safely pilot a small craft, and when the weather is fine its relatively easy.

But even crossing the Lough at Portumna can be tricky if there's a bit of a squal in the middle of the lake and you're in a flat-bottomed 27-footer.

So yes, I think the advice of getting a younger family member would be ideal, assuming they are not clueless about water.

ONQ
 
We've done this twice in recent years on the 3 berth "Emerald Star" cruisers, which are the smallest in their fleet. The cruising itself is easy enough but going through locks and mooring involves a bit of nimbleness.. one person would need to be confident enough to make their way to the bow (via a narrow walkway with a rail to hold on to)..going through locks you need to hand the rope to the lock-keeper and for mooring to jump ashore with the rope to tie up. My in-laws are in their 70's and there is no way they'd be up for it.

Unless you want to make a family occassion of it and hire a bigger cruiser , to be honest I'd get them a weekend in a nice hotel or if the budget stretchs a Med cruise.
 
We've rented day cruisers in the UK on several occasions and had great fun. In saying that they are tricky sometimes. Even my dad, who is a fairly confident driver with years of experience found it a bit tricky trying to moor it. I'd reconsider your plans for them.
 
Thanks everyone...you confirmed my suspisions. Think we'll try get something on dry land...none of the younger people in the family would be that confident on the water either.
 
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