Crossing channel in single engine boat

[julians]

I'm in two minds about this, on one hand I agree with everyone who says that a single well maintained engine should be fine, but then on the other hand I have first hand experience of various failures of a single engine that were 'well maintained'.

I guess you could say if the engine failed then they werent by definition well maintained, but I'm not sure what more can be done other than to service the engine as per manufacturers guidelines, and check the engine over before each trip.

These are the failures I've experienced with single engines, none of these failures ended in any sort of disaster etc, but they could have done if circumstances were different:-

- Thermostat stuck closed (on petrol V8) - didnt stop me from getting home as I fixed it on the water
- Outdrive gears failed (petrol v8 again) -didnt stop me getting home, as I was only 2 miles from home when it occured, not sure how long the outdrive would have run for if I was miles from anywhere.
- Outdrive drive shaft failed (volvo diesel) - didnt stop me getting home, as I was only .5 miles from home when it occured, not sure how long the outdrive would have run for if I was miles from anywhere.

I've also had both engines effectively fail on a twin engined boat, this did stop me getting home, had to flag a passing vessel down for a tow in.

For this specific question from the OP, I think the op has done all he possibly can (and more) to mitigate the usual risks he might face, so crack on I reckon. I'd do it based on the info given here.

I agree with the people who say that as you get more experience you become less complacent and more aware of the risks.

 

[RupertW]

Always best to try to berth bow towards next boat stern, when moored alongside another yacht, prevents chances of mast clashing & preserves privacy in cockpit. However, many owners are like lemmings & do what the next guy has done.

I think he must have done it at some speed coming in - there were a lot of charter boats coming in and out of empty berths at that marina and we often heard the dreaded bowthruster whine as warning that a numpty was on the way in (huge turning room in that marina, sheltered from the wind and no current). But when we are not around to fend off or help them tie then the boat was vulnerable as eventually proved.

 

[franksingleton]

I'm in two minds about this, on one hand I agree with everyone who says that a single well maintained engine should be fine, but then on the other hand I have first hand experience of various failures of a single engine that were 'well maintained'.

.

I am not a motor-boater. My only comment is that I have seen many motor boats, especially with outboard engines, carrying a spare, get-you-home engine. On the face of it, it seems sensible. How necessary, I have no idea.

 

[longjohnsilver]

I am not a motor-boater. My only comment is that I have seen many motor boats, especially with outboard engines, carrying a spare, get-you-home engine. On the face of it, it seems sensible. How necessary, I have no idea.

In 20 odd years and many thousands of hours running a single engined boat I broke down just once, a fuel lift pump stopped working. I carried a spare after that along with lots of filters etc. The engine stopped quite a few times with fuel issues, but I always got it going again. A spare engine was both impractical and imho unnecessary.

 

[JYAK]

I might of been the one that restarted this debate about a week ago asking about the guy crossing the channel in his Beneteau cause I'm planning to do a crossing in a very similar setup,just like to say thank you to everyone,I'm so amazed at the response,very interesting reading,such different reviews,even through i have done a lot of big trips in my time whilst on yacht deliveries,for me crossing the english channel in a 24ft sports boat is quite exciting,took everyones advice on board and looking forward to the trip

 

[paul salliss]

In 20 odd years and many thousands of hours running a single engined boat I broke down just once, a fuel lift pump stopped working. I carried a spare after that along with lots of filters etc. The engine stopped quite a few times with fuel issues, but I always got it going again. A spare engine was both impractical and

Fantastic and I am raising a glass you you now. Happy boating

 

[blampied]

You have got me all wrong I am not talking about people like you. Let me explain from a non boaty perspective. I have a relative that has worked in corporate world all her life and she is sick of it. She has for years dreamt of starting her own business. She has a plan and a good base to start from, but everyone ( bar me) is being very well meaning but saying have you thought of this, and what if this goes wrong etc etc and placing real doubt in her head. My view is that she will nail it on her own, she is bright charismatic and knows her stuff and more importantly well connected. So gues what I am "go for it" and that comes through in my posts on this forum. . Not because I am right or wrong ( believe me when I say there are far more intelligent people than me on here), it's because I am passionate about getting everything out of this life while you can and a guy who wants to cross the sodding channel won't be helped on his way buy 20 very well meaning people saying "hold fire, have you thought of this" he is no doubt a bright and good man with a plan, so sometimes in life you have to go for it and when it comes to boating you know what it will probably be just fine and his sense of achievement will be great when he reaches France. Now any minute now some smart arse will pop and and destroy this post but guess what I could not give a toss coz life is too short to be sat about talking yourself out of things. I am more interested in the bloke that just took his single engined boat to bloody Africa!! That's a story actually worth talking about

Africa may be a bit strong, as we only touched on the top bit, going into Ceuta and Morocco.

We (Me and SWMBO) decided to take our single engine Aquastar 33 on a little retirement cruise. No rush to get back,
But we ended up being gone a bit longer than planned, took us 4 years. Only got back this September.

5,500 Miles. Apart from a knackered impeller, blowing the Alternator twice, (alternator didn’t like us trying to run air con through an inverter) the bow thruster dying, and a leaky turbo oil pipe, all we did was have the old Volvo TAMD 63p serviced yearly.

Jersey to La Havre through the Canals to Paris to Lyon to Port st Louis in the Med (one whole summer gone)
Over wintered at La Grande Motte
French Med ports going west, then Spanish med ports going south.
Overwintered in Spain at Cartagena (best winter we ever had, T-shirt’s and shorts and BBQs all winter)
Gibraltar across the straits to Ceuta then into Morocco
Scariest part of the 4 year trip was coming back across the straits from Ceuta to Gib across the shipping lanes in thick fog when a whale bigger than our 33 ft boat suddenly appeared within spitting distance. (Bloody thing was going the wrong way up the shipping channel and not broadcasting on AIS)
Back up Spanish coast going north, then French coast heading east.
Overwintered in Toulon. (Bloody cold winter stop) was a good place for watching the six nations rugby, the only brits cheering England in the home of French Rugby.
Carried on to Monaco (probabally thought we were a scruffy little tender to a proper boat)
Then San Remo in Italy, before we had to turn around to start heading back along the French coat then into Canal du Midi.
Through Canal du Midi to Bordeaux, La Rochelle and up the Atlantic coast to Roche Bernard,
Through Rennes and Rance River system to St Malo and back to Jersey In September 2017.

Over winter I have been giving the boat a refit ready for us to depart in May,
For family reasons we will probabally keep a bit closer to home this time, maybe we will go as far as La Rochelle, but then the Med is beckoning us to return, I like the warm weather, so we will not be ruling it out)

Below is a photo of the route
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5uiwe279jjyhuiu/Photo 17-09-2017, 19 18 55.jpg?dl=0

 

[longjohnsilver]

In 20 odd years and many thousands of hours running a single engined boat I broke down just once, a fuel lift pump stopped working. I carried a spare after that along with lots of filters etc. The engine stopped quite a few times with fuel issues, but I always got it going again. A spare engine was both impractical and

Fantastic and I am raising a glass you you now. Happy boating

My boating is always happy and fun!:encouragement:

 

[paul salliss]

Africa may be a bit strong, as we only touched on the top bit, going into Ceuta and Morocco.

We (Me and SWMBO) decided to take our single engine Aquastar 33 on a little retirement cruise. No rush to get back,
But we ended up being gone a bit longer than planned, took us 4 years. Only got back this September.

5,500 Miles. Apart from a knackered impeller, blowing the Alternator twice, (alternator didn’t like us trying to run air con through an inverter) the bow thruster dying, and a leaky turbo oil pipe, all we did was have the old Volvo TAMD 63p serviced yearly.

Jersey to La Havre through the Canals to Paris to Lyon to Port st Louis in the Med (one whole summer gone)
Over wintered at La Grande Motte
French Med ports going west, then Spanish med ports going south.
Overwintered in Spain at Cartagena (best winter we ever had, T-shirt’s and shorts and BBQs all winter)
Gibraltar across the straits to Ceuta then into Morocco
Scariest part of the 4 year trip was coming back across the straits from Ceuta to Gib across the shipping lanes in thick fog when a whale bigger than our 33 ft boat suddenly appeared within spitting distance. (Bloody thing was going the wrong way up the shipping channel and not broadcasting on AIS)
Back up Spanish coast going north, then French coast heading east.
Overwintered in Toulon. (Bloody cold winter stop) was a good place for watching the six nations rugby, the only brits cheering England in the home of French Rugby.
Carried on to Monaco (probabally thought we were a scruffy little tender to a proper boat)
Then San Remo in Italy, before we had to turn around to start heading back along the French coat then into Canal du Midi.
Through Canal du Midi to Bordeaux, La Rochelle and up the Atlantic coast to Roche Bernard,
Through Rennes and Rance River system to St Malo and back to Jersey In September 2017.

Over winter I have been giving the boat a refit ready for us to depart in May,
For family reasons we will probabally keep a bit closer to home this time, maybe we will go as far as La Rochelle, but then the Med is beckoning us to return, I like the warm weather, so we will not be ruling it out)

Below is a photo of the route
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5uiwe279jjyhuiu/Photo 17-09-2017, 19 18 55.jpg?dl=0

When I said this was a story worth talking about I was not wrong was I. What an amazing trip and I envy the fact that you have the time to do that, ( the whale sounds scary.) I do know Cartagena very well, it has been a very well trodden path to that place for my family as its been used by myself and my mates for years as a winter test track for motorcycle racing as there is a great track there and yes I agree you would have had a lovely winter at that place. I am going to get out a map / charts and try to " map out" your route as its all very interesting. Thank you for the post and the detail and may I wish you the very best with the refit. Go well. Paul

 

[Jamiekent]

Birchwood TS54

Hi, can anyone of you experts give me some advice on this also, would a Birchwood TS54 that I am about to purchase, would it comfortably cross the channel?

Thank you

 

[Dazzajohm]

Hi, can anyone of you experts give me some advice on this also, would a Birchwood TS54 that I am about to purchase, would it comfortably cross the channel?

Thank you

I’ve been across to both Calais and Boulogne in my Princess 266 without any issue so I would imagine you will be fine.

Which Marina will you be based from?

 

[Jamiekent]

Dazza thanks for the reply mate, much appreciated.

I am in bristol at the moment but looking to get a berth in either Chatham or Dover.

I have been doing lots of research online and a lot of people tend to say not to cross because it’s so dangerous due to the vast amount of ships and boats crossing?

Was yours an easy smooth crossing?

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Re: Birchwood TS54

Hi, can anyone of you experts give me some advice on this also, would a Birchwood TS54 that I am about to purchase, would it comfortably cross the channel?

Thank you

Blimey yes thats a huge boat, even for a 54 footer, compared to many that safely cross the Channel. Providing the mechanicals are in good order you would be fine. Obviously you would pick your weather like any prudent skipper

 

[CLB]

Re: Birchwood TS54

54ft, blimey. The smallest I have been across in was 18ft. I think you will survive

 

[Jamiekent]

Re: Birchwood TS54

Mike thank you for the reply, much appreciated.

Have you crossed the channel yourself?

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Re: Birchwood TS54

Mike thank you for the reply, much appreciated.

Have you crossed the channel yourself?

We spent 12 years pootling about the Channel before we moved to the Med in 2003. Yes we crossed the Channel many times and cruised everywhere from Holland to the Scilly Isles including a trip to Paris and down the west coast of Brittany and most of that was before the advent of GPS! And none of that was done in a boat as big as a TS54! The smallest boat we crossed the Channel in was a 30 footer. The best advice I can give is to do your first Channel crossing in company with one or more other boats. It is a huge comfort to know that if the worst comes to the worst, you have another boat around to help. In fact we did many of our trips in company on the old MBM cruises. I dont know whether you know but MBM (Motor Boat Monthly) which ceased publication a few years back, used to run cruises in company for its readers which was a great way to do trips which you might not otherwise do on your own. Check out if you can get on any cruises in company. I dont know whether they still operate them but MDL and the RYA used to do them. Otherwise use this forum to find other boat owners who might want to do a Channel crossing with you!

 

[Dazzajohm]

Dazza thanks for the reply mate, much appreciated.

I am in bristol at the moment but looking to get a berth in either Chatham or Dover.

I have been doing lots of research online and a lot of people tend to say not to cross because it’s so dangerous due to the vast amount of ships and boats crossing?

Was yours an easy smooth crossing?

Ah right OK, berthing in Dover as a visitor or moving to a permanent mooring there?

My crossings have always been fine. Obviously I plan around the weather and have never had any problems. My cruising speed averages at around 19knts so I can do Boulogne in around 2hrs door to door taking in to account the inevitable hold up getting in and out of port and I can do Calais in an hour an a half.

I've got AIS and Radar on my boat which I think is invaluable when crossing the TSS as it allows me to plan well ahead as to whether I need to make course alterations or slow down slightly etc and with this in mind never had any issues with the ships in the lanes - I just keep an eye on my CPA and adjust accordingly and all goes well.

 

[Dazzajohm]

Dazza thanks for the reply mate, much appreciated.

I am in bristol at the moment but looking to get a berth in either Chatham or Dover.

I have been doing lots of research online and a lot of people tend to say not to cross because it’s so dangerous due to the vast amount of ships and boats crossing?

Was yours an easy smooth crossing?

Ah right OK, berthing in Dover as a visitor or moving to a permanent mooring there?

My crossings have always been fine. Obviously I plan around the weather and have never had any problems. My cruising speed averages at around 19knts so I can do Boulogne in around 2hrs door to door taking in to account the inevitable hold up getting in and out of port and I can do Calais in an hour an a half.

I've got AIS and Radar on my boat which I think is invaluable when crossing the TSS as it allows me to plan well ahead as to whether I need to make course alterations or slow down slightly etc and with this in mind never had any issues with the ships in the lanes - I just keep an eye on my CPA and adjust accordingly and all goes well.

 

[JYAK]

I crossed the channel 4 weeks ago in a 23ft sports boat with a suzuki 300hp outboard on the back from falmouth to Rosscoff then followed the coast east onto the channel islands then crossed again from guernsey to salcombe,saw about 8 big ships in total, the channel is not as busy as people make out, ships are miles apart, you would have nothing to worry about there,good weather forecast then its happy days

 

[TRH]

I always carry a spare outboard just in case,only has to be big enough to get you moving and out of trouble.