Inflatable boat and outboard - can I use it in Thailand?

[cliveshep]

Given that many of you are or have been into boating, I pose these questions as I can find no definitive answers anywhere. We brought a 10 year old 4 metre rubber dinghy with our possessions from the UK, and a probably 30 year old outboard motor to propel it. We also brought a purpose-built (by a factory to my design) aluminium unbraked trailer which was totally stripped to component parts in order to fit it into the container. That was 6 months ago and only now are we looking to use the boat somewhere, possibly on the Chao Praya upriver somewhere for day trips and picnics or a bit of fishing, or off the beach around Rayong somewhere, again just launch, use a few hours, recover.

Can a private owner use an outboard dinghy in this way or are there rules?

In the heavily regulated UK you would need insurance and possibly a navigation licence for the waters you want to boat on. For sea use insurance might be required by the Harbour Authority if you accessed the sea from a harbour and you'd maybe pay Harbour dues for the day. There is no requirement for a personal licence, like a driving licence, for little boats.

So - can I just stick my boat on the river, say in the Ayuthaya region away from commercial port operations, or on a larger Khlong out in the sticks a bit? I don't want to get into any conflicts with Authorities here by inadvertantly breaking laws.

What about the trailer? I know these need registering and a licence bought like a car or motor bike. How may I set about that? The trailer was a one-off, there is a light board that we tied to the boat when on the trailer but the trailer has no identifying marks or plate because at the time it didn't need any. I saw somewhere that submitting drawings for approval was the way to go, or would a photo catalogue of the component parts suffice or is there another way? I don't want to buy a trailer - can't afford one for starters.

I might add that for boat, engine and trailer there are no invoices or receipts, the engine came from e-bay, the boat from an importer, the trailer made by a local company and all at least 10 years ago.

I do hope that someone can offer learned advice and information.

[Crossy]

Try a PM to Melvinmelvin, he's got a long-tail on the Chao Phraya and went through the licensing process.

"Motoring" is probably the best place to ask about trailers, start a new thread there.

[cliveshep]

Thanks for that, I'll ask Melvinmelvin.

[Crossy]

IIRC there's some stuff about licensing in this thread http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/507975-toyota-v8-exhaust-pipes-lengthsize/

[keeniau96]

Just about every one of the yachts here in Phuket has a inflatable dinghy with outboard engine. Many of those rigs are larger than what you describe but rarely with trailers. Many yachties use those for a bit of local exploring, just drop overboard, power up and away. No special license needed, but never saw one on an extended trip beyond an overnight on nearby island.

[melvinmelvin]

Thanks for that, I'll ask Melvinmelvin.

For authoritative answers you should consult the Marine Department, they govern both sea and freshwater boating.

MD will probably have offices in all provinces along the major rivers in Thailand.

However, their knowledge of English can be a bit so so.

The main office is in Talad Noi in Bangkok, riverside.

They have several employees with reasonable command of English.

If you take the northgoing Chao Praya Express Boat from Sathorn/Saphan Taksin the Marine Department is at (about) the 5th stop.

The stop is called Harbour Department.

When you enter the premises the guys responsible for drivers licenses are located in the first building on your left, first floor.

My guess:

You would have to register the boat, even if it is small.

As to driver's ticket, don't know. There may be a size limit, but on the other hand a motorbike requires a driver's ticket even if the engine is VERY small.

But; ask Marine Dept, I perceive them as being helpful.

My regime:

My boat has a longtail. The boat is designed for use in rivers and canals.

I need to have the boat registered, have a tabian ruua.

I need a driver's ticket.

I also need an engineer's ticket for the engine, this is a special requirement for longtails designed for rivers and canals.

Insurance:

Not sure about this. The surveyors at Marine Department will know.

[jaapfries]

Thai Law dictates that:

1. Any vessel 'operated' in Thai' Waters must be duly Registered with the Thai Marine Dept. (and the Reg. # clearly marked to both sides of vessel's bow)

2. Anyone operating a vessel in Thai Waters, must have a Captain's License AND an Engineer's License.

3. A Road-Trailer can be Registered, as long as it has a "self-braking" system.

Having said all that, as long as you stay off the Tollways, you will not likely have any problems; and in the event that some smart cop pulls you over, the damage will probably be not more than Tbt. 200.- but this would occur very rarely.

In other words, just go and have fun with your inflatable and simply join the many thousands who "operate" outside of the law, because you can, okay ?

Happy Boating !

[mike324]

By law you will probably need to register both. But because its a small boat, nobody really bothers to check, you should be fine with a 4 meter inflatable boat. As for the trailer, as long you have lights at the back and boat not sticking out the back, if it sticks out, don't forget to tie a piece of red rag to warn motorists of protruding item. You should be fine on normal roads and unlikely to be stopped by the police.

You will definitely not get in trouble on the river, unless you are being reckless and some boat driver reports you because you are being a danger to other boaters on the river.

I've seen a lot of bass boats / small fishing boats on trailers, the trailers don't have any extra plate, just the normal safetey precaution lights and red rag.

[ironbark]

Ditto to the reply that says in the Phuket region no one seems to have or require anysort of license for what you describe. There are hundreds of thousands of small Thai fishing and transport boats. It would be a nightmare to try and get the Thai to "license" them. Foreign registered boats are another thing and required an expensive AIS system installed. Don't get me started on that. The trailer would need somesort of registration if you use it on the road.

But i am mystified why you built and imported your own. There is a big market in new and used small boats here from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Bringing in you own means you are "importing" and apart from the freight charges there will be import duties to pay.

[melvinmelvin]

keep in mind that Thailand applies

IALA-B in "sea"-water, ie coast/open sea left hand drive

IALA-A in all inland waterways (rivers, dams, canals) right hand drive

[cliveshep]

Ditto to the reply that says in the Phuket region no one seems to have or require anysort of license for what you describe. There are hundreds of thousands of small Thai fishing and transport boats. It would be a nightmare to try and get the Thai to "license" them. Foreign registered boats are another thing and required an expensive AIS system installed. Don't get me started on that. The trailer would need somesort of registration if you use it on the road.

But i am mystified why you built and imported your own. There is a big market in new and used small boats here from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Bringing in you own means you are "importing" and apart from the freight charges there will be import duties to pay.

Phuket is far from us, north of BKK, and no doubt it is as you say. We have the Chao Praya, and numerous, now almost empty, khlongs. as to loads of cheap boats for sale - that may well be the case where you are, but not where we are. The last times we were in LOS were just around the disastrous floods of 2011 and the thinking was when we pack the container lets stick in an 8ft grp dinghy and it's 3.3hp Mariner and the 4m Tidal Wave inflatable and it's 28hp Suzuki and dismantled trailer because we might well need it where we were going to live - i.e where it flooded last time to over a metre.We put them on the carago manifest knowing we'd pay 7% import duty but as it happened our customs broker who arranged the receipt of our container at the port, customs clearance, and onward freight forwarding, paid tea money customs clearance, was a bit clever with the manifest and customs just ignored them.

At no time did we dream that, unlike the UK where you just pay for harbour dues or a river/canal navigation licence for small boats with no thought of an engineer's certificate or skipper's licence. That would be unthinkable in the UK.

It looks as though we might have an issue with the trailer which is unbraked, and have to pack the boat on the roof with the engines inside the car along with a generator and the compressor and just set it up riverside or on the beach somewhere! I've spotted some likely locations on Google Earth where the road is alongside the river, at u-turns under bridges for example, where it is a quiet river ideal for either boat and a picnic somewhere. Or a beach near Rayong where we can get close to the water. Then we'll just do what is suggested, go boating and or fishing,

[cliveshep]

Ditto to the reply that says in the Phuket region no one seems to have or require anysort of license for what you describe. There are hundreds of thousands of small Thai fishing and transport boats. It would be a nightmare to try and get the Thai to "license" them. Foreign registered boats are another thing and required an expensive AIS system installed. Don't get me started on that. The trailer would need somesort of registration if you use it on the road.

But i am mystified why you built and imported your own. There is a big market in new and used small boats here from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Bringing in you own means you are "importing" and apart from the freight charges there will be import duties to pay.

Phuket is far from us, we're north east of BKK, and no doubt it is as you say right down your way.. We have the Chao Praya, and numerous, now almost empty, khlongs. as to loads of cheap boats for sale - that may well be the case where you are, but not where we are. The last times we were in LOS were just around the disastrous floods of 2011 and the thinking was when we pack the container lets stick in an 8ft grp dinghy and it's 3.3hp Mariner and the 4m Tidal Wave inflatable and it's 28hp Suzuki and dismantled trailer because we might well need it where we were going to live - i.e where it flooded last time to over a metre.We put them on the carago manifest knowing we'd pay 7% import duty but as it happened our customs broker who arranged the receipt of our container at the port, customs clearance, and onward freight forwarding, paid tea money customs clearance, was a bit clever with the manifest and customs just ignored them.

At no time did we dream that, unlike the UK where you just pay for harbour dues or a river/canal navigation licence for small boats with no thought of an engineer's certificate or skipper's licence. That would be unthinkable in the UK.

It looks as though we might have an issue with the trailer which is unbraked, and have to pack the boat on the roof with the engines inside the car along with a generator and the compressor and just set it up riverside or on the beach somewhere! I've spotted some likely locations on Google Earth where the road is alongside the river, at u-turns under bridges for example, where it is a quiet river ideal for either boat and a picnic somewhere. Or a beach near Rayong where we can get close to the water. Then we'll just do what is suggested, go boating and or fishing,

[Mises]

I am in Phuket and have never heard of anyone registering a boat trailer. No one except me seems to bother with lights either. You don't need brakes on light trailer if the loaded trailer will not take the total weight over the max permitted weight of the loaded towing vehicle - I am talking safety here not the law.

Just cover the propeller with a red bucket and have fun.

[impulse]

It looks as though we might have an issue with the trailer which is unbraked, and have to pack the boat on the roof with the engines inside the car along with a generator and the compressor and just set it up riverside or on the beach somewhere! I've spotted some likely locations on Google Earth where the road is alongside the river, at u-turns under bridges for example, where it is a quiet river ideal for either boat and a picnic somewhere. Or a beach near Rayong where we can get close to the water. Then we'll just do what is suggested, go boating and or fishing,

Be careful about car-topping the boat as it can cause problems. I have a kayak and used to get stopped about every 3rd or 4th trip for "illegally" carrying the kayak on top the pickup on a proper kayak rack. A little disconcerting, but 200-300 baht took care of the problem on the spot. I made the trip via motorway and tollway to the the beach about a dozen times, with no major issues. But last time I was headed to the beach at Jomtien, they didn't even let me onto the tollway in BKK. I had to do a u-turn at the entry toll gate and go home to dump the kayak. Getting to the beach (Jomtien and points south) from my place in BKK without using the tollway is a multi-hour exercise in frustration and agony, so the kayak sits unused.

I suspect you'll be happier and no more hassled just hauling your inflatable around on the trailer. I've done that a few times as well, and never got a second look, in spite of no trailer plates. I did have proper lights and brake lights, though.

[melvinmelvin]

Ditto to the reply that says in the Phuket region no one seems to have or require anysort of license for what you describe. There are hundreds of thousands of small Thai fishing and transport boats. It would be a nightmare to try and get the Thai to "license" them. Foreign registered boats are another thing and required an expensive AIS system installed. Don't get me started on that. The trailer would need somesort of registration if you use it on the road.

But i am mystified why you built and imported your own. There is a big market in new and used small boats here from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Bringing in you own means you are "importing" and apart from the freight charges there will be import duties to pay.

Phuket is far from us, north of BKK, and no doubt it is as you say. We have the Chao Praya, and numerous, now almost empty, khlongs. as to loads of cheap boats for sale - that may well be the case where you are, but not where we are. The last times we were in LOS were just around the disastrous floods of 2011 and the thinking was when we pack the container lets stick in an 8ft grp dinghy and it's 3.3hp Mariner and the 4m Tidal Wave inflatable and it's 28hp Suzuki and dismantled trailer because we might well need it where we were going to live - i.e where it flooded last time to over a metre.We put them on the carago manifest knowing we'd pay 7% import duty but as it happened our customs broker who arranged the receipt of our container at the port, customs clearance, and onward freight forwarding, paid tea money customs clearance, was a bit clever with the manifest and customs just ignored them.

At no time did we dream that, unlike the UK where you just pay for harbour dues or a river/canal navigation licence for small boats with no thought of an engineer's certificate or skipper's licence. That would be unthinkable in the UK.

It looks as though we might have an issue with the trailer which is unbraked, and have to pack the boat on the roof with the engines inside the car along with a generator and the compressor and just set it up riverside or on the beach somewhere! I've spotted some likely locations on Google Earth where the road is alongside the river, at u-turns under bridges for example, where it is a quiet river ideal for either boat and a picnic somewhere. Or a beach near Rayong where we can get close to the water. Then we'll just do what is suggested, go boating and or fishing,

two points;

1) re engineers ticket

It was the chief of the survey department in Marine Department that alerted me to this. His English was good. He very clearly gave me the impression

that this engineer bit is a special requirement for longtailed boats designed for rivers/canals. He walked through the regulation with me pointed to this and that

and traslated some into English on the spot.

I know it was stated above that this is a "universal" requirement, but I am not convinced.

2) It has been stated her on TV by people who appear to know what they talk about that import of boats to LoS is not subjected to customs, (tax free).

And what is more interesting, that also applies to any engine the boat is equipped with.

Right,

and;

You should consider what would happen if you become involved in an accident, with 3rd party damage, possiblly loss of life (can easily happen).

Not having your boat registered, not having a drivers ticket will hardly make it easier for you to sort the shit out.

[cliveshep]

It looks as though we might have an issue with the trailer which is unbraked, and have to pack the boat on the roof with the engines inside the car along with a generator and the compressor and just set it up riverside or on the beach somewhere! I've spotted some likely locations on Google Earth where the road is alongside the river, at u-turns under bridges for example, where it is a quiet river ideal for either boat and a picnic somewhere. Or a beach near Rayong where we can get close to the water. Then we'll just do what is suggested, go boating and or fishing,

Be careful about car-topping the boat as it can cause problems. I have a kayak and used to get stopped about every 3rd or 4th trip for "illegally" carrying the kayak on top the pickup on a proper kayak rack. A little disconcerting, but 200-300 baht took care of the problem on the spot. I made the trip via motorway and tollway to the the beach about a dozen times, with no major issues. But last time I was headed to the beach at Jomtien, they didn't even let me onto the tollway in BKK. I had to do a u-turn at the entry toll gate and go home to dump the kayak. Getting to the beach (Jomtien and points south) from my place in BKK without using the tollway is a multi-hour exercise in frustration and agony, so the kayak sits unused.

I suspect you'll be happier and no more hassled just hauling your inflatable around on the trailer. I've done that a few times as well, and never got a second look, in spite of no trailer plates. I did have proper lights and brake lights, though.

Sorry, I meant de-flated in it's valise, it is far too big to stick on top inflated - the car would take off with the wind uplift. The car is an Innova so loads of space inside for engine, generator etc.

[cliveshep]

Melvyn - in the UK we don't have engineer's or skippers tickets for small craft although taking Yachtmaster Coastal or Ocean are things we could pay to do if we wanted to. By the time I could afford it I didn't need to.

I am 70, I was 20 when I build my first boat, which for 2 or 3 years until I built a cruising boat I operated on UK rivers, canals and off-shore.

I've been doing it ever since until I came here, on all sorts of stuff, from single screw diesel yachts down to little dinghys. So 50 years of messing about on and building/re-building boats of all sorts and boating inland/off-shore. Indeed at one time my parents lived on an Island and the only way to visit was to motor across which was done in all weathers, sometimes stupidly given the size of boat.

But at no time any tickets so how could I get a skipper's or engineer's ticket here to be legal given lack of proof of experience?

How could I register an imported inflatable?

You see my problem here?

[impulse]

But at no time any tickets so how could I get a skipper's or engineer's ticket here to be legal given lack of proof of experience?

How could I register an imported inflatable?

You see my problem here?

I suspect your problems are mostly in your western mindset. I wouldn't think about running any boat back home without all the proper documents. So I fretted getting legal here for months.

I started enjoying my kayaks and powered inflatable when I gave up on trying to do it "legally". In my mind, the worst case scenario is I'd lose them. After 4 years, that hasn't happened. If it did, it wouldn't be much worse than staring at them, caring for, feeding and storing them- and never enjoying them anyway.

BTW, I do acknowledge lack of insurance coverage. But in 40+ years of running boats up to 70 MPH back home, I've never once had an insurance claim (Edit: Knock wood). So I doubt that my 10-15 MPH putt-putt boats will bankrupt me. But I do keep the amulet... I wouldn't go without insurance on any significant sized boat, and I suspect the marina where I'd berth the boat could steer me to the proper resources.

I'll post back if it ever costs me more than a 200-300 baht fine for car topping them. Please do the same.

Edited March 27, 2016 by impulse

[Guest]

All I know is that in about 6 years living on the Chao Praya and watching the river both night and day ... I can only count a handful of times I have seen boats that were for personal use ... and never a Farang.

Only a few really expensive run-abouts that where probably used to show the very highly placed people around.

Not sure about other parts of the river, but I don;t think it will go well here.

Just to give you a location ... I am referring to the portion in front of the Mandarin Oriental.

If you ever get it sorted out ... drop me a line,,, sounds like a lovely way to spends the day!

[melvinmelvin]

All I know is that in about 6 years living on the Chao Praya and watching the river both night and day ... I can only count a handful of times I have seen boats that were for personal use ... and never a Farang.

Only a few really expensive run-abouts that where probably used to show the very highly placed people around.

Not sure about other parts of the river, but I don;t think it will go well here.

Just to give you a location ... I am referring to the portion in front of the Mandarin Oriental.

If you ever get it sorted out ... drop me a line,,, sounds like a lovely way to spends the day!

What I see is that the number of pleasure crafts is increasing steadily, year by year. Not where you stay but further south or further north.

The stretch between Phra Pin Klao and Pathum Tani sports quite a number of pleasure crafts.

Mostly GRP boats but also some RIBs, the odd wooden boat though.

Som thais have a pleasure craft that is called "speed boat", the thais say "speed boat", roughly two variants of these,

speed boat yai (big speed boat) and speed boat lek (small speed boat), the majority built with wood/plywood, some are GRP though.

These boats are toys mainly used on Saturdays and Sundays.

Not longtailed, inboard engine, no gearbox, light weight, very fast toys (not as fast as my toy though).

Apart from myself I have only seen 1 farang with a pleasure craft. He has one of those relatively large tourist longtails you see a lot of in central Bangkok.

Big engine, 6-pot. I assume the guy is German since he sports a German flag on his vessel.