Singlehanded round the UK - which boat?

[iLens]

I sold my last boat several years ago, but next year it's time to tick off a bucket list item and sail round the UK singlehanded - but which boat should I buy (I've a budget of up to £50K)?

• Long keel of fin? (I've mainly sailed fin-keelers)
• Bigger, to handle big seas and sail faster, or smaller for manoeuverability when anchoring, mooring, docking, etc. ?
• Wheel or tiller? (I've had problems with wheelpilots and you can take a spare tillerpilot, but I like the support a wheel gives in big seas)
• Self-tacking jib + Gennaker, or cutter rig, or conventional large furling Genoa?

Ideas based on experience, please

 

[EdWingfield]

I'm single-handed on lap 2. Boat is shallow wing keel Beneteau 331 with plate. I don't sail when it is horrible. Sails are genoa and main. Both are deep reefable. If I was to choose another boat I'd downsize to 29'. Have up to date Navigation and good heating. You'll benefit from an autopilot.

 

[Kelpie]

What is your timescale for this? That will make a huge difference IMHO to your needs and priorities.
Are you a marina lover, a happy hooker, or somewhere inbetween?
Just about any boat can do it- it's been done in Lasers, Wayfarers, Corribees, and pretty much any othe type of boat you care to name.

 

[westhinder]

As Kelpie says, just about any boat can do it, but I would add: provided the boat is in good nick and well prepared. You do not want to be mending things that have broken down at the far corners of the UK, when you're there you're supposed to be enjoying yourself. I know it would have ruined my enjoyment if I didn't have full confidence in my boat. In the end I went round without so much as a single technical issue and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[E39mad]

A friend did it in a Dragonfly .......... he now has a Vancouver 34!!

The V34 is a great boat for single handing and designed as a cutter from the outset. Easy on the helm or autopilot. Easier to handle to the sails and get better drive when going to windward in a blow with the staysail and deep reefed main as all the effort is low down in the centre and not pushing you sideways like most deep reefed genoas.

 

[iLens]

I should have said - leisurely (April-October) with some longer stops along the way where my non-sailing wife can join me for a bit of "caravanning".
Happy with anchorages, but need a marina occasionally.

 

[Tranona]

I should have said - leisurely (April-October) with some longer stops along the way where my non-sailing wife can join me for a bit of "caravanning".
Happy with anchorages, but need a marina occasionally.

As already said any boat will do it and your choice depends on the level of comfort required and your personal preference of style - plus budget of course. The key to success is preparation - yourself and the boat.

There is masses written about it in books, magazine articles and blogs and there is no one way of going about it. Basic decisions are about which way round, how far north you go and whether you want to day sail and follow the coast closely. The biggest challenge in planning, particularly if day sailing is managing the tides headlands and tidal gates.

 

[Minchsailor]

A circumnavigation of the UK in a leisurely way is basically is a batch of day sails, with probably a couple of longer legs on the east coast. On that basis, any boat will do.

If you are mostly single-handed you don't want a boat too big and too heavy to handle, which puts a practical limit at around 36ft. Things like cutter rig might make life a bit easier.

On the other hand, you will be living on the boat for an extended time, so you don't want it too small. You will want a decent sized galley and heads, and a good saloon you can relax in. I doubt if you will get these in less than about 30ft.

I wouldn't want a boat with too deep a draught. My boat is 1.8m (Rustler 36), and I am glad it is not more. I sometimes think that something like an Island Packet, which is somewhat shallower but still a good sailor, would not be amiss.

I would worry more about those than whether it has wheel or tiller steering.

As Tranona writes, how far north will you go? If you truly want to go round the UK that means sailing up to the N of the Shetland Islands and round Muckle Flugga. That is a long way north, much further than many people realise (I was up that way this summer - and very nice it is too), or will you 'just' go round mainland UK?, or the short cut through the Caledonian canal?

Clockwise, or anticlockwise.?

 

[dunedin]

Something with a reliable, economical and quiet engine - from the number of reports on here of the amount of time spent motoring on round (usually a subset of) Britain trips.

 

[ancient mariner]

If looking to 'downsize' then how about a Sadler 26? Did the Round Britain circuit myself in 2014 - round the top of Scotland taking in the Orkneys on the way - 4 months and 1 day from start to finish. Tiller steering and a wonderful 'bullet proof' unsinkable yacht to boot. Great trip.... great adventure. Keep it simple....as the advert says... Just Do It!

 

[Gwylan]

After two attempts.

Biggest boat for the best average speed and sea keeping. Trade off against marina fees, unless you plan to anchor everywhere.
Good ground tackle and winch, preferably electric. Another battery!

Must have a reliable 'Otto', automatic helm, preferably wind vane. driven.

Reefing from the cockpit and single handed. Big genoa is usually heavy and this will not set in lighter winds - more of a problem than you can imagine. Make a lighter one a priority.

Reliable engine, cabin heating.

Lots of batteries, split into duty areas. E.g. engine starting, navigation, domestic, fridge. Though why anyone needs a fridge for a circumnavigation beats me. Unless it is to stop the milk freezing.

 

[iLens]

I visited Muckle Flugga a couple of years ago, but we were coming from Bergen. We then went on to Fair Isle, Orkney and hence to the Caledonian Canal... a great trip. I think I'll miss out Shetland this time, but the Hebrides and Orkney are essential. Oh, and clockwise, I think!

 

[iLens]

"After two attempts." - did you have to give up?

 

[jamie N]

A Folkboat, obviously, or derivative. Autohelm and windvane for ease, good engines,
(inboard and outboard for the rubber tender), cockpit tent for doubling the cabin size and giving relaxation space to enjoy where you're at.

 

[grumpy_o_g]

For the sake of my comfort I'd want something that could maintain a reasonable speed regardless of conditions (for the long legs) and that didn't turn into a washing machine in the nasty little short choppy seas we get around the UK so much. That would mean something with a reasonable LWL and not too light a displacement to me. Something in the mid-30 foot area sounds about right to me and tending to medium displacement or slightly heavier. If you have the time inclination you could buy something that a little older but sound and spend some money on turning it into the boat you want. Something that can dry out but is still manoeuvrable in tight harbours would be good too, preferably without needing the Mariana Trench to float her.

 

[EdWingfield]

The English Channel favours a NE passage because of what Cunliffe calls 'the gravy train'. My 1.5 circumnavs have been SW, against the gravy train. 1. was on the English side. 2. On the French side.

Because of the limited ebb stream, and earlier HWs ahead you will require more time for this passage. Or, if you get a kind wind where you can go fast, you will be tempted to grab that wind until you are exhausted. But then you will have missed so many nice places to visit.

Just something to consider.

Lap 2 has included Jersey, but not Les Minquieres. They were sacrificed.

Boat is mothballed afloat in lower Clyde.

 

[Sandy]

cabin heating.

Really, its the UK not Iceland.

 

[richardsn9]

I have found cabin heating a godsend to warm up the crew and dry things out, cruising in Scotland, even in mid-summer!

 

[Kelpie]

I have found cabin heating a godsend to warm up the crew and dry things out, cruising in Scotland, even in mid-summer!

Agreed! I presume you could achieve the same thing by plugging in a heater if you had access to shore power, but chances are that the places that have the fewest marinas are also the places where you are most likely to need heating...

 

[Slycat]

Can confirm. I dont have much heating in my 30ft but when doing extended cruising its the ability to dry out everything I really missed!