Sweden, west coast of ?

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Thank you all for the information

The West Coast (of Sweden) certainly looks promising for a cruise, I had been thinking of Western Norway, Stavanger to Bergen with a few fjords in between. However the precipitation figures for W.Norway made me look further east.

It appears Lysekil is a port of entry so that would make a good starting point.

To get down to brass tacks, and after the discussion of the best beer, what does a beer cost in Sweden, is it very expensive ?

How much do you pay for the standard sort of meal in a pub and what of marina fees?

Thanks again

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Port of entry, never mind, coastguard doesn't check EU vessels. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Beer, well, I'm more a wine person...I guess you mean at a pub, not in a supermarket, so I would guess everything between 3 and 5 euros depending on how posh the place is (for 0.4 litres of 4.5+ alc. We do have weaker beer as well that's cheaper).
Marina fees, who uses marinas? Only tourists do here... anyway don't really know about the west coast as I am on the other side, but I reckon 18-20 euros average.
 
Ah, forgot the pub. Lunch meals are cheap, there is a special lunch offer at most of them that around 7 euros in Stockhholms so I reckon not more than 6 in the smaller coutries. Evening is another matter, a la carte prices will be in the range from 12 euros up to 30, even more at posh places.
 
"Fram", Nansen's ship which drifted for three years in the Arctic Pack ice and which survived and was used by other polar expeditions (including Amundsen's South Pole expedition) is a wooden vessel, designed by Colin Archer. Admittedly she was specifically designed to be frozen in Arctic pack ice and is reputed to have been a safe but VERY uncomfortable and slow sea boat.

I said is, because she is preserved ashore in Oslo.

Wood, steel and aluminium are all perfectly good building materials for icy waters. Glass fibre isn't recommended, but I am not sure of all the reasons why.
 
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Glass fibre isn't recommended, but I am not sure of all the reasons why.

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It's not that simple. Fiberglass boats do cope with ice very well, there are lots of them that are left in during the winter. The problem is when you drive them through ice, then the gelcoat is too weak and gets damaged by the ice scraping along the hull. Even if the ice is very thin!!
 
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It's not that simple. Fiberglass boats do cope with ice very well, there are lots of them that are left in during the winter. The problem is when you drive them through ice, then the gelcoat is too weak and gets damaged by the ice scraping along the hull. Even if the ice is very thin!!

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My comment comes from a background where boats have to be capable of being driven through ice; Antarctic waters are rarely sufficiently ice free for ice to be completely avoidable, even when there is no continuous pack-ice. Of course abrasion of the gel coat is a serious problem in such waters, but I was under the impression that there were other problems as well.

I think part of the thinking is that a dent in a metal hull isn't a serious matter, and wooden hulls can be protected with sacrificial planking, but there's no equivalent technique for fibreglass.
 
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My comment comes from a background where boats have to be capable of being driven through ice; Antarctic waters are rarely sufficiently ice free for ice to be completely avoidable, even when there is no continuous pack-ice. Of course abrasion of the gel coat is a serious problem in such waters, but I was under the impression that there were other problems as well.

I think part of the thinking is that a dent in a metal hull isn't a serious matter, and wooden hulls can be protected with sacrificial planking, but there's no equivalent technique for fibreglass.

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Well, I'm no expert but we have sailed through thin ice (maybe 1 cm or less) a few times to get from the berth to the crane and that worked OK. Another guy in my club lives on an island and has used his fiberglass powerboat in light ice conditions without any apparent damage.
Also, the Swedish navy's latest corvettes are carbon fiber and vinylester and they are claimed to be ice capable...admittedly it's not classic fiberglass/polyester but is the difference really so big?
I think there is quite some superstition/prejudice in that matter as always....of course thick ice is a different matter...and of course if I would have to go through ice regularly I would chose a metal boat!
 
Re: Sweden, west coast of - costs and charts

3.5 % beer costs about 8 swedish Krona (SEK) per can from the supermarket. Strong beer about 12 - 15 SEK. The cheap lunches are usually Monday to Friday business lunches and very good value. Next cheapest are pizzas typicallly 80 SEK take-away. In the upermarket pork is cheapish. Salmon is economical too. Marina costs are usually under 200 SEK/night and you can anchor or moor to rocks anywhere that's not a private jetty. ITs not polite to be moor close to someones house.
Do buy the official Sjofartsverket Batsportkarts. They are very high quality and in convenient packs.
Pilotage is not difficult but requires utmost care. Distances are short but the passages are complex. As Donald Green, an expert in Baltic waters, once said "The shoals are mainly of granite".
 
Re: Sweden, west coast of - costs and charts

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Next cheapest are pizzas typicallly 80 SEK take-away.

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Well, that's a bit much isn't it? I would never get a take-away pizza that expensive!!! OK for eating att the place if it's one of those wood-oven thingys otherwise 50-60 SEK is more reasonable I think...
Depends where you are of course...if it's the only pizza place for 100 miles...haha...
 
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Well, I'm no expert but we have sailed through thin ice (maybe 1 cm or less) a few times to get from the berth to the crane and that worked OK. Another guy in my club lives on an island and has used his fiberglass powerboat in light ice conditions without any apparent damage.

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The ice I'm thinking of - and which is common in Antarctic conditions - is bergy bits and brash. This comprises lumps of ice the size of boulders, not a thin sheet of ice. You're unlikely to encounter that kind of ice in southern Sweden - north Norway will have plenty in fjords with glaciers calving into them, though.
 
I spent 4 years living aboard my Sigma 362 in Oslo and regularly cruised this area many times. Fantastic sailing and more places to explore that I had time to do so.

I kept my boat afloat in a ‘bubble bath’ for two seasons and wintered shore for the last (rented a flat!). If staying afloat you need to be somewhere where the ice will not move or it will damage even a sturdy boat. That’s why most of the locals take them out for the winter. That and the fact it is minus a lot in the winter…

Summer in the Nordics can be great but it is very short. July is the best time to go but June can also be good. August is IMO too late and you can regularly get frost and the rest from September to May. Actually had sailed in snow in this area in Early June and late August in ‘93 I think – but it was a bad summer. Although on the other hand I’ve sailed in shorts and tee-shirt there in May and September as well.

Get the local ‘sports’ charts (come in booklets like the admiralty folios but much better) and a local pilot. They used to be printed in Sweedish on one page and English on the other but mine is form 95 so a bit old now. And they show you how to make your way between the rocks and into all sorts of interesting passages. Remember no tides to worry about but plenty of currents and rocks…….

Mooring alongside (or bows too) a rock is a bit scary the first time but you get used to it and I never went into a marina unless I was at my home base. Great and much underrated cruising ground but don’t go there for the weather.
 
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