Ages ago I heard the jetties were scheduled
to be "open for business"
in March 2012.

Zara

WHY NOT

We were in L Key yesterday. Almost finished now. No cleats with which to
secure a lake boat/speed boat in the bay between the 2 walkway ramps to the
jetties.I can see cruiser fingers being occupied by lakeboats and speedboats
maybe. Bad use of available space imo. Walkway ramp provided for pedestrian
access to breakwater but again no means to secure a cruiser/barge or
lakeboat to jetty. I wonder is this part of the plans?
Still find this development ugly in this location.
Kieran Walsh

Anyone advise if the development is open yet? I am considering going to Lough key over Easter. Any news appreciated.

John Geary
(Rose - E - Belle)

Quote:

John Geary
Anyone advise if the development is open yet? I am considering going to Lough key over Easter. Any news appreciated.

Hi John,
Jetties and facilities are fully functional,was there on Sunday and they are fab,WI cards are NOT available in the center btw.

Ralf

Thanks. Looking forward to trying them out.

John Geary
(Rose - E - Belle)

It's hard to see where in lough key a development would look ok, that said they are a very good installation and they took on our ideas.

Dave

Having stated here already my feelings on the location, here are my observations on the dev.

There are not enough power points fitted, with the result that extension leads, 220 volt, and socket splitters, with more extension leads are being used to bring power to a number of cruisers from one meter point.
An accident waiting to happen for sure. I can almost hear the claimants solicitor laughing all the way to the court room.
The old style WI smart card will not operate the meters. The new card has a smaller chip fitted. No cards available in shop. (BTW, Does that mean the old style cards I have paid for will now not work anything...anywhere? )

Pump out position is wrong, wrong, wrong. When the mooring is busy you cant get near it.
This should have been located, IMO, on the inside of the breakwater. That way every one can see that the cruiser tied up there is either using the pump out or moored illegally.

There is an open boat, a Boston Whaler ??, used by the tour boat operator for fast boat tours of the lake. This open boat is chained to the jetty, taking up the space between 3 mooring bollards by the entrance ramp, beside the large tour boat mooring on the old harbour wall.
I believe it is chained there to make it easier for the tour boat to exit its mooring on the old harbour wall.
The tour boat operator claims to have sole mooring rights for the old harbour as well. Can anyone confirm this to be the case.
As I said before, the space between the entrance ramps should be used for lake boats and small craft, leaving mooring space for cruisers only on the main jetty.
The mooring fingers on the south side of the north side jetty are shorter, so bear this in mind when looking for a mooring there. Larger cruises with all around hand rails might find it difficult to get crew off.

On a different topic regarding Lough Key. Do emergency services have exit cards to get out of the car park with a patient on board? I was there a good while back and the ambulance staff had no change to get out past the barrier.

These are just a few comments, really should have more to be doing with my time.

Kieran Walsh

There was also a problem over Easter with the doors to the showers in the service block. They were deducting 2 units from cards but then not releasing the door locks. I reported them to WI in Carrick and they were repaired - only to go faulty again a couple of days later. I suppose initial teething troubles aren't wholly unexpected.

I agree with Kieran about the use of the inside of the jetty parallel to the stone pier being used for lake boats, speed boats & dinghies which are able to pass under the entrance ramps. I noticed that there are actually holes drilled for mooring cleats on the inside of this jetty (although none are fitted). I did make use of the pump-out (in fact, I believe I may have christened it!) and it all worked very smoothly. Access to it isn't a problem provided no boats are moored along the lake side of the jetty horizontal to the shore. I was able to pull up against this jetty and reverse into the space (my pump-out fitting is on the port side of my boat).

I don't quite understand the rationale behind having power points only at every other finger which, as Kieran pointed out, did result in a lot of cables trailing about over the jetties and the use of socket splitters (although I was pleased by the way those boats whose trailing cables passed across the jetties took the precaution of taping them down to prevent tripping). I can't imagine that there would have been an enormous increase in expense to equip every finger with them but perhaps I'm missing some health & safety or maximum load issue.

I would very much doubt that the tour boat operator has sole rights to the harbour (even if he does sometimes act as if this is the case!). I have moored here myself many times in the past although, on a busy weekend, one can get the impression of being in a fish bowl!!

All in all, I do believe that this new development will bring more boat traffic to the lough. Availability of shore power will be a bonus, particularly during the early and late season. However, given the choice, I think I still prefer the peace and quiet available at Drummans.


Rich
COOL BLUE

Quote:

I can't imagine that there would have been an enormous increase in expense to equip every finger with them but perhaps I'm missing some health & safety or maximum load issue.

Its a max load issue.

Dave

Quote:

kieran walsh
Having stated here already my feelings on the location, here are my observations on the dev.
There are not enough power points fitted, with the result that extension leads, 220 volt, and socket splitters, with more extension leads are being used to bring power to a number of cruisers from one meter point.
An accident waiting to happen for sure. I can almost hear the claimants solicitor laughing all the way to the court room.
The old style WI smart card will not operate the meters. The new card has a smaller chip fitted. No cards available in shop. (BTW, Does that mean the old style cards I have paid for will now not work anything...anywhere? )

Pump out position is wrong, wrong, wrong. When the mooring is busy you cant get near it.
This should have been located, IMO, on the inside of the breakwater. That way every one can see that the cruiser tied up there is either using the pump out or moored illegally.

There is an open boat, a Boston Whaler ??, used by the tour boat operator for fast boat tours of the lake. This open boat is chained to the jetty, taking up the space between 3 mooring bollards by the entrance ramp, beside the large tour boat mooring on the old harbour wall.
I believe it is chained there to make it easier for the tour boat to exit its mooring on the old harbour wall.
The tour boat operator claims to have sole mooring rights for the old harbour as well. Can anyone confirm this to be the case.
As I said before, the space between the entrance ramps should be used for lake boats and small craft, leaving mooring space for cruisers only on the main jetty.
The mooring fingers on the south side of the north side jetty are shorter, so bear this in mind when looking for a mooring there. Larger cruises with all around hand rails might find it difficult to get crew off.

On a different topic regarding Lough Key. Do emergency services have exit cards to get out of the car park with a patient on board? I was there a good while back and the ambulance staff had no change to get out past the barrier.

These are just a few comments, really should have more to be doing with my time.

Kieran Walsh

there are far to many power points/water in killaloe.total waste of money.

Is this what it's come to? Not enough power outlets on jetties??

Noel must be correct. The battles are all won.

Quote:

Conor Nolan
Is this what it's come to? Not enough power outlets on jetties??
Noel must be correct. The battles are all won.

Jeepers, the whole shore power "dependancy culture" is getting out of hand. Boats like caravans are designed to cope perfectly well without it for a few days without running the engine (ie 12v and gas runs life support systems)

I notice more and more boats coming into harbours with female crew standing at the bow with a role of electrical cable neatly coiled up in their hand rather than mooring lines! We had no shore power in any public harbours only 8 years ago - what has changed?

Where will it all end Ted?

OceanFroggie

My point is not that there are not enough power points, but rather the dangerous fashion the pontoons are covered in trailing 220 volt leads and splitter sockets.
I can very easily cope with no power points, as long as the wine cooler functions for 14 days between charges and no warm bottles are added to the cooler.

Noel,

What has Changed?

Surely you must know that we now have to cater for Hair Dryers, Curling tongs, Fridge, Freezer, Microwave, Flat Screen TV, Satellite Dish, GPS, Radar, Central Heating (Irish Summer), Camcorder, Phone, Washing Machine, Drying Machine, Power Shower, Spot Lights, Ultra Loud 8 channel system for Karaoke, Disco, Film Shows, to mention but a few absolute essentials. Did I mention VHF?

I'm sure you're not suggesting we do without these?

What we need are big three phase 380V supplies for each cruiser. That way we would have all the power we need.

It would also do away with those noisy generators which are now a must for most boats.

When them gennies are running, I can hardly hear the singers on the Karaoke without pushing the master volume control up 100% at the risk of blowing me speakers. I'll tell what, them gennie owners are very inconsiderate.

Regards

Kieran

D ya no,de powerpoints may be the turning point for some light hearted banter and friendly jest........are we turning a corner here.........certainly hope so from my bunker

Quote:

kieran walsh
My point is not that there are not enough power points, but rather the dangerous fashion the pontoons are covered in trailing 220 volt leads and splitter sockets.
I can very easily cope with no power points, as long as the wine cooler functions for 14 days between charges and no warm bottles are added to the cooler.

Hi Kieran, sure, understood the issue with the cables and blown trip switches. I witnessed a near "hand bags at dawn" incident on Derg last year with these adaptors when four boats on one socket started "electric" cooking at the same time!!!

Quote:

Kieran Kearns
Noel,
What has Changed?

Surely you must know that we now have to cater for Hair Dryers, Curling tongs, Fridge, Freezer, Microwave, Flat Screen TV, Satellite Dish, GPS, Radar, Central Heating (Irish Summer), Camcorder, Phone, Washing Machine, Drying Machine, Power Shower, Spot Lights, Ultra Loud 8 channel system for Karaoke, Disco, Film Shows, to mention but a few absolute essentials. Did I mention VHF?

I'm sure you're not suggesting we do without these?

What we need are big three phase 380V supplies for each cruiser. That way we would have all the power we need.

It would also do away with those noisy generators which are now a must for most boats.

When them gennies are running, I can hardly hear the singers on the Karaoke without pushing the master volume control up 100% at the risk of blowing me speakers. I'll tell what, them gennie owners are very inconsiderate.

Regards

Kieran

ROLF

OceanFroggie



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 17/04/2012 23:53 by OceanFroggie.

Quote:

ralf
D ya no,de powerpoints may be the turning point for some light hearted banter and friendly jest........are we turning a corner here.........certainly hope so from my bunker

I'll try and dig out the photo I have somewhere, of two boats on Derg a few seasons ago, rushing onto pontoons in Garry, crew members hanging over the bow with coiled up shore power leads, ready to leap off and grap a free 220v socket before the "other" boats berthed!

Getting mooring lines secured was secondary to getting the hair curlers plugged in it seems!

OceanFroggie

Whatever our academic positions, they are undoubtably popular and WI would like to retrofit more harbours of funds allow. I don't understand the " splitters" issue, surely since youre paying for the thing you have only one lead per feed point. I was in mount Shannon last year and that's the way it was, if you arrived after they were all used, you did without.

Dave

SURELY NOT!!!!!!!!! you mean to say that there were places were you could not get power how did the people cope without electric it must have been like living in the dark ages of the 20th century when people didnt have mobiles and shock horror no GPS .Mick



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 18/04/2012 10:07 by Michael Foster.

Moored at the new jetty in Killaloe
Very happy to have a power supply
Wahing completed, bread baked, batteries charged
It is the way forward for the Liveaboard on the inland waters

More power to more power