Bradwell Marina Visit.? Anyone know details for the marina?

[UK-WOOZY]

Hoping to go there this saturday with a freind on my boat and another friend on his boat.
What is berthing like there, i dont want to sit on mud and get mud in my lift keel slot. my friends boat draws 1.6m, mine is 1.04 with the keel up, 1.95 with it down. I emailed bradwell asking about booking, and what the tide is like either side of HW etc, but await the reply still.

thanks

 

[Supine Being]

If you plan to go through the creek at 4 hours either side of HW then you'll both be fine, but watch the bouyage marking the channel on the way in as it goes quite close to shore before turning to starboard. Once over the cill into the marina, there's plenty of depth. And make sure you ask for a key for the shower facilities before the office closes. If that's not possible, you can reach the washrooms via the bar as long as it's open. Have fun!

 

[PaulRainbow]

Bradwell won't take bookings until you are almost there.

 

[Daydream believer]

Berth B3 will be empty. I am off to ostend tomorrow. I draw 1.80 & do not touch at LW. The shallowest part is opposite the first 2 red cans on the way into the creek. keep very tight to the Sbd hand buoy on the way in & turn sharp round it. Watch for the pole at the end of the waterside ramp & the red buoy just before the 4 poles in the entry to the marina.
plenty of room to get in & out of berths unless you are a total wooz.

 

[UK-WOOZY]

Hi all, thank you for the replies. We are now confirmed to be going to Bradwell, (as per PaulRainbow's advice) Athur at the marina said we have to call on saturday when we leave to see if we can get in, so i hope there is room. Many thanks to to Daydream for his offer of his berth while away. Thanks to Supine Being for the approach info.
Appreciated.

 

[MoodySabre]

Nothing to add to the general info. You won’t sit in the mud.
The marina bar is good for food - it’s run by a chef. The catering van near the tower will keep you provided with burgers and bacon rolls. I haven’t been in The Green Man for ages but presume it is still good.

 

[UK-WOOZY]

Whats your real name Daydream? So i can ask for your berth if no space is available. Thank you.

 

[Supine Being]

Nothing to add to the general info. You won’t sit in the mud.
The marina bar is good for food - it’s run by a chef. The catering van near the tower will keep you provided with burgers and bacon rolls. I haven’t been in The Green Man for ages but presume it is still good.

I was in the Green Man a few weeks ago. Portion sizes are generous, and I can recommend the steak and kidney pudding.

 

[steve yates]

I was in the green man a few weeks ago, the food was good.

 

[Daydream believer]

Whats your real name Daydream? So i can ask for your berth if no space is available. Thank you.

Actually I take back what I said. I left as planned. Decided to motor to the top of the Gunfleet sands, as it was a head wind & I wanted to get to the Longsand as the tide turned. Then I could get a good angle for sailing across the top of the Black Deep & off to Ostend.
But sod's law has its way. The engine developed a rapid knock , lost power & abruptly stopped. Now difficult to turn over with a spanner as it is stuck.
I sailed back to Bradwell where my mate arranged with the marina to give me a tow in. Seemed safer than sailing in. Especially as I had got seasick fiddling with the engine whilst the boat rolled broadside on in the Wallet chop.
So it looks like £10K for a new engine & may as well get a new saildrive at the same time because one just knows that will peg out next.
s.d it ---lost my hols & a load of sailing
Still wife says I am lucky it happened here & not up a Dutch canal. So she says I should look on that as a plus
Another plus, is that she said to get the new engine ordered ASAP so as to not miss too much sailing. So 3 cheers for an understanding wife

 

[UK-WOOZY]

Actually I take back what I said. I left as planned. Decided to motor to the top of the Gunfleet sands, as it was a head wind & I wanted to get to the Longsand as the tide turned. Then I could get a good angle for sailing across the top of the Black Deep & off to Ostend.
But sod's law has its way. The engine developed a rapid knock , lost power & abruptly stopped. Now difficult to turn over with a spanner as it is stuck.
I sailed back to Bradwell where my mate arranged with the marina to give me a tow in. Seemed safer than sailing in. Especially as I had got seasick fiddling with the engine whilst the boat rolled broadside on in the Wallet chop.
So it looks like £10K for a new engine & may as well get a new saildrive at the same time because one just knows that will peg out next.
s.d it ---lost my hols & a load of sailing
Still wife says I am lucky it happened here & not up a Dutch canal. So she says I should look on that as a plus
Another plus, is that she said to get the new engine ordered ASAP so as to not miss too much sailing. So 3 cheers for an understanding wife

sounds like the luck i get... none
i do worry about my 1988 2GM20... so much replaced on it. But still original mostly. Soorry to see the bad luck you had. That really is unfortunate.

 

[Daydream believer]

sounds like the luck i get... none
i do worry about my 1988 2GM20... so much replaced on it. But still original mostly. Soorry to see the bad luck you had. That really is unfortunate.

Well call round to B3-- if I am there,you will recognise me as " Depressed & p..sed off. at Bradwell.com"

 

[Supine Being]

Actually I take back what I said. I left as planned. Decided to motor to the top of the Gunfleet sands, as it was a head wind & I wanted to get to the Longsand as the tide turned. Then I could get a good angle for sailing across the top of the Black Deep & off to Ostend.
But sod's law has its way. The engine developed a rapid knock , lost power & abruptly stopped. Now difficult to turn over with a spanner as it is stuck.
I sailed back to Bradwell where my mate arranged with the marina to give me a tow in. Seemed safer than sailing in. Especially as I had got seasick fiddling with the engine whilst the boat rolled broadside on in the Wallet chop.
So it looks like £10K for a new engine & may as well get a new saildrive at the same time because one just knows that will peg out next.
s.d it ---lost my hols & a load of sailing
Still wife says I am lucky it happened here & not up a Dutch canal. So she says I should look on that as a plus
Another plus, is that she said to get the new engine ordered ASAP so as to not miss too much sailing. So 3 cheers for an understanding wife

That doesn't sound like fun, I'm sorry to hear that. It still hasn't put me off shopping for my next boat though (which is the 'masochist' emoji?)

 

[MoodySabre]

Actually I take back what I said. I left as planned. Decided to motor to the top of the Gunfleet sands, as it was a head wind & I wanted to get to the Longsand as the tide turned. Then I could get a good angle for sailing across the top of the Black Deep & off to Ostend.
But sod's law has its way. The engine developed a rapid knock , lost power & abruptly stopped. Now difficult to turn over with a spanner as it is stuck.
I sailed back to Bradwell where my mate arranged with the marina to give me a tow in. Seemed safer than sailing in. Especially as I had got seasick fiddling with the engine whilst the boat rolled broadside on in the Wallet chop.
So it looks like £10K for a new engine & may as well get a new saildrive at the same time because one just knows that will peg out next.
s.d it ---lost my hols & a load of sailing
Still wife says I am lucky it happened here & not up a Dutch canal. So she says I should look on that as a plus
Another plus, is that she said to get the new engine ordered ASAP so as to not miss too much sailing. So 3 cheers for an understanding wife

Sorry to hear that Sam. My engine gets it first trip next week with lots of family on board.

 

[Concerto]

If you need an engine quickly, then it might be worth contacting this company as they carry engines in stock from Vetus and Beta at their base in Chichester.
Peter Draper at www.navigatorsmarine.co.uk
01243 513336
07801 250066
I spoke to Peter last year at the Southampton Boat Show. He was visiting and passing out business cards to people with older boats. So worth a call to see if they can help you get out sailing and pleasing your wife.

 

[sailorman]

Hoping to go there this saturday with a freind on my boat and another friend on his boat.
What is berthing like there, i dont want to sit on mud and get mud in my lift keel slot. my friends boat draws 1.6m, mine is 1.04 with the keel up, 1.95 with it down. I emailed bradwell asking about booking, and what the tide is like either side of HW etc, but await the reply still.

thanksmu boat was 2m draft nrver s roblem phone16277235

 

[Daydream believer]

If you need an engine quickly, then it might be worth contacting this company as they carry engines in stock from Vetus and Beta at their base in Chichester.
Peter Draper at www.navigatorsmarine.co.uk
01243 513336
07801 250066
I spoke to Peter last year at the Southampton Boat Show. He was visiting and passing out business cards to people with older boats. So worth a call to see if they can help you get out sailing and pleasing your wife.

Thanks. I will keep a note. I am currently awaiting an email from Volspec for a 30Hp which is almost a simple drop in & 10HP more. This should help with the Brunton autoprop which is not much good in chop. The problem being that at 2300 RPM a 20 HP Volvo only delivers 6.5 HP at the prop. This is quite low. But a 30 HP delivers nearly 11 HP at the prop.
That might make a big difference. Unfortunately a Beta is a lot heavier than a Volvo. I do like Beta though, as I have a 35HP in my launch.
As I am getting older, I will be motoring more & I do not want to invest in a MOBO, when I already have a yacht with good motoring & sailing performance. It will also enhance the second hand price if it has a newer engine/saildrive package.

 

[Tranona]

Thanks. I will keep a note. I am currently awaiting an email from Volspec for a 30Hp which is almost a simple drop in & 10HP more. This should help with the Brunton autoprop which is not much good in chop. The problem being that at 2300 RPM a 20 HP Volvo only delivers 6.5 HP at the prop. This is quite low. But a 30 HP delivers nearly 11 HP at the prop.
That might make a big difference. Unfortunately a Beta is a lot heavier than a Volvo. I do like Beta though, as I have a 35HP in my launch.
As I am getting older, I will be motoring more & I do not want to invest in a MOBO, when I already have a yacht with good motoring & sailing performance. It will also enhance the second hand price if it has a newer engine/saildrive package.

Are you sure about the weight? I did not find any significant difference in weights when I was doing my comparisons. With regard to revs, the D1 engines run at lower speeds than the 20X0 so power output is approx 300rpm lower across the range. The saildrive has a different ratio to keep the shaft speed and therefore prop the same. So if you fit the complete unit this might solve your problem. Would not advocate keeping the old drive. The 130 is so much better and the cost saving minimal. A new drive on its own is nearly £5k should your 120 fail in the future. although a Beta and its drive will slot straight in with their adaptors, the drive is not as good as Volvo. If saving £1500 is important you can fit a Beta to your old drive - but I guess you would not dream of doing this (either by day or night). Not convinced there is any value in going up to a 30. Only worth it when displacement gets above about 4.5 tonnes. Use the money you save to go towards a decent Flexofold or if you still intend doing a lot of motoring a Featherstream. You might get a few bob for the Bruntons.

Your engine has had a good innings demonstrating how good modern engines are if you work them hard.

 

[Daydream believer]

I have bought the 30HP Volvo complete with saildrive today. Will collect next week Revs are supposed to be 2800-3000.
I expect to run at 2100. The old engine has done circa 5000-5500 hours. 3 hours before it died it was running like a sewing machine. . Started instantly on the buttonThe fault developed over 30 minutes max, from fast knocking (like a flywheel hitting a lose bolt) , loss of power, to dead stop.
Boat probably weighs over 4.5 Tonnes when in cruising trim (Trim?? )
There is a problem fitting to the engine beds if I go with Beta & I just want to get sorted & back in the water. I am too old to lose a season's sailing.
Re the Brunton. I always felt that the engine was not giving enough thrust through the prop. At 2300 rpm it was 6.5HP at the prop.( when new). So the boat kept stalling in chop. I often could not get 2600 RPM in a 1 metre chop of the type one gets in the Thames.
I felt that my prop was overloading the engine, so a more powerful ( 11 Hp at prop at 2300RPM) should be better
I will keep prop this year & make a decision later when I have tried existing setup.

 

[Tranona]

I know you have made the decision, but I really think you are wasting your money. The calculations of HP requirements is based on design displacement which in your case is 3.8tonnes and at 90% rated power and rpm to allow for cruising trim and 19hp rated allows the boat to exceed hull speed which is limited by the short waterline. Adding HP will just make the stern dig in . My Bavaria was 5,5 tonnes BUT had a waterline more than 1m greater which gave it a higher speed potential. Even then the standard engine was a D1 20 which achieved hull speed and you could argue the 30 was over powered. Mine had a 16*11 2 blade Flexofold on a D1 30 and on commissioning achieved 7.6 knots at 3100rpm.

Remember it is the propeller that moves the boat not the engine and a 15* 10 2 blade or thereabouts is the appropriate size for a fixed pitch prop. A D1 20 will power that just fine. Of course using a variable pitch prop like yours muddies the waters, but given the prop is designed to adjust pitch to maximise the power available at any given revs I suspect that you will never use the upper half of the rev range with the extra power that gives. As you have discovered it is really not at home with a light boat with a low powered engine and just increasing the power potentially available I don't think will change this, Very different if you have a Nauticat 331 like my mate who loves his Bruntons - but then he is a marine propulsion guru!

Personally if it were my boat I would ditch the Bruntons and fit a D1 20 with a 2 blade Flexofold. Simple reliable and predictable. With a 15*10 (Darglow will supply the correct size for a Flexofold which may be different from a Volvo fixed prop) you would cruise at 5,5 knots 2200rpm and be able to hit about 6.8 knots at between 3000-3200 which is the Volvo requirement.