Boat ownership

Momac

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Owning and using my own boat has been a key ingredient in maintaining my wellbeing over the last several years therefore a completely necessary part of my life.
If no boat is possible I dare say there are alternative activities that could do the job.
 

Concerto

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What price can you put on a memorable sail that you will remember for years. Many events I remember from when I raced extensively or cruised fairly widely. However two of these I captured on video for my own memory, but have now editted them and loaded them on to YouTube. My favourite is the first as I sailed slowly about 8 miles up the River Medway on a glassy surface with the tide helping me keep wind in my sails and to see not another boat to disturb the peace, although there were occassional distant sounds of civilisation. The second follows closely behind as a special day sailing singlehanded under spinnaker.
Ghosting on the Medway
Concerto under spinnaker

Wansworth, surely you do not want to miss out these experiences. Buying a boat is not a rational decision, just go with your heart. If you decide against buying then you will still spend money on other activities. I remember chatting with a couple of a motorboat who had just completed a round Britian trip. They spent about £10,000 on diesel, to which I winced compared to my less than £100 per year. Then they said they had spent about 5½ months on the boat, but by comparison their shore based friends had all been on 3 cruise ships for a total of 6 weeks and each couple spent about £30,000! So, it is always relative to how you compare things.
 

Robih

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How much of owning aboat based on sentiment and how much on rational practicality.In beteenboats thiinking do Ineed another
Money brings no pleasure, it is only a method of transferring value. You must place your value where you derive the most benefit/pleasure for if not boats then you should surely choose another suitable life-enriching use for it……
 

mattonthesea

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I keep a list of approximate costs, maintenance and log of sailing. (Yes I know I'm a bit of a nerd!) I bought Safe Arrival (Rival 32) specifically for a North Atlantic Circuit and sold her two years later. Including loans, loss of earnings etc that trip cost me about £50k and delayed my retirement for about two years. But it was perfect in timing, experience and what I missed at home (see signature link).

JEKAPA (also Rival 32) has cost me near enough £900 per week of sailing. But some of that is because of Covid restricting cruising. But I also love the problem solving of maintenance; the learning about how things work and the skills required to fix them; and just making her a better boat.

And, as Concerto says, where can you get the same experiences? Last summer we had dolphins on the way to Lundy, weird, twin rota helicopter planes off St Ives (G7), seals and a walrus in Scilly, a second jab up the Fal in Truro, a walk to Eden from Mevagissey, overtaken by a glass fibre monster monohull practising for the Fastnet, night entrances to Shoreham and Dover and many more. How do you get the experience of hoping you've got the calcs right for getting out of Walton Backwaters and crossing a bar to turn south to the Medway in time to catch the tide up to a creek; or leaving Queenborough at 03.30 to sail up to central London; or navigating the Swale?

That's just last summer. Add in one summer of France and Spain, one summer of West Scotland; even two weeks in Milford Haven in the rain was fun.

So is she worth it? Oh Yes! Roll on Summer 2022 and, hopefully, the Baltic
 

newtothis

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Money brings no pleasure, it is only a method of transferring value. You must place your value where you derive the most benefit/pleasure for if not boats then you should surely choose another suitable life-enriching use for it……
I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.
 

Paulfireblade

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How much of owning aboat based on sentiment and how much on rational practicality.In beteenboats thiinking do Ineed another
How long have you been without a boat?

For me after 2 weeks away I have a need to visit the boat even if only to spend a few nights on it and doing a few jobs. After 6 weeks if I haven’t been out I need to get out and put the sails up.

If you are not feeling the need then maybe wait a bit and you might even catch a possible lowering in prices if you feel the need in the future.
 

johnalison

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This year will be fifty years of owning a cruiser for us, with only a few weeks absence between boats. I love being on the water in any boat, dinghy or ship, but there is a pride in ownership that makes a trip in one’s own boat especially satisfying. I seldom talk about boats to non-sailors, mainly because they seldom have any idea about sailing, so it is not bragging-rights that I seek. I did once manage to transfer these rights to my brother when I gave him a link call confirming that I would be back for work on the Monday, and he was able to tell his dinner-guests that he was speaking to his brother on his yacht. They weren’t to know that it was a humble Sadler 29.
 

The Q

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How much of owning aboat based on sentiment and how much on rational practicality.In beteenboats thiinking do Ineed another
I really miss my previous sailing boat, a Lysander, yes it didn't sail well compared to others, yes it wasn't that comfortable, but there was something it had that made it right.

As for needed another hopefully I won't, the boat I built, and am sanding the hull of tomorrow ready for pre-kote, will last me for the next 30.
 

Dutch01527

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Watching my son helming faultlessly in a steady 35-40 knots of wind in August or a night sail down the Mull of Kintyre in May are priceless experiences. On a practical level add to this c.6-8 weeks cruising with very low cost accommodation.

The £4 to 5k a year I spend on the boat is the price a reasonably upmarket week’s beach holiday for two.

The sailing is great value for money I would say but the most important thing is the life enhancing nature of the hobby.
 

Concerto

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Watching my son helming faultlessly in a steady 35-40 knots of wind in August or a night sail down the Mull of Kintyre in May are priceless experiences. On a practical level add to this c.6-8 weeks cruising with very low cost accommodation.

The £4 to 5k a year I spend on the boat is the price a reasonably upmarket week’s beach holiday for two.

The sailing is great value for money I would say but the most important thing is the life enhancing nature of the hobby.
Reminds me of the time I got sunburnt sailing in April some decades ago in the UK. We were sailing my parents 34 ft Herman Frerrs designed boat from the Medway to Brighton to get the boat to be in the Brighton Boat Show (yes, there used to be one). It was a beat overnight out of the Thames and then force 6 to 7 dead run from Dover to Brighton. It was very rough and my father and I had to hand steer for an hour at a time and boy did our shoulders ache . The other 2 crew members were both seasick and totally useless. A couple of days later I had to keep explaining why my nose and tops of my ears were peeling and my face was bright red as I had just flown out to Hong Kong for business.
 

DownWest

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Blimey, if I spent £900 /week on my sailing, I would be living in the rotting doghouse..
Happy memories of sailing the Cadet on the Lea, after school, aged about ten. East coast racing and waking up to the birds up from Burnam. Later, some busy sails down from Portugal to Gib. Lots of fun in little boats off the coast there.
Just feeling the sea as you leave port and the colour changes along with motion.
 

justanothersailboat

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The question "is owning a boat cost-rational" feels a bit "how long is a piece of string" to me. The question "can owning a boat be cost-rational" has to be a resounding YES. You do have to be a bit sensible and a bit lucky, but that's true for anything. Clearly, though, you could spend as much or more on other experiences and not necessarily end up feeling refreshed, accomplished, or still owning a lovely boat at the end of the cash. All of which some people occasionally manage with a boat!

Personally, because I'm quite boring and money-cautious, I did worry about this before buying. It turns out my boat (and circumstances) are cost effective for me and I shouldn't have worried; occasionally I wonder if I should have spent all I could sensibly afford, rather than all I could afford to lose. But none of this matters when I can see sea to the horizon in at least one direction, and feel something that nothing else is quite like.
 

V1701

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You'll always get or be able to find support for or against whatever your feeling on the matter is at any given moment so with all due respect I think you need to make a decision and stick to it...:unsure:
 
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