Round Britain,by motor boat.

[LONG_KEELER]

I love the idea of running it up a beach each day and roughing it a bit each night. Sprinkled with the odd night in a B&B .

I think most folks on here would need their back trussed up all the time along with a Chiropractor following the route in a car.

 

[V1701]

I'd quite like to do it in my Colvic Watson 34 (sans masts, see avatar). She's beautifully fitted out, has an Isuzu 65hp with only 620 hours run, 430L fuel capacity, 340L water, serious ground tackle, calorifier, shower, warm air heater, etc. Did Lowestoft to Brighton in 26 hours when I bought her and it was a lovely trip. PO took her through the French canals to the Med and back...

 

[LittleSister]

I love the idea of running it up a beach each day and roughing it a bit each night. Sprinkled with the odd night in a B&B .

I read a book by a chap recounting his solo trip round Scotland by sea-kayak, camping on a beach (or rocky ledge!) each night. It was very tough going (aside from the kayaking!).

He said each night on the beach if you didn't have mosquitos (or was it sandflies?) then it was because it was blowing a gale and sheeting it down with rain. Then there were the days hanging around when it was too rough, even for him, to set out.

He did have his girlfriend meet him ashore a couple of times, and had help from locals at times, especially when, having got somewhere near Oban (travelling anti-clockwise) he needed a serious repair to his hull where it had been worn away by being dragged across beaches etc.

He did have some magical times, felt he'd learnt a bit about himself, and raised money for charity, but it was way beyond my endurance or inclination.

I have a vague recollection he later paddled round Ireland, and at one time was a nature warden/ranger on the West Coast of Scotland.

p.s. of course these days you'd need a bigger boat in order to be able to take your video camera, editing gear, satellite gear to upload you YouTube videos, and bikini clad companion .

 

[burgundyben]

I know a Fairey Huntress has done it as has a Nelson 34.

 

[steve yates]

It wasnt mossies or sandflies, it was midges. Have you never had the pleasure? Its not something you forget in a hurry

 

[Wansworth]

Ybw advert banner is suggesting sunseeker Predator 57?

 

[LittleSister]

It wasnt mossies or sandflies, it was midges. Have you never had the pleasure? Its not something you forget in a hurry

Of course it was, silly me.

I have indeed had the, er, pleasure, but my mental defence mechanisms do their best to hide the memory from my conscious mind.

 

[Plum]

It's almost an unanswerable question without an idea of parameters. E.g. what sort of a budget (both the boat and the trip); single-handed or how many crew; are you (or whoever) doing it 'to have been round', or to explore at leisure the places along the way.

I'd say very high priorities would be -
- a seaworthy hull;
- a good diesel inboard - almost essential for availability of fuel in remoter areas, plus reliability, economy, ease of obtaining fuel, battery charging capability, etc;
- a decent anchoring set up (ask on here for advice);
- comfortable sleeping berths, and also sitting (you'd be doing a lot of it) and table arrangements;
- navigation lights and internal lighting;
- a wet locker
- protection from the elements; and
- washing and toilet facilities that are, er, convenient;
- a tender (unless the boat is so small you can get ashore without one).

Beyond that -
- LOA adds speed and comfort, but drives up costs by multiple factors;
- the ability to take the ground comfortably/safely opens up a lot of possibilities;
- heating would be a boon (if only for drying out wet/damp clothing!).

that is an excellent list of priorities although I would add:- A "suitable" fuel range based on 2/3rds of the tank capacity. You will use a lot more fuel in rough water and due to longer sustained cruising speeds, more fuel than you would usually use in your home waters, so you need to have a good understanding of your range. What is "suitable"? 150nM???

www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[E39mad]

Weymouth/Nelson 42 for their seakeeping qualities

Aquastar have a strong following also.

The new Swordfish 32 would get you round fairly swiftly but with a big fuel bill!

 

[LittleSister]

I've just remembered the title of the book I mentioned in post #23 about sea-kayaking and beach camping around Scotland (not much relevance to mobo-ers, I know). It's 'Blazing Paddles', by Brian Wilson.
Blazing Paddles: A Scottish Coastal Odyssey: Amazon.co.uk: Wilson, Brian: 9780953276806: Books

Skimming a few reviews reminded me of lots of aspects of it I'd completely forgotten, and I think I was mistaken in remembering/imagining him going anti-clockwise.

 

[Frogmogman]

The new Swordfish 32 would get you round fairly swiftly but with a big fuel bill!

Pogo Loxo 32 then. Miserly fuel consumption (5.7 litres per hour at cruising speed of 11kts), so 150 litre tank giving 300 miles range. Pretty decent sea boat too by all accounts.

 

[westhinder]

View attachment 140660

Peter Wilson, retired ( circa 85yrs old) Aldeburgh Boatyard owner, has just been around Britain in his motorboat Maudorces a 1925 Silver.
He rebuilt it from the bare-bones and recently installed two new engines.

He and two young guys went Aldeburgh - Ostend - Hartlepool - Edinburgh- Caledonian, Crinian Canals- Belfast-Dublin-somewhere nr Wexford-Scilly Isles. I joined the boat in Falmouth - St Mawes-Salcombe-Dartmouth-Torquay-Weymouth-Hamble-Cowes (2 weeks)- back home. They did approx 1825 miles and spent 2 months. A few local friends joined the boat for short legs along the way.

Might not be quite what you were thinking off but it is comfortable for 4 persons. Can be a bit rolly/bumpy at times. Average 8 knots.

They rafted alongside us in Oostende. Very nice boat, although I hope they were able to avoid big waves as the windows looked a bit vulnerable.

 

[boomerangben]

Not really my thing and an early warning of thread drift…..

I love the look of a Wolstenholm designed Hardy and with a decent lotto win would choose the 50 or perhaps a 65 if it was a Euromillions as a suitable stead to round the U.K. and yes it would include Kilda, Flugga, Sula Sgeir and other not often visited places

but thinking of mobos, big twin engine/twin shaft to give a healthy top speed and redundancy but two big engines running perhaps half power at cruising speeds is not very efficient. Has anyone thought about going diesel electric so you can still run both shafts on one engine at cruise speeds to be more efficient?

 

[LittleSister]

I imagine a 50 for 65 foot boat would be a bit of a constraint, ruling out or making berthing difficult in in some of the interesting and/or convenient small harbours.

In contrast to those, and some of the glamorous boats suggested, I wonder what would be available at the minimalist / budget end of the options?

Some decades ago I was looking for a budget boat, albeit a sailing one, for extensive coastal cruising, and somewhat in reaction to my experience of the tedious constraints of petrol outboards for that use, one of my main criteria was a diesel inboard (another being a separate heads compartment).

My researches suggested that a 19 foot Mirror Offshore Mk 1 motor-sailer was the smallest boat that met those criteria. Despite having some years earlier thought, as I'd rapidly overtaken one in my Hurley 22 while noticing how tubby it looked, 'Thank goodness I don't have one of those', I became quite enamoured by the idea. I got as far as having an offer accepted on one, but pulled out after closer inspection revealed some bodges by the supposed ex-boatbuilder who'd refurbished it that would require un-bodging.

Blow me if some years later the mighty Mirror Offshore wasn't the boat of choice (or perhaps necessity) by Dylan Winter for his "Keep Turning Left' slow circumnavigation of Britain. He had engine problems that he seemed never to properly get to grips with, developed an aversion to inboards, and eventually went up in size and glamour first to a 22ft Hunter (forgotten name, gaff version of the Liberty), then a Centaur. I still think the Mirror Offshore (with a decent inboard) has considerable merit for such use (while acknowledging its shortcomings).

I wonder what the mobo equivalent would be.

I have to admit that even if I both went to the dark side and won the Euromillions I wouldn't have a 50 or 60 footer. I crewed a luxury mobo of a similar size on a delivery trip. It was fantastic in many ways, more luxurious and better equipped than any house I've ever lived in, and bigger, even, than some of them. It was, however, for passage making the most boring vessel, cross-channel ferries excepted, of any I've ever been on.

 

[Wansworth]

I imagine a 50 for 65 foot boat would be a bit of a constraint, ruling out or making berthing difficult in in some of the interesting and/or convenient small harbours.

In contrast to those, and some of the glamorous boats suggested, I wonder what would be available at the minimalist / budget end of the options?

Some decades ago I was looking for a budget boat, albeit a sailing one, for extensive coastal cruising, and somewhat in reaction to my experience of the tedious constraints of petrol outboards for that use, one of my main criteria was a diesel inboard (another being a separate heads compartment).

My researches suggested that a 19 foot Mirror Offshore Mk 1 motor-sailer was the smallest boat that met those criteria. Despite having some years earlier thought, as I'd rapidly overtaken one in my Hurley 22 while noticing how tubby it looked, 'Thank goodness I don't have one of those', I became quite enamoured by the idea. I got as far as having an offer accepted on one, but pulled out after closer inspection revealed some bodges by the supposed ex-boatbuilder who'd refurbished it that would require un-bodging.

Blow me if some years later the mighty Mirror Offshore wasn't the boat of choice (or perhaps necessity) by Dylan Winter for his "Keep Turning Left' slow circumnavigation of Britain. He had engine problems that he seemed never to properly get to grips with, developed an aversion to inboards, and eventually went up in size and glamour first to a 22ft Hunter (forgotten name, gaff version of the Liberty), then a Centaur. I still think the Mirror Offshore (with a decent inboard) has considerable merit for such use (while acknowledging its shortcomings).

I wonder what the mobo equivalent would be.

I have to admit that even if I both went to the dark side and won the Euromillions I wouldn't have a 50 or 60 footer. I crewed a luxury mobo of a similar size on a delivery trip. It was fantastic in many ways, more luxurious and better equipped than any house I've ever lived in, and bigger, even, than some of them. It was, however, for passage making the most boring vessel, cross-channel ferries excepted, of any I've ever been on.

Must be stressing for a multimillionaire to HAVE to choose a bloody great boat when a practical smaller boat would do

 

[Frogmogman]

Must be stressing for a multimillionaire to HAVE to choose a bloody great boat when a practical smaller boat would do

One of the fundamental laws of Naval Architecture is that the joy you get from a boat is in inverse proportion to it’s size.

Ask @Bajansailor, he’ll tell you.

He’s a proper naval architect.

 

[Greemble]

I have to admit that even if I both went to the dark side and won the Euromillions I wouldn't have a 50 or 60 footer. I crewed a luxury mobo of a similar size on a delivery trip. /.../ It was, however, for passage making the most boring vessel, cross-channel ferries excepted, of any I've ever been on.

I always imagined, never having own such a vessel, that motoring in a fairly large, comfortable motorboat would be a similar experience to driving a motorhome around the county - at about 12mph, all the way.

 

[srm]

I always imagined, never having own such a vessel, that motoring in a fairly large, comfortable motorboat would be a similar experience to driving a motorhome around the county - at about 12mph, all the way.

Not a bad description, having spent time on a few such vessels when working as a hydrographic surveyor. I soon concluded that for me motorboats were strictly for work and sail for pleasure.

 

[Seashoreman]

They rafted alongside us in Oostende. Very nice boat, although I hope they were able to avoid big waves as the windows looked a bit vulnerable.

Yes, they do look like big slabs of glass. I have been in fairly rough conditions on this boat and fortunately the waves have broken on the bow not the wheelhouse. As the glass is original it has bevelled edges which can make night time sailing through busy lights and wind-farms 'interesting'.

 

[KREW2]

Bill Folley is doing it at the moment, but he has gone through the canal. I met him a few months ago in Weymouth he was bringing his new to him Seaward 25, Gulliver from the Solent to Teignmouth. His blogging is not the best but I have been following him with interest, as I too have a Seaward 25. Unfortunately he lost both engines approaching Grimsby, he explains what happened in one of his postings on his You tube channel. If anyone is interested there is a link on this page.
All aboard the Gulliver for round UK voyage with Shaldon skipper Bill Folley | middevonadvertiser.co.uk