Cheshire to Spain towing my Elling KB 350 490 miles/37 hours

[Sibfisher]

Cheshire to Spain towing my Elling kb350 490 miles/37 hours

We have been waiting 4 months to get back to our place in Spain and finally we were on our way on 5 July after being cancelad twice.

The journey from Cheshire to Tui in Spain started on a lot of advice and preparation, first to support the transom for the outboard, so I made new bunks that were longer so to support the transom with the outboard on, then to buy a transom support bar as the outboard was too low to the ground which I did, I had to put some things into the boat as in the car was full with luggage and taking 2 cats back only having a Ford C-Max not a lot of room in the car.
I had already put fibre matting squares over the air floor that I bought from Aldi to protect the floor that worked out great solid and none slip I also cut a sheet of 6mm ply which I put on the floor to make it solid and help support over the bunks each side of the boat.

So with all this preparation I put the things needed into the boat, I must tress anything heavy went into the car and what went into the boat was light and strapped down.
The strapping down of the boat to the trailer I had 2 ratchet straps from the transom wheel supports to the trailer cross bar, another ratchet strap around the outboard to the cross bar to keep the transom support bar and outboard secure plus 2 ratchet straps on the bow of the boat one strait down to the trailer and one around the front roller to stop any movement of the boat forward or back and to keep it all solid and secure the winch on.

I know I have been advised not to travel with the cover on but I had to cover the items in the boat, the cover is made of a thick material that I bought from Boatworld which is waterproof with straps going along the length of it and elastic around the front that hooked over the bow handle so I was able to secured it very tight to the boat plus for more added protection I put 3 ratchet straps over the cover and tubes connected to the trailer this was just for added security for the cover and just in case, not to hold the boat on the trailer as I had all the straps on the boat doing that so with fingers and toes crossed I am ready to go,
The photo below is the outfit ready to go outside the local supermarket buying a few things before we start the journey.

The journey started at 8am on a Sunday as we had to be at the ferry in Plymouth at 3-30pm we gave our self's bit extra time for the stops and any problems we may have, on the journey we checked the straps and boat regally, when we made a stop for something to eat we did not leave the car untended we had made a flask for the stops, there was a kiosk for coffees and snack outside the service station so that was sorted and got two coffees to takeaway the boat and cover all looked good.
We then carried on to Plymouth we stopped just outside the ferry terminal at a supermarket for diesel for when we got off the ferry in Spain and checked the trailer once again, when we got to the embarkation point the papers and passports were checked for us and the cats but not the boat and I had all my papers ready and waiting for them, I should be glad it all went smoothly with no problems we were soon on the boat ready for the second part of the journey Plymouth to Santander that will take about 23 hours, photo below is outside the port at the supermarket and on the boat. So far so good no problems.

Because of the corona viras the ship was only half full with only 1 restaurant and a bar open for snacks and coffee, you were given a colour code when you got your boarding card and cabin number for the restaurant and you could only enter when your colour was called we all had to wear masks when walking around the ship and only allowed to take them off when seated at a table or eating the tables were spaced only every other one to keep distance. Once we had something to eat it was back to our cabin for the night.

The ferry got in about 1pm and the good thing was we were only stooped by the customs to show our passports not by the guardia which I expected to inspect the boat I think it must have been because we were in a Spanish reg car so we were on our way, we took the road to Leon then onto Galicia the motorway for part of the way was in poor condition and the car and trailer was being bumped around so had to take it easy this journey took a while and by the time we got home and we were shattered at the end of it, when we pulled up at the house I looked at the boat and trailer so far so good it all looked ok, so we unloaded the car and called it a day.

The next morning I made a close inspection of the boat and trailer all the straps were still tight and the boat was firmly on the trailer and had not moved so took all the straps off and removed the boat cover and took all the items out and removed the ply flooring i had put in, looked at the tubes and under the boat at the bunks supporting the boat and bottom all looked good and the air floor was fine, looks like no damage to the tubes and air floor after all the miles I had travelled pretty lucky so far, then came the transom and outboard, the transom looked good and was still supported by the bunks.
On inspection of the outboard it was a bit wobbly I was so so LUCKY on the bumpy road the nut had come off of the outboard tilting bolt that also holds the outboard to clamp on the boat the outboard was only held on by one side luckily it was in enough to keep it all together if I had not had a transom support bar I think this would have been disastrous, I cant understand how this nut vibrated off as it was a fibre lock nut.
I lifted the outboard off the boat and lucky the bolt was not bent or damaged so pushed it in place and secured it with a new fibre lock nut but will keep an eye on this as cant understand why it came off.

Conclusion;- Would I do such a long trip like this again No, the trip from Cheshire to Plymouth not a problem, on the boat was long and restricted and the beds were uncomfortable but ok, the trip from Santander to Tui Spain never again on this road it would be bad enough in a car but when trailing towing your pride and joy was very worrying I should be very lucky I got here without any major problems just think the outboard dropping off.

To sum it up the reason for buying my Elling KB350 is where I live and it is here now, after waiting 10 years and saying every year should buy a boat, I now have one and its the KB 350 sib with a 9.8 hp outboard that is perfect for what I need it for Fishing cruising along the river and estuary, I can launch and retrieve it on my own with no problem as you can see by the photos below, and I will be using my Sib in on a regular basis will keep you all updated.
Hope I haven rambled on next time not so long a write up, hope you enjoyed the reading of the start of my adventure.
Thanks for all the help and advice

Photos in order below of the Journey and where I bought my KB 350 for.

1st Start of Journey from Northwich Cheshire

2nd 1st Leg of the journey complete and on the Ferry

3rd Finaly reached my house in Tui Galicia, Spain

4th View from my Garden 250 mts away the river slipway just left of the cars

5th close up of the river and concrete Slipway

Slipway at the River.jpg
Top

[davidmichael]

Originally Posted by Sibfisher

Cheshire to Spain towing my Elling kb350 490 miles/37 hours

We have been waiting 4 months to get back to our place in Spain and finally we were on our way on 5 July after being cancelad twice.

The journey from Cheshire to Tui in Spain started on a lot of advice and preparation, first to support the transom for the outboard, so I made new bunks that were longer so to support the transom with the outboard on, then to buy a transom support bar as the outboard was too low to the ground which I did, I had to put some things into the boat as in the car was full with luggage and taking 2 cats back only having a Ford C-Max not a lot of room in the car.
I had already put fibre matting squares over the air floor that I bought from Aldi to protect the floor that worked out great solid and none slip I also cut a sheet of 6mm ply which I put on the floor to make it solid and help support over the bunks each side of the boat.

So with all this preparation I put the things needed into the boat, I must tress anything heavy went into the car and what went into the boat was light and strapped down.
The strapping down of the boat to the trailer I had 2 ratchet straps from the transom wheel supports to the trailer cross bar, another ratchet strap around the outboard to the cross bar to keep the transom support bar and outboard secure plus 2 ratchet straps on the bow of the boat one strait down to the trailer and one around the front roller to stop any movement of the boat forward or back and to keep it all solid and secure the winch on.

I know I have been advised not to travel with the cover on but I had to cover the items in the boat, the cover is made of a thick material that I bought from Boatworld which is waterproof with straps going along the length of it and elastic around the front that hooked over the bow handle so I was able to secured it very tight to the boat plus for more added protection I put 3 ratchet straps over the cover and tubes connected to the trailer this was just for added security for the cover and just in case, not to hold the boat on the trailer as I had all the straps on the boat doing that so with fingers and toes crossed I am ready to go,
The photo below is the outfit ready to go outside the local supermarket buying a few things before we start the journey.

The journey started at 8am on a Sunday as we had to be at the ferry in Plymouth at 3-30pm we gave our self's bit extra time for the stops and any problems we may have, on the journey we checked the straps and boat regally, when we made a stop for something to eat we did not leave the car untended we had made a flask for the stops, there was a kiosk for coffees and snack outside the service station so that was sorted and got two coffees to takeaway the boat and cover all looked good.
We then carried on to Plymouth we stopped just outside the ferry terminal at a supermarket for diesel for when we got off the ferry in Spain and checked the trailer once again, when we got to the embarkation point the papers and passports were checked for us and the cats but not the boat and I had all my papers ready and waiting for them, I should be glad it all went smoothly with no problems we were soon on the boat ready for the second part of the journey Plymouth to Santander that will take about 23 hours, photo below is outside the port at the supermarket and on the boat. So far so good no problems.

Because of the corona viras the ship was only half full with only 1 restaurant and a bar open for snacks and coffee, you were given a colour code when you got your boarding card and cabin number for the restaurant and you could only enter when your colour was called we all had to wear masks when walking around the ship and only allowed to take them off when seated at a table or eating the tables were spaced only every other one to keep distance. Once we had something to eat it was back to our cabin for the night.

The ferry got in about 1pm and the good thing was we were only stooped by the customs to show our passports not by the guardia which I expected to inspect the boat I think it must have been because we were in a Spanish reg car so we were on our way, we took the road to Leon then onto Galicia the motorway for part of the way was in poor condition and the car and trailer was being bumped around so had to take it easy this journey took a while and by the time we got home and we were shattered at the end of it, when we pulled up at the house I looked at the boat and trailer so far so good it all looked ok, so we unloaded the car and called it a day.

The next morning I made a close inspection of the boat and trailer all the straps were still tight and the boat was firmly on the trailer and had not moved so took all the straps off and removed the boat cover and took all the items out and removed the ply flooring i had put in, looked at the tubes and under the boat at the bunks supporting the boat and bottom all looked good and the air floor was fine, looks like no damage to the tubes and air floor after all the miles I had travelled pretty lucky so far, then came the transom and outboard, the transom looked good and was still supported by the bunks.
On inspection of the outboard it was a bit wobbly I was so so LUCKY on the bumpy road the nut had come off of the outboard tilting bolt that also holds the outboard to clamp on the boat the outboard was only held on by one side luckily it was in enough to keep it all together if I had not had a transom support bar I think this would have been disastrous, I cant understand how this nut vibrated off as it was a fibre lock nut.
I lifted the outboard off the boat and lucky the bolt was not bent or damaged so pushed it in place and secured it with a new fibre lock nut but will keep an eye on this as cant understand why it came off.

Conclusion;- Would I do such a long trip like this again No, the trip from Cheshire to Plymouth not a problem, on the boat was long and restricted and the beds were uncomfortable but ok, the trip from Santander to Tui Spain never again on this road it would be bad enough in a car but when trailing towing your pride and joy was very worrying I should be very lucky I got here without any major problems just think the outboard dropping off.

To sum it up the reason for buying my Elling KB350 is where I live and it is here now, after waiting 10 years and saying every year should buy a boat, I now have one and its the KB 350 sib with a 9.8 hp outboard that is perfect for what I need it for Fishing cruising along the river and estuary, I can launch and retrieve it on my own with no problem as you can see by the photos below, and I will be using my Sib in on a regular basis will keep you all updated.
Hope I haven rambled on next time not so long a write up, hope you enjoyed the reading of the start of my adventure.
Thanks for all the help and advice

Photos in order below of the Journey and where I bought my KB 350 for.

1st Start of Journey from Northwich Cheshire

2nd 1st Leg of the journey complete and on the Ferry

3rd Finaly reached my house in Tui Galicia, Spain

4th View from my Garden 250 mts away the river slipway just left of the cars

5th close up of the river and concrete Slipway

Slipway at the River.jpg
Top

Hi are you still enjoying your Elling? I can't make up my mind between and Elling 350 or a Honwave Thanks for any advice

[smallribber]

Very interesting write up and what a lovely place to live. It would be a crime to live there so close to such a lovely river and slipway and not have a boat.Are there places you can leave it moored near your house on the river for a few days or do you have to recover it every time

[Sibfisher]

Originally Posted by davidmichael

Hi are you still enjoying your Elling? I can't make up my mind between and Elling 350 or a Honwave Thanks for any advice

davidmichael,
Sorry it been so long getting back as for my Elling kb350 I have been out in it on the river many times and really enjoying it, with the 9.8hp it plans very easy and settles down once you get up some speed and shoots along at 19mph.
I am very pleased with mine and happy that i bought it and with all the borika mounts it is very good if you want to use it for fishing.
Being 3.5mts long you have a good bit of room in the boat also 2 seats, i have a Bimini top for when I go out with my wife and she also is enjoying it, as she says should have done it years ago.

I would recommend it If you are still considering buying one

Smallribber
Yes I am still enjoying my KB350 very much as I have stated above.
As for mooring it I don’t need too as it is on a trailer and I just have to hook up to the car and away I go, as for putting it into the water at 70 I find it not a problem being so light Boat 40kl Outboard 40kl it is on launching wheel so I slide off the trailer and where I am I have concrete slipways so just a matter of wheeling it in or out of the river.
Photo below is the boat on the ramp ready to take out.

I hope this helps

[Sibfisher]

Just come across another photo the time I took it out with the Bimini Top up if interested

[smallribber]

Now that just looks perfect what a lovely place to launch