So you are thinking about buying your first boat. Don’t make the mistake many first-time owners make and get a boat which will be too large for your needs. And if you are going to buy a second-hand boat beware that many of the boats one sees across the Island in storage are in pretty poor shape.“Always make sure you have a sea trial and also bring along a mechanic to check things out have the boat surveyed,” said Shannon Robinson who has had a love affair with boats even since he was young.Mr Robinson, who also works at the Bermuda Emissions Control Ltd, said: “Having a boat is great. You can really get away from it all but I always tell people to start small maybe get something like a Boston Whaler (which is brought in by PW Marine) which needs very little upkeep but in which you can do a lot of things in.“Start small if you are just getting into boating. A 15-foot Boston Whaler with a 70 or 90 hp is great. Whalers and boats like them are built to last with very little maintenence.“See if you like the boat and are using it. Getting a boat may seem like a good idea at the time but you have to use it to enjoy it. There’s no sense getting a boat and not using it.“My first boat was a small open one. You do not have to have a really big boat to enjoy the water and what Bermuda has to offer.“I find that when people move to Bermuda they get big boats and they don’t know anything about navigation. They don’t know anything about docking. I thought Government was going to push for a marine licence. After all you have to have a licence to drive a car or bike why do you not have to have a licence to drive a boat. Many people fail to realise that the person operating the vessel is responsible for all those in the boat people forget that and accidents can happen very easily on the water. Boats today generally have a lot more power than they did years ago. The equipment is better today.”Mr Robinson said he has also noticed that the attitude of boaters has gone down over the years.“It is not as polite as it was years ago. I find the attitude of boaters now has definitely changed from years ago.”New boat owners sometimes do not think about the expenses involved with owning a boat, said Mr Robinson.“A lot of times people have had boats for years and fail to maintain them. That can come back and hurt the boat owner. It can be very expensive (to fix a boat) when the owner has never serviced the boat on a regular basis. Just like you have your car serviced regularly, so you should have your boat serviced regularly.“And then some people simply just run out of money and fail to maintain their boat. Many boats you see stored in the various yards arcoss Bermuda are boats that the owners just couldn’t afford to keep up. And storing a boat costs money so when and if they eventually sell it they have to pay off the yard first. Often the result is a boat that just sits there for years and years. There are a lot of boats just sitting on cradles in Bermuda rotting away.“The fiberglass blisters and the wood rots. Bermuda’s climate it terrible for things like wiring. The atmosphere is so corrosive.”“And while sailboats may not have quite the engine problems (that power boats have) they do have a lot of maintenence when it comes to new sails and rigging that is where you spend your money with sailboats.”If you are not going to be using your boat during the winter, make sure you go out at least once a month and start up the engine. “You have to keep your bilge pump (working) and keep your batteries up. Most people would not leave their car in the garage for six months without starting it the same applies to boats.”When you finally do get your boat make a safety check list and what is required by law things like flares or dye, lifejackets, ropes, anchor and the like.“Most boat owners have a duffel bag with their safety kit in it and whenever they go out and just put the bag into the boat. Of course you have to realise that things like flares and dyes have an expiry date as well.”Mr Robinson said that owning a boat is a responsibility but there is no better way to relax and see Bermuda from a different perspective.“Whether you like to go out and do a little fishing or just want to go out and perhaps have a picnic and a dip, the boat is the way to go in Bermuda,” he added.