Bought my first boat 800 miles away. Need advice!

[Laysula]

Beware. We bought our current boat in Devon with the intention of sailing her up to our normal cruising ground in NorthWales. Unfortunately?????? We loved the area so much that we kept the boat in Brixham and then moved house to Brixham as well.
Do you like Scotland?

 

[ProDave]

There's a technical datasheet here: http://cruisersownersforum.com/phpBB/download/OpMan/CY3850-CY3950_OwnersManual.pdf
Draft is 3ft 1.5inches and "Bridge Clearance" is 16ft 9.5inches. I presume this is air draft.
5.2metres, or a few mm less, seems correct.

I rest my case. That is not a Thames boat. Okay if kept below Windsor and cruising out to sea is your plan.

 

[Boater On Thames]

Beware. We bought our current boat in Devon with the intention of sailing her up to our normal cruising ground in NorthWales. Unfortunately?????? We loved the area so much that we kept the boat in Brixham and then moved house to Brixham as well.
Do you like Scotland?

I like this idea!

 

[Momac]

If your boat height is 17 ft then its not “road transportable “ by normal means . Standard motorway bridges are 16,3

John

Maybe the arch/roof can be removed . In fact it seems likely otherwise how was it transported when new ?

 

[mattnj]

I like a crazy random purchase and adventure as much as anyone, but this one is right out there I've been messing about on all sorts of boats in all sorts of places for as long as I can remember, and I wouldn't fancy that trip on a new to me boat, even if the fuel was free!
Good luck, be sensible it should be all about safety, and you moving that on that passage now, is a really bad idea IMO which ever way you try and swing it.

 

[Boater On Thames]

I found there is only 418 NM if I bring the boat to Edinburgh port, then cruise down to London port. Compare to from Inverkip to London port about 780 NM. This could be big differet. Just a though.

 

[ashtead]

LG I feel your travels will make a good blog and no doubt by now you have looked at the tale of the Trader . I am sure any works needed will be at an lower hourly rate at the current location but if you do need work ensure the estimate does actually cover what's required based on your survey .

 

[ProDave]

Beware. We bought our current boat in Devon with the intention of sailing her up to our normal cruising ground in NorthWales. Unfortunately?????? We loved the area so much that we kept the boat in Brixham and then moved house to Brixham as well.
Do you like Scotland?

In case I forgot to say it, this is not a Thames boat.

I don't think the canopy over the flybridge will come off easily. Yes it looks removable, but probably involving a lot of work and a crane. Not something you can just take down when you reach a low bridge. And it would look pretty silly without it.

Suggest you keep it in Scotland, somewhere you can get cheap flights from the South to visit and do your boating a week at a time on your floating holiday home.

You could do worse than Inverness. I will leave others to suggest West coast destinations easily reached by cheap flights from the south.

 

[A1Sailor]

I found there is only 418 NM if I bring the boat to Edinburgh port, then cruise down to London port. Compare to from Inverkip to London port about 780 NM. This could be big differet. Just a though.

Do you mean Edinburgh port by road? It is a long way from Kip to Edinburgh via the Caledonian Canal. You could wave to Dave as you go through Inverness! Even further if you go round the north of Scotland.
Ryanair used to have cheap flights to Prestwick Airport (near Troon) but now it is just Glasgow Airport ("near" Paisley) on the West Coast. Trains from there to Kip, Largs, Ardrossan or Troon. You could do worse than base her in any of these.

 

[oldgit]

to go to Teddington need to get under

Desborough Channel Lower Bridge

5.18m (17'0")

s

 

[Boater On Thames]

Do you mean Edinburgh port by road? It is a long way from Kip to Edinburgh via the Caledonian Canal. You could wave to Dave as you go through Inverness! Even further if you go round the north of Scotland.
Ryanair used to have cheap flights to Prestwick Airport (near Troon) but now it is just Glasgow Airport ("near" Paisley) on the West Coast. Trains from there to Kip, Largs, Ardrossan or Troon. You could do worse than base her in any of these.

Yes, I mean transport the boat from Inverkip to Edinburgh by road. Then from Edinburgh to south by sea. So that the sea distance will be reduced from 780 NM to 418 NM. That will save 46% of fuel if I decide to go by sea.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Yes, I mean transport the boat from Inverkip to Edinburgh by road. Then from Edinburgh to south by sea. So that the sea distance will be reduced from 780 NM to 418 NM. That will save 46% of fuel if I decide to go by sea.

My boating background comes from motorboats, originally, and on the East Coast. Seriously, bringing that boat down the East Coast should not be taken lightly. You better make sure everything is tip-top, especially the fuel tanks (not full of shite). You will also need someone experienced onboard, not just doing a weekend course. There are some big legs along the North East Coast where you can't run for shelter, you'll need plenty of fuel onboard and pick your weather well. Now is not the best time of year to be thinking about it too.

If you wanted to split the journey, perhaps moving the boat by road to The Humber would be more sensible ? Either way, if you were going to do any part of the journey by sea you need to get it sorted before it leaves Kip.

You should also be seriously looking into the problems of air draft that others have mentioned.

 

[Boater On Thames]

Thank you. That sounds good. Humber to London just about 244 NM. This look like much realistic to me.

 

[A1Sailor]

Yes, I mean transport the boat from Inverkip to Edinburgh by road. Then from Edinburgh to south by sea. So that the sea distance will be reduced from 780 NM to 418 NM. That will save 46% of fuel if I decide to go by sea.

Why not find out the actual costs of road transport from Kip to Port Edgar (Edinburgh) and Kip to "London"? You might find you don't save yourself that much compared with the fuel cost of a passage down the East Coast. Like others have advised, a "shakedown cruise" might be fraught with difficulty.
Please do take some time to read this thread:
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?491672-Independence-Upadates-amp-Cruising

One the plus side berthing at Port Edgar over the winter would surely be less expensive than Kip and I don't think you would have any difficulty getting under the Forth Bridges.:encouragement:
https://www.portedgarmarina.co.uk/index.php

 

[seaangler23]

Bought my boat 500 miles away in Devon and hadn't seen water in 3 yrs, I went down gave it a service and resolved a few issues highlighted in the survey, stuck it in the water on the Thursday, crew arrived sat and we were on our mooring on the Clyde at 5am on the Friday, and that was with a day and a half in Falmouth waiting on weather.
We had a good crew ranging from experienced skipper to never been sailing and myself as the engineer and motored 90% of the way, we were fortunate with fairly good weather and a frugal engine though.

 

[awol]

You have had a survey, haven't you? Were there any other comments beyond trim tabs and bilge pumps?

 

[ashtead]

I naively assumed our intrepid to be Thames boater had a survey but I was more interested in the passage plan for the journey south and the vids of the journey south and passing under all those bridges. Maybe a Thames pilot is required and there is on the river forum someone who might want to join the OP once he reaches St Kat dock next year ? It does look a fair amount of boat for money but I'm no mobo .

 

[Chris_d]

In case I forgot to say it, this is not a Thames boat.

With all due repsect have you been on the Thames recently, that is a typical Thames boat these days and other similar types make it all the way up to Abingdon with suitable mods to the mast canopies etc... Broom 42/450's, Princess 42, Fairline 42, Sealine 43 and even a 46 way past Windsor, and all with bigger engines as well. That is actually a perfect boat for cruising the river in comfort more than it is for cruising down from Scotland.

Harleyford Marlow, should fit in nicely:

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Yes, I mean transport the boat from Inverkip to Edinburgh by road. Then from Edinburgh to south by sea. So that the sea distance will be reduced from 780 NM to 418 NM. That will save 46% of fuel if I decide to go by sea.

The problem isn't getting from Kip to Edinburgh; the Crinan and Caledonian Canals are your friend; perhaps even the Forth and Clyde (i've heard rumours that it isn't passable at the moment, but I may be wrong). But the East Coast of England is a desert as far as ports suitable for small craft are concerned. Basically, you're OK north of Whitby with plenty of ports of call, but past there, the next stop is Grimsby and then Wells. Neither can be entered at all states of the tide; Wells is also a notoriously tricky entrance. When I did the same trip (admittedly with a fin keel yacht, not a motorboat), we decided that the only reasonable plan was to go direct from Whitby to Lowestoft; going via Grimsby was the only other option we considered - and it adds a surprising amount to the total distance. Whitby to Lowestoft is about 130 nautical miles, and will take you about 50 miles offshore at the furthest.

I live near Cambridge and kept my boat at Kip and then James Watt Dock for 9 years; while I was working, I was fortunate in being able to work flexibly and had a generous leave allowance. Unfortunately, although I am now retired, my wife works and her employer is less flexible and more demanding than mine was, so getting up there for long weekends became untenable and I moved her to the East Coast. But if you can manage it, I'd echo those who suggest simply keeping the boat in Scotland.

 

[awol]

References to transiting Forth Clyde canal should be ignored. It's not just that it's closed with non-operating bridges, even if it was working the air draft is a measly 3m.
May I take the credit for being 1st to suggest leaving it where it is. Kip could most certainly do with the £5.5k berthing charges to repair some of its pontoons.