Marine Surveyor Discusses Boating Safety

From Paul Squire a Marine Surveyor

The weather has been cooperating with all of the sea lovers out there for a few weeks now, so we thought a quick primer on boating safety was in order. Marine surveyors tend to plan and take notes so we have put together a checklist that you can use here to plan your next boating excursion. A trip on a boat or yacht can get complicated, so being prepared for any event is vital to the safety of all of the passengers.

Now that you have completed the checklist it is time to start the trip. Some things to consider while out at sea are:

Read more ...

Marine Surveyor Discusses Extended Voyages

From Paul Squire a Marine Surveyor

Even with the latest tropical storm Ernesto, the weather and seas have been relatively calm. This has been good news for all of the sea lovers out there including marine surveyors and experienced captains. These are the conditions that tempt us into longer excursions. There is a lot more to a multi-day voyage than your normal day fishing trip or weekend jaunt to the Bahamas. Because of this we have put together a simple guide to extended marine voyages. Marine surveyors tend to plan and take notes so we have put together a checklist that you can use here to plan your next boating excursion. This is useful for any trip. Any trip out to sea can have it’s complications, so the safety of all of the passengers is always your first concern.

There are some extra considerations for an extended journey that the captain must be prepared for. Before embarking you will want to make sure that you have prepared your vessel, determined your route, and have a backup plan in case of the worst case scenario. Here is a simple checklist for some of the things you will need to do:

Read more ...

The Tiger Rose Part 2

It was decided to spend a month working out of Luxembourg, There is a good airport at the capital which allowed the owner to fly in from St. Petersburg, Russia, in his private aircraft. 30 minutes after clearing Customs & Immigration, he could be aboard his barge.

The fine and dry summer days of September slowly turned into cool crisper mornings, the river glass like under heavy morning fog. With children back in school, the river scene had become a lot quieter. The stillness of those fog shrouded early mornings are still in my mind; quite magical and remarkable for the way the slightest sound was carried for great distances. People bicycling to work along the river road, distant some 200 meters, could be clearly heard chatting away to each other (if you understood the dialects of Luxembourg), the constant hiss of a barge’s bow wave on the river, the regular sound of oars from the rowing eights on the river, bird song, and high overhead the unmistakable, almost organ like note, from the pinion feathers of flights of swans doing their warm up exercises in preparation for the long flight south, all fading in and out It gave the scene a dream like quality.

Read more ...

The Tiger Rose Part 1

In September I was asked to consult on, and skipper, the TIGRE ROSE, a 30 meter barge yacht. My client, from St. Petersburg, Russia, is new to European – or any other – canals. In addition to learning more about what canal cruising can offer, he is interested in carrying out a improvements to the vessel to make it more comfortable to live aboard. There was also the need for him to learn more about the ins and outs of hiring professional crew, and the attraction of a relationship with a Yacht Management company. When home is Russia, one suspects that a good reputation does matter more than where the management company works out of.

The TIGRE D’OR’s hull and superstructure were built by Carters of Christchurch and finished by Berthon Boat Co. in Lymington, England in 1966. Jon Bannenburg styled the exterior and drew the layout. Vrijpack of Sneek, Holland produced working drawings. No one was employed to Project Manage construction – and boy does it show!

Read more ...