Does anyone know anything about boats?
Discussion
Thinking of getting a boat. Does anyone know about mooring costs, either in Dubai Marina, Festival City, or even if there are public ramps you can use so I can keep it at home.
Also, what about licences etc?
I'm generally asking all the questions that someone who's never owned a boat before might ask!
Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Cheers.
Also, what about licences etc?
I'm generally asking all the questions that someone who's never owned a boat before might ask!
Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Cheers.
Hello mate,
Can you inquire...
1.What licences etc you need. ie I doubt any wally could go and buy one, chuck it in and off you go.
2.Do they moor theirs somewhere, or is it kept at home?
3.Is there a waterways rulebook, as such. ie what's stopping me from doing what I want, when I want!
4. Maintenacne...purely cleaning and engine? What's a lifespan of a typicla engine?
Many thanks.
Can you inquire...
1.What licences etc you need. ie I doubt any wally could go and buy one, chuck it in and off you go.
2.Do they moor theirs somewhere, or is it kept at home?
3.Is there a waterways rulebook, as such. ie what's stopping me from doing what I want, when I want!
4. Maintenacne...purely cleaning and engine? What's a lifespan of a typicla engine?
Many thanks.
Chilli,
24k Dhs per year for a 37ft in the Marina, plus other fees.
Approx the same costs elsewhere in Dubai. However, most of the mooring are taken.
It is much cheaper to moor at RAS abour 40 mins - 1 hour up the road, plus maybe a berth.
I'm thinking of puting a boat at the Creek Marina, expensive but no more than 10 mins drive from work or home.
to answer your questions
1.What licences etc you need. ie I doubt any wally could go and buy one, chuck it in and off you go.
basically yes, but you should do an RYA course of some sort. (this is true in uk and i think the same here) I have a international deck officer's ticket so this doesn't worry me.
2.Do they moor theirs somewhere, or is it kept at home?
Your choice, the nice thing about a permant mooring is you drive then hope on the boat. Trailering a bost is a pain.
3.Is there a waterways rulebook, as such. ie what's stopping me from doing what I want, when I want!
International rules of the sea, plus local laws and customs.
4. Maintenacne...purely cleaning and engine? What's a lifespan of a typicla engine?
a small marine engine 3000 hrs easy, most boat will only do a few hundred in a year. you should have an engine service and hull clean once a year to keep things tip top.
24k Dhs per year for a 37ft in the Marina, plus other fees.
Approx the same costs elsewhere in Dubai. However, most of the mooring are taken.
It is much cheaper to moor at RAS abour 40 mins - 1 hour up the road, plus maybe a berth.
I'm thinking of puting a boat at the Creek Marina, expensive but no more than 10 mins drive from work or home.
to answer your questions
1.What licences etc you need. ie I doubt any wally could go and buy one, chuck it in and off you go.
basically yes, but you should do an RYA course of some sort. (this is true in uk and i think the same here) I have a international deck officer's ticket so this doesn't worry me.
2.Do they moor theirs somewhere, or is it kept at home?
Your choice, the nice thing about a permant mooring is you drive then hope on the boat. Trailering a bost is a pain.
3.Is there a waterways rulebook, as such. ie what's stopping me from doing what I want, when I want!
International rules of the sea, plus local laws and customs.
4. Maintenacne...purely cleaning and engine? What's a lifespan of a typicla engine?
a small marine engine 3000 hrs easy, most boat will only do a few hundred in a year. you should have an engine service and hull clean once a year to keep things tip top.
Edited by dictys on Thursday 21st January 12:48
Chilli said:
Thinking of getting a boat. Does anyone know about mooring costs, either in Dubai Marina, Festival City, or even if there are public ramps you can use so I can keep it at home.
Also, what about licences etc?
I'm generally asking all the questions that someone who's never owned a boat before might ask!
Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Cheers.
Thought you weren't staying long term.....Also, what about licences etc?
I'm generally asking all the questions that someone who's never owned a boat before might ask!
Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Cheers.
I would love a boat but the Mrs says I have to sell a car before I get one. I don't see how this would work as I need the Porsche for work and if I got a boat I'd need the Jeep as for towing/launching.
She never understands. I might just turn up with a boat one afternoon and hope she's so excited she forgets to be mad. Tis oft easier to beg forgiveness than to gain permission!
Chilli,
What you got in mind boat wise? Are you thinking or inboard or outboard? Also make is important as well and not from name point of view, im talking more quality wise.
Theres tones of questions and avenues to look at, im in Dubai soon (see my post) i would be more than happy to chat about this over a beer or two!
Boating is allot of fun but also expensive so making sure you spend money on the right boat to start with is important and also you get the best advise and knowledge on what your buying so you can do your best to prevent any nasty surprises further down the road. Boats is what keeps me in beer tokens and has done since i left school and ive always worked on the service side of things mainly outboards. Over the years ive seen and heard of too many people getting a bad experience with boats due to lack of support or back up or not getting good advice in the first place.
The bonus of being in the Gulf is that we can go boating every day so the boats get used allot which is the best thing for the engines as the get run all the time and hopefully regularly serviced
unlike back in blighty where 99.9% of the year the boat sits there and slowly dies and forgotten about, then the one day of sun comes and they wonder why the boat dosent work!
The creek is a great place to keep your boat, go down and speak to Stuart, he's the manager there and a great guy. The creek also has everything on site and a full team of guys to service every need of your boat, plus i dont need to tell anyone on here about the surroundings there.
Sorry if this is allot to take in for a friday! We're all probably felling a bit fragile!
Dunk.
What you got in mind boat wise? Are you thinking or inboard or outboard? Also make is important as well and not from name point of view, im talking more quality wise.
Theres tones of questions and avenues to look at, im in Dubai soon (see my post) i would be more than happy to chat about this over a beer or two!
Boating is allot of fun but also expensive so making sure you spend money on the right boat to start with is important and also you get the best advise and knowledge on what your buying so you can do your best to prevent any nasty surprises further down the road. Boats is what keeps me in beer tokens and has done since i left school and ive always worked on the service side of things mainly outboards. Over the years ive seen and heard of too many people getting a bad experience with boats due to lack of support or back up or not getting good advice in the first place.
The bonus of being in the Gulf is that we can go boating every day so the boats get used allot which is the best thing for the engines as the get run all the time and hopefully regularly serviced
unlike back in blighty where 99.9% of the year the boat sits there and slowly dies and forgotten about, then the one day of sun comes and they wonder why the boat dosent work!The creek is a great place to keep your boat, go down and speak to Stuart, he's the manager there and a great guy. The creek also has everything on site and a full team of guys to service every need of your boat, plus i dont need to tell anyone on here about the surroundings there.
Sorry if this is allot to take in for a friday! We're all probably felling a bit fragile!
Dunk.
Cheers gents, appreciate it.
Still no news on the contract, so I'm not waiting around for them anymore. We're decided to stay for another year anyway. If I'm working then all well and good...If not, I'll become a house-husband.
Not rally sure what kind of boat. Can't afford to spend millions, but want something where 4 people can comfortably spend a few hours cruising along the coastline. Oh and something with enough poke to ski behind. 20 foot or so, with the usual comfy chairs and ease of access in and out of the back (leave it!). Seen a couple on Dubizzle, so might have a look at those. Just need to decide whether to moor it or not. I thought 25k a year was quite a lot, but then I think of the stress of driving with it, and launching!
A beer sounds good. Perhaps we'll have a PH meet? I'll start a post.
Thanks again.
Still no news on the contract, so I'm not waiting around for them anymore. We're decided to stay for another year anyway. If I'm working then all well and good...If not, I'll become a house-husband.
Not rally sure what kind of boat. Can't afford to spend millions, but want something where 4 people can comfortably spend a few hours cruising along the coastline. Oh and something with enough poke to ski behind. 20 foot or so, with the usual comfy chairs and ease of access in and out of the back (leave it!). Seen a couple on Dubizzle, so might have a look at those. Just need to decide whether to moor it or not. I thought 25k a year was quite a lot, but then I think of the stress of driving with it, and launching!
A beer sounds good. Perhaps we'll have a PH meet? I'll start a post.
Thanks again.
PH meet sounds like a plan! 
Aye, mooring a boat does cost but the connivence of just being able to jump in the car and then jump in the boat makes it worth while, plus if for instance you had it moored at the Creek they give the boats a rinse down every day to keep the dust off and its secure and if you want them to do anything to your boat all you have to do is pick up the phone.
Boat wise if your looking to ski and tow stuff behind i personally would go with outboards plus you'll have more room inside the boat, but dont get me wrong, there are plenty of good inboard boats designed for this as well. but do be careful, there are allot of boats on the market mainly yank built with skiing in mind and are sold everywhere but the design and the hull have been built for using on all their huge inland lakes so sticking one of those in the open sea can often lead to a very bumpy and wet ride.
I will be more than happy to bore you to death about boats
and try to help out best i can if you have anymore questions!
Back to work already tomorrow! Who the hell decided one day off a week was enough!?
Aye, mooring a boat does cost but the connivence of just being able to jump in the car and then jump in the boat makes it worth while, plus if for instance you had it moored at the Creek they give the boats a rinse down every day to keep the dust off and its secure and if you want them to do anything to your boat all you have to do is pick up the phone.
Boat wise if your looking to ski and tow stuff behind i personally would go with outboards plus you'll have more room inside the boat, but dont get me wrong, there are plenty of good inboard boats designed for this as well. but do be careful, there are allot of boats on the market mainly yank built with skiing in mind and are sold everywhere but the design and the hull have been built for using on all their huge inland lakes so sticking one of those in the open sea can often lead to a very bumpy and wet ride.
I will be more than happy to bore you to death about boats
and try to help out best i can if you have anymore questions!Back to work already tomorrow! Who the hell decided one day off a week was enough!?
Right, had a quick chat with him today.
In AUH you are looking at 800AED/ft/year - that's maintained price. If you can find somewhere!
He just uses his mainly for fishing, so went for a simple engine - he recommended a Yamaha 2 stoke outboard - apparently you can get parts anywhere and they are very reliable. He said to stay clear of the 4 strokes - as the mechanics here aren't so 'au fait' with the newer technology.
Certain places have an exclusion zone e.g. oil installations and Palaces - but these normally have buoys around them.
He said (at least in AUH) you have to have a registration and license to drive/own one - and apparently the Police sometimes do random checks or ask following an accident (usually involving locals on Jetskis trying to ride the waves behind boats apparently).
In AUH you are looking at 800AED/ft/year - that's maintained price. If you can find somewhere!
He just uses his mainly for fishing, so went for a simple engine - he recommended a Yamaha 2 stoke outboard - apparently you can get parts anywhere and they are very reliable. He said to stay clear of the 4 strokes - as the mechanics here aren't so 'au fait' with the newer technology.
Certain places have an exclusion zone e.g. oil installations and Palaces - but these normally have buoys around them.
He said (at least in AUH) you have to have a registration and license to drive/own one - and apparently the Police sometimes do random checks or ask following an accident (usually involving locals on Jetskis trying to ride the waves behind boats apparently).
Without boring the pants off everyone about outboards that was going to be my next essay, in Dubai you wont go wrong with either a Mercury (Extreme Marine in DIMC and Brunswick Middle east are there as well), Suzuki (Auto Sport) or as mentioned a Yam (dont know who the dealer is but their 2 strokes are bomb proof and are everywhere in this part of the world).
Buying a boat with anyone of these on the back and you know you wont have a problem with dealer back up, theres nothing wrong with 4 strokes, they have there place but im just not a fan, i'm not interested in a quiet engine and i love the sound of a big V6 2 stroke! Plus 4 strokes cost more to service, have more moving parts to go wrong, dont have as much poke and weigh allot more than 2 strokes.
Next month i'm in Dubai for Mercruiser (Mercury) training and then back on the 7th for Suzuki. These dealer conference/training courses are for dealers from the Middle East and Africa as their main offices for these regions is in Dubai so just another piece of mind if you shell out your hard earned on a boat with one of the above on the back.
Dunk.
Buying a boat with anyone of these on the back and you know you wont have a problem with dealer back up, theres nothing wrong with 4 strokes, they have there place but im just not a fan, i'm not interested in a quiet engine and i love the sound of a big V6 2 stroke! Plus 4 strokes cost more to service, have more moving parts to go wrong, dont have as much poke and weigh allot more than 2 strokes.
Next month i'm in Dubai for Mercruiser (Mercury) training and then back on the 7th for Suzuki. These dealer conference/training courses are for dealers from the Middle East and Africa as their main offices for these regions is in Dubai so just another piece of mind if you shell out your hard earned on a boat with one of the above on the back.
Dunk.
Gassing Station | Middle East | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff