Ticket to Ryde - Gosport to Ryde on Bombard Aerotec 380 25Hp

Firstrib · 20 February 2016, 11:40

Hi

I am planning to cross the 4.5 mile or so (shortest crossing) from a beach to the West of the Portsmouth channel in Gosport to a beach landing or Ryde Harbour.

Anyone done this in this type of boat? Any tips?
I have sea going lifejackets. Taking 4 others in the boat.

Have Navionics Boatimg UK and Holland HD for navigation and soon, light pole.

In what weather/ force conditions would you not go?

Will either beach land and pull boat to friend's house in Ryde or keep in Ryde Harbour overnight if not to shallow and muddy.

Have the usual landing wheels and two large petrol tanks.

What about going out further around the island for fun?

How is the Aerotec in the sea and waves?

John Kennett · 20 February 2016, 11:51

I've done longer trips in the Solent in lesser boats, so it's potentially a fine plan.

The weather is key though, particularly as five up in a 380 will be crowded and very uncomfortable unless it's pretty calm. Bear in mind that the short steep Solent chop can make things particularly difficult in a heavily loaded small boat.

I would suggest holding off until you've got a bit more experience of how your boat handles at sea. It's not far, but it can feel a long way if things start to unravel!

Poly · 20 February 2016, 12:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Firstrib

I am planning to cross the 4.5 mile or so (shortest crossing) from a beach to the West of the Portsmouth channel in Gosport to a beach landing or Ryde Harbour.

Anyone done this in this type of boat? Any tips?

I have sea going lifejackets. Taking 4 others in the boat.

John's advice is good - he knows that boat, and that part of the world better than I do, but here is my general thought: 5 people, I'm guessing some of them are children? Beware of their attention span, and the added drama if anything does go wrong (like a breakdowns etc).

Quote:

Have Navionics Boatimg UK and Holland HD for navigation and soon, light pole.

do you have a VHF? I'd hazard a guess (and it is just a guess because the last time I was in the solent I didn't even own a mobile!) that there is reasonable cell/mobile coverage in the Solent! BUT its a busy waterway and if you breakdown or have some other relatively minor drama it would be better to be able to talk to the ship, yacht, or HM boat you can see than make a 999 call as first resort!

Quote:

In what weather/ force conditions would you not go?

many years ago I asked a sailing instructor, "do you think I should reef today". His wise response was "if you have to ask - you should". I think that as a general rule that applies - when you are asking other people your limits you are probably quite close to them. If you aren't certain that the conditions are suitable don't stick 5 people, 60L of fuel, etc. on a boat in a busy waterway. The more confidence you get in handling the boat (and the people!) the wider the weather you'd make the trip in.

If the "crew" involves say a reasonably responsible teenager, a partner and some younger kids. I'd consider taking the teenager and sending the family by ferry the first time - that way you've got a less cluttered boat, more power-to-weight and less heads to worry about in any drama. That said, I've done much longer trips 4 up (with two younger kids) in a similar sized boat. The key is understanding their tolerance for chop though.

Quote:

What about going out further around the island for fun?

In the right conditions, with the right planning and experience that could be OK; especially if you paired up with another similarly capable boat. There are people here with much bigger RIBs who have turned back on RTI trips because the weather was making it grim though.

Nick Hearne · 20 February 2016, 13:26

Hi it is very capable BUT 5 in it as said will be cramped and not a lot of fun unless conditions are very good!

Her are a couple of longer trips I have done in mine

http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/lost-an...ent-57725.html

http://www.rib.net/forum/f50/friday-...les-63441.html

Fenlander · 20 February 2016, 20:12

>>>I've done longer trips in the Solent in lesser boats, so it's potentially a fine plan.

>>>weather is key though, particularly as five up in a 380 will be crowded and very uncomfortable unless it's pretty calm

And those opposing statements is what you have to balance out. Get very lucky with a near millpond sea and you'll fly across near WOT with the 25hp wondering what folks were worrying about. If it cuts up rough or you had a blip with the outboard (even something as routine as needing to swap tanks mid way) you will feel very exposed in what is a small narrow craft for 5 folks.

There is also the huge responsibility taking others out and I'd be tempted to minimise the number exposed to risk for your first few full sea outings.

My experience of the Aerotec is that one up it's flighty... self on starboard tube with the tiller and Mrs on the seat offset to port is almost perfect... add in a light teen sitting centrally on the floor at the bow facing to the stern then it's perfectly stable and balanced and can be driven through rough water with great confidence as well as any SIB out there and better than many. Add another two adults and it feels sluggish in the water more suited to sheltered conditions.

Firstrib · 20 February 2016, 22:06

Thanks John, Fenlander and Poly. I will take your advice and reduce numbers. Those on board will be able adults and strong swimmers. Have a VHF radio and licence and have been swatting up on the channels. I will check the tides and weather very carefully and if it looks anything other than calm, I will go by ferry.

Should do it quite easily on one tank - about 2/3 of a tank by my calculations.

I will think on these things very carefully over the coming weeks. Perhaps I will do a dry run with one other.

Feeling the responsibility now!

Firstrib · 25 April 2016, 19:59

Well, I made it across from Gosport, Stokes Bay, to Ryde Harbour on Saturday returning Sunday via the forts in the Solent. Some pictures below. Parked nearby in residential road.

Four up, all strong adult swimmers, 2 girls 2 guys including me, 2 tanks and far too many bags. We were at weight limit, struggled, but got up on the plane when the girls sat near the bow and 18 knots with no splash over to Ryde. We had a gap between the sailing boats and hovercraft and the harbour at Ryde was easy to find between the buoys even in shallower water 1.5 hours after high tide as we were late. The approach was well researched and I had memorised the path from the photos on the website. The Harbourmaster Sean was very helpful and responded on Channel 80.

Stayed at a friend's house overnight, after Osbourne House and a tour of the Island and numerous activities, we returned with the tide on Sunday afternoon. We headed for the forts. It got quite rough with wave splash from the front hitting the two of us on the stern, lots of water, fairly soaked but fun. Waves too high for planning for sure most of the time, got near the fort and decided it was too 'exciting' to go out more as waves too high with precious passengers, so headed in via the marked channel to Portsmouth avoiding the military exclusion zone. Abandoned port plans and did beach landing at Portsmouth front to drop one passenger off.

WHEELS:
Although I planned it very carefully on the Thames the week before, when wheels were fine, ashamed to say, I completely messed up the fitting of the wheels (wrong way around) and then refitting once launched at sea (back to front) with r clip and clevis pin excitement in the Solent. Landing on the beach on the Sunday at Portsmouth and not pulling up motor in time and also discovering I had put on new Trim flip down on button wheels the wrong way around when I had gone in to land at Portsmouth meant it was a disastrous drag the motor up the shingle and lay it down job which I have to admit to. That said, all was done safely and everyone was up for it.

I definitely recommend the short 30 min crossing from Gosport beach to Ryde harbour. Do not necessarily recommend going out as far as the forts in Force 4 weather, better when calmer. I am very pleased I have done this trip. Thanks for all of the advice which I took into account planning for 3 months.

Firstrib · 25 April 2016, 19:59

The cover came out for the first time too. See disaster with motor lying on stones.

Fenlander · 28 April 2016, 16:13

Wow... missed this when you posted! Under 6mths from when you first came on here saying "You know boats... what are they like?"... and now a major expedition.

That was a good load to take over there and glad we put you off the 5th person!

Yes best to back off when it looks too rough. As you will have found the responsiveness to rush through poorer sea states really drops off with those extra folks.

Did you leave it moored overnight with that cover on? Does stop casual prying eyes.

But again well done... you're putting those of us who are staying ashore due to a broken fingernail to shame!!

Firstrib · 28 April 2016, 21:30

Hi Fenlander, thank you for your encouragement.

The weight with four even on the smoother ride into Ryde directly from Gosport meant it took a time to get up on the plane and the front passengers had to sit right at the front to get the weight right to lift the boat.

In choppy seas nearer the forts towards Portsmouth, it was very hard to get on the plane at all and then had to ease off for big waves.

Yes, I left the cover on overnight. It was in a managed harbour and I left life jackets etc. in the boat. Tied it loosely around and to the pontoon in case it blew away. Very slimy in the morning with the harbour gunge, I will need to wash it down in the back yard at some point.

Anyway, those who came with me can't stop talking about it, in a good way, so it was a real adventure.

One thing I noticed was that when I had to lay the motor down on the ground (See photo), something twisted and I had to twist it back by hand to get the motor back on the trolley with the transom screws in the right place, and propeller facing backwards not at an angle, I have not had this before, should this be so lose that the whole thing swivels and then can be turned back by hand or does something need tightening up?

I have yet to post my last Thames adventure when I had to be towed (not my fault). Coming soon.

HDAV · 24 May 2016, 21:04

Well done first rib as it was a fair drive down to the Solent how did the ka cope with a boat on the roof and a motor in the boot?

Anymore adventures now it has warmed up? Isle of white for the weekend?

Firstrib · 30 May 2016, 07:35

Hi HDAV, the Ka did very well indeed. It is 1.3L so quite punchy for it's size. Using the boat straps to tie down the boat on the £80 roof rack worked very well. No aerodynamic problems at all, did a good 70mph all the way.

Unfortunately, all of the cold weather in March/April/May has taken its toll and together with overwork pulled immune system down, I have been sick for a month so not going out at the moment

FirstBoat · 06 June 2016, 21:20

Hi John. I am very new to boating so sorry for the long message and lack of clear problem. I have just bought a Bombard Aerotec 380 and a Tohatsu 20HP outboard. I live near Christchurch and have so far taken the boat up and down the Stour from Christchurch harbour to Hengistbury head 4 or 5 times. Generally all has gone well but I am concerned I have not got something setup correctly. My problem is that when traveling back to Christchurch harbour against the flow of the river I feel that the stern is a bit low in the water. If I open up the throttle to more than the restart position I find that the bow pops up. I have played around with the trim position of the engine but I am not sure if it makes much difference. Not sure if any of this will make much sense to you so I suppose i am looking for some general tips on setup or your A380. Is it possible I am not inflating the boat correctly (I have not been using a pressure gauge as I was told the one that comes with it is not that good and basically pump it up until it is hard and you can't get much more air in it), do I need to adjust the engine hight on the transom by adapting it etc. Any help or general advice would be most welcome. Kind Regards Scott

Max... · 06 June 2016, 21:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by FirstBoat

Hi John. I am very new to boating so sorry for the long message and lack of clear problem. I have just bought a Bombard Aerotec 380 and a Tohatsu 20HP outboard. I live near Christchurch and have so far taken the boat up and down the Stour from Christchurch harbour to Hengistbury head 4 or 5 times. Generally all has gone well but I am concerned I have not got something setup correctly. My problem is that when traveling back to Christchurch harbour against the flow of the river I feel that the stern is a bit low in the water. If I open up the throttle to more than the restart position I find that the bow pops up. I have played around with the trim position of the engine but I am not sure if it makes much difference. Not sure if any of this will make much sense to you so I suppose i am looking for some general tips on setup or your A380. Is it possible I am not inflating the boat correctly (I have not been using a pressure gauge as I was told the one that comes with it is not that good and basically pump it up until it is hard and you can't get much more air in it), do I need to adjust the engine hight on the transom by adapting it etc. Any help or general advice would be most welcome. Kind Regards Scott

So much to look at there, have you read the many Aerotec or other SIB set-up topics as lots of info there. Correct inflation is essential, guesswork is useless. Get a proper gauge. Look at weight distribution as too much at the stern will cause these issues. If this is at fast displacement speeds then nose up is to be expected.