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cliveshep
Thailand
1324 Posts |
 Posted - 25 Mar 2018 : 14:25:32
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With temperatures during the day of 36C and humidity in the 70% region going out is not much of an enjoyable option here so time to get out an old but reliable outboard and give it a face-lift with a view to selling it perhaps.
The problem is even using our big old inflatable boat with an engine necessitates me holding a "Captain's" licence and also having a licensed "Engineer" aboard.
The rubber dinghy also has to be registered here. Such are the draconian laws covering all boats big or small which have stifled any possible leisure boating industry to death. Shame, with so much coastline, so many rivers, more canals per mile than Birmingham there is so much potential being wasted.
So - pics below of my 40 yr old outboard before and after. The new decals I had printed locally here for the huge sum of £10 equivalent.
Warning - loads of pics.
Finally living the dream!
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Edited by - cliveshep on 25 Apr 2018 03:49:29 |
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mike
United Kingdom
80 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2018 : 15:07:04
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| Top work sir |
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philihun
United Kingdom
283 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2018 : 19:58:02
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Are Cars and Motor Bikes etc subject to much regulation Clive. Seems a bit ott for a place with so much water.
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cliveshep
Thailand
1324 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2018 : 14:22:16
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Things are more lax here in many ways and the death rate is consequently appalling. Motor-bikes are involved in approximately 75% of all accidents, often with pick-ups which are the most common vehicle on the roads apart from the bikes.
They have only recently begun tightening up on driving tests, by all accounts an under the counter donation (tea money) could buy a licence to drive whether or not you actually could drive.
Seeing some of them you'd say they can't drive and are frankly a danger to themselves and others. They give you a licence with no test if you have a full UK licence such is the respect our system is held in, and they are working to copy it - an uphill struggle of course.
Vehicles and motorbikes are supposed to have an annual inspection, I've had several as we have 2 bikes and a 7-seater, They turn on the engine, beep the horn, flash indicators, waggle the wheel and stand on the brake pedal. Job done - you pass.
One car test they jumped in the car and reversed it out into a parking space - passed! Bikes were even worse before, looked it over, checked frame number, issued test certificate.
Unsurprisingly the Government are fed up with international criticism and are severely tightening up. We've had a run of bus crashes that haven't helped, fatalities in the 15-20 range every time, apart from drunken or drugged-up drivers the mechanical fitness of the buses is suspect.
This year we took both bikes and car for the annual test to a new centre that has only been open for a month. It has an actual computer controlled rolling road, a light sensor, emissions tester, noise tester, and the whole lot linked by computer/internet to the Central Government Department of Land Transport computers.
They did a good job, less stringent than the UK by a long way, but apart from brakes etc they did look underneath from the pit. Not that I care, I've just fitted a new steering rack, front wishbones and bushes, shocks, brakes and it has good tyres. So it passed with flying colours. In fact the engineer was quite surprised at our emissions reading - almost zero, probably because we use a top grade of eco fuel far higher than the manufacturer recommends and it burns cleanly. But I think a whole lot of vehicles will suddenly find themselves driving illegally such is the appalling mechanical state of them. The police will need to be re-trained too so that they can weed out the illegals.
Even the motor bikes get a sound test and emissions test and the Government, faced with now dangerous levels of pollution in Bangkok are about to discuss new laws that will tax all vehicles based on the pollutants they emit.
Even with air-con we wake up with red sore eyes so at present we are so happy if it rains as it cleans the air a bit. If you've ever been to Manilla or Hong Kong's Chep Lap Kok and seen the pollution smog, in Chep Lap Kok's case it wafts across the strait from the mainland and Manila is under a perpetual choking smog so you'll understand why the Government has declared Bangkok a disaster zone for air pollution and issued health warnings.We are 20km or so outside the city centre but it still affects us.
Finally living the dream!
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Edited by - cliveshep on 25 Apr 2018 03:50:16 |
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Alleviating boredom
