View Full Version : Escape on a 20 footer
Having bought a 1975, Sygnet 20 sailing boat (called "Cygnet"), a friend and myself (Andy and Mat) are planning to leave from Torbay on 6th May 2002 (May Day!) for St Malo, use the canals to cut off Brittany, down the west coast of France and then use the canals to get to the Med. There's no detailed itinary or timescale to adhere to, but the plan is to head east and eventually end up in Turkey at which point we'll make a decision to either continue on or head back.
20 foot is we know a very small vessel to be living on, however we can't wait to get going. Andy is no stranger to leaving the rat-race, having last year cycled nearly 6,000 miles from Calais to Turkey, only to be run over by a tractor, breaking legs, pelvis & internal damage etc. Hopefully he'll have better luck this time.
We understand the cramped conditions and slow speed over the ground would make the trip tedious for many, but for us that's all part of the adventure. However, we would prefer to avoid any obvious pitfalls that may detract from the enjoyment trip, e.g. paperwork not being in order, local etiquette, safety issues, mandatory equipment etc and we would welcome any advice anyone has to offer.
There's little time left before we go (about 53 days), but no-one's counting. The boat has a bilge keel and draws 2 feet.
Mat & Andy
seems a shame to miss Brittany ,but good travelling to you
(how do 3 people sleep on a 20 ft ? or do you take turns ?
There's two of us going, and so far we've been using the very compact, but adequate quarter berths (or coffins as they're now known). That leaves the pointed end free for storage; useful as this is the dry end away from the main hatch. In preparation for better weather than the UK offers, we've also set up a system for hammocks running parallel to, and either side of the boom over the cockpit. So far we've been sailing with five on board (a few being sick) and slept with 4 on board including kit - that was a bit crowded, but once again all part of the adventure.
We're using meths to cook on and for heat while w've been staying on board this winter - does anyone know if this gives off CO? My limited recollection of chemistry tells me that only carbon and water is produced but this could be completely wrong. We're looking at fitting a pushbike inner tube around the rim of the sliding hatch which could be inflated when closed ensuring a watertight seal in stormy conditions. This increases the risk of burning meths if CO is produced.
no there's no CO produced. It produces carbon dioxide and water. I think the idea of attempting to seal the cabin is ****, though - you'll be using oxygen and replacing with water vapour and carbon dioxide. You shoud be in a well ventilated area and not use the stove unattended or whilst asleep. A quick burn to get things warm will be ok.
Other problems include keeping the sun off.
I was going to say that u need a dinghy to get ashore from nice med anchorages - good for low cost and to stay cool at night, tho perhaps it'll be too big -or will you tow something? Sorts out the liferaft scenario too. Oars of course, no outboard...unless the 20 footer has such a device? How very cunning that would be.
OH! to be young again!
Good Luck lads!
I am sure you will have lots of fun. I first went cruising in a 5.6m boat (18'ish), we were four young enthusiasts sleeping on it and we had a wonderful time, even if it was only for a few one month periods.
If on one side a small boat is slow, if you have time it is an excellent choice to take advantage of the best a coast can offer. With our small boat we went to the then Yugoslavia, you know that place with more than one thousands islands, and having a small boat allowed us to sail for no more than 15/20 miles a day, less if windward: it meant that we could really comb the coast and appreciate so many places and anchorages so near to each other that ironically it would have taken three times as much in a bigger, faster boat.
If you can sail 50nm a day and have a beautiful anchorage every 5miles you won't stop 10 times in a day will you?
We towed a rib which was almost half as long as the boat itself, but never regret it, really useful in so many circumstances -we forgot about sailing performances much earlier! Oh, and do not forget a solar shower: in the Med that makes you often feel like having the same comfort as a 50footer, save that you can always find a free mooring in a port whereas they cannot!
Hi
wish you all the best ,I think with your sense of fun you will have a great time.
Cheers Bob t
Bob T
Go for it guys you have, im in no doubt at all the best wishes of everybody on this BB....brilliant
Dave
Hi Dave et al,
Thanks everyone for all your encouraging words, generally people are so defeatist and write off any challenge to convention as being pointless, stupid and in some eyes dangerous - it's a great pity that more poeple don't have vision beyond their established comfort zones.
However, my plan to travel to the Isle of White (Lymington to Yarmouth) in an open coleman canoe this weekend may be considered stupid by any standards!
Over the remaining weeks I'm sure we'll be seeking further more specific advice and hope that you'll all be there to help.
Mat
I have done a round trip twice, in a 22 footer. I went via the Seine, Saone and Rhone and returned via Midi, Vilaine, and Rance. It would be sad to miss out on Rouen, Paris, Lyon and Avignon. I was single handed for half of each trip, the first time as far as Avignon and the second time from Agde to Weymouth, so the canals are not that difficult.
You don’t say what engine your boat has. That is the important factor. Mine had a 7.5hp Yanmar which served me very well. Your other necessity is a bicycle to get shopping and fuel.
Have a wonderful time.
longjohnsilver
16-03-02, 23:48
Go for it and have a good time. Just make sure that you have as much safety gear as you think fit.
Where in Torbay are you moored at present? If you're both living on board during the winter it must get a bit cramped, much better once the good weather comes. Make sure you take a camera to record the special moments.
Will you keep us posted of your progress?Possibly a friend back home could post something on the site occasionally.
I would experiment with a half inflated inflatable dinghy lashed on deck .Not having a dinghy will be a pain and I doubt you will have room for a liferaft and a dinghy so this could be a compromise.
Best wishes for a safe journey .The memories will last a lifetime.
Thanks for note Nigel,
The boat is fitted with a honda 7hp outboard which charges a single 12V battery. I've fitted a retractable bracket for another outboard (Wanted advert placed) - probably 4 to 8hp to act as auxilliary power if required or if the Honda motor duffs out.
As for the bike we're looking at taking two with rear suspension so that they can be stored dismantled to save space.
Advice on canals noted.
Thanks,
Mat
Thanks for note Graham,
We're looking at the possibility of setting up a website - I don't know much about it myself, but I know a man who does - we're taking a laptop (need to sort out power - it requires 20V, which means converting the 12V battery to AC, stepping it up and rectifying back at the required voltage), mobile phone with IR link for internet connection to laptop and a digital camcorder. We should be able to record and report progress quite well - mainly we want to make our mates jeolous when they're still stuck in the office!
Mat
We'll post the website address before we go.
Like the Skull and Crossbones!
The boat was kept in Brixham, but is currently out of the water at Noss. Planning to return to water on Thursday this week, and then being kept on the Dart until we depart. So far we've only only been staying on board at weekends - we still have to work during the week to finance the trip although I hope not much money will be spent - not because we don't have it, but rather to show that you don't need lots of money to enjoy all that sailing has to offer.
Mat
I have just spent a cold and wet Sunday looking at 40+ft sailing boats and wondering how to fit in all the stuff that I want to take when I 'Abandon Shore' in the summer and go cruising, for a year or ten :-)
You are an inspiration to all of us who fight the fear demon within us, I hope to bump into you one day and will buy you a Beer !!
Good luck with your adventure..... and please post narrative and photo's here for us to be jealous over !
Steve
Mat
Best of luck with the trip - I did something similar on a 24ft woodie many years ago.
Re power for the laptop - take a small inverter. I have a Synergex 150W which just plugs into a 12V cigar lighter socket and allows you to plug the normal mains lead directly in. The added advantage of this is that you can use it for other low power AC devices such as mobile phone chargers and stereos etc. I bought it from Merlin Equipment (01202 697979) in Poole for around £50 I think.
Best of luck & happy sailing!
Duncan
Good on you,
Ive got a 18ft trailer sailing boat i bought last year with the intention of sailing all over the uk and continent, but , after reading all sorts of scary posts on the pbo forum ive restricted my sailing to windermere, reading this post has reminded me why i bought the boat in the first place and i have already looked at cost to trail the boat to france for a couple of weeks on the rivers/canals.
thanks for the kick up the a*se.
Go for it. We had a very reliable Honda on a 22-footer many years ago; new spark plugs only spares required. Recently I met a small-boat cruiser in Annapolis MD whose tender was an inflatable kayak, which he found very satisfactory, easy to stow, and inexpensive. Probably it was a Saylor; West Marine lists them at US$155. In the 1950s John Guzzwell thought his 21-foot Trekka was just the right size for a circumnavigation, did it, and wrote a great book about it.
Hi Adrain,
Just to let you know it's not all fun - I have little sailing experience (day skipper) mainly at weekends since September last year when I bought Cygnet and a little previously. There's a fair amount of paper work to get sorted CEVNI, ICC, VHF licence, Insurance, Registration, VAT docs etc - I've got a lot of this still to do with only about 40 days to go.
We sailed this weekend to the Eddystone lighthouse stopping off at Salcombe on the way back. We seemed to get there quite quickly sailing most of the way. On the way back we were close hauled and making about 6 knots over the ground (not bad for a 20 footer), but the water level on the port side was consistently up to the winch and at times above the window. There was plently of weatherhelm which made for tired arms, but releasing the main to reduce this also reduced speed - and is less exhilerating. However a trip below by Andy revealed we'd taken on board a far amount of water, so sailing at this angle was not a viable option. The weather deteriorated and we were forced to use the outboard motor (our only mechanical means of propulsion) to take us from the Mew Stone back to Salcombe. We could have opted to go to Plymouth but that would have certainly made us late for work on Monday. The engine pushed us at about 2.5 to 4 knots through a fairly rough sea east towards Salcombe - we were soaked through, the hand held gps was using batteres up like no tomorrow. Had the engine failed or were we to have run out of petrol we'd have had to sail south in circuits until day break as, for my experience the sea was too rough to anchor and we'd have had to get back to Brixham as I'm not confident enough to attempt to sail into either Salcombe or Dartmouth. Not a thought I relished. Fate smiled upon us and at about 11:30pm we moored to a visitors bouy in Salcombe after a very long, and latterly tortuous day. I had to sleep in a survival suit as my sleeping bag was soaked - the tomato soup we had heated up on the meths burner was the best you've ever tasted.
This morning we motor sailed to Dartmouth across Start Point - the sea was pretty rough for a 20 footer, but rough seas on a sunny day, rather than a cold night are much more appealing. The gps stopped working - inspection showed a green build up between two terminals on the pc link port - possibly caused by some sort of electrolysis, may be explaining the excessive battery consumption. Thank heavens it didn't duff out the night before. After a lot of crashing and banging we got into Dartmouth and took over most of a pontoon with our wet kit, cushions etc, and removed all the water from the boat.
Writing this now I ask myself why, but the answer will be found in the comfort I'll feel tonight in a proper bed. We should all re-establish the baseline from time to time. Conversely, in the med with flatter seas warm enough to swin in, sleeping in hammocks and the only protective clothing necessary being a sun hat, I don't think comfort will be an issue!
Sorry to have droned on but there's a lot of lessons in the above and in the same way that I like to learn from others I like to share my own experiences.
Mainly there's no such word as can't, 18 foot is plenty - let me know when you go - we can meet up and I'll buy you a beer.
Mat
Watch out in the Med, it can go from flat calm to F6 in a couple of hours and still not a cloud in sight!
Really enjoyed reading this, which brought back vivid memories of when I had a 20ft bilge keeler. Such a small boat puts you in very close contact with the elements, without much by way of shelter where you can recuperate for your next watch. It might be worth writing up your mini-cruise for YM.
I've read all this with great interest. Most of the posts seem to be of the "go for it!" variety but not too full on the practical aspects.
Me & a girl-friend took my 22 footer through the french canals to the Med in '88 and stuffed it to the gills with all sorts of "useful" things, including a mains-powered sewing machine, keyboard organ (for those quiet nights) and lots of other stuff. We nearly took took the sax too! After 6 months, I freighted nearly 1/2 ton of "useful" stuff back to England. Now the boat sails properly again ;^) It's been along the Med coast to Italy, France, Spain, now its in the Balearics. Little boats can have very long legs.
Don't take this negatively but I suggest you reconsider taking the bicycles (you won't have room & you can always walk, bus etc). Forget the laptop & all things hi-tech that are not designed for this environment. They will pack up the first time you get them wet and cannot be fixed. Instead take a reasonable but cheap 35mm camera, keep a diary or notebook (use an internet cafe to "file" you story & scan your photos), get a pocket SW radio that can receive the weather on SSB. Put your delicate things in a zip-lock bag. Think about a blow up dinghy, about how to carry 5+ gallons of fuel and 10+ gallons of fresh water. These are the useful things on a very small boat. Amazing how quick the water will run out if you shower aboard!
Have a look at the canal routes through central France (in at R.Seine, out at the Golf of Fos (nr Marseille). Saves a lot of time and you won't be battered by the Atlantic rollers all the way to Gib. Good luck.
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