Equipment for going to sea

[sirweste]

Hello ladies and gents.

 

So at the weekend I bought my boat, which has been lovely so far.

Now I didn't plan the trip, at all, and as such am stuck at Denver Sluice - Salters Lode lock is out of action for 6 weeks.

 

I have 3 options but the most appealing to me is seeing if there's a pilot who will take me out into the wash from the Ouse and then into the Nene.

 

I wondered if you good people could give me a rough list of the equipment I'd require to go to sea on the Narrowboat (60ft) please? I want to start costing it up.

 

Cheers

Ryan

[bottle]

Insurance.

 

Not experienced enough to advise on going to sea but think about a crane and a lorry, possibly not cheaper but at least you would know the boat and you would arrive safely.

 

Probably quicker, as you would not need to wait for tide and weather.

[howardang]

Hello ladies and gents.

 

So at the weekend I bought my boat, which has been lovely so far.

Now I didn't plan the trip, at all, and as such am stuck at Denver Sluice - Salters Lode lock is out of action for 6 weeks.

 

I have 3 options but the most appealing to me is seeing if there's a pilot who will take me out into the wash from the Ouse and then into the Nene.

 

I wondered if you good people could give me a rough list of the equipment I'd require to go to sea on the Narrowboat (60ft) please? I want to start costing it up.

 

Cheers

Ryan

How experienced are you? Although you may have a pilot on board, you are still in charge and responsible for the safety and wellbeing of everybody on board, so you must have some knowledge/experience of what you are doing. Also check what your insurance company have to say. If you are a novice, think seriously about taking it on the back of a lorry!

 

You haven't mentioned any details of the boat.

 

Howard

[Henhouse]

psychiatrist !

[David Schweizer]

The only person I know who has a narrowboat modified for sea passage is Chris Coburn, who owns Progress. if you Goolge him you will find quite a few entries. I do not know the boat well , but it has been altered signifcantly to prevent the ingress of water from spray, etc.

Edited January 27, 2015 by David Schweizer

[b0atman]

Lumpy water get diesel and diesel tank cleaned fit a new diesel filter.

Then ask why do I want to do this ?

[Naughty Cal]

Without wanting to be too down on your plans, the very fact that you have had to ask the question suggests you would be better off on the back of a lorry.

[KenK]

It is not unusual for narrowboats to cross the Wash but generally not in the Winter months. I would be very surprised if you can find a pilot willing to take the risk at this time of the year.

 

Equipment.

 

Lifejacket

VHF Radio so you can call the coastguard when the boat starts sinking

Flares so the coastguard can find you when you are floating around in your lifejacket slowly freezing to death.

 

Ken

[Scholar Gypsy]

I have been discussing my Wash trip later this year - see separate thread - with Daryl the pilot. So for me the mandatory list is

 

• anchor, chain and ridiculously long rope, securely fastened to the boat
• lifejackets
• well maintained engine, clean fuel filters, possibly get the fuel polished?
• sealed up front and side doors
• No or little wind
• Nav lights if any prospect of navigating in poor light (quite likely given the whole trip will take 10 hours or so from Denver to Wisbech)

And then optionals are

• VHF radio (the pilot will have his own)
• GPS navigation (ditto)
• flares (fireworks not trousers)
• depth sounder (see my blog!)
• charts

[b0atman]

floating pontoons for when you want to moor up.

[sirweste]

Should have added;

 

I'm aware that I will need:

Anchor

VHF

Life Jackets

and the boat will need water ingress proofing

 

At this stage I just want to price everthing up, and as I couldn't find a list like this on here I thought it would be a useful thread to have

[sirweste]

Scholar - good man thanks very much, cracking list. Shame I didn't know about this when I was docked up in Ely on Saturday. Was thinking the trip would start from Kings Lynn to maximise available light.

[Scholar Gypsy]

Scholar - good man thanks very much, cracking list. Shame I didn't know about this when I was docked up in Ely on Saturday. Was thinking the trip would start from Kings Lynn to maximise available light.

 

I am afraid I don't think that will work: see here.

[Ray T]

Any decent Pilot should have the knowledge but may I suggest you make you self familiar with the COLREGS

Edited January 27, 2015 by Ray T

[wandering snail]

We started from King's Lynn and ended up towing the other nb that was with us very soon after as his engine over heated. Otherwise, apart from the seals it was a boring trip with not much to see. So, our advice is make sure your engine can cope with a long haul, listen to advice from those who have done it rather than those who have not and give our best to Daryl!

[sirweste]

Thanks for the good and constructive comments, I've emailed Daryl and will create a My Boat topic in which I will document the prep and the trip if it goes ahead. I really don't want to spend / waste money on a lorry, so hopefully I can find someone who is willing to do it.

 

Cheers

[Neil2]

There's been quite a few accounts of narrowboats crossing the Wash and none of them as far as I can recall had any special adaptations for the trip, in fact I think the one featuring "No Problem" all the boats in the convoy were cruiser sterns with engine room vents!

 

So basically it has to be little or no wind and little or no swell. If it's absolutely flat calm does the pilot prefer to dry out between the tides? I met someone who had done it this way and their dogs appreciated it!

[wandering snail]

There's been quite a few accounts of narrowboats crossing the Wash and none of them as far as I can recall had any special adaptations for the trip, in fact I think the one featuring "No Problem" all the boats in the convoy were cruiser sterns with engine room vents!

 

So basically it has to be little or no wind and little or no swell. If it's absolutely flat calm does the pilot prefer to dry out between the tides? I met someone who had done it this way and their dogs appreciated it!

This is what we did, giving the dog a comfort break. The seals looked up from snoozing on the beach but then went back to sleep. Look out for the jelly fish, there were a lot of 'em!

[Naughty Cal]

If you pick your weather window correctly it can be really very nice in the Wash.

 

Have you considered how many daylight hours you have to play with at this time of year as you will need two tides to complete the trip across the Wash.

[b0atman]

This is what we did, giving the dog a comfort break. The seals looked up from snoozing on the beach but then went back to sleep. Look out for the jelly fish, there were a lot of 'em!

I hope you picked up after dogs and left only footprints

[Neil2]

Drying out does seem to be the preferred way (for a narrowboat) but I gather if there is anything of a swell they anchor or tie up to a buoy, something to do with the risk of a NB being tipped over as it refloats.

[Naughty Cal]

Drying out does seem to be the preferred way (for a narrowboat) but I gather if there is anything of a swell they anchor or tie up to a buoy, something to do with the risk of a NB being tipped over as it refloats.

It would also be uncomfortable towards the bottom of the tide as the boat bumps the bottom in the swell as it is settling and refloating.

 

We anchor up so as to stay afloat for the whole of the tide and dinghy onto the sands.

[starman]

We did the Wash with Daryl last summer abd it's a great trip but he will prefer to take two boats for safety reasons - and since you've only had your boat six weeks I think you need another Nb with you too; it's a long way and you don't want to be stuck out there alone with a breakdown.

The trip is weather and tide time dependent. At this time of year you could be waiting a while for both to be right as you will need a pretty flat calm day. Indeed Salters Lode may well be open again!

I don't want to discourage you but I think the Wash is a summer trip in a boat you trust with a good pilot like Daryl.

[Dharl]

 

I have been discussing my Wash trip later this year - see separate thread - with Daryl the pilot. So for me the mandatory list is

 

• anchor, chain and ridiculously long rope, securely fastened to the boat
• lifejackets
• well maintained engine, clean fuel filters, possibly get the fuel polished?
• sealed up front and side doors
• No or little wind
• Nav lights if any prospect of navigating in poor light (quite likely given the whole trip will take 10 hours or so from Denver to Wisbech)

And then optionals are

• VHF radio (the pilot will have his own)
• GPS navigation (ditto)
• flares (fireworks not trousers)
• depth sounder (see my blog!)
• charts

 

 

Would agree that Scholar Gypsy's list is a great starting point, also his blog is well worth a read (I have been a secret reader of it for a while!). I would love to do the Wash sometime, defiantly in preference to the Severn, however would echo others thoughts on waiting for a summer cruise in company rather than a winter dash...

 

Either way welcome to the forum and look forward to seeing you on the cut some time!

[Tony Dunkley]

If you pick your weather window correctly it can be really very nice in the Wash.

 

Have you considered how many daylight hours you have to play with at this time of year as you will need two tides to complete the trip across the Wash.

To be more precise you need something rather less than half of two tides . . . a good portion of the ebb when outbound and about the same for the flood inbound.