Is this thought process correct?

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by jeffstevens763@g

It’s a french dog Steve it won’t move around much

Very true, unless there is food involved!

[paintman]

Originally Posted by deadsquirrel

@paintman, can you elaborate on this please? When i took the pic of Mullion in the first post it was at low tide. The fisherman said that would be perfect for launching (after checking for soft sand). So i assumed that high tide would also be fine as you would then launch from the actual slip. Am i wrong in thinking that (assuming ill stick to 4.x boat?)

The amount of water in Mullion harbour is dependent on the state of the tide - in, out and the in between bits plus the moon phase which controls the height of the tide.

Neap tides won't see that much variation in height between low & high & likely it will still be in the harbour at low tide & I would think you'll probably be OK at any state of the tide - but check to be sure.

Spring tides will see a huge variation and the low at Mullion is likely to see the water outside the piers altogether with the high being on the slip.

This will change slightly every day throughout the phases.

You need to keep this in mind as it will affect the times you can launch & recover esp if you intend to return at low water as you may not be able to get the boat into the harbour from seaward at all.

As Limecc has suggested find a decent tide time website & use the Mullion webcam link to see the amount of water at the various stages. Will give you a better idea of the possibles.

FWIW in Coverack when I'm there I moor for the duration on the back end of the rope nearest the Windsurf school so the boat takes the ground (sand) at low water.
In a really big spring at low tide the harbour pier is completely out of the water & the back end of my boat is a LONG from any water, never mind enough to float.
But at high tide I can unload stuff from the boat DOWN onto the pier walkway.

In a small neap I can just about get in & out of the harbour at all times but it's a ladder or steps job to load & unload.

To launch & recover is off the slip I prefer to do it as near a high tide as possible - too many boats in the harbour to go on the sand - the window is quite short & it takes a bit of help to keep people out of the way.

ETA looks as though there's going to be some decent springs next weekend 4th to 7th December with the lows around lunchtime so worth a look at the webcam if you remember!

[paintman]

Originally Posted by paintman

You need to keep this in mind as it will affect the times you can launch & recover

And will decide if it's off the slip or using the harbour floor.

[Limecc]

Originally Posted by paintman

And will decide if it's off the slip or using the harbour floor.

Likely never off the slip. But that's ok as long as the trailer can be pushed out by hand into the water. By car if using an extension pole.
This was a 4.4m high tide at Mullion earlier today. A long way from the bottom of the ramp.

[diver 1]

We took our rib to the Lizard this summer for a few days and had a good time exploring. We launched at Porthkerris. A little bit scary towing a 7.4m rib down the lanes to get there but once there really great dive centre on hand and tractor assisted launching was a breeze and very organised. I rang ahead on our return and my trailer was reversed down into the water as I approached. All for a very modest fee. Penzance slipway was also superb. I looked at other options around the Peninsula but due to the school holidays and general chaos thought I'd give it a miss. We easily circumnavigated the Lizard east to west and down to Porthleven and back in a short day with lots of stop time at various coves etc. Great day out

[paintman]

Originally Posted by Limecc

Likely never off the slip. But that's ok as long as the trailer can be pushed out by hand into the water. By car if using an extension pole.
This was a 4.4m high tide at Mullion earlier today. A long way from the bottom of the ramp.

5.6 forecast for next Saturday, be interesting to see the high & low.

I never used it but when I bought mine the twin axle trailer had had scaffolding brackets welded to the central spine & a long scaffold pole with a hitch on one end was on offer if I'd wanted it.
Bit Heath Robinson & no use to me so I didn't bother although he told me you didn't need to have the jockey wheel down unlike some of the commercial ones.
Owner launched at Trearddur Bay which is a long flat beach.

[paintman]

Watched one of the local boats being recovered this afternoon on the webcam using the winch.
Came in when the tide was about 2.5m & dragged across the harbour floor until it got to the big band of stones when he used blue plastic pipes as rollers to pull it over.
Disappeared out of the webcam in the bottom left corner so presumably onto the hard.
I can't really see any issues providing you check for soft spots.

[spartacus]

Mullion looks like an interesting harbour, but as Paintman has suggested, I'd want to see it at all states of tide.

Slipway launching is basically the ideal, where the car or 4x4 is on hard standing at all times to launch and retrieve. That's not to say I've never driven on sand, which I have, but that's when it gets tricky, especially if you need more water depth to launch.

If you ever have to detach the trailer, then it's hard graft, where you use the momentum and weight of the boat and trailer to push it into the sea, two stand on the trailer nose to keep it down and feed out the painter to launch. Then return the trailer to the car, hitch on and park up.

Retrieving detached from car can be tricky. Lower the trailer into the water to achieve the right depth. Pull the boat onto the trailer and winch on. Extra chain on the bow eye for security. Rope around the tow hitch to the trailer and retrieve in sections, always keeping a security line to the trailer. Once you can safely hitch, put the trailer on the car hitch and haul out.

Boat wise, 4.8m will be tight with 4-up in my opinion.

[Searider]

A 5.4m Searider on its trailer is just under 750kg. If you can find a good one is worth considering.
4.8 Ribcraft also a good possibility - with the benefit that if you fnd it too small you should be able to sell it instantly.

[paintman]

Never used one - but watched a few youtubes! - so could there be any advantage using a breakback trailer for gently sloping beach launches?

I'm thinking on the lines of pushing the boat off onto the ground/into very shallow water as the tide is rising to float the boat up & recovering from shallow water/off the ground on a falling tide so you're not chasing the water?

Or am I talking nonsense

[Jon Tallis]

Originally Posted by paintman

Never used one - but watched a few youtubes! - so could there be any advantage using a breakback trailer for gently sloping beach launches?

I'm thinking on the lines of pushing the boat off onto the ground/into very shallow water as the tide is rising to float the boat up & recovering from shallow water/off the ground on a falling tide so you're not chasing the water?

Or am I talking nonsense

Not talking nonsense at all! [emoji16], That's exactly what they're designed for, however having had a roller-coaster breakback trailer for 6 years with a 5.8 RIB on it, I never actually used the breakback facility as I found the hinged rear bunks gave just as good "hinging" action when loading the boat from shallow water or on one (very unfortunate) occasion, off the ground......that's another story[emoji51]
If I had a breakback again, would I use it - maybe. If I was buying a trailer, would I pay extra for a breakback - provided it had pivoting "roller-coaster type" bunks - no

[Searider]

I had a breakback trailer with bunks for my first 4M Searider.
I had a roller coaster with my second 4M Searider. The roller coaster was far superior.

A good trailer makes all the difference to your boating.
Have bought three new roller coaster trailers for the last 3 boats I've owned. 4m, 5.4m and 6.5m

[Iankristy]

Originally Posted by Searider

I had a breakback trailer with bunks for my first 4M Searider.
I had a roller coaster with my second 4M Searider. The roller coaster was far superior.

A good trailer makes all the difference to your boating.
Have bought three new roller coaster trailers for the last 3 boats I've owned. 4m, 5.4m and 6.5m

Plus one for a good trailer is a game changer and will make you get on the water more often [emoji106]

[fastasfox]

I have launched at Mullion many times but you have to wait for high tide or use 4x4 and you will need a high tide to recover too...Penzance is much better but the pressure will be on to look slick during launch. If you want to get familiar with your kit and spare your blushes then I can whole heartedly recommend Gorran Haven..nice quite shallow launch though you do have to drive on the sand.The nice thing about launching on the South East coast of Cornwall is it's very sheltered so Mevagissey St Austell etc are all ideal to launch from and that entire coast more often than not is much much calmer than the Lizard. The Lizard can be tricky unless it's a super calm day and can bite you on the backside (i have experienced this personally)
Best of luck.

[fastasfox]

Originally Posted by spartacus

Mullion looks like an interesting harbour, but as Paintman has suggested, I'd want to see it at all states of tide.

Slipway launching is basically the ideal, where the car or 4x4 is on hard standing at all times to launch and retrieve. That's not to say I've never driven on sand, which I have, but that's when it gets tricky, especially if you need more water depth to launch.

If you ever have to detach the trailer, then it's hard graft, where you use the momentum and weight of the boat and trailer to push it into the sea, two stand on the trailer nose to keep it down and feed out the painter to launch. Then return the trailer to the car, hitch on and park up.

Retrieving detached from car can be tricky. Lower the trailer into the water to achieve the right depth. Pull the boat onto the trailer and winch on. Extra chain on the bow eye for security. Rope around the tow hitch to the trailer and retrieve in sections, always keeping a security line to the trailer. Once you can safely hitch, put the trailer on the car hitch and haul out.

Boat wise, 4.8m will be tight with 4-up in my opinion.

With reference to wanting to see what mullion is like at high and low tide you can view on the webcam....just search webcam mullion..you will get a great idea of how much the tide goes out....and it does go out quite a way.

[paintman]

Main issue with Gorran Haven for the OP is the distance, the AA routefinder site says 1hr 20 mins & 43 miles from Lizard.

OP has already ruled Penzance out which is much nearer.

One of my oldest friends lives in Gorran & we visit each other (by road) when we're in Coverack & it's a bit of a trek.
But he does bake a very good cake & has a Norfolk Gypsy on the moorings at Pasco's boat yard on the Fal so usually a very good day out

[fastasfox]

Originally Posted by paintman

Main issue with Gorran Haven for the OP is the distance, the AA routefinder site says 1hr 20 mins & 43 miles from Lizard.

OP has already ruled Penzance out which is much nearer.

One of my oldest friends lives in Gorran & we visit each other (by road) when we're in Coverack & it's a bit of a trek.
But he does bake a very good cake & has a Norfolk Gypsy on the moorings at Pasco's boat yard on the Fal so usually a very good day out

I have been going to Cornwall for ar least 30+ years and nowhere is far in Cornwall in my opinion. I'm sure you have been out to sea on that coast and it's ideal for families....take them around the Lizard on a bad day and I can imagine for his next trip only his dog will still want to go lol

[deadsquirrel]

Just wanted to update this thread. Read all of the comments and some are beyond my current understanding.

Although I would definitely be launching in other areas in Cornwall (and te rest of the UK for that matter) as time goes by, if im able to ensure that a Mullion launch is possible assuming the right tide conditions, then that’s something im still going to strive for. Having the ability to launch 15 minutes away from my house is very enticing for us. A 1 hour+ drive and then back again would, in some cases put us off. Our situation means we don’t always have the luxury of time so saving 1.5 hours will be very important.

Anyway, i have been trying to reach Excel boats but it seems like the only person that could assist me is away on holiday. It feels like its quite a small outfit and also had rumours that the RIBS are Chinese made and customer service could also be a little difficult at times. So on that basis, im going to look at ribcraft but their 4.8 only comes with 3 seats max and im not sure the 5.3 would fit in my garage (will check this later).

Are there any other reputable manufacturers i should be looking at? I really liked the seating configuration on the Excel 4.8 so anything similar to that would be great.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by deadsquirrel

Just wanted to update this thread. Read all of the comments and some are beyond my current understanding.



Although I would definitely be launching in other areas in Cornwall (and te rest of the UK for that matter) as time goes by, if im able to ensure that a Mullion launch is possible assuming the right tide conditions, then that’s something im still going to strive for. Having the ability to launch 15 minutes away from my house is very enticing for us. A 1 hour+ drive and then back again would, in some cases put us off. Our situation means we don’t always have the luxury of time so saving 1.5 hours will be very important.



Anyway, i have been trying to reach Excel boats but it seems like the only person that could assist me is away on holiday. It feels like its quite a small outfit and also had rumours that the RIBS are Chinese made and customer service could also be a little difficult at times. So on that basis, im going to look at ribcraft but their 4.8 only comes with 3 seats max and im not sure the 5.3 would fit in my garage (will check this later).



Are there any other reputable manufacturers i should be looking at? I really liked the seating configuration on the Excel 4.8 so anything similar to that would be great.

To be fair, you can’t compare a Ribcraft to an Excel, they are polar opposites. If you can run to a RC, then that’s the way to go. In reality, I doubt there’ll be a world of difference in dealing with either RC or Excel [emoji6]

Ps. Afaik Excels are made in Korea.

[fastasfox]

Xs Ribs....West Burrowfield, 14 W Burrowfield, Welwyn Garden City AL7 4TW and Hull.
They used to own Tornado but sold it to the Chinese as a package for the Olympics...but now they are back as XS Ribs, no Chinese connection any longer.