Advice please - Just moved boat to the coast

[rjstyles]

After years of messing around on the river we have long yearned to take our boat onto the sea. Our boat is a Princess 30DS with a single petrol 175hp engine. One of the main reasons I have held back is that I have been paranoid about having only the single engine. All the reviews I have found say the 30DS has very good sea keeping qualities. I have a private pilots licence so I'm ok with the principles of navigation and I have read up bouyage etc and taken the VHF SRC.

Anyway, this year we decided to take the plunge (not literally - yet!!!)
We were lifted into the water at Torquay last weekend and made our first modest trip over to our moorings at Brixham - we loved it and can't wait to explore the south Devon coast. And my questions....

Should I really be worried about having only the single engine, assuming of course I keep it well maintained. The boat pushed along at 7 - 8 kts at 2500rpm.

What are the usual pitfalls for the newcomer to coastal cruising - weather seems an obvious one but I am sure there must be others.

All advice apreciated.

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[Robih]

I had a 30' Nimbus with a single diesel which we cruised from North Norfolk to Falmouth and across the Channel to Guernsey. No problems but you must (as I am sure you are) be pedantic in looking after the engine. Daily checks, routine servicing and do everything you can to maintain a constant supply of clean fuel. This latter point is less important to you with a petrol engine I suppose, but for diesels dirty fuel is No.1 bad news. Carry spares - belts, impellors, filters and sparkplugs I suppose in your case. You may have some muck in the fuel tank that will get stirred up after your first venture offshore so be wary of dirty fuel at the outset, but again, I guess your petrol will just burn the dirt?

You will find the petrol costs are pretty strong and access to petrol is not always that easy so plan your fuel refills.

Take care with wind and tide around the headlands, the nearest major headland for you will be Start Point, which can be fun, but don't do it in strong winds, do it when the wind and tide are together and keep well offshore away from the race around the headland itself. You'll love the West Country, it is by far the best crusiing ground in the South of England.

rob

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[Guest]

Should I be worried about only having one engine?

Yes and no !

We conked out off Brighton in a lively sea with a virtually new engine (the thermostat had fallen apart) I was most impressed by the help offered by everyone. The coastguard, a local fisherman who stood by to make sure we didn't drift into danger and the Lifeboat who boarded and then dragged us in.

So the answer is you are better off with two, but even if the worst happens you are not on your own.

Geoff

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[jfm]

Should be fine. I have boated in a twin engine for a few years, but never had one of them breakdown. And before that I did miles in a single outboard boat, and it never broke down. Car doesn't breakdown too much, and it has one engine!

So imho if it's well maintained you will be fine. Perhaps carry these things: vhf or two, mobile phone, seastart membership, and a very very decent anchor and lots of chain+warp (so if it breaksdown you can at least stay put).

There is obvious stuff like enough fuel but I'm sure you have all that covered

Also an outboard auxilliary is possible, but in your boat it would need to be fairly decent (25hp) and perhaps it's not that practical

Good luck. The main danger for you is expense - you will like it so much you will have to trade up the boat!

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[hlb]

Welcome to Devon. From sunny Lancashire. Some one will no doubt explain!! Brixham is a lovely place and quite central, with plenty of harbours to explore. Hmm......The one engine thingy.......Well it might never be a problem..... But like anything.... if you only have one. Then you have not got another one!! TCM for instance, is having trouble cos he's only has one fuel tank and one fuel pipe. He's got two engines. But still stopped. On the other hand. Last year my fuel pipe broke. But I had another one so kept going, if a bit slower.

Pitfalls...Knowing when to expect overfalls and wind over tide, maybe. Dartmouth to Salcolmbe for instance, can get interesting. Where to get petrol can be a big one. But think you might be OK round there. Check.

Think I'd carry extra anchor chain with one engine. Just to be on the safe side.

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Haydn

 

[tynesman]

I use my RLM cruiser offshore of the Tyne and we have very nasty weather at times but surprising very good weather also,my advice apart from your engines (yes I have two) is not to miss safety equipment,I presume you have a pack of offshore flares,lifebelts etc., never think you will never use them, the weather can change in one hour.
Also have you fitted a rader reflector?
Plan how you will get someone out of the water if someone goes overboard!
Have you got safety lines on your life jackets for working on deck.
Apart from being sensible about safety it's a great life

Happy cruising

Tynesman

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[rjstyles]

Thanks for the replies so far, I think I am equiped with the essentials:

150N life jackets for everyone on board (including the dog)
Engine spares
New fuel filters fitted + spares ( old ones were spotless so hopfully tank is clean)
Lifebouys with lights
Tapered wooden bungs & underwater GRP repair kit
Set of flares
Inflatable dinghy & 5hp outbourd
Bathing platform for recovery from water
Second anchor
Radar reflector - tubular type said to be as much use as a chocolate teapot !!
Galley slave
.
.
.
Anything else needed ?

I don't have safety harnesses for life jackets though, I had assumed there is no need to go on deck whilst out of harbour unless anchoring which I wouldn't be considering in poor weather / sea conditions. However, thinking about breakdowns etc and needing to drop the hook in an emergecy leads to me to re-think this one.

Thanks again for the advice so far.

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[Happy1]

I have a list of stuff I bought for coastal cruising which may be useful. I think a hand held VHF just in case you have to jump off the ship, or your power fails, also lifejacket lights, these can be tucked behind the velcro, a handheld fog horn (canister type), EPIRB, good first iad kit (including foil survival blanket), bailer, spare bilge pump, an electronic chart plotter (or at the very least a cheap GPS), correct amount and type of fire extinguishers, a good waterproof torch, spare handheld generator, a battery booster, there is other stuff but I will let some others give you some ideas.

Hope it helps a bit.

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[Solitaire]

Two engines or one may not be the issue here. More the power that you have! What length is the boat - from your posting i.e a Pricess 30d can I asume that it about 30ft. If this is the case and you "pottered" over to Brixham at at your stated speed I think you are going to have problems on the sea. The engine at 175hp to a boat length of 30ft (I'm assuming this from your post) then I think you are dramatically under powered for sea use. pottering about on the river with a maximum speed of say 5 knots is fine, but the sea is a whole new ball park.
Does your boat have a planning hull? You state that the boat has good sea keeping qualities - no doubt but not on that engine. If you don't have power in reserve you will wallow in "heavy" seas.
I'll now wait to be shot down but I think your are going to be a very fair weather sailor and will have to watch the weight you carry - people, gear, fuel -water ratio etc.



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[Solitaire]

Just tought I'd check out your boat. Found the following:
Princess 30DS

Builder: Marine Projects, Plymouth

Built: 351 between September 1980 and March 1989

MBY tested: January 1981

Dimensions: LoA 30ft 5in (9.27m), beam 11ft 0in (3.35m),
draught 2ft 11in (0.89m), displacement 4.5 tons

General: Six-berth, three-cabin offshore cruiser with centre
saloon/wheelhouse and aft cockpit. There was
also a flybridge version ­ the Princess 30S

Power: Single or twin Volvos, shaftdrive or outdrive, from
1 x 56hp to 2 x 200hp diesel and 2 x 225hp petrol


Surveyor's notes: The very wide variety of engines installed on this model means it is important to make sure that any boat being considered is powered appropriately for the intended use. Check the hull condition ­ some of the early Princesses were prone to osmosis.

Check out the above surveyor's notes - "make sure the that any boat is powered appropriately for the intended use" You have a 4,5 ton boat (and thats without any gear, people or fuel etc) on a 175hp engine operating in that glorious but "lumpy" area. IMHO you are going to struggle.

I don't wish to put a dampner on your enjoyment of sea boating but your boat is powered for the river, not the sea.

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[hlb]

Hmm. Must admit I'd noticed the, was it 7-8 knots. If thats so. It might equate to 1 or 2 knots if the going gets tough. Cant think princess would build something so underpowered though. Less special order and would have thought they would have stopped using petrols yonks ago. Still, it's not that dramatic to poodle through rough seas. I get down to eight knots sometimes when going round Start point. Would not like to slow down any more though or loose steerage.

Aha it looks like we have further information just arrived. Yes it definatly underpowered. Double would be about enough IMHO. Ho well, just have to go a bit slower. Dont worry, it will get there. Eventually!!

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Haydn

 

[Solitaire]

Agreed Haydn. I've recently bought a 9m rib round from Bristol to Poole (5236 nm's). This boat has a 330 HP Iveco diesel with a jet drive, it is also ex search and rescue, coming round Lands End (the same w/e the tanker went aground) and the Lizard we were down to around 8-10 knots but we had the power to get out of trouble. We crossed Lyme Bay in 7-8 winds on the nose and had to cut in shore to make the going easier - again we had the power. The boat may have good sea going capabilities but it must have the power to make full use of all aspects of the design in sea conditions.

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[Solitaire]

oops - finger trouble - that should read 536 nautical miles!

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[hlb]

Think your still bragging. Even if I have just worked it out in my head. Or did you get lost a bit......./forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

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Haydn

 

[Margem]

We have single engine Sealine same lenth as yours, did Ostend, Dunkirk, Niewpoort, Calais London (st Kats) Brightlingsea, Ipswich last year in one 2 week trip, no problem at all, i would think 175 horses well powerful enough.
You say 7-8 knots but thats not flat out... is it?

Happy Sailing!

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[Solitaire]

Is a bloody long way! We did have a small problem locating Padstow estury, but apart from that. Had to take the "long" route around Lyme Bay sea and wind too uncomfortable to go straight across - the boat was OK, just us mere mortals. This meant we missed the "Bill" window by about 1/2 hour so that was fun! Mind you, running round to Portland was also fairly interesting. As was the run from Weymouth to Poole - the overfalls were particularly "adventurous"
Honet guv!

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[Guest]

We had a similar experience with our Fairline Sedan with twin 175hp petrols which we moved to the Welsh coast some years ago after a season on the River Severn ( soon got bored) I took (and would recommend) the RYA yachtmaster offshore course which gave a lot of confidence. Our biggest problem - one you might share - is the very poor availability of petrol. We also found the huge fuel bills pretty prohibitive and are now looking at displacement hulls with diesels.
As regards single engines - I hate to be alarmist but we did have just one experience ( admittedly in 5 years with the boat) when we were extemely glad we had a second engine to get home on.

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[duncan]

with a ppl you will appreicate that one engine is enough providing you plan your trip appropriately with regard to conditions, safe havens etc etc as mentioned above. This includes giving a wideberth to anything marked on the chart as overfalls because you will only be able to go with the tide and maintain steerage way. You are not alone however as many (most?) craft cruise at displacement speeds and I am sure you will have fantastic fun.
As well as a properly rigged anchor set up you should consider practicing with your tender/outboard which, if propery set up will deliver enough to manoevre your boat if you suffer engine failure in reasonable weather/sea conditions. However the time to put it into practice for the first time is not when you suffer engine failure! There are excellent articles on how to rig it alongside with the engine lock ahead and it can be surprisingly efficent.

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[TRH]

As a fellow Pilot, remember that the pre-flight checks drumed into you in from day one, Will hold you in good stead for your time on the open waters. Best of luck Trevor

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