first ever crossing of the ATLANTIC!.

[oldvarnish]

I've done it both ways in a boat that was equipped to pretty much a Channel crossing standard, and no more.
You can add all manner of gear, but I think simplicity is what gets you there in the end. Remember all those guys who've done it in crazy little vessels.
Be strong in yourself! Let, 'It aint the ships, it's the men that's in 'e' be your motto.
And have a good wind vane s.steering. And take lots of grub and no booze.

 

[prv]

medipack registration - gets you a doctor on call a medical pack with morphine

Got a link for that? Unfortunately there are too many other things called Medipack for me to find it via Google.

Pete

 

[William_H]

Atlantic crossing

No experience however it seems to me that as said the ability to fix things is most important. You must know the boats electrical and fuel systems. Give the boat as much shake down cruising as possible.
Remember you are buying a boat that may have or will have all sorts of problems.
A friend recently did a delivery, Greece to West Oz and arrived with no electrics and no engine. Sat phone seems to be vital these days if only as back up for weather etc.
It seems to me that mostly you need the nature and character of you and your crew to handle the difficulties. I don't think I have. olewill

 

[iangrant]

Link

Got a link for that? Unfortunately there are too many other things called Medipack for me to find it via Google.

Pete

http://www.e-med.co.uk/medipac.html

 

[Deleted member 36384]

..... Plus, you'll have to pay VAT on the import - soon to be 20% of whatever you paid for it - more if HMRC believe it was undervalued in relation to the UK market.....

Friends import Harley Davidsons and they have tried all sorts to get low cost bikes charged at the price they claim to pay; no luck at all. The tax man has his book of prices and you pay tax on that value, end of story.

There are loads of books on sailing across the atlantic full of good ideas buy some and read up. Oldvarnish has it spot on. If you are buying low cost s h i t e boats then who knows what.

Plan to stay afloat, keep the mast up or make a jury rig and know where you are without relying on the ships batteries. Food and water aside the rest is optional. An EPIRB is a sensible item to take.

thanx for all the input....i will be flyin to the usa ,then purchasing a forty footer because they are cheaper......im sourcing it from a few web sites.....and after arriving in cardiff....will refit and sell. then return and repeat the process.....until i find THE ONE to keep...lol.....again thank you for your input

Expect full body cavity searches on the second boat trip back. On the 3rd the suits will probably be investigating your cash flow as your activity profile raises the probability of enterprising activities that are not compliant with our moral code. On the 4th trip some Latino will show you a picture of your loved ones and tell you that a big package will have to be taken by you to the UK. You are now a mule and the suits will be allowed to know this.

 

[alant]

Friends import Harley Davidsons and they have tried all sorts to get low cost bikes charged at the price they claim to pay; no luck at all. The tax man has his book of prices and you pay tax on that value, end of story.

There are loads of books on sailing across the atlantic full of good ideas buy some and read up. Oldvarnish has it spot on. If you are buying low cost s h i t e boats then who knows what.

Plan to stay afloat, keep the mast up or make a jury rig and know where you are without relying on the ships batteries. Food and water aside the rest is optional. An EPIRB is a sensible item to take.



Expect full body cavity searches on the second boat trip back. On the 3rd the suits will probably be investigating your cash flow as your activity profile raises the probability of enterprising activities that are not compliant with our moral code. On the 4th trip some Latino will show you a picture of your loved ones and tell you that a big package will have to be taken by you to the UK. You are now a mule and the suits will be allowed to know this.

"The tax man has his book of prices and you pay tax on that value, end of story."

Your ok, if the boat was built pre-1984.

Might be a bit of a dog though.

 

[Neil_Y]

Nice idea and easy enough, but allow for at least £5,000 in wear and tear on the crossing.

In terms of preperation, rudders get a hammering as does any self steering gear, so they should be inspected closely, and as others have said be equiped to fix anything should it break. Spare rigging wires we carried two shroud wires and clamps to allow a jury rig of rigging if it was damaged and still standing.

Lots of spare (long) rope/line some pieces of 10mm ply to fashion a jury window if the boat has largish perspex windows.

A sextant tables and a watch, most common failures for me have been electrics and gps systems. If you're buying an old boat I would think about getting a set of new batteries before the crossing and a towed generator.

I have a portable nav/weather/generator/epirb set up with a towed gen, nasa ssb and laptop that I take with me on deliveries or long passages, this gives me an independant source of comms and data.

You will also be likely to need a proper storm sail set up as there is every chance you will get a bit of a blow at some point.

Good luck, it coulod be fun but I can't see you making much of a margin to cover the likely costs and time spent delivering.

 

[gardenshed]

I've a friend who has been delivering boats since the early 80's. His advice is all about spending time on the boat before departure to make sure that the boat is OK and he uses the attached simple checklist:

Item
01 Liferaft. In service. Test cert.
02 Lifejackets. For whole crew
03 Flares. In date ? numbers ?
04 EPIRB. In date? Frequency ?
05 Harnesses. For whole crew?
06 VHF. Working?
07 Emergency VHF Antenna
08 Lifebouys, lights and drogues
09 Danbouy
10 Radar reflector
11 Foghorn. Spare canisters?
12 Torches. 2 min.Batteries, bulbs
13 Comprehensive first aid kit, manual
14 Rig severence tools
15 Soft wood plugs, fit holes?
16 Buckets. 2 min. robust, lanyards
17 Fire ext. Number, size, type, location
18 Engine Auto extinguisher
19 Fire blanket
20 Em. Water (adequate for passage)
21 Em. Fuel (adequate for passage)
22 Bosuns chair
23 Emergency tiller. Fits?
24 Bilge pumps. Work, number, location ?
25 Storm Jib. Can be set?
26 Storm Trysail. Or deep reefs. Set?
27 Main anchor. Cable. Secured? End?
28 Kedge anchor and cable
29 Toolkit. Adequate for vessel
30 Spare halyards. To top of mast
31 Nav. Lights. Alternative / emergency

you'll notice the lack of toys on this, unlike the ARC and YM articles. In my view, they are all about comfort and ease of making the crossing (and selling the kit) and are focussed on making the east to west crossing a long sunny and enjoyable holiday.
chichester, rose, knox-johnstone et al managed with basic kit, you can too.

Yes the world is a different place today and the comfort and peace of mind from radar, plotters, water makers, fridges, full electronic instrumentation etc is nice, but for your venture, likely only to add expense, delay & complication (fitting and commissioning) but then it will give you something to do during the voyage (fixing & generally messing about with it all!)

 

[Twister_Ken]

Your ok, if the boat was built pre-1984.

No. To be grandfathered for VAT and RCD purposes it has to have been EU built prior to end-1985 AND in the EU on December 31st 1992.

 

[westernman]

To the good list from gardenshed I would add a second way of recharging your batteries in case your alternator dies (as mine has done in the past). This could be via solar panels, wind generator, a towed generator or a separate generator.

It would be very inconvenient to not have any electricity at all during a long crossing.

 

[fisherZ]

If you're after adventure over profit then go for it, but.......if not, you may find it cheaper and a lot less hassle to have it shipped.
It might be worth asking a few brokers for their opinion on what sells easily.
But don't tell them what you intend to do, otherwise they'll probably say "anything Ferro Cement"

 

[tcm]

um not sure a kedge anchor is right up there.

Having approachd azores from west a few times the main requests on vhf i have is for diesel! Cos there can be be lots of wind and/or lots of calms.

 

[TradewindSailor]

thanx for all the input....i will be flyin to the usa ,then purchasing a forty footer because they are cheaper......im sourcing it from a few web sites.....and after arriving in cardiff....will refit and sell. then return and repeat the process.....until i find THE ONE to keep...lol.....again thank you for your input

Unless you intend importing the boats into European waters i.e. meeting current day RCD requirements and paying VAT ..... and any other import taxes ..... you will risk your boat being confiscated and a jail sentence. It wont take long for any broker, surveyor, or customs officer to trace the boat back to you.

If you intend to do all the proper importation I doubt if it will be worth the bother.

 

[st599]

http://www.e-med.co.uk/medipac.html

Don't think that does include morphine.

 

[prv]

Don't think that does include morphine.

No, a bit of local anaesthetic only. They say in the FAQ (for their services generally, not just the Medipack) that they don't prescribe abusable medicines, which I guess is sensible when anyone can email them and potentially get a prescription. The pack and advice service still look like they could be useful on a cruise.

That said, I'm slightly leery of the fact that they've previously offered a pack containing homeopathic woo-juice. That puts a bit of a dent in their credibility. Also that their published "team" includes a nurse and a psychotherapist, but the only qualified doctor is described as "non-practising". Who is actually providing the consultations, and why aren't they listed on that page?

Pete

 

[tcm]

Not morphine but things like Tramodol are allowed for mega pain relief?

 

[ariette]

Dubarry boots. Expensive but essential. Wore mine for two weeks solid on my crossing last year and the benefit of warm feet cannot be over stressed.

 

[alant]

Don't think that does include morphine.

Think you need a 'Ships Captains medical' or the equivalent cert to obtain this onboard - all sorts of regs regarding storage/landing at destinations.

 

[uforea]

No one has yet mentioned one very important factor, Crew! How well do you know each other, have you sailed together a lot, is there a natural leader that the others will follow. You may be living on top of each other for 4 or 5 weeks and things can get out of hand very quickly and easily for little or no reason at all.
Some years ago four guys from our club did just what you are proposing and although they got the boat back there was a lot of grief on the way with one of them jumping ship at the Azores and now the others barely speak to each other.

Ted

 

[Cornishmuttley]

Apart from your certificate for the men in white coats I would recommend when you are not thinking about the boat and contents that you take a few moments to think about each of your crew. If you do not know them well perhaps a discussion in the pub about their thoughts and fears and their ideas. Make sure you have a good understanding of your watch process and perhaps list and laminate duties of all crew at various stages. It's about people as well as the boat. I hope you enjoy it.