Transport UK to Palma

[petem]

Transport is provisionally booked to take the boat from Le Havre to Marseilles.

Jez has kindly (madly) volunteered to crew for the trip from Southampton to Le Havre and from Marseilles to Palma. Looking back at old threads it would appear that Palamos is a good place to stop for fuel and to break the journey up a bit.

Regarding boat prep, I'm going to remove all of the covers and cockpit seating and store them down below. My plan is then wrap anything vulnerable in bubble wrap and cover backrests, dash etc with palette wrap (like cellophane).

Anyone got any other hints or tips?

 

[rafiki_]

How secure is the stuff on your arch Pete?

We took all the Azi crockery and cutlery off. What about the instrument covers on your dash?

Lash the anchor down hard too.

 

[petem]

How secure is the stuff on your arch Pete?

We took all the Azi crockery and cutlery off. What about the instrument covers on your dash?

Lash the anchor down hard too.

Thanks Paul.

Radar arch stuff seems pretty secure but I'm going to cover it in bubble wrap then palette film. And nav lights and windscreen. Again, will cover instrument binnacle with bubble wrap and film.

We have St Michael's finest plastic crockery and glassware so no problem there.

Will lash anchor down as best we can.

 

[rafiki_]

We were surprised how gentle the truck journey was on a Rafiki. However the distance was much less than you are planning.

 

[Hurricane]

What is your range?
I'm thinking of the run across Gulf of Lions and the passage to Mallorca - both around 140 miles.
It was tight for Jez's boat - we needed to do some at displacement speed.
If that is the case, you need to do some reasonable runs - topped full and then topped full after a known distance - at displacement speed and at planing speed.
Don't just rely on manufacturers data and be sure of the size of your fuel tanks.
The get the weather right the GDL can be a really bad place if you get it wrong - after all, thats where the Mistrals all start.

EDIT
Roses is about 25 miles shorter.
Likewise Alcudia/Pollensa could save a similar distance.

 

[petem]

We'll have to rely on manufacturers figures as don't have the time to do further testing. Range should be north of 200 miles but I'll double check the manufacturers figures at the weekend. As you say, Roses is only 120 miles so should be comfortable. Palamos to Port Soller is 140 and Barca to Soller 105 so should be OK too.

Just need to wait for the right weather window.

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

To prep the boat for road haulage you will need to strip everything off the radar arch - vhf aerials, glomex, radar. Remove bimini cover and stow below. Strap bimini frame hard against the radar arch but keep it insulated from the arch itself - small offcuts of carpet are best for this. Anything that can rattle inside the boat will, so prepare accordingly - this would be a better use of your bubble wrap than trying to protect the dash, for example. If you've got one, a tonneau cover is ideal for road transport. Remove instrument covers and vhf handset. I also tape all lockers shut with masking tape (cockpit and below). Finally, lock the engine compartment.

You don't want to be going straight from the relaunch in Marseille to a GdL crossing, you need a decent shakedown trip local to Marseilles first. 750 miles of being vibrated on the back of a road trailer can and does create issues, like stirring up muck in the fuel tanks, or loosening marginal electrical connections, so include a few days in Marseilles in your planning.

 

[jrudge]

Jez has kindly (madly) volunteered to crew for the trip from Southampton to Le Havre and from Marseilles to Palma. Looking back at old threads it would appear that Palamos is a good place to stop for fuel and to break the journey up a bit.


Anyone got any other hints or tips?

Bear in mind you are entering the wrong time of year, it is a long way in a small boat and the boat is relatively unproven ( well it did one trip and broke down) so to my mind this seems ambitious. Not impossible by any means, but personally I would want to know the boat a bit better.

I have said before and will says again that I think you should keep the boat in the UK for the winter. Finish the work, have some local fun, get the glitches out and then take it down in the spring.

As it stands you have a new to you boat that needs work and it will suddenly be a long way from home. Work in the Uk is much much cheaper in most cases than Mallorca.

 

[petem]

Thanks J, how do you lock the engine compartment? I've only got a hatch on rams.

Anyone done the onshore route around the Golf de Lyon?

 

[jrudge]

We'll have to rely on manufacturers figures as don't have the time to do further testing. Range should be north of 200 miles but I'll double check the manufacturers figures at the weekend. As you say, Roses is only 120 miles so should be comfortable. Palamos to Port Soller is 140 and Barca to Soller 105 so should be OK too.

Just need to wait for the right weather window.

Just seen this after i posted my last post.

I think you are wrong. You have plenty of time. Until Spring.

Forget the manufacturers figures. The boat was manufactured a long time ago. You need something to base consumption on and to confirm nothing odd happens when the tanks run low.

Dont ignore advise from people like Hurricane.

Range decreases significantly the bigger the seas. I used to see litres pre NM increase from about 10 to 14 when the seas went from calm to about 1- 1,5m.

Whats the rush ?

 

[petem]

I hate winter boating in the UK, simple really!

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Thanks J, how do you lock the engine compartment? I've only got a hatch on rams.

Anyone done the onshore route around the Golf de Lyon?

Mine's got a lock, so 'with a key' would be my smart-ar$e answer...

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Just seen this after i posted my last post.

I think you are wrong. You have plenty of time. Until Spring.

Forget the manufacturers figures. The boat was manufactured a long time ago. You need something to base consumption on and to confirm nothing odd happens when the tanks run low.

Dont ignore advise from people like Hurricane.

Range decreases significantly the bigger the seas. I used to see litres pre NM increase from about 10 to 14 when the seas went from calm to about 1- 1,5m.

Whats the rush ?

Pete, Jeremy is completely right about this. Bluntly, your plan as is stands is nuts. You need to know a lot more about this boat before attempting a long range crossing of a notorious bit of water at the wrong time of year with a boat that you have no experience of, no fuel metrics about, and that has come straight off transport.

It took you two whole years to buy this boat; it makes absolutely no sense at all to rush it down to the Med, and take a load of risks in the process. Don't do it.

 

[crashtack]

As both @jrudge and @jimmy_the_builder say, take your time. If you are that keen on getting the boat to Mallorca, then why not transport to the Canal, put her back together and any glitches can be sorted out by one of the hundreds of French Fred Dibnah's who still work around and along the Midi. Heck of a sight cheaper than the Balearics too, which, by the way, virtually close down in the Winter. I once met a chap who had waited almost four months for a lift in Menorca. As the saying goes, the Islanders don't have a word for anything as pressing as Mañana.

 

[petem]

If I am to do the trip would it make more sense to go via Frontignan then Roses?

 

[MapisM]

I hate winter boating in the UK, simple really!

So, what?
I'm afraid you'd better jump on a plane and fly down under, if proper winter boating is what you're after, P.
Mind, as you know myself and S spend more time onboard than anywhere else, and in the last years we have been often onboard also around the new year's eve.
But that's because in that occasion also several friends of ours are in CF, and the weather is decent enough for living aboard. Not because we are actually cruising a lot in January - though we did have a few days out now and then, but you must either be lucky, or have enough time to wait till the weather Gods are in good mood.
Not sure about the Baldricks, but since CF is just about at the same latitude as Ibiza, I suppose it's comparable.

Bottom line, I fully agree with the suggestion that everyone else already gave you.
Fwiw, after several delays that we had this summer for the most silly reasons (the last being S breaking one foot a month ago), we just decided to postpone also our delivery trip, which eventually we could have started right in these days.
Btw, our trip would have been mostly coastal, and with a 300+nm range (at P speed) 56 footer.
Do yourself and Jez a favour P, use the winter to fiddle with the new toy rather than crossing the GdL... :ambivalence:

 

[petem]

If GdL is such an issue then what would be the risk of having the boat delivered to Frontognon then coast hop along the western side to Roses? Also, we are not committed to Mallorca, we could always stay on mainland Spain. I would just prefer not to spend the winter in the UK.

 

[Portofino]

Ok why not truck it down to La Rague -Cote D Azur .
Leave it in the SoF ( winter flights to nice ) -- fettle / shake down here over the winter in a rental berth .
People hanger boats of that size round here in the winter .
You can drive down too if you need to haul anything later that can,t be sourced locally .
The yard in La Rague is a full VP service centre as are many others but this one majors on VP .You can rent anywhere that will take you though.La Rague is Fairline city btw .
When you are ready and it's fully debugged--head W ,

The La Rague guys are receiving and setting up boats every day - restoring radar arches , restarting engines etc .
Looking @ € 70 / hr for a techie .+ lift in fees .

What time scale are you thinking because the weather is fine until about November ,sea still warm enough to swim etc .
It don,t think it's the weather side of things ,the " Madness " it's the boats reliability .

Debugging gonna take time ,a few hrs and a few trips about may as well do this stuff where it can be fixed easily .
More thinking of the engines / drive train ,with it been stood unused until recently .
I,ll be around until mid Oct if you need any help .

 

[jrudge]

If GdL is such an issue then what would be the risk of having the boat delivered to Frontognon then coast hop along the western side to Roses? Also, we are not committed to Mallorca, we could always stay on mainland Spain. I would just prefer not to spend the winter in the UK.

I put Frontognon into apple maps and it showed frinton on sea!

I think you are missing the point. Finish it, get to understand it ( real world fuel etc) and trust it then get braver. If you do what you are planning will you get there ? Probably. But to force yourself into a position of a long trip in an older boat that has been un-used that has already broken down that I see on another thread is having new injectors and the fuel lines were knackered and being replaced ( which is good but what else is lurking ) to me introduces too many variables.

As you know I bought a 2004 s58 this year. The last owner spent a fortune on the engines ( just servicing etc) but the boat did not really go anywhere. Did I trust it ? No. After a season do I trust it. Yes. I used it for short half hour trips around Palma whist doing stuff to it and on its first big trip ( 2 hrs to Cala dor so hardly trans Atlantic ) not happy with the temps so acid flush and all better and a series of jeremy jobs.

The med is closed in winter. Cala dor is literally shut. Nice days? Of course but don't think it is wall to wall sunshine and flat seas.

The joy of the forum is you will get opinions. At he moment most of those are against you I am afraid but you will probably do it anyway !

 

[Eren]

Anyone done the onshore route around the Golf de Lyon?

I did it. As all vertical inlets in the Med (together with Adriatic and Aegea), GdL is a place that should be taken very seriously. The Alps give a break to the north of it where all the winds of continental Europe can blow down and make it a messy place. But don't worry, with careful weather watch, it is passed very easily.

I would recommend taking the below with you and also I will focus a bit on technical side of the passage:
- 2 cans of spare diesel (40 lts). This will give you an additional 40-50 miles at idle speed, to be used if somehow your tanks will drain. It is a life saver.
- Get some spare oil for engine and transmission. If a seal or a gasket decides to leak oil during the trip, you can add oil and complete the trip without damaging your equipment. Marine engines are very solid, they don't easily leave you in the middle of the sea, but if you let them work without oil, then it is another story.
- Spare belt. Try and learn changing it before you leave, it is usually very easy. Replace your belts before the trip. They are cheap.
- Spare racor filters and fuel filters. Learn how to change and how to bleed air from the system. You will be buying fuel from unknown sources and you may end up with low quality fuel. These will save your life at sea and will get you to the shore.
- Before making the passage and filling up your tank, try the boat extensively, around 20 miles, all speeds, including a full speed period. If something is wrong, let it come out there, not at the passage. Next day you will much more comfortable at the passage, knowing that you had tried the boat to the end performance. After the trial, do not any technical work or do not let in any technicians in. Sea trial should be done just a day before the passage, when the boat is completely ready for the trip. Fill up the tank for the diesel consumed at the trial from the same supplier. Because now his diesel is tested and approved.
- During the passage, check and compare two engine's data with eachother. If anything begins to go wrong, you will realize it much earlier.

Please note that 99%, you will not need any of these. But as a passage maker it is good to know these and one day you may need it. I have needed all of them in my previous passages.

And finally, get your drink ready at the fridge for arrival. There is nothing like the arrival drink once you safely moor at your destination ! :encouragement: