Am I mad?

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Being Boring

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Hello,

New here and looking for a little advice please. New to boating... fallen in love with the Chaparral Signature brand, and in particular, a boat in Denmark. Is it a totally crazy notion to plan to sail it back to the UK (south east) rather than have it hauled? From Copenhagen via the Keil canal, down the Dutch coast and across to the Thames Estuary and into London. It's a petrol boat with around a 140 nm range on two engines. Planning on an average of 15Kts, a five day, 50 hour trip. At 15Kts, is it possible to plan for single engine ops and increase the range/reduce fuel burn?

Tin hat on....

BB
 
If your plan ensures access to Petrol to fill up (possibly some places are diesel only but don’t know the area) then why not should sea conditions allow it.
 
If you're new to boating, a journey of that length and time is unwise without someone more experienced along with you . i don't do navigation around Denmark but I'd check what qualifications ICC etc are required.
Some basic navigation skills wouldn't go amiss either.
Sure there are far knowledgeable people on here who can give more info than I can.
 
Being Boring said:
Hello,

New here and looking for a little advice please. New to boating... fallen in love with the Chaparral Signature brand, and in particular, a boat in Denmark. Is it a totally crazy notion to plan to sail it back to the UK (south east) rather than have it hauled? From Copenhagen via the Keil canal, down the Dutch coast and across to the Thames Estuary and into London. It's a petrol boat with around a 140 nm range on two engines. Planning on an average of 15Kts, a five day, 50 hour trip. At 15Kts, is it possible to plan for single engine ops and increase the range/reduce fuel burn?

Tin hat on....

BB
Click to expand...

The Kiel canal have a speed limit of 8 knots and daylight travel only (around 7-8 hours, not counting Locking up and down at either end)... and you cannot stop on the canal itself. There are three designated stopping places, only one has facilities (Rednsburg)... but do not think there are petrol available on the quayside .. and it will take some time getting up there from the canal... so would expect to have to carry cans ... and also be prepared for customs/safety inspections at both end of the canal...

Nice journey to take (subject to weather), but do not expect travel on own keel to be cheaper than road transport....
 
If you are new to boating, then Yes, you are mad to consider such a trip.

Get it shipped by road / ferry / Eurostar / whatever.
 
OMG , what is wrong with people ,assuming that you can get petrol then just go and do it , people want to put up all sorts of fanciful reasons not to , eg , i came throo the canal couple of years ago , No custom or any other checks either end , very easy doable in one day , i got to Cruxhaven easy before dark And that was sail boat . We then crossed thevNorth sea so i would expect you cam manage the thames without any problems , go , enjoy the adventure ??
 
Because with no training, no knowledge of handling a boat ( in what are generally tidal possibly rough seas ) , emergeny procedures , spares and knowledge of how to fit , navigation, bouys etc etc it is dangerous. Take out all of the above with a knowledgable person on board and assuming the boat is well found then do it. There is a world of difference.
 
I was thinking sail my boat from North of Scotland down to South of England when I purchase my boat back to October 2018. And I asked the same question here. I am glad that I took all the advices from here to transport her on road by lorry. Otherwise she might already sink or I might already die in no where in the sea.

So, my advice is: DON'T DO IT!
 
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jrudge said:
Because with no training, no knowledge of handling a boat ( in what are generally tidal possibly rough seas ) , emergeny procedures , spares and knowledge of how to fit , navigation, bouys etc etc it is dangerous. Take out all of the above with a knowledgable person on board and assuming the boat is well found then do it. There is a world of difference.
Click to expand...
Add in to the mix a boat that’s new to you, with unknown reliability, definite no no from me.
Get it back to where you want to use it, get some training, go out with someone with some experience, gain some confidence and then enjoy using the boat.

Your proposed trip could put you off boating for life.
 
Being Boring said:
Hello,

New here and looking for a little advice please. New to boating... fallen in love with the Chaparral Signature brand, and in particular, a boat in Denmark. Is it a totally crazy notion to plan to sail it back to the UK (south east) rather than have it hauled? From Copenhagen via the Keil canal, down the Dutch coast and across to the Thames Estuary and into London. It's a petrol boat with around a 140 nm range on two engines. Planning on an average of 15Kts, a five day, 50 hour trip. At 15Kts, is it possible to plan for single engine ops and increase the range/reduce fuel burn?

Tin hat on....

BB
Click to expand...
You may be mad , but it appears that there are some on here consider you to be a hapless incompitant ,
 
He would certainly have some experience when (if) he made it back but that is just too steep learning curve.
If he likes the boat so much - just stick it on a transporter and enjoy it when it get here.
It might be cheaper as well.
 
cherod said:
You may be mad , but it appears that there are some on here consider you to be a hapless incompitant ,
Click to expand...

He has said himself "... New to boating ...."
It would be an adventure for an experienced boater, but it's not a good idea for someone that is just starting out.
 
jrudge said:
He is new to boating. That does not make him incompetent - it simply means he likely lacks the skills to do the trip safely and not to scare him self off boating for life
Click to expand...
Agreed - you don't want to frighten people off.
Just make sure that they take the best approach to making boating an activity that they love.
Jumping in the deep end is the kind of think I do but I think, in this case, he would be best advised to get the boat into the UK and then start learning how to use it.
I would definitely encourage someone who is keen to "have a go" - either with some professional instruction or help from friends.
I'm sure he would find friends here on this forum who keep their boats near to where he intends keeping his.
And learning from friends is fun.
 
Thanks for all the responses. As it goes....we've let that particular boat go as it had too many issues - but had already made the decision to truck it to Holland and then just do the Channel crossing. Petrol availability also proved a problem. And as someone suggested, it wouldn't have saved much financially to sail it from Denmark. Sailing from Holland does, however, make financial sense as it removed the high cost of the ferry.

BB
 
Being Boring said:
At 15Kts, is it possible to plan for single engine ops and increase the range/reduce fuel burn?
Click to expand...
15 knots is very likely to be a very uneconomical speed for a planing sports cruiser regardless of it size.
Such boats are economical at 4 to 6 knots (hull speed is dependant on hull length) with planing speed at low 20's knots being potentially the next option where such speed is permitted.

Fuel economy and therefore range can be seriously affected by sea state .

You will not be able to do 15 knots running on one engine in a twin engined boat. Make it 5 knots for single engine running.

Can you get petrol at the waterside ? If not that's a major issue .


PS I wrote that without seeing your last post - but some of it still applies
 
I admire your bravery /keenness but you are mad - you have to factor any faults that may occur as they may not arise on initial purchase and if something happens whilst at sea then you could be in trouble.
Not worth the chance.
Get it shipped - use it locally - get experience first and see what may crop up in terms of maintenance.
Jon
 
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