Transporting a boat between England and Ireland

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rog123

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Hi everyone,

I've been looking to buy a sailboat under the 26ft mark this season and have seen a few nice examples mainly on the southwest coast of England.
I'm based on the West Coast of Ireland and haven't seen much come up in my limited price range.
I'm fairly new to sailing, having started crewing on a boat last season but have grown up around motor boats and kayaking so am used to certain navigational aspects.
My question is whether anyone has bought a boat in either county and sailed it back to the other.
I realize this is a massive undertaking and in my case a long journey and am sure many will be horrified by my limited experience but I feel that its worth trying these outlandish ventures if you prepare well for them as we really only have a limited time for such adventure.
So if anyone has done this any advice on what to prepare for would be well appreciated while I investigate this matter more. Cheers.
 
It's possible, but you'd be faced with at least a 24 hour trip and quite possibly a fair bit more from say the Scillies up to Cork or Kinsale. So you'd need a pretty reliable weather window. Plus another to get out to the Scillies.

The alternative is to bring the boat back by road. A few years quite a few of the competitors in the half-ton cup (approx 29' to 30') came across to Dublin on the ferry but they did get a discount.
 
Buy it and sail it back. Hop along the south coast of England to Cornwall. When weather is good cross to Kilmore quay. The coastal hop down the coast of Ireland to your chosen destination.

Take your time. Prepare the boat well. Should be a lot of fun.
 
The question arises regularly, and the general answer is that delivery by sea is definitely the best way - if you don't have much experience it would be worth looking for an experienced friend or professional skipper who'll take you as crew.

Delivery by road is horrendously expensive because the ferry crossing adds not only fares but at least two days (to the west of Ireland) and two nights' accommodation. For the east of Ireland delivery by road to Milford Haven / Anglesey / SW Scotland and then sailing across could be a useful compromise, but unless she'll fit through the Grand Canal (not much more than a metre in Dublin) you haven't really saved yourself much effort going to the west coast.
 
PabloPicasso said:
When weather is good cross to Kilmore quay.
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Longships to Kilmore Quay 132NM. Longships to Cork entrance 141NM. Tresco to Cork Entrance 132NM. Kilmore Quay makes no sense for someone heading from the south coast of England to Cork or Kerry. Cork Harbour or Kinsale are as close and far better positioned for heading any further west.
 
A previous boat of mine was ‘almost’ bought by a chap from Ireland until he insisted that it should be delivered by road and not treated it as a one-way sailing holiday from the Solent. A shame as he missed out on a good boat at a good price.

As far as I’m concerned, I’d happy consider the ‘right boat’ wherever it is in the UK or western Europe. I’d treat the delivery as a holiday of a week or two and bring a couple of willing friends with me. I can’t see how anyone would be concerned about sailing their boat in relatively coastal waters (channel, North Sea) assuming the survey said that it was in good enough condition.

So: view the boat you want, get it surveyed and buy it. You then have a 2-week coast hopping holiday to bring it home. The summer is here :-)
 
lpdsn said:
Longships to Kilmore Quay 132NM. Longships to Cork entrance 141NM. Tresco to Cork Entrance 132NM. Kilmore Quay makes no sense for someone heading from the south coast of England to Cork or Kerry. Cork Harbour or Kinsale are as close and far better positioned for heading any further west.
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+1
In prevailing SWesterlies, the trip along the Irish south coast can be a right old slog, anyway. Best to get as much westing as possible on the passage from Cornwall.
 
Strange how what you want is always somewhere else, I bought our current boat in Ireland (Strangford) but sailing it back here in two hops was just a nice weekend, I did wait until April though. Scotland is much closer to Ireland than England which makes it relatively easy. Sawdoc who sails out of Galway bought his first cruiser in Scotland and sailed it home via Donegal.
Join a sailing club near you, get some more experience, make some friends, it will help with the choice of purchase and with the delivery. Nearly every club on the West Coast will have members who have done what you are contemplating.
 
macd said:
+1
In prevailing SWesterlies, the trip along the Irish south coast can be a right old slog, anyway. Best to get as much westing as possible on the passage from Cornwall.
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Newlyn to Baltimore, which is 200nm, would be a reach all the way, if the wind stayed in the SW, and get you further west on the Irish coast. You can the hop from there to stop overnight in Crookhaven, then Dingle, Valentia, KIlrush and then a long leg to Galway. Alternatively, depending on the experience of your crewmates, longer overnight legs would speed up the process, although this would entail having sufficient crew to set up a watch system.
I would reiterate the advice above; to join a club near you and enlist the aid of at least one or two experienced members for the delivery trip.
 
Thanks everyone its great to have found a really active forum like this.
I'm still just contemplating this as the real shame is I'd have to leave the trailer in England and probably get a new one made in Ireland.
I haven't looked into the ferry crossing as I can only imagine how expensive that might be and I'm hoping to keep the total purchase under 4k.
Yeah I have a few friends that own boats but seeing as they're all older with responsibilities I don't see them able to take the time off.
Hard to beat being broke and in your twenties eh!
I may end up taking it across alone and as some commentators mentioned make a holiday of it.
All the possible routes are great, I'll have a look further into them.
 
rog123 said:
I'm still just contemplating this as the real shame is I'd have to leave the trailer in England and probably get a new one made in Ireland.
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If it's small enough to be trailered behind a car, just do it that way. I have just had a look a the Stena website - adding an 8m long x 4m high trailer from Holyhead to Dublin adds about fifteen quid to a one-way fare.
 
If the boat you plan to buy is on a trailer that changes the options, I brought a 24' Achilles into Ireland on a trailer by ferry via Rosslare and a 26' Trapper 300 via Larne. Neither was horrendously expensive though it was some time ago. We saved a bit by using a middle of the night crossing very few cars mainly commercial stuff. The price should be comparable with a car and caravan of similar length, though a mast can complicate this, if the mast is over the deck offer to move it forward before boarding, they will probably tell you not to bother. Check the fare structure and maximum permitted height, you will probably be loaded with the trucks.
 
As you say, you're new to sailing, so contemplating a trip like this single-handed would be a tremendous risk, particularly when you turn the corner on to the west coast which is pretty inhospitable, with long stretches between ports of refuge. You did not mention how far up the coast you are.....?
A tough delivery trip with a new-to -you boat is an unfailing recipe for exposing hitherto undetected faults in rig or engine.
It might work if you could get friends to take time off to accompany you for individual legs, but once you get west of Cork, public transport links for crew changes are , to say the least, problematic. Insurance cover, given your low level of experience might also present challenges.
Your mention of a trailer changes the complection of things considerably; the cost of a one way ferry trip with a tow vehicle plus a one-way trip with said vehicle plus trailer would be a fraction of the value of the trailer. A trailer for a 26-30' boat costs in the region of 4000 Euro, (or is that Pounds?). You would need to have the use of a fairly businesslike 4x4 or van and be prepared for fuel consumption of 30 mpg or less.
 
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Without a lot of experience some of the routes proposed involve relatively long passages for a newbie to skippering a boat. Much better are the suggestions to coast hop the s coast and then again coast hop to Milford Haven follwed by a not too long leg across to Eire and then coast hop around to the w coast. Would be a lovely trip and a good way to get to know the boat. I am sure with a bit of effort you can find some company (maybe through the forum?) to avoid single handing. A nice couple of weeks in the right weather. Anyway good luck whatever you do.good luck with it
 
Yeah good points about the trailer, to be honest I'm just having a look at whats possible at the moment and seeing the options.
If theres a good offer for sale without a trailer I may consider the coastal hopping plan but otherwise will look into the ferry for now.
Hopefully I'll be able to get something over here but good to have an idea of different options thanks guys.
 
Spirit (of Glenans) said:
As you say, you're new to sailing, so contemplating a trip like this single-handed would be a tremendous risk, particularly when you turn the corner on to the west coast which is pretty inhospitable, with long stretches between ports of refuge. You did not mention how far up the coast you are.....?
A tough delivery trip with a new-to -you boat is an unfailing recipe for exposing hitherto undetected faults in rig or engine.
It might work if you could get friends to take time off to accompany you for individual legs, but once you get west of Cork, public transport links for crew changes are , to say the least, problematic. Insurance cover, given your low level of experience might also present challenges.
Your mention of a trailer changes the complection of things considerably; the cost of a one way ferry trip with a tow vehicle plus a one-way trip with said vehicle plus trailer would be a fraction of the value of the trailer. A trailer for a 26-30' boat costs in the region of 4000 Euro, (or is that Pounds?). You would need to have the use of a fairly businesslike 4x4 or van and be prepared for fuel consumption of 30 mpg or less.
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+1

always probs with a 'new' boat. you'd have to trial sail it after the purchase and then likely sort out issues.

put it on a trailer.
 
Interesting and perhaps significant that there is a shortage of sailing boats under 26ft in your area.
I'm with what I think is the majority - a relatively inexperienced sailor single handing a long way in a small boat that's new to you, abandoning a trailer and having to buy another one when you get home - rather you than me! Good luck whatever you do.
 
Another vote for the trailer and ferry option. Almost every newly bought old boat will have stuff ready to fail and Sod’s law dictates that it will happen somewhere far from shelter and probably in darkness and worsening weather. Even very experienced sailors have been severely challenged in such circumstances. 26’ is a pretty small boat for the passage from Cornwall to, say, Cork, not least because you will have at most 3 people aboard. Who would the crew be, and what experience would they bring?
 
If you've got a trailer license and the tow vehicle just trail it home - it's still not too expensive if already on a trailer - consider the east coast and Scotland and then your options are better - as already mentioned ferry into Larne in Co Antrim from Scotland, Belfast from Liverpool, and Dublin from Holyhead, even a couple from South Wales into Wexford? I priced it up early this year before finding a boat locally in Co Down. If your prepared to travel in the wee hours of the morning the trailer was often free on the return leg for a 24ft! Watch out for the 15% off with Stena and Irish Ferries
 
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