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

prv said:
Vast majority of fishing (not angling) boats have a single engine.

Pete
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...they will also be fairly confident that a mate or ten will not be far away to offer a no strings tow back to port by merely picking up the mike and calling on their local fishing chat channel.
If within telephone range,a call could produce a tow at anytime of day or night plus a large amount of p*** taking.
 
I have undertaken lots of cross channel passages in single engine boats with outboards, petrol inboards and diesel inboards., outdrives and shafts. Smallest boat was just over 6 meters. Never had an issue. That said, there is a certain amount of comfort in knowing you have a second engine when you do. A good compromise is to do it in company, so you have someone to lend a hand if you do get a problem.
 
Also down to speed, 25-30 knots will make short work of the trip. 8-10 will leave you out there for much much longer and more exposed to quickly changing weather .
 
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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Yes no problem if it was well serviced and the weather conditions were suitable. Bare in mind most of the commercial fishing fleet out in winter storms hundreds of miles off shore are single engine.
 
I was glad of my twin outboards on my MF 855 a couple of weeks ago. We were crossing from Jersey to St Cast in a 2m swell, in company with other boats. Suddenly the boat slowed and the engine pitch changed. The port outboard started to vibrate badly. I quickly lifted the outboards to see a net wrapped around one. The advice from the lead boat was not to attempt to remove it then as the sea was too rough. So we pottered south at about 8 knots on one engine fror about 1.5 hours with the lead boat as company and when conditions had settled sufficiently, I was able to remove the net and continue at cruising speed.
If we had only had one engine then a tow would have been required unless able to lift the outboard and remove the net in very lumpy conditions. If we had been on our own with our twin engines we would probably have turned around and headed back to Jersey on a single engine.
We are currently in Guernsey and planning our second solo trip back across channel at the weekend with the confidence that the twin outboards have provided.
 
My son jet ski ed across Chanel when he was 14, single engine and 3 m long-
the channel crossing plays more on your mind- when you think it's same distance to Torquay from Poole as it is from Gurnsey to Poole- some people don't give that a second thought, even though the passage is probably more hazardous( over falls at St. Albans and Portland) .
I think correct planning and good weather is the key- we have done loads of times and can not remember one crossing where we have not had any boats/ ships around us, so wont be on your own.
Good luck and enjoy the trip
 
wipe_out said:
The the Motorboat Owner cruise that just happened is what really inspired the question.. Smallest boat was about 28ft but twin engines..
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We actually had two single engine boats with us on that cruise. The smallest was a 25ft Bayliner with a petrol V8, the other was an Evolution 30 with a single D3 diesel, both on outdrives.

I used to have a single engined 25ft Bayliner, and went across the Channel on a few occasions in it. The longest trip was Essex to Guernsey and back over two weeks. Having a well serviced engine that you can trust is important, but equally important is having the skill, the tools and the parts to fix minor issues that can be encountered at any time. Things such as blocked fuel filters, damaged impellers, shredded drive belts, prop wraps etc. I have had to do these sorts of things out at sea on twin engined boats, to save a long passage at displacement speeds, but so far never on a single engined boat. (yn)
 
neale said:
We actually had two single engine boats with us on that cruise. The smallest was a 25ft Bayliner with a petrol V8, the other was an Evolution 30 with a single D3 diesel, both on outdrives.
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Interesting.. I didn't realise there was a 25fter on the cruise.. I wonder if my Merry Fisher 695 would have made the trip? Engine is new and serviced so should be no issues there.. Would never do it alone but in company might be a possibility..

Does pose another question though.. My boat is on a category C and the insurance probably class crossing the channel as "offshore" meaning the boat would need to be category B.. Guess that's something that would have to be checked with the insurance if I intend to cross.. :)
 
Crossing the channel in company is a great way to boost your confidence. We try to do it every year with this video showing our trip from Poole to Alderney in 2013.

Largest boat 30' smallest boat a marlin 6 . All boats are single engine I/O or outboard. One year we had a QS 630 and a Pirate 21. We rarely suffered engine problems but had 2 boats in 2013 got rope caught around their props all dealt with relative ease in company.

Apologies to those who have seen this vid before but thought the op would find it interesting.
 
maverickofpoole said:
Crossing the channel in company is a great way to boost your confidence. We try to do it every year with this video showing our trip from Poole to Alderney in 2013.

Largest boat 30' smallest boat a marlin 6 . All boats are single engine I/O or outboard. One year we had a QS 630 and a Pirate 21. We rarely suffered engine problems but had 2 boats in 2013 got rope caught around their props all dealt with relative ease in company.
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Looks like fun and seems definitely possible in a small boat like what we have now when going in company.. Thanks for posting it..
 
As a 747 captain commented in the early 90s when wide body twin engine jets were just starting to be rostered for long haul sectors over oceans, "with modern more reliable jet engines there will be half as many things to go wrong as there was on the 747". And he was proved correct over the subsequent 20 years of successful twin engine ops on transoceanic routes.
 
oceanfroggie said:
As a 747 captain commented in the early 90s when wide body twin engine jets were just starting to be rostered for long haul sectors over oceans, "with modern more reliable jet engines there will be half as many things to go wrong as there was on the 747". And he was proved correct over the subsequent 20 years of successful twin engine ops on transoceanic routes.
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I made a comment once before, on here I think, that with a single engine you halve the chances of seething going wrong. Think I was proved wrong on some level, but I still think there has to be a reduction in the possibility of something breaking when you halve the number of components.
 
Yes I think the lesson is one well maintained engine is likely to be more reliable than blind faith placed in two poorly maintained engines.

Many years ago a Kerryman flying transat on 747-200 hears captain announce, ladies and gentlemen do not be alarmed, one of our engines has a slight vibration so we have shut it down as a mere precaution. This aircraft can fly perfectly safely with 3 engines. As we are past the half way point of our route we will continue to our destination without diverting, but you will appreciate with 3 engines and a slightly lower altitude the remainder of the flight will take a bit longer. Kerryman thinks to himself, this is not good, "margaret rose" will be annoyed waiting for the delayed flight at the airport.

Some time later the captain makes another announcement, ladies and gentlemen we have lost another engine, but do not be alarmed we can divert and fly safely on two engines as we are light enough to maintain a lower altitude having burned off 70% of our fuel load, but we will be delayed a further hour. They Kerryman is now quite annoyed and comments to a fellow pax "dam this delay is going to be really inconvenient".

Some time later the captain announces "ladies and gentlemen I am sorry to inform you that we have lost our third engine but can still make a safe shallow descent to our alternative, but at this slower airspeed there will be a further one hour delay". They kerryman is now seriously miffed about the added delay.

About 15 minutes later the captain announces "ladies and gentlemen we have just lost the fourth engine . . ." at which point the Kerryman shouts outloud in the cabin "bloody heck more delays, at this rate we are never going to arrive and will be stuck up here all day!"
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For me the answer to the original question would depend on the plan to deal with something going wrong. I don't mean the freak event which can't realistically be planned against, but the routine issue.

This is unlikely to be related to the hull of the type of boat described, which should be fine - as others have mentioned, something with a bit more heft might be smoother but the type described should not be a non-starter with an appropriate weather window. F4 doesn't sound much inshore but why anyone would want to subject themselves to several hours of moderate battering is a mystery to me. So I would look for lighter winds and no great sea state and a settled weather pattern before embarking.

The biggest likely cause of a routine difficulty will be the engine. What's the plan if it stops? If the answer to this is: call up international rescue because I haven't a clue/I'm on my own etc...then I would be happier to see my tax dollars being saved whilst everyone gets on with a different project.

If the answer to that is: bob around a bit whilst stripping things down and fixing the issue with the use of decent mechanical know-how and a well-stocked spares kit whilst another crew member maintains a proper lookout, then don't expect any grumbling from me - even if the problem ultimately can't be fixed and a distress call has to be made.
 
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I've been quite happy to make long trips in my single-engined 28' Astinor 840. Made quite a few 2 day trips from Kilrush to Cork. And 1 day trip Cork to the Scilly Isles 135 miles. Also Cork to Neyland 135 miles, one day. The Astinor is EU classification B. Engine: Yanmar 250hp. I love being out of sight of land; some crew not so. :)
 
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