Commuting by speedboat

memorex

Hey - I recently moved to Bray and as I work in dublin city centre I am evaluating my commuting options. One thought occured to me one day while walking along bray seafront. What would be involved in commuting via speed/fast boat from Bray harbour to somewhere close to the east link. Then, say, finishing the last bit on bicycle or bus.

Realistically this would never come to fruition but I thought it might be an interesting hypothetical question. Having spent some time in cities where water taxis are a standard form of transport (Sydney, San Fran) what's to stop some enterprising individual setting this up along the Dublin coastline?

Cheers,
-mem

Gordon

Hehe, I always wondered if it was possible getting a small boat to go up and down the Liffey in the morning/night for work. That'd be a great idea on non-windy days, parking/harbouring permitted.

memorex

Yeah, that would be cool. Practically speaking the liffey looks like a pain for boats with really low bridges and what seems to be fairly low tides every now and again. I appreciate that it might get a bit rough in Dublin bay and south/north from there. But relatively speaking we have it easy. Imagine cruising home from work on a speedboat on a hots summers evening. No traffic. Sweet.

fricatus

memorex wrote:

I am evaluating my commuting options.

Well, Mr Bond, you could always try a jetpack or a rocket-powered Aston Martin

westtip

He coudl get himself a jetski - mind need to keep a wardrobe in the office and no good if you fancy a few pints after work

jd

You'd need to think of berthing fees.

corktina

I think the Liffey is an awful waste of city centre space....I think they should drain it and make it a car park ....


what?:p

Mexicola

It could be just like Colin Farrell in Miami Vice... when he whips your one away for an evening of love.

Pigeon Reaper

Nice in theory but with winds and tides it wouldn't be reliable. It would also be expensive to run the boat service. Going through Poolbeg lights with a northeasterly against the tide will put most people off it especially in a small speed boat. It could be feasible to run a ferry service between Howth a Dun Laoghaire but it's probably as quick on the Dart. Currently the only commerical trips around Dublin Bay is the sea safari whoose boats aren't suitable for commuters.

westtip

memorex wrote:

Having spent some time in cities where water taxis are a standard form of transport (Sydney, San Fran)

Cheers,
-mem

think you are being a bit wishful in your comparisons - Sydney, SF, .... Dublin??

Dublin doesn't quite have the same err....well just not comparable maybe. A pleasure boat or water taxi down the Royal Canal, ah now there's a thought. The liffey is a dribble of a river with a high water mark which stops it being used as a thouroughfare - blame the Brits they built most of the bridges with no headroom at a full tide

_Kaiser_

corktina wrote:

I think the Liffey is an awful waste of city centre space....I think they should drain it and make it a car park ....


what?:p

your ideas intrigue me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter!

(Actually though, it's not a bad idea.. )

rubadub

fricatus wrote:

Well, Mr Bond, you could always try a jetpack or a rocket-powered Aston Martin

I always wanted one of those mini helicopters from the bond films, the one like a frame of metal poles, love to land in the carpark in one of those, probably not too dear either.

corktina

Kaiser2000 wrote:

your ideas intrigue me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter!

(Actually though, it's not a bad idea.. )

just send money!!!!!:)

Ste.phen

rubadub wrote:

I always wanted one of those mini helicopters from the bond films, the one like a frame of metal poles, love to land in the carpark in one of those, probably not too dear either.

http://www.acecraftusa.com/
http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/the_worlds_smallest_one_person_helicopter.php


$30,000