Just a warning for fellow travellers on the Brittany ferries They tied the straps down so tight it resulted in the seat being buckled leaving a 3" gap between the seat and the tank. All fairness to Brittany, I sent the photos and the invoice for a replacement and I just received the cheque for a new seat, just be aware and make sure they don't just tighten it down as tight as possible or this could happen.....
I've always strapped my own bike down. Can't ever remember having it done for me. Fair play to them though.
Pleased your sorted, when I go to the IOM I won't let them strap my bike, I do it myself and let them check it. Steve
Brittany ferries state that you are not allowed to strap it down yourself, has to be done by their staff for insurance reasons. Fair enough if they sort problems out quickly like they did for me
They did a similar thing to mine in MAY, didn't buckle but stayed badly creased for the five nights in Spain, then did same thing on the way back. Next time will probably slacken it off abit when they move onto the next bike!!
Brittany ferries do have good customer service The lift was broken and the air vents had stopped working on the bike level one year and they gave me a £50 Voucher off next trip They also overloaded the Le harve crossing once when LD were on strike and it was standing room only - got a free crossing Always very accommodating when you speak on the phone
They are generally very good, but I've kept the oem seat just for trips, as a just in case, so they don't ruin my gel seat.
Would you strap a bike down in a van or on a trailer by tightening a strap over the seat upholstery? No, you would always run straps from the frame, forks, bars, or other hard points. So why would anybody ever choose to ruin their seat on a ferry? Beats me.
Two years ago on one of their crossings, a gorilla tightened my bike down so hard, and from the wrong side, that the bike came off its side stand. When it was time to disembark they couldn't undo the ratchet strap and they had to cut through it with a knife. But luckily the seat went back to shape.
You don't choose to, thats the way the ferry company does it. I personally have never had an issue on any of their ferry crossings, but I guess the seat method is done for ease ? It would take considerably longer going to each bike and looking at the best way to tie it down from the frame etc etc, rather than straight over the seat for each one. I will however, be using the cheap oem seat for my next trip, as I have had some quite severe creases in my Multi seat before now (even though they do eventually iron out with a few arse miles)
With your own bike you have time to give it consideration, making sure it does not catch any other plastics, fairings, electricals etc when strapping the optimum way. With the volume they secure, this simply would not be possible & likely result in more damage. Glad the OP resolved the issue.
I used Brittany ferries 2 years ago and I strapped my own bike down. I use Hull ferries a lot they leave you to do it yourself so I carry my own straps and used them on Brittany ferries
Had this problem once on a trip to Ireland, but the seat did go back into shape after a day or so. Now I make sure that the seat strap is positioned as far back on the rider seat as possible and will move it back after the ferry guys have done it.
Probably as its the safest one-strap solution they find. They aren't really bothered about care, and offset a few seats against speed/efficiency/strap cost.
They strapped mine down so tight last year it popped one of my fork oil seals. Then in the chaos of disembarking my bike was left strapped down. I couldn't release it so ended up cutting the strap. Otherwise I'd still be on board!!
