Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
It is a Hanse . I do not think that will be a problem for most of the way round esp as he has chosen a fairly new boat
Singlehanded round the UK - which boat?
- Thread starter iLens
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It is a Hanse . I do not think that will be a problem for most of the way round esp as he has chosen a fairly new boat
Tranona
Well-Known Member
He will, however benefit from a larger headsail for sailing off the wind so hope he has a cruising chute or large light weather genoa (which was a regular option on the boat when new).
ashtead
Well-Known Member
It was a comparative statement intended to draw out some further info . Clearly a Hanse will not be as slow as say a HR of same length which I assume is point re new Hanse and isn't a real problem in the Solent when on a short hop travelling down to Yarmouth say when manoverability might be more important but I would have thought if you were leaving the confines of the Solent and the hazards of congestion even when travelling to say Portland or Brighton conditions might merit a larger sail to enhance enjoyment. Clearly it's not essential but you might expect to reduce the crossing time which as a single handed even if an auto might be a relevant consideration ?
mainsail1
Well-Known Member
Yes, that is what I thought.
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
Trouble is that when it gets above 12 kts the genny is not needed & at 16 -17 Kts may need furling. Most self tackers have annoying battens ( 3 of my 4 STs do) & doing a sail change with those under way takes ages as you cannot just stuff the st down below with the battens in. I have a genoa & in 14 years have use it once to try out, 3 times to race & once when I could not be ars..d to change it after a race. That is it. Barber haulers on the jib help a lot unless dead down wind & then I just furl it.
The cruising chute does not wok so well dead down wind & tends to overpower the boat over 15kts so one has to tack down wind & sail a longer course. Single handed it is a handful. If the boat wants to broach & the autopilot gets overpowered at the same time as one wants to let the clew or foot off .
But the OP will make his own decisions.
Actually I am told best additional sail for a Hanse is a furling code zero set on a bowsprit but I have never tried one myself
Tranona
Well-Known Member
All that is well known. The 345 was on my short list when I bought my current boat and the extras offered were a genoa in place of the selftacker or a cruising chute on a furler (not factory fit).
As you know there are so many choices, but suspect that a cruising chute either on a prodder, or if memory serves me there is a tack point on the bow roller would be a reasonable compromise.
snowleopard
Well-Known Member
A lot depends on the type of trip you are planning. I have been round twice, once anti-clockwise and once clockwise. On both occasions I was aiming to cover distance rather than stop and enjoy it so I didn't need to go into small or drying harbours. If I were doing it in a leisurely fashion I would want a boat that would handle small harbours with ease and a major factor in that would be the ability to dry out. Sadly, bilge keelers have a largely unjustified reputation for being poor sailers and most of the smaller boats offered with that option are no longer made.
My own boat dries out level but I wouldn't suggest anything with a 23 ft beam!
You will be berthing in all sorts of odd places - on rafts, high walls, piles, buoys with all manner of attachment arrangements etc. Even 35 ft is going to be a handful with no one to run forward and take a line for you.
The first place I would be looking is a British Hunter, possibly a Pilot 27.
My own boat dries out level but I wouldn't suggest anything with a 23 ft beam!
You will be berthing in all sorts of odd places - on rafts, high walls, piles, buoys with all manner of attachment arrangements etc. Even 35 ft is going to be a handful with no one to run forward and take a line for you.
The first place I would be looking is a British Hunter, possibly a Pilot 27.
ashtead
Well-Known Member
Snowleopard The OP has his lovely new boat a Hanse (post 71 so on an earlier page) and a website so you can see photos and track his progress around the Solent ( and further no doubt) however agree plenty of fenders needed for all the hazards mentioned -after all he doesn't want to be mistaken for a French boat on his travels does he.
RupertW
Well-Known Member
And a nice old plank ready to be hung alongside outside the fenders - peace of mind against all sorts of uneven walls and piles.
iLens
Well-Known Member
the boat has a cruising shute - I'd like a furling Code 1 but if I spend any more money I won't be welcomed home�� The shute should be manageable up to 15kts on a calmish sea - at least the one on my previous boat was.
"Tenacious" is currently on charter, so the Solent trips are not with me (sadly)
Thanks for the good wishes
Sgeir
Well-Known Member
Are we thinking of the Lounge, perhaps?
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
He is not driving a barge!! I have been round twice single handed ( albeit via Cally canal) with 6 fenders & one larger round one & did not get a scratch on the topsides. A 35 ft Hanse is highly manouverable & it will go right where he puts it. Dead easy to sail single handed & berth with ease.
Habebty
Well-Known Member
Did you do the canal singlehanded? as I fancy that route when I go round. I'll be in a Sadler 290 and intend to explore drying harbours etc. rather than whizz round. Unless the weather is crap, then whizz on to Brittany
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
Did you do the canal singlehanded? as I fancy that route when I go round. I'll be in a Sadler 290 and intend to explore drying harbours etc. rather than whizz round. Unless the weather is crap, then whizz on to Brittany
Yes! I chickened out from the top. I prefer marinas as i do not like anchoring . The trouble is that if there is a sudden increase in the wind at night & i have to go on deck to lift the anchor then get back to the helm to motor or sail off I will have drifted a long way. In some places I could be on the rocks before I got away. Esp in the dark. It meant that I had to do 6 hops of over 100 miles but I would rather do that & go for 24 hour safe havens.
However, to make up for the top bit I went via the Channel Islands, Guernsey & Jersey, to make up for it. Actually the French side of the Channel is easier & cheaper I suspect.
The Cally canal is a piece of cake & the locks are no problem. Just do not bother with loads of lines, springs etc. They just complicate the issue. In some locks one line from the stern is enough & leave the engine in tickover or turn it off if the wind is in the right direction
Neeves
Well-Known Member
Daydream,
Someone who sails round the UK, even if missing the top part, but taking in the bottom islands has all my admiration. You obviously know how to sail, have confidence and stamina. I think you are a stalwart example.
But, you knew there was going to be a 'but' - I think you are missing out if you feel the need to target marinas in preference to anchoring. Lots of people safely anchor in a whole host of different yachts with what might be considered questionable equipment. Many will retrieve by hand. It is possible - the trick in your case is finding what it is that is the weakness in your system.
There are now a variety of reliable anchors, Rocna, Spade, Fortress and others - you can buy lightweight high tensile chain (Maggi's Aqua 7 - for example) - I hate to see someone conditioned to missing some of the best anchorages - for whatever reason.
With admiration,
Jonathan
Someone who sails round the UK, even if missing the top part, but taking in the bottom islands has all my admiration. You obviously know how to sail, have confidence and stamina. I think you are a stalwart example.
But, you knew there was going to be a 'but' - I think you are missing out if you feel the need to target marinas in preference to anchoring. Lots of people safely anchor in a whole host of different yachts with what might be considered questionable equipment. Many will retrieve by hand. It is possible - the trick in your case is finding what it is that is the weakness in your system.
There are now a variety of reliable anchors, Rocna, Spade, Fortress and others - you can buy lightweight high tensile chain (Maggi's Aqua 7 - for example) - I hate to see someone conditioned to missing some of the best anchorages - for whatever reason.
With admiration,
Jonathan
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
The thing is that I like meeting people. When one is anchored even 50 yds from another boat there is little interaction. I recall opening the gate at Ballcastle for a chap one morning & "Good morning" turned into a 1 1/4 hour conversation with a man born in Bierut , who was a personal friend of Yassa Arafat & lived in places like Argentina etc. The following day , whilst walking up the high street , asking a man the way I found he was the chairman of the Irish Co-op & we chatted for 45 mins. Now if I had anchored off the island just north of Ballycastle ( sorry cannot remember the name) those conversations would never have taken place & were really memorable. I had many like it. I will always remember being threatened by a drunk in a pub & the locals coming to my defence, then his sincerest of apologies the following day & how he went over the top to help me.
You do not get that moored at anchor.
EdWingfield
Well-Known Member
Mr Daydream, single-handed sailing might not be the best for conversations. Have you thought about an allotment?
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
I am not the one to sail with a crew.
The people you might take with you can be communicated with any time at home, so no need to take them.
A couple of years ago Tony Smith ( Creeksailor) wrote about our trip to Camaret together in PBO & the difference to creek sailing. It made an interesting comparison. What he did not write was that 2 days into the trip he wanted to thump me & when we got to each port we went separate ways each day.
Oddly enough I would like to give it another go - to the Fresian Islands- & I suspect he might too!!!
Besides one has to entertain them when one wants some peace. On top of that they sometimes prevent one actually meeting others because one gets tied up in their social world.
There are lots of advantages to single handed sailing. Being able to make decisions for ones self without having to worry about what they might want to do for a start. Being able to make "off the cuff" trips ashore & change at one's whim. Go in any restaurant, Eat when you want, Drink as & when you want etc etc.
Single handed any day of the week
jamie N
Well-Known Member
Daydream believer; are we related???? I can just about tolerate sailing with other people onboard for a day. Thereafter, it doesn't work!
I sailed around the top, from Scrabster to Kinlochbervie, with an anchorage in Rispond Bay, where there's an awful lot of nothing, which was fine and peaceful, but 90% of the time a marina wins for me, as the interaction, the chat and idiocy of meeting with other 'yotties', most of whom are either convinced that they're much better sailors than the rest, or that they're pretty rubbish, but good at getting away with it! Very good and memorable brief friendships. Coming back up the Caley Canal was terrific 'crack' with the lock keeping folks, who've seen EVERY screw up, none of them too serious, but worth a good chuckle.
I sailed around the top, from Scrabster to Kinlochbervie, with an anchorage in Rispond Bay, where there's an awful lot of nothing, which was fine and peaceful, but 90% of the time a marina wins for me, as the interaction, the chat and idiocy of meeting with other 'yotties', most of whom are either convinced that they're much better sailors than the rest, or that they're pretty rubbish, but good at getting away with it! Very good and memorable brief friendships. Coming back up the Caley Canal was terrific 'crack' with the lock keeping folks, who've seen EVERY screw up, none of them too serious, but worth a good chuckle.
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
What surprised me is the number of small boat sailors doing it in sub 25 ft boats. Lots of 22 ft ones single handing. To me that is really hard, They are forced to do shortish hops so have to go into small harbours or anchorages & really work the tides to get in & out. they have to endure rough weather if the wind changes en route because they are out there longer. Many have limited electrical nav gear so have to be " proper" navigators & generally have cheaper kit.
One said to me " how do you sail such a big boat" ( 31 ft boat big ?????) whilst i was marveling his very old 21 ft bilge keeler.
I normally averaged 6kts & he averaged half that if he was lucky. A long leg for him was 30 miles. For me, I did 6 legs of over 100 miles but rather that than his 30. I took 12 weeks, he was taking 2 seasons.
As far as I was concerned they are the skilled sailors & get my respect, not the ones with modern yachts with with new musto kit, new sails posh electrics etc etc skipping from marina to marina
One said to me " how do you sail such a big boat" ( 31 ft boat big ?????) whilst i was marveling his very old 21 ft bilge keeler.
I normally averaged 6kts & he averaged half that if he was lucky. A long leg for him was 30 miles. For me, I did 6 legs of over 100 miles but rather that than his 30. I took 12 weeks, he was taking 2 seasons.
As far as I was concerned they are the skilled sailors & get my respect, not the ones with modern yachts with with new musto kit, new sails posh electrics etc etc skipping from marina to marina
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