For ALL posts on getting onto and off a ferry and securing the bike for the passage

The Other PaulG

The Other PaulG

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Hi -

I will be travelling Dieppe to Newhaven next week on DFDS.

How are they in terms of tie down protocols? DIY or crew? Nicely done or grubby old cargo straps? I just want to know so I can be prepared and take extra bike protection if required.

Thanks.
 
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Used last year, front wheel in a chock thing, ratchet strap with pad over seat. Decent service
 
plus they sometimes put a strap/cup around rear wheel to hold it forwards .

the MGX won't go in the clamp ...so it is strapped to the deck , ziptie the front brake ( BYO Z-TIE ) and chock both wheels , but this is cos the mudguard won't go in the clamp .
it would but you would ruin the front mudguard.
what time crossing ? i do night crossing and just doze in the seats , take slippers for walking around in.
 
theoneandonly said:
what time crossing ? i do night crossing and just doze in the seats , take slippers for walking around in.
Click to expand...
Yep it's the overnight one, I like to get an early start on the other side. I keep a sleeping bag and kip mat with me, should be able to find somewhere to kip.

Sorry I am not going far enough south to help with your pork pie delivery, otherwise I'd have been up for that.
 
If you have an electrically heated seat, make sure they strap the bike frame beneath it, not across the seat pad otherwise they will most probably break the heating element.
 
BYO Z-TIE? - presuming Bring Your Own Zip Tie

We were DFDS this spring Newcastle-Amsterdam, DFDS left us to tie our own bikes. Maybe they would have come along had we been standing around looking useless ;) I guess they wanted us to do our own so we had the liability, not them? As usual I used my gloves between strap and seat, so protect the seat. It seems nowadays most use sidestand, but we all used centre stand. I had a luggage strap between front wheel and centre stand to make sure the stand could not flip if the bike moved forwards...

T'was the same Bari-Igoumenitsa, but they ferry only supplied wet rope, so fortunately (after help from this forum) we all took decent ratchet straps.
 
I am happy to supply BYO Z-TIE for anyone who might want one. £1 each plus p&p at cost.

UK assembled, bikermate friendly. Support your local post office and postman.
 
Wapping said:
At a premium price for a premium product. My bean counters tell me it’s the only way and shareholder fatcats demand it.
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Who's your supplier? I can undercut them. I've been doing a bit of insider dealing with Wilko.
 
:D By way of an update, the DFDS solution on the Dieppe ferry, current as at Aug 23, was:

Out - bikes lined up alongside a railing, bikes on sidestands, ratchet strap from secure point on railing to dedicated floor 'octagon' thing.
Return - bikes rolled into front wheel chock. No stand, strap over saddle. A couple of guys with heavier bikes needed help rolling the bikes out of the chocks on arrival, so make a friend on the ferry!

The outward ferry was much busier, I suspect the first bikes on get the chocks (there were about 8 chocks on the part of the deck where I was), the remainder line up along the railing.

So... both solutions felt secure but if you want a chock, get to the boat early and be at the front of the queue.
 
Just back from the Manx GP, on the Mannanan the bikes are tied with a bit of manky rope round the footrest and lashed to a rail. Works OK but maybe not for a rough crossing.

Seems to be a bit of a problem aboard the new Manxman ferry though:

1243515-1.jpeg
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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