Hello to everybody, from Norway.
I have been reading this forum for a while, and I was eager to find a place with so much information and experience gathered at one place.
I have a Zodiac 650 Pro Open with 2 x 115 hp Evinrude Ficht, 2003, separate electrical systems, and a lot of electronics, "everything" but a radar.
Top speed almost 50 knots, but with tremendous force and acceleration due to the two engines. I have one set of propellers with 3 wings, and one with 4 wings. (is "wings" the correct word ? Feels wrong...
)
I have started making longer and longer trips, the longest so far is across the Skagerrak from Norway to Denmark (Skagen), as I live in Arendal on the southeastern coast. I use the boat all year round instead of a car, as I live by the waterside, in snow blizzards etc, great fun !
I am now planning one out of two longer trips next spring, and I am looking for advices, experiences, warnings or whatever.
Alternative 1 is from North Cape of Norway, all along the coast to Arendal in the south, app. 1300 n.m. I know the whole coastline very well, but have never done it in a 6,5 meter boat before. Anybody out there who has done it before me ? (I guess so) I am planning on going 150 n.m. per day, with an average of 25 knots, but of course weather could seriously stop us for days along the route, but I think it could be done in 8 days or so.
Alternative 2 is from Arendal down the Kattegat, to Kiel, the Kielercanal to the Elben estuary, and along the german and danish west coast and up to Norway again. But I really have started worrying about a lot of things regarding the North Sea and german/danish west coast, and I am looking for you experiences and knowledge about this.
What worries me (as I don`t know enough about it) is:
The huge tide differences, with tidal currents and ugly waves created by the tidal currents and the river outlet
The drifting sandbanks far out in the ocean, not marked on the maps.
And; we plan to go inside the german North Frisian Islands and the Danish aslands close to the german border, in the "Waddensea" which becomes dry land on low tide. I don`t even know if there is a continuous passage behind these islands ??
So; any experiences / knowledge out there ?
Another thing at the same time:
My two engines do not have counterrotation. Don`t know why, as I bought it second hand, slightly used. I personally haven`t noticed any disadvantage at all from this, and I have tried it in very rough conditions too, with the complete hull + both propellers out of the sea etc. It keeps track perfectly, is easy to handle, and actually I don`t know what I could gain from investing in a counterrotated engine, as this is terribly costly, and I won`t do it if I cannot expect major advantages in some way. So; why should one have counterrotation ?
(The only negative I can find to say about the boat is that is will chinewalk quite easily, if I use it at max speed, or let`s say everything above 45 knots. It helps of course when I tilt the engines down, so maybe this is just a result of being a bit overmotorized?) And it also helps when I add some weigth in the bow, app.100 kg. (what I do when I bring my wife + kid 1,5 years)(he is already a sworn RIB-enthusiast, keeps babbling himself asleep with "boat-boat-boat..." at bedtime ! It was OK and kind of safe this summer as long as he only steered, with my corrections, but kind of more worrying when he discovered the throttles...!
But then, he automatically falls asleep on his mother`s lap when the engines pass 3500 r.p.m. ! That really says something about the wonderful stability of this boat.
Anyway, enough for now, with a bit of introducing myself to the forum, and also hoping for some advice / information.
Cheers,
Brynjulf
