Eduardo Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 HI guys, Hope all is well. I have just bought a Maxum 3000 SCR with two recently serviced 190hp Mercruiser petrol engines and I'm willing to drive her along the Thames and down to Brighton marina in the next few days. I've never driven in the sea for such a long voyage. Do any of you have any advice on the route, such as sand bank, dangerous points I should watch out for..? Any advice on fuel stations are also welcome. Look forward to hearing form you guys soon. Rgds, Eduardo Andy135 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy135 Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 Hi Eduardo, Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your purchase. That's quite a passage for a "new to you" boat - I'd be tempted to test out the boat and build confidence in her abilities for a while before making the trip. We have some unsettled weather over the next few days so you may want to pick a day when the forecast is as good as possible. Have you considered getting her put on a boat transporter to make the journey overland? This may be cheaper and certainly simpler for you than burning all that fuel and time. A quick look on Navionics suggests a total distance of 161 nautical miles from Kingston to Brighton by sea but only around 50 miles over land. Good luck with whatever you decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captin slows old outlaw Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 i agree with Andy, it will coast a loot to moter your way to Brighton you will be going the long way round. it will take you a few days, plus if the weather turns ruff you could be out for a week or 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPSguru Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 1 hour ago, Eduardo said: HI guys, Hope all is well. I have just bought a Maxum 3000 SCR with two recently serviced 190hp Mercruiser petrol engines and I'm willing to drive her along the Thames and down to Brighton marina in the next few days. I've never driven in the sea for such a long voyage. Do any of you have any advice on the route, such as sand bank, dangerous points I should watch out for..? Any advice on fuel stations are also welcome. Look forward to hearing form you guys soon. Rgds, Eduardo From London Bridge to Brighton is about 160Nm, which is a lot more than a one day journey. You will need to make a passage plan to include waypoints, tide, tidal streams, fuel stops, and weather etc. Also, if you intend to do a night passage, then you must be able to read navigation lighting (including vessel type identification) as you will be in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, and you have to comply with the separation zone once in the English Channel. TBH, unless you want the adventure, I would be tempted to transport the boat by road. The boat is not huge, 32ft LOA, and a sub 10ft beam with a total weight of 3.3T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintly Fish Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 @Eduardofirstly welcome to the Outlaws. Id be inclined to use a combination of self passage and hiring a skipper to join you and assist with the voyage and planning. If money is no issue (for fuel costs etc), then I'd want to do the journey for the adventure. There's no better way to find out about your boat. Whatever you decide, just plan plan and plan some more. London Bridge to Folkestone , then Folkstone to Brighton for the second day. I have no knowledge of the route or overnight berths, so some googling and phone calls would be needed. Eduardo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eduardo Posted October 4, 2022 Author Share Posted October 4, 2022 Thanks all for the warm welcome and the support. I'm in contact with a few transporters and will be deciding once I hear from them. The adventure is really tempting, the chance to get to know the boat in such voyage also however the fact that I'm not familiar with her and the possible savings on fuel will be playing a big role in the decision making. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintly Fish Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 5 minutes ago, Eduardo said: Thanks all for the warm welcome and the support. I'm in contact with a few transporters and will be deciding once I hear from them. The adventure is really tempting, the chance to get to know the boat in such voyage also however the fact that I'm not familiar with her and the possible savings on fuel will be playing a big role in the decision making. You may find that the difference between road haulage and a self drive trip with fuel bills and a skipper may not be all that big a difference. A seasoned skipper would be in command for the critical moments and areas, so you not being familiar with the boat would not be a big deal really. When you were in "safer" waters so to speak, you could take the helm and learn your boat with the back up of a confident instructor! Id hazard a guess that traveling by road will be in the region of £3-3.5k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy135 Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 I had a quote for transport of Jersey Girl from St Helier to Poole that came out at just less than £3k inc VAT, so I would imagine that road transport without the need for a ferry crossing would be a fair bit cheaper. To be fair this was back in 2020, and we all know which way prices have gone since then... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 Do it, make the run up to Ramsgate on one day, fuel up then overnight stay. Next morning around Northforland and foot down all the way to Brighton. There’s loads of good looking blokes in Brighton 👍 Make sure you stock up on pot noodles as well. I would suggest Pulled pork flavour for the first leg then Beef and tomato for the home run. Good luck. Oh and by the way, the wreck off of sheerness with the masts sticking out is that of the USS Montgomery, it’s ram packed with munitions so give that a swerve 🤣🤣 Malc, captin slows old outlaw and Saintly Fish 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy135 Posted November 8, 2022 Share Posted November 8, 2022 @Eduardo, what did you decide to do in the end? Did you make the trip by sea or by road? Hope all went well either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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