Would you be happy to cross to France from Poole in a single engine ~30ft boat?

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wipe_out

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I know the big ocean cruisers (Nordhaven, Flaming etc..) have single engines and happily go way off shore but I am wondering how many would be happy to be 30-40nm away from land with a "small" single engined boat.. Thinking along the lines of the bigger Merry Fishers or Antares type boats but really anything single engined between about 30-32ft..
 
I would it's always a risk but calculated, just done 170 mile journey on single engine in 30ft boat. Its always a worry, but as long as well served engine no reason to stop you
 
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Yes, assuming I had confidence in the engine.

I have motored completely across across in my 28' sailing yacht a few times when the forecast wind failed to materilise. 34-year old engine, speed 5 knots. It's just a very boring day!
 
wipe_out said:
I know the big ocean cruisers (Nordhaven, Flaming etc..) have single engines and happily go way off shore but I am wondering how many would be happy to be 30-40nm away from land with a "small" single engined boat.. Thinking along the lines of the bigger Merry Fishers or Antares type boats but really anything single engined between about 30-32ft..
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Have managed a few times with a 28kw Volvo and a few square metres of synthetic canvas. Try fitting a mast, it rather changes things.
 
I have done it several times in a 26' boat (Karnic 2460) with a single engine. So long as the engine is regularly serviced and has been reliable I don't see a problem. Alderney is 59 miles and Guernsey 89 miles from Poole so you should never be more than about 30 miles from a safe haven. If you feel uncomfortable with the crossing try and go in company which instills a little confidence. We regularly go 30+ miles offshore from Poole fishing and back again with no qualms although I must admit we now have twin engines but did do it with the Karnic numerous times. Our biggest worry has always been the weather rather than the engine
 
I've spent a large part of my working life voyaging around the world in single engined vessels. If the engine breaks down the engineers repair it. If it can't be repaired at sea, the owners call Smit Lloyd for a tow. (Not sure if S-L does yachts though :D)
 
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as others have said, if properly maintained and also importantly able to cope if the weather blows up then no problem, think I might like to have something a bit more heavy weight that a MF or Antares, but each to their own.
 
Thanks for all the replies.. I am not in the market for a bigger boat yet but always have a browse.. I would definitely like to extend my range across the channel with the next boat but most in a potentially attainable price range seem to be single engine.. I guess one day I will be asking for boat suggestions, for right now our little Merry Fisher 695 is great fun.. :)
 
wipe_out said:
Thanks for all the replies.. I am not in the market for a bigger boat yet but always have a browse.. I would definitely like to extend my range across the channel with the next boat but most in a potentially attainable price range seem to be single engine.. I guess one day I will be asking for boat suggestions, for right now our little Merry Fisher 695 is great fun.. :)
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I believe that several boats that we saw at the Jersey Boat Show earlier in the year crossed from the UK under their own power, and they seemed a similar size to your boat.

Alternatively, I was just wondering if it may be possible to have your boat transported over say to the Channel Islands for a month/season if you wanted to experience a different cruising ground. Not sure about the costs but perhaps your boat would use smaller truck/towing rig. May be worth enquiring if you wanted to explore new areas.

Garold
 
Yes I would provided I knew the boat well and was happy that it was in good order.

We have just come back from two weeks away on our S23 (25ft). The longest leg of the trip was circa 110 miles with just one port of call along the way if we had problems. We had a cracking time.

Having a single engine doesn't put us off. We just make sure it is as well maintained as it can possibly be to minimize the risk of problems occuring.
 
wipe_out said:
I know the big ocean cruisers (Nordhaven, Flaming etc..) have single engines and happily go way off shore but I am wondering how many would be happy to be 30-40nm away from land with a "small" single engined boat.. Thinking along the lines of the bigger Merry Fishers or Antares type boats but really anything single engined between about 30-32ft..
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Interesting question Wipe_Out, and one that we are currently pondering.....we have a MF645 and are starting the long process of searching out our next boat, with the view of extending our cruising range at least to the channel islands. I love the Merry Fisher concept and it works really well for us, just need to get my head around the cost of going bigger, and how much bigger to we realistically need to go. SIBS this year will be our starting point!
 
I'm.wondering a similar thing,but my scenario is whether it's wise to take my 25 foot single engined boat( Windy 25) from mallorca to ibiza.

I've done the trip before, but in a 34 foot sealine. Its a combination of mechanical reliability and weather I'd be concerned about. I've been boating long enough to have experienced mechanical issues in the past that would have been a problem on a trip like this,and that couldn't have been foreseen despite meticulous maintenance,so I'm loathe to make the trip, although I don't doubt that it's most likely nothing would go wrong.

Weather-wise the boat should be fine through most of the conditions that could occur in the summer (it's rcd cat b rated surprisingly).
 
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Garold said:
I believe that several boats that we saw at the Jersey Boat Show earlier in the year crossed from the UK under their own power, and they seemed a similar size to your boat.

Alternatively, I was just wondering if it may be possible to have your boat transported over say to the Channel Islands for a month/season if you wanted to experience a different cruising ground. Not sure about the costs but perhaps your boat would use smaller truck/towing rig. May be worth enquiring if you wanted to explore new areas.

Garold
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Interesting idea.. Might consider that if we turn it into our "summer holiday".. Plan for next year it to get my ICC sorted so these things are a little closer to being possible..

As someone mentioned earlier a cruise over with other boats is probably the least stressful way to do it..
 
wipe_out said:
I know the big ocean cruisers (Nordhaven, Flaming etc..) have single engines and happily go way off shore but I am wondering how many would be happy to be 30-40nm away from land with a "small" single engined boat.. Thinking along the lines of the bigger Merry Fishers or Antares type boats but really anything single engined between about 30-32ft..
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Sailing yotties do it all the time.
Ok they have sails, but not always practical to use them.
 
sprocker said:
Interesting question Wipe_Out, and one that we are currently pondering.....we have a MF645 and are starting the long process of searching out our next boat, with the view of extending our cruising range at least to the channel islands. I love the Merry Fisher concept and it works really well for us, just need to get my head around the cost of going bigger, and how much bigger to we realistically need to go. SIBS this year will be our starting point!
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Yes, the Merry Fisher concept works well for us too so I would probably look to stay with a similar style of boat if I was to change.. Some of the "coupe" type boats (eg Jeaneau NC9, Nimbus 310/320, etc..) would also work well for us form a layout perspective and these also generally have single engines.. I would not really want to go above 10m LOA though from a mooring and maintenance cost perspective which I guess is also partly what prompted the question.. No boat change on the cards for us at the moment but will be interested to see what ideas you come back with from SIBS..
 
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