Ferries - does and donts

[eugen44uk]

Can anybody give me some advice regards bikes and ferries, I will be doing my first ferry trip from Dover onwards to the South of F (Bandol).

Do I wait in the Q of cars or motor to the front ?
Are bikes parked up in a specific place ?
How are the secured ?
Centre or side stand ?

Any tips or advice for a novice.

 

[richard]

Hi ya

Give your self plenty of time

Keep you passport and ticket in you tank bag (easy to get at then keep them with you at all times

Yes Indeed always filter to the front of the que

They will show you where to go

Watch out for the gang plank can be as slippery as diesel if wet

I always use the center stand

Make sure you are satisfied that your p&j is securely lashed down they will do this for you using a strap and foam pads.

When on the way to the deck make sure you note where you left you bike

And on the way out the other end make sure you are at the front of the que as they will always let the bikers off first if they are ready to go..

Ho and watch out for that slippery steel

Enjoy

R&L

 

[shropslad]

From experience

Never use the centre stand,, use side stand & leave in gear then tie down. Came back from Ireland once on a force 8,, five bikes only one on its centre stand,, only one to fall over,( 2k damage), same if its windy on the sea front,,,,, always side stands,, had a few blow over on centre stands on Scarbourogh sea front at the first ever bash.

 

[Judge Dredd]

When you come off the ferry

at the other end head for the car park. Get off the bike and check everything is ok. Wait till the cars/caravans have buggered off, then leave. Taking your time at the start means you have a clear head and are ready for riding on the other side of the road. Take your time getting up to mach1 :} get a feel for how others use the roads............................ then nail it

 

[Bob Pinder]

Sort your alarm out!

Some alarms allow you to override the movement detection.
If you, can then do this - cos not only will it put a stop to pissing everyone off you'll also come back to a bike that doesn't have a flat battery...............................

Tip of the day
Be the last to leave the ferry terminal on the other side.
Get away from all the crazy f*cks driving like twats (most have GB stickers on..............)
You'll soon overtake them down the road!
And just build up slowly to driving on the other side and
enjoy it:beer:

 

[Hunter]

Tickets

Here's a good tip, go to Motorsport travel for a price on tickets. We always find they give far better prices than anywhere else. Can be difficult to get through though as the line's busy a lot. Tel no is 01759 301010.

 

[trophychap]

On Portsmouth - Le Havre

Bikes get a lane to themselves after going thrrough the ticket kiosks. They let the bikes on first too.
The blokes on board who park you and tie you down (love it; love it!) are extremely good with bikes; several we have met have been bikers themselves. They have anchor point thingies in the decks and use ratchet straps, ask you if you want to put your gloves on the seat etc, tell you if its safe to leave your helmets or not and are generally knowledgeable about what sort of weather to expect etc. They park you up in two's, similar height bikes together and strap down in two's. (so you may go in last, but land up at the front depending on whatever other bikes there are that day) On arrival they just remove anything in front of the bikes, hold everything else up then let us all off immediately.

Returning from Le Havre, through the ticket kiosk and into the extreme left-hand lane; this is a perspex covered tunnel specially for US!

I think it was on Portsmouth - Cherbourg Pete had to tie the bike himself with a tatty bit of rope to anything he could find on the side of the boat - not ideal!!!!

Dover - Calais they have these special doo-dahs you put the front wheel in so don't need the stand at all, then there are straps to anchor the rear. Very good idea, but beware - kiddy-winks are employed and haven't a clue where to affix said straps, cue Pete, 'No-o-o not there, son - that's plastic!'

We likes Portsmouth - Le Havre, we does!!

Jen

 

[Gatso shy]

Seconded

exactly wot Shrop's said


Never use the centre stand,, use side stand & leave in gear then tie down.

Plus, tie down goes over seat tight, so a bit of protection under
strap is good.

Bon Voyage....

 

[roXXo]

Echo Shrops

Portsmouth - Le havre and return
No probs. Good direction, good crew and bike secured well.

Portsmouth - Caen and return
No probs. Good directions but tied the bike down myself. Didn't seem much know how from the crew.

Immingham - Esbjerg and return
It's a freight boat. Not recommended.
Crew knew nothing about bikes. I tied the bike down myself but when we reached Denmark and I started untying the bike a friendly Danish lorry driver told me to stop and let the shore crew untie the bike otherwise they would go on strike and everybody would be stuck for a couple of hours while they had a meeting.
Apparently a very strong union and a poor relationship with the employers!

 

[SILVERONE]

Which ever method you use, side/center stand, put some rubber between it and the steel deck, when the ferries engines starts their is a hell of a lot of vibration which will transmit through into your bike (not good for electroics etc), I use a bit of old car mat cut up. Don't worry about the procedure for getting on/off you will be told what to do. Some tie it down for you, others dont, if you are not happy with nots, buy a set of ratchet straps and practice with them before you set of on your trip, ''enjoy''.
Oh nearly forgot, if you use centerstand their is normally some chocks (wedges) available to put under the rear wheel before you tie/strap it down so as the front wheel doesn't come of the deck and flap about, if in doubt ask one of the deck hands they are allways helpful.

 

[RHINO]

Plymouth--Santander

When i went on the Brittany Ferries journey it was 24hrs, the bike was parked and secured by myself at my request. I left the bike on the side stand with a piece of old inner tube under the stand and a piece cut into a big rubber band on my front brake lever to lock the brake..
I used Halfords rachet straps around the foot peg hangers and it did'nt move once..make sure your alarm is in valet mode or left off completely.

 

[SILVERONE]

And look out for loose chains etc hung from the in-side walls of the ship, if it gets rough, they will/might swing out and make contact with yur bike, although when I pointed this out to the Deck Hand he said ''if that touches your bike dints will be the last thing on yur mind'' uke:

 

[D.S.]

Can anybody give me some advice regards bikes and ferries, I will be doing my first ferry trip from Dover onwards to the South of F (Bandol).

Do I wait in the Q of cars or motor to the front ?
Are bikes parked up in a specific place ?
How are the secured ?
Centre or side stand ?

Any tips or advice for a novice.

My advise if ya proposing to ferry it to Calais; don't Use Eurotunnel instead, cleaner, quicker and about the same price :yo: Oh, and the more peeps use it the more my shares go up in value :}

 

[Judge Dredd]

the more peeps use it the more my shares go up in value :}

Last time I looked, if they got any lower they would have to give em away with free booze

 

[D.S.]

Last time I looked, if they got any lower they would have to give em away with free booze

tell me about it

 

[Artemis]

My advise if ya proposing to ferry it to Calais; don't Use Eurotunnel instead, cleaner, quicker and about the same price :yo: Oh, and the more peeps use it the more my shares go up in value :}

Fine if you like riding on last into everyone's exhaust fumes, sitting on a steel floor for half an hour then riding through the length of the train and everyone's exhaust fumes again. We didn't, so we stick to the 'cats unless the weather's godawful.

 

[Codbasher]

Can I make a suggestion about P&O/Seafrance at Calais, IF you can get off the boat first (It has been known) then get going, and get out of the Port pronto before the cars, last time I was over there (in the car) only 1 passport control was open, Q was long and slow.

Make sure documents easily accesable when you leave the boat, once throgh Passport control its only 2 miles to the next Junction (Eastender Wine beer, Elf garage, or Carrefour, supermarket and cheap petrol) where you can pull over, sort yourselves out, and carry on your merry way. :yo:

 

[SILVERONE]

Off the other end

Codbasher w;;v
Or even better do as I once did on a over-nighter, I overslept (due to the fact I pick a party-night crossing, took full advantage, in bed for 5am, dock at 5.45am French time, forgot 1hr off) when I woke looked out port-hole to see land not water ''SHIT'' rush down to car deck to find my bike in middle all on it's own, drove off no traffic, no officials, din't see anyone, all barriers down 'dodged around side of them' .The down side to this tactic is there is no one to direct you out of the port, I got lost for a bit.
The tip is go to bed at midnight or before on a over-nighter c7u8

 

[firedriver]

ferries

Went Seafrance Dover Calais at Easter. Their new ship has purpose made bike stands. each takes 3 bikes. You ride into a long channel as on some bike trailers, front wheel held in stops. Crewman fastens it down with 2 short ratchets whilst you are still sat on bike.
No need to use any side or centre stands or oily ropes across the seat.

Crew are there to help you off at t'other side, including helping the reverse out of the stands. Good service considering potential for slips on metal decks, water, diesel etc

?48 return for 2 plus bike made an all round good deal.

We had 12 bikes in our group and there were enough stands for us all although we were spread on 3 decks.

 

[XXLarge]

New Ferry

If you're heading for Spain you may want to check out Brittany Ferries from Plymouth to Santander. Their new ship, the Pont Aven, sails at 16:00 each way and its only an 18 hour crossing, arriving at 11:00 in Santander and 09:00 coming back.
It's an excellent ship and was only commissioned in April.

The bikes (about 50 of them!) were well looked after, even on the very rough return crossing.
:yo: