Is you spouse capable of driving your boat?

[Vince_nj1]

Most of my previous boating experience has been with my guy friends and most of them have owned boats. (one is now a licensed captain). So there usually has been one or more people onboard that could drive if something went wrong. Starting with this boat, a lot of my boating is going to be with my wife and 2 kids (11 & 7).

Without picking on my wife, she has demonstrated very little interest in learning about the boat and is intimated by the thought of driving it. I'm not comfortable having everyone on board, rely on me for everything. If I hit my head and pass out, or if I fall overboard, I need to know that someone else onboard can drive the boat and call the coast guard if necessary.

This summer, my goal is to teach my son as much as I can about boating and driving the boat. He is only 11 (today is his birthday), but he is pretty capable. At a basic level, I want him to know how to turn on and off the engines, put the boat in gear and drive. I also want him to know and understand channel markers, channels on the VHF and how to use the GPS. By the end of the summer, I want to have him docking the boat (with my close supervision). I'm going to push to my wife to learn a few more things, but I doubt that she would ever attempt to dock the boat. (my 7 year daughter would be happy to attempt it, but would probably wreck the marina)

Just curious about how others handle this.

PS.. I know there are minimun legal ages to drive a boat, but I'm not talking about throwing him the keys while I go take a nap. I'm looking for some basic level of skill and knowledge to handle the boat in an emergency. My son actually has some experience with saving my dumb ass. 2 years ago I broke my wrist in a quad accident and he had to drive me out of the woods on the ATV to get me to the hospital. (I keep reminding him that it was illegal for him to drive on public roads with and ATV :grin

 

[berth control]

Wanna add a poll to the thread?

My wife can't do anything but tie a rope to a cleat, and even that sometimes the wrong cleat, ect. I would like her to learn for the same reasons you give, but she has NO intrest.

 

[wish2fish]

my boat is smaller and I still would say no. She doesn't have the confidence, get all nervous and makes mistakes because of that. My 15 year old (16 in may) does a great job though which allows me a little time up front in the bow with the wife which is nice!

My son has been driving the new boat since 2006 and put the old 160 on/off the trailer for me since he was 11.

I think it makes him want to come to the boat with his friends more because this is something he gets to do that they can't!

 

[Vince_nj1]

Wanna add a poll to the thread? quote]

I dont know how..:smt009

 

[berth control]

Vince -
it's the bottom option under "thread tools" in the yellow bar at the top of this page

 

[wingless]

My better half can bring the boat into the slip better than most guys.

Every time she's at the helm, they guys at the dock drag their wives over to show them how its done.

The piece of resistance is the wife tells me she's better at the lines than me.

We also both agree she's better at navigation, but hey, I'm a guy and I don't need to know where I'm going...

 

[mrsrobinson]

Capable but lots of anxiety. She will not dock the boat and gets nervous when there are other boats around and she is at the helm. She is an excellent 2nd mate though and does well with the lines and assisting me when docking.

She is also not afraid to get dirty, clean and do pretty much everything except turn a wrench. I think she would do that too if she knew more about engines and systems.

She is also an excellent navigator and reads the charts better than I.

She has even gone into the bilge to get something I dropped and could not retrieve because the space was too tight.

 

[Zorba]

If push came to shove she could drive the boat. Since we've been in boating she has always had an interest in learning. She knows the basics of driving the boat and in an emengency could get us in to port. Remember Red Right Return.

Now docking is a whole other story...

 

[sbw1]

She can and does drive our boat although not very oftern. Knows how to use the radio and turn the auto pilot off and on too. Tiara teaches hands on courses on this using its new line up of boats at on the water events the company sponsors. The nice thing about this arrangement is the teachers are able to say and demonstrate things without getting into arguments with their students.

 

[KeithD]

My wife is more than capable of handling the boat; she just doesn't drive it often enough to be really comfortable. But we're planning on changing that this season. I enjoy sitting back while she drives; give me a different perspective on the water.
For safety's sake, there should always be someone else on the boat who can at least get the boat back close to shore in an emergency. Having your 11-year old know how to use the VHF, turn off/on the engines, is a fantastic idea.

 

[osd9]

My wife can drive at idle in a no wake zone while I pee...but I have to hurry....!!!

 

[osd9]

Seriously, she took the Women on water with Marinemax and will be taking the advanced course this year.

Over the years, I've drilled a few times with her how to disengage the AP, pull back the throttles, get a position from the GPS and basic use of the VHF (DSC).

She can not, and has no desire to take full control of piloting the boat.

 

[Hoo'sdave]

My wife can drive at idle in a no wake zone while I pee...but I have to hurry....!!!

+1:grin:

 

[douglee25]

My gf grew up working the lines on her dad's boats. She actually knew more than me when I first started boating. She does a pretty damn good job with the lines. I disagree with her way of tying up on the dock cleat (the last knot portion), but other than that, she does a great job. She also drives the boat very well but she lacks docking experience. We plan to address that this summer.

Doug

 

[mrsrobinson]

My wife is more than capable of handling the boat; she just doesn't drive it often enough to be really comfortable. But we're planning on changing that this season. I enjoy sitting back while she drives; give me a different perspective on the water.
For safety's sake, there should always be someone else on the boat who can at least get the boat back close to shore in an emergency. Having your 11-year old know how to use the VHF, turn off/on the engines, is a fantastic idea.

"I enjoy sitting back while she drives; give me a different perspective on the water."

+1, I get a kick walking around the boat when we are up on plane, seeing things from different spots and angles.

 

[Converse48]

Can my wife? Hell no.

Luckily my ten year old is a pro. He can plot a course on the E-120, read and understand range, bearing and time to waypoint info and steer and manage throttles and shifters accordingly. He also understands the basic rules of the road as it relates to crossing and overtaking situations. Now, what would he do once he gets into a harbor? I have no idea. But he could probably bring the boat side-to a fuel dock in a pinch. The only way this would happen would be if I were unconscious. In fact, here he is at 9 driving the boat while I wrestle with the frikkin' anchor rode on the fore deck (photo credit: Four Suns):

The entire family does know how to push the distress button on the VHF, shut the engines down and drop the hook. They also know enough about radio operation to make a serviceable (maybe not by-the-book) Mayday call. Specifically, I've showed them were to get the lat/lon data... it's on both the E-120 and the display on the handset of the mic.

The wife is a helluva a deck hand though. She's pretty decent at remaining calm, listening to instructions (which we usually discuss in advance) and handling lines.

 

[Pseudomind]

Wanna add a poll to the thread?

My wife can't do anything but tie a rope to a cleat, and even that sometimes the wrong cleat, ect. I would like her to learn for the same reasons you give, but she has NO intrest.

I do not have a wife, but the lady who usually boast with me is very hesitant.

 

[osd9]

When I sold my 1998 330DA, the buying couple were in their late 40's. The husband had no desire whatsoever to see the motors or the helm area. On sea trial day, she took the wheel. When they closed and came by to pick up the boat, she got behind the wheel and he got the lines. She did/does ALL the driving.

 

[tmhudson2]

My wife is more than capable of handling the boat; she just doesn't drive it often enough to be really comfortable.

That pretty much describes my wife. Last year I had a buddy of mine take her out for a half-day session to learn how to operate and dock our boat. She did pretty well up until the end, trying to back into the slip, but she says the near 100s temp had drained her patience by then.

My son will be 15 this spring; he got his boating license summer 2007; we enjoy letting him have the controls while we sit back on a cruise. He hasn't learned docking skills yet either, but bottom line, both could get us to the nearest dock if I were to have a medical emergency.

 

[charlg]

My wife wants me to teach her to drive the boat. But, I hesitate to show her. She might get a crazy idea and try to take the boat out without me.