We have a cabin cruiser on the Kowie river witch we bought long before these new laws came into effect,any way when we went to register the boat they ask for a floatation certificate,in order to get this someone has to come inspect the boat and the only way to do this is cut open the deck,as you will understand this is not a option,whos going to pay to repair the deck,the registring official tells us in that case we must have a floatation ring for every two persons on board,if we had to do this there would be no place for the persons anyway LOL.Maybe someone can clear this up.I also have a problem paying some private individual to inspect the boat,why is this not done by the officials,how do I know were this money goes as we dont see any of it been put back into river control or fixing up of jetties etc,evrything is collapsing,so what are we paying for, we dont even have a river control officer,apparently not enough money in the budget,so begs the question ,why is the municipality not doing these inspections then maybe there will be money for a river control officer
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We have a cabin cruiser on the Kowie river witch w
- Thread starter Mouldz
- Start date
Prodigal Sun
New member
Hi Mouldie
Does your boat not have a plastic screw cover somewhere on the deck that you can unscrew to check if a)You either have bottles as flotation or b) foam , which I doubt as this is usually only prevalent in newer boats.
Also the inspectors should be certified by SAMSA, not just some private dude. He will have a number next to his name that you can check with SAMSA.
Hope this helps
Does your boat not have a plastic screw cover somewhere on the deck that you can unscrew to check if a)You either have bottles as flotation or b) foam , which I doubt as this is usually only prevalent in newer boats.
Also the inspectors should be certified by SAMSA, not just some private dude. He will have a number next to his name that you can check with SAMSA.
Hope this helps
Prodigal Sun wrote:
I have not seen any inspection hatches,this dude is SAMSA official but still I can almost gaurentee that money paid to SAMSA will never filter back to Port Alfred,this sort of thing should be kept local and the money used for the local area upliftmentHi Mouldie
Does your boat not have a plastic screw cover somewhere on the deck that you can unscrew to check if a)You either have bottles as flotation or b) foam , which I doubt as this is usually only prevalent in newer boats.
Also the inspectors should be certified by SAMSA, not just some private dude. He will have a number next to his name that you can check with SAMSA.
Hope this helps
Prodigal Sun
New member
Yup, I agree
Wierd there are no hatches though. It would then seem that if you can't mess with the original flotation then what could possibly be the problem??
Wierd there are no hatches though. It would then seem that if you can't mess with the original flotation then what could possibly be the problem??
Prodigal Sun wrote:
As far as I am concerned its a money making scheme targeted at the so called "rich" sportsmen,I agree a sea going vessel should be tested but a river going vessel ,its ridiculous,I mean a 5year old can paddle around on a canoe with no flotation.There are less stringent rules for our taxis witch ferrie passengers around and put everyones lives at riskYup, I agree
Wierd there are no hatches though. It would then seem that if you can't mess with the original flotation then what could possibly be the problem??
Hi Mouldie,
Regardless of what samsa or any one says - fit decent flotation to your boat ! Trust me, it is a huge huge risk you take going anywhere without it.
One of my friends hit a pole in the water a couple of weeks back. He was here and said the boat makes water so fast it's unreal, seconds. If you do not have flotation you run the risk of losing the boat and everything in it - and what is the niceness of the boat worth then !
You can fit inspection lids and put coke bottles in the hull, which is about the easiest, you can also add flotation under the gunnels if you get precasted foam.
The guy who holed his boat used Sondor's foam, he could open the boat and fix it without replacing the foam. If you use cast foam you will have to rip the boat to get it fixed and re-foam again. I'm not going to argue the problems the cast foam can and do cause, you have been told now :-D
Coke bottles is an easy and cheap way to get the best amount of flotation with very little work.
Make it worth the effort and make your boat unsinkable.
Regardless of what samsa or any one says - fit decent flotation to your boat ! Trust me, it is a huge huge risk you take going anywhere without it.
One of my friends hit a pole in the water a couple of weeks back. He was here and said the boat makes water so fast it's unreal, seconds. If you do not have flotation you run the risk of losing the boat and everything in it - and what is the niceness of the boat worth then !
You can fit inspection lids and put coke bottles in the hull, which is about the easiest, you can also add flotation under the gunnels if you get precasted foam.
The guy who holed his boat used Sondor's foam, he could open the boat and fix it without replacing the foam. If you use cast foam you will have to rip the boat to get it fixed and re-foam again. I'm not going to argue the problems the cast foam can and do cause, you have been told now :-D
Coke bottles is an easy and cheap way to get the best amount of flotation with very little work.
Make it worth the effort and make your boat unsinkable.
SPIN A HOLIC
Sealiner
mouldie. just do it and get it done. i ummmd and aaard for months and adventually just did it. who cares who the money goes to, as long as you get youre documentation and you can go fish. its like driving with out youre blue tooth headset. when you get a fine for talking on youre phone youve have to pay the fine and then still buy the headset.
double costings and when you hit the sh#t you will be glad you ahd the right floatation, especially when youre family is on the boat. you know what our EC weather can be like.
double costings and when you hit the sh#t you will be glad you ahd the right floatation, especially when youre family is on the boat. you know what our EC weather can be like.
Hi Plugger,
I'm sure you will go a long way to find a more robust and durable bottle that the dead standard plastic coke bottle. Drive over one with your car.
I put some in one of my boats many years ago, I'm sure the same ones are still in there.
The high density Polyurethane H.D.P.E mentioned does not exist ! HDPE stands for high density polyethylene and has nothing to do with polyurithane.
It should read HDPE bottles, that is the same material used to make fuel tanks from, and unlike polyurethane it does not make a poisenous gass when burnt. PE (polyethylene) is also the only plastic approved for food containers, it absorbs almost no water bla bla bla. HDPE is defenately the right bottle to use as a flotation material.
I'm sure you will go a long way to find a more robust and durable bottle that the dead standard plastic coke bottle. Drive over one with your car.
I put some in one of my boats many years ago, I'm sure the same ones are still in there.
Buoyancy must consist of either foam or approved
plastic bottles, or a combination of both. Buoyant
material may not be affected by oil or oil products.
Foam should be of a suitable closed cell type
(usually a polyurethane type) and until such time as
“approved†bottles are identified the only plastic
bottles used should be high density Polyurethane
H.D.P.E (Grade 2) plastic bottles with secure
watertight caps.
The high density Polyurethane H.D.P.E mentioned does not exist ! HDPE stands for high density polyethylene and has nothing to do with polyurithane.
It should read HDPE bottles, that is the same material used to make fuel tanks from, and unlike polyurethane it does not make a poisenous gass when burnt. PE (polyethylene) is also the only plastic approved for food containers, it absorbs almost no water bla bla bla. HDPE is defenately the right bottle to use as a flotation material.
I don't know what the specs of "plastic" Coke bottles are but I know that Coke went through much effort in selecting the plastic for all their soft drink containers to ensure maintenance of air and water tightness for months on end - even under pressure. Eg. it outperfoms PVC by far, I'm told
SPIN A HOLIC
Sealiner
Rory is right. Coke bottles only have a small shelve life and become very brittle. I suppose as south africans and rum and brandy drinkers we never have the chance to see how long the bottle lasts. The bottles you get out board oil in is suppose to be the correct ones.
Fanie wrote:
Our boat is filled with foam,you can see it through the drain plug at the back,but what this SAMSA guys wants is either a certificate from the builder,a photo of foam being put in or for us to cut a hole in the deck,neither options are viable. @PLUGGER bottles are a nono .only foam,my boet rebuilt a boat last month and had to have foam and photos taken of process
Hi Mouldie,
Regardless of what samsa or any one says - fit decent flotation to your boat ! Trust me, it is a huge huge risk you take going anywhere without it.
One of my friends hit a pole in the water a couple of weeks back. He was here and said the boat makes water so fast it's unreal, seconds. If you do not have flotation you run the risk of losing the boat and everything in it - and what is the niceness of the boat worth then !
You can fit inspection lids and put coke bottles in the hull, which is about the easiest, you can also add flotation under the gunnels if you get precasted foam.
The guy who holed his boat used Sondor's foam, he could open the boat and fix it without replacing the foam. If you use cast foam you will have to rip the boat to get it fixed and re-foam again. I'm not going to argue the problems the cast foam can and do cause, you have been told now :-D
Coke bottles is an easy and cheap way to get the best amount of flotation with very little work.
Make it worth the effort and make your boat unsinkable.
Our boat is filled with foam,you can see it through the drain plug at the back,but what this SAMSA guys wants is either a certificate from the builder,a photo of foam being put in or for us to cut a hole in the deck,neither options are viable. @PLUGGER bottles are a nono .only foam,my boet rebuilt a boat last month and had to have foam and photos taken of process
Just put in a inspection cover, u wasting your time "fighting" it and it is there to prevent your boat from sinking
Good to have anyway
The "cover" is cheap and u can install it yourself
Cover R100
Sikaflex R120
A drill, a jigsaw and 1 hour and its done
They will open, see foam and hopefully issue certificate
Ask them "if I put foam in where must I hide my fish" LOL
Good to have anyway
The "cover" is cheap and u can install it yourself
Cover R100
Sikaflex R120
A drill, a jigsaw and 1 hour and its done
They will open, see foam and hopefully issue certificate
Ask them "if I put foam in where must I hide my fish" LOL
neilg wrote:
I hear what you saying ,we have recently spent a fortune on marine carpeting and recarpeted and painted the boat ,now we must rip it up because some SAMSA official has a bee up his butt and wont listen to reasoning.Thanxs for advice ,I think we will have to ask one of the boat builder to issue us with a certificateAny registered boat builder (in you area) can check and issue a certificate
I think they do !coke bottols do not make the grade
Coke bottles are made of a plastic named PET and it stands for polyethylene terephthalate.
PET can be semi-rigid to rigid, depending on its thickness, and it is very lightweight. It makes a good gas and fair moisture barrier, as well as a good barrier to alcohol (requires additional "barrier" treatment) and solvents. It is strong and impact-resistant. It is naturally colorless with a high transparency.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyethylene_terephthalate
I see no reason why samsa would object against the use of these bottles. The only objection may be that they are cheap and readily available.