calshot yesterday

realslimshady

realslimshady

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anybody witness my efforts yesterday? a lovely afternoon out had the gloss taken off, rather, by the difficulty of getting the boat back on the trailer in the swell....... /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
after about 10 attempts, lots of sweat and not a few (muttered) curses-eldest boy was helping-have made two decisions:-
1/ replace trailer bunks with rollers
2/ don't launch at Calshot again... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
kids loved it at Newtown tho!
 
i used to kee my rib at calshot, it can be a real pain recovering there, especially if a tanker passes - definatly get rollers.....it took a lot of practise, but drive the boat up the trailer fairly quickly, someone in the 4x4 to drive out as soon as on the trailer
 
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drive the boat up the trailer fairly quickly, someone in the 4x4 to drive out as soon as on the trailer

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if only!
usual crew-myself, one 11 year old, one 10, one 6..... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
oh-and family saloon /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
That is the curse of Calshot. Lovely slip unless a tanker goes by.

I don't think rollers would necessarily help in that situation.

Hythe can be more peaceful and less swell, also try Crosshouse Hard under the Itchen bridge. The pain there is that the slip is shallower so can be harder to get the boat off.
 
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also fit docking arms to the trailer, to reduce the effect of sideways wash/wind pushing you off the line of the trailer.

btw which slip did you use, public or cac's

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used the activities centre slip-had been there last month when recovery had been awkward but nowhere near as bad as yesterday.
Looked at Hythe marina but lack of responsible crew (see above!) makes organising of car parking after launch and retrieving car/trailer on return a challenge.
Going to try Lymington next time!
And get some rollers....
 
Never tried Lymington, heard it's good though, do let us know alll about it. Any experts out there on the Lymington slip and facilities?
 
Checked it out myself the other day, the slip is a good wide slip with a nearby pontoon for loading ect.
Prices approx:
£7 upto 100hp
£14 over 100hp
Parking £6.50 for car £6.50 for trailer. Max 20 hrs.
So thats almost £30 for a launch.
Plenty of room in car park during week, advise that it gets full early at weekends and can be congested with dinghy sailors.
On street parking available for free in vicinity say 5 to 10 min walk.

Regarding Calshot last week end:
I believe that over the weekend the winds were unusually (relatively) from the east / north east which would leave it exposed. The 'normal' wind is from SW from which the slip is sheltered.
 
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Checked it out myself the other day, the slip is a good wide slip with a nearby pontoon for loading ect.
Prices approx:
£7 upto 100hp
£14 over 100hp
Parking £6.50 for car £6.50 for trailer. Max 20 hrs.
So thats almost £30 for a launch.
Plenty of room in car park during week, advise that it gets full early at weekends and can be congested with dinghy sailors.
On street parking available for free in vicinity say 5 to 10 min walk.

Regarding Calshot last week end:
I believe that over the weekend the winds were unusually (relatively) from the east / north east which would leave it exposed. The 'normal' wind is from SW from which the slip is sheltered.

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kinnell that's a lot of money....
don't suppose parking's free on a sunday, would you know?
re calshot on sunday, yes the wind was from the east, and the problem was the swell kept lifting the boat off the keel rollers and sideways...in the end i drove the trailer further out of the water and dragged the boat up and out..and onto the bunks...wondering how much strain the bow eye is designed to take.. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
Dragging the boat up on the strop should not be a problem. If you launch at Crosshouse it is the normal way of doing it!

Sadly no, the parking is not free on a Sunday. That is the day they make most money.
 
Bucklers Hard is closer and cheaper than Lymington. Also free parking , no tourists rubbernecking (unless the ferry is in) an a decent pub. ITs also a much better slip at mid to low tide than lymington. I was in the boatpark there for 2 years.
 
I used Hythe Marina Slipway on Saturday. What a great slipway! OK, Only 2.5-3 hours either side of tide but wide and nicely angled. Ease of Launch and recovery excellent. Only Issue was Jet Skiers donuting!

Cheers

paul /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
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Bucklers Hard is closer and cheaper than Lymington. Also free parking , no tourists rubbernecking (unless the ferry is in) an a decent pub. ITs also a much better slip at mid to low tide than lymington. I was in the boatpark there for 2 years.

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cheers for that tip damon-i'm going to give it a try.
other than that i think i'm back to christchurch!
 
Launched from Calshot myself today without a problem but boy, the recovery was a mare:(... fair old wind left to right straight across the face of the slip + a tide in the same direction.. tried the drift down to the trailer using the wind and tide with her bum in to the wind but as soon as the boat touched the trailer, the rear end slewed round remarkably quickly so little chance of giving it a quick burst of power to get her on the trailer.. Also tried repostioning the trailer in to the wide / tide as much as possible to no avail either as depth was lost

Ended up beaching the boat to the left of the slip and then used a very long stern line and short bow line to help me keep her aligned to the trailer.. gawd knows what I'd have done if a friendly passer by didn't take the stern line and as for SWMBO, what a super star she was clambering over the trailer to catch the bow line.

some reading and practicing of recovery in strong cross tides/winds to do I think.. + some trailer poles to purchase
 
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oGaryo said:
and practicing of recovery in strong cross tides/winds to do I think.. + some trailer poles to purchase
Click to expand...


With a proper set-up Gaz you should be able to land on the rollered 'run-way' at a reasonable speed and power up the the winch post, with the engine power holding you in place, step over the bow and secure your winch hook.
A signal to a competent crew member to shut off the engine and lift the leg, and its all done. If single handed, just climb back up the winch post to the helm.
Providing there is adequate depth and no loose stones to get drawn into the prop vortex, of course.
 
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Hythe is ok, but while easiest near high tide, you cant even return to the slip at low tide, so that does rather bu**er the day. I have used Bucklers Hard, and I thought it was terrible, unless you have a small light boat, but I m happy to be corrected by locals !
Lymington is ok, but again its better for smaller lighter boats; you can park in some of the residential streets round the back, as it were.
Rollers make life alot easier, but probably wont help in a swell- and they are damn expensive!
Is there an MDL marina with a good slip somewhere nearby ? I dont know how they now charge, but it used to be £35 a time, or £150 a year - and for that you probably get the parking and shower block, so the annual deal was pretty good.
 
Would the other slipway have been any better?
I know it looks as though it belongs to Calshot Cats but I'm sure you can use it and its about 90 degrees to the other slipway. It's also protected from the tide by the spit but be careful not to go too far to the west - Calshot spit dries out. The whole area is very exposed to the wind though and I understand your problem.
 
Hurricane said:
Would the other slipway have been any better?
I know it looks as though it belongs to Calshot Cats but I'm sure you can use it and its about 90 degrees to the other slipway. It's also protected from the tide by the spit but be careful not to go too far to the west - Calshot spit dries out. The whole area is very exposed to the wind though and I understand your problem.
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Looking at the google earth shot of Calshot, most definitely if it's the solent facing one you're referring to?... the wind would have almost been head on. one to bear in mind for next time.

I have a rollercoaster trailer but that didn't help much.. in fact, I don't think I'm using it properly as there's a hump (the rear rollers are on a swinging beam) I need to get over when first manouvering the boat on to the trailer.. it was stopping me from getting the boat on the trailer quickly!! I get the idea for launching but it seems counter productive on recovery.. maybe I'm putting the trailer too far in to the water to make best use of the thing?

what I think I need to practice is to position the boat uptide/wind of the trailer at an angle.. hook the bow in to the first set of rollers and have the sterndrive positioned against the tide / wind to stop the ar$e end slewing around, bringing it straight on once half way on the trailer.. did all that on Sunday apart from the sterndrive hard over bit, doh!

As nightmarish as it sounds/was.. I'm actually relishing the challenge for next time.. saddo that I am, I like learning curves :)
 
oGaryo said:
Looking at the google earth shot of Calshot, most definitely if it's the solent facing one you're referring to?... the wind would have almost been head on. one to bear in mind for next time.
Click to expand...

This is the slip which faces into Southampton Water - most people use this one

P3240069Medium.jpg


But just round the corner, this one faces into the Solent - Calsot Cats use this but I'm sure it isnt exclusively for them.

P3240068Medium.jpg
 
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