Refueler
Well-known member
There were quite a few that had sheets to coachroof ... depended on size of jib and the coachroof.
I can even remember odd boats with TWIN sheets ... so you could wing it or sheet in tight ...
UK circum capable <27ft yacht?
- Thread starter Seegull
- Start date
There were quite a few that had sheets to coachroof ... depended on size of jib and the coachroof.
I can even remember odd boats with TWIN sheets ... so you could wing it or sheet in tight ...
Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
Ours obviously is sheeted to the coachroof, having a smallish jib. And not to the edge either, the track is about 30cm in, to achieve the necessary sheeting angle. As you say, various interrelated factors dictate the position.clearly a huge overlapper can come back further than the coachroof, and achieve the angle sheeted to the toerail well aft, like a Contessa 32.
Laminar Flow
Well-known member
De facto, last year, I was going to say Summer, but there was none, we circumnavigated the UK from Brittany via Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Shetland, Orkney, Scotland inner & outer Hebrides, NI, Wales, Irish Sea and back to Brittany. We did it in a Colvic Watson 31.5 in about 3.5 months, covering 3000 miles.
I would recommend something with a bit of displacement for comfort and capable of carrying a load. And yes, speed is still important. Reliable weather windows in the Northern parts are in the neighbourhood of three days, after that you're back to checking the tea leaves. If you intend to do this voyage in a two month time frame, you will need to make milage when the weather permits. Strictly speaking and for a "proper circumnavigation", you will have to go around the North of Shetland and down the West coast of Ireland. You will be spending considerable time in port waiting for suitable and safe weather.
I highly recommend something with inside steering or a full dodger/cockpit enclosure and heating. Almost all the Norwegian boats, and they were in the majority in Shetland, had this type of set up, especially the ones with what they call a Mediterranean cockpit, which is everything that doesn't have a built roof over it's head. Just a point, up North we were either the smallest or among the smallest boats, at just over 30'.
To maintain any kind of reasonable time frame, you will have to consider making longer legs. Speed is a benefit. I know this may sound like a bit of an oxymoron, in the context of a Colvic Watson, but we seem to manage a 6 kt average under sail in our, admittedly, pimped model. From Harlingen, NL, to Thyboron, DK, some 250 miles, we averaged 6.4 kt, all under sail. Regardless, you will be doing a fair bit of motoring. Think displacement speed. A recognized, average speed for sailing vessels is 0.9 x sqr root DWL; size matters.
The entire keel discussion is for the birds. I have a hard time buying the "difficult to maneuver in port" arguments for long keels, at least we never had any problems. We draw 4'4'' on a long keel and have legs for drying out. We did not need them once. I'm not sure why superb windward ability is important when cruising long distances. Most everyone seems to motor to weather, unless on a longer passage and a single tack, out in the open and then it is just plain unpleasant.
More important than any keel configuration, is a boat's sail carrying power and her sail area/displacement ratio, to ensure decent passage times and range. A standard rigged Colvic Watson 26 has an SA/D of 10.76. Recommended SA/D for a motorsailer is 13 - 14, if sail is to be considered a primary or equal form of propulsion.
Make sure you have decent ground tackle with a min. of two anchors; there will be areas where there are no ports and in spite of any weather you may want to stay in place. Last Summer, we anchored three times in winds over 45 kts.
Virtually all boats listed to date can, given enough time and suitable weather, do the trip. The question is, how comfortable do you want to be and do you have the time?
When researching our first Scotland/Shetland trip, I tried watching the "Sailing Brothers". After an excruciating episode or two, I gave up. Half the time they had no clue where they were or even what the place was called they were anchored in. For the most part, they seemed to be simply sailing their avatar through the Navionics app and their general commentary was at the level of two less than bright 12 year olds.
Good luck, A.
I would recommend something with a bit of displacement for comfort and capable of carrying a load. And yes, speed is still important. Reliable weather windows in the Northern parts are in the neighbourhood of three days, after that you're back to checking the tea leaves. If you intend to do this voyage in a two month time frame, you will need to make milage when the weather permits. Strictly speaking and for a "proper circumnavigation", you will have to go around the North of Shetland and down the West coast of Ireland. You will be spending considerable time in port waiting for suitable and safe weather.
I highly recommend something with inside steering or a full dodger/cockpit enclosure and heating. Almost all the Norwegian boats, and they were in the majority in Shetland, had this type of set up, especially the ones with what they call a Mediterranean cockpit, which is everything that doesn't have a built roof over it's head. Just a point, up North we were either the smallest or among the smallest boats, at just over 30'.
To maintain any kind of reasonable time frame, you will have to consider making longer legs. Speed is a benefit. I know this may sound like a bit of an oxymoron, in the context of a Colvic Watson, but we seem to manage a 6 kt average under sail in our, admittedly, pimped model. From Harlingen, NL, to Thyboron, DK, some 250 miles, we averaged 6.4 kt, all under sail. Regardless, you will be doing a fair bit of motoring. Think displacement speed. A recognized, average speed for sailing vessels is 0.9 x sqr root DWL; size matters.
The entire keel discussion is for the birds. I have a hard time buying the "difficult to maneuver in port" arguments for long keels, at least we never had any problems. We draw 4'4'' on a long keel and have legs for drying out. We did not need them once. I'm not sure why superb windward ability is important when cruising long distances. Most everyone seems to motor to weather, unless on a longer passage and a single tack, out in the open and then it is just plain unpleasant.
More important than any keel configuration, is a boat's sail carrying power and her sail area/displacement ratio, to ensure decent passage times and range. A standard rigged Colvic Watson 26 has an SA/D of 10.76. Recommended SA/D for a motorsailer is 13 - 14, if sail is to be considered a primary or equal form of propulsion.
Make sure you have decent ground tackle with a min. of two anchors; there will be areas where there are no ports and in spite of any weather you may want to stay in place. Last Summer, we anchored three times in winds over 45 kts.
Virtually all boats listed to date can, given enough time and suitable weather, do the trip. The question is, how comfortable do you want to be and do you have the time?
When researching our first Scotland/Shetland trip, I tried watching the "Sailing Brothers". After an excruciating episode or two, I gave up. Half the time they had no clue where they were or even what the place was called they were anchored in. For the most part, they seemed to be simply sailing their avatar through the Navionics app and their general commentary was at the level of two less than bright 12 year olds.
Good luck, A.
ylop
Well-known member
Lots of good information in your post and I think this was a nice summing up.
I don’t think you were their target audience. I don’t ever remember thinking they were lost although they did mangle many a place name. I remember someone wise saying that if someone mispronounces a word it’s not something to criticise, it generally means they’ve educated themselves through reading rather than being taught. Of course to a native Scot hearing them mangle Gigha is like drawing nails across a blackboard, even most “well bred sailors” from the Solent will have heard it’s correct pronounciation around the sailing club bar etc. BUT that’s exactly what many people found refreshing about them - they were not travel writter novices who jumped on a sailing YouTube bandwagon, and they weren’t middle class sailing types. Add in that they weren’t using bikini shots to jazz up the channel. They had a fair amount of sailing experience, moslty smaller boats, mostly not far from home. That sounds very much like the OP here! They were two guys in their late 30s who had an old boat, worked in low paid delivery work who skimped and saved enough to make the trip. They were also new to YouTube and learning how to make good content.
We stopped regularly watching them once they left the UK, but they’ve now crossed the Atlantic, through Panama and over to Australia. I happened to see them announce this week they were selling the boat to upgrade before they leave Australia. Not bad for a couple of supermarket delivery drivers who apparently didn’t know where they were and didn’t expect to make any real money from YouTube.