first thing a new boater should do
is to take a boating safety class
and
obtain a safety certificate from their applicable governing body
I think it is best to have a course with a live instructor as you can ask
them all sorts of questions
but
if you are in a country or place where no boating safety courses are offered,
head over Boat-Ed.com and take the course and test for any one of the states.
For Michigan, it is free,
you only pay to get the printout of the safety certificate
I am sure it is the same for the other states and countries.
Be very careful in your expectations,
just about any craft will get you out there
but will it bring you back safely?
Here on the great lakes all can be calm and fine
and then in a matter of minutes the wind can pick
up and all of a sudden you have 4 to 6 foot waves
with very short interval,
making it very difficult to get back in if the you have
to head against the wind and every wave is tossing
a 55 gallon barrel of water in your face.
while you are making slow progress / very little headway
to keep from jumping the waves
which could otherwise cause your flooring to fail in a SIB
or the wind catches the hull and flips your boat
familiarize yourself with The European Union the Recreational Craft Directive (RCD)
introduced in 1996 to help consumers evaluate whether or not a boat of a particular
certification may meet their requirements
excerpted / summarized from:
http://www.eucertification.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ce_recreational_craft_en.pdf
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:01994L0025-20130101&from=EN
A - Ocean: Designed for extended voyages where conditions may exceed wind force F8 (Beaufort scale) and significant wave heights of 4m and above, and the vessel largely self-sufficient.
B - Offshore: Designed for offshore voyages where conditions up to and including wind force F8 and significant wave heights up to and including 4m may be experienced.
C - Inshore: Designed for voyages in coastal waters, large bays, estuaries, lakes and rivers where conditions up to and including wind force F6 and significant wave heights up to and including 2m may be experienced.
D - Sheltered Waters: Designed for voyages on small lakes, rivers and canals where conditions up to and including wind force F4 and significant wave heights up to and including 0.5m may be experienced.
see also
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/maritime/recreational-craft/index_en.htm
http://www.britishmarine.co.uk/what_we_do/technical/recreational_craft_directive.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recreational_Craft_Directive
http://www.solentribster.com/recreational_craft_directive_RCD.htm
http://www.solentribster.com/RIB_Buying_Advice_Guide.html
/ search google for Recreational Craft Directive (RCD)
/ etc
safe boating
--
JRC
