Hi all, I could do with some help. I am looking for a yacht from 30 to 35 ft and wish to put it at a marina near yarmouth.

Ianthediver

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Hi,

Another chap asked much the same question on here back in August and, after a lot of advice, he ended up buying a Westerly Storm. She's only marginally bigger than the better known and much praised Fulmar, but faster, better equipped below and with a superb cockpit layout yet tend to sell for the same price as Fulmars. If looking at Storms, beware the Storm Cruiser - it's the same boat with a smaller rig (borrowe ffrom the smaller Westerly Tempest) and a bigger engine to make up for it. If you have a good Tiller pilot, no problems with single handing.

(3) Hoping to return to the East Coast; a question of draft | YBW Forum

It will save a lot of people a lot of typing if you read that thread.

Peter.
Thank you for the reply I have looked at a Jeannaeu sun odyssy 29.2 and put in an offer. I hope I have done the right move
 

PaulRainbow

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Ref berthing, there's not a great deal to choose, money wise, between Shotley, SYH, Foxs or the Haven at Ipswich. Woolverstone has historically been the most expensive on the Orwell, but i note Freds posts, so that may have changed. As said, there are pros and cons to them all.

Some will dislike the locks at Shotley and Ipswich Haven, personally, i like them. They keep the water levels reasonably constant, so you don't arrive at low water and have to abseil down to the pontoons. :eek:

Some will say the loooooooooong boring drive to Shotley is too much, others will say the mere 15-20 minute drive is better than the 1.5 hour sail from Ipswich to the sea. I'd rather drive the 9 miles by road than spend an hour and a half at both ends of the trip on the river, but if you only plan to river sail it might not matter.

I like Shotley, the staff are first class (not that the other marina staff are not), the lock and lock tower are manned 24/7, so you can re-fuel, get gas etc any time, and access to the marina is obviously 24/7 too.

All of the marinas have decent toilet/shower facilities, Shotley shower cubicles could do with a little more space to dress. Woolverstone toilets/showers are the poshest i've seen.

Wherever you decide to keep your boat, the Orwell is the best place on the East coast, IMO. Good luck with your offer (y)
 

Chalk

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Hi Ian, I'll second Paul's comments above totally re Shotley, the staff are superbly friendly. Also, my wife & I used to have a Jeanneau SO29. 2. Cracking little first boat (for us). Dead easy to sail though you wouldn't have known it to look at us...
 

fredrussell

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Some will say the loooooooooong boring drive to Shotley is too much, others will say the mere 15-20 minute drive is better than the 1.5 hour sail from Ipswich to the sea. I'd rather drive the 9 miles by road than spend an hour and a half at both ends of the trip on the river, but if you only plan to river sail it might not matter.

Good point this. I’m right at the top of the Orwell (Debbages) and I must admit I’m getting a bit bored of the long haul up the river.
 

Daydream believer

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Hi Guys and girls that have given me a lot to go thruogh. I am going to see 5 yachts ranging from 20,000 to 30,000 31 to 33 ft I need to be able to sail it on my own as crew may be a bit space what can I buy please?
Something with a self tacking jib & all lines lead aft, single line reefing lazy jacks & sail bag etcetc makes things easy & much safer if you do not have to go on deck in rough weather. I am biased , having a Hanse, but anything similar would be good. At least not with a big genoa to tack every time. Sailing with it furled is no fun either.
Take no notice of those saying draft is an issue. There are plenty of places you can go round the East coast without worrying about draft. Once you have been up one muddy creek you have been up them all. A decent performance will give you a much wider cruising area & from the east coast the channel is no longer a barrier. That can make sailing real fun when you can nip to, say, Ostend ot Boulogne for a long weekend S Handed. I do.
Tiller steering is OK but can be heavy once the boat gets bigger. If you are nearer 30 ft then go for tiller as it makes the autopilot simpler and easier to maintain etc.
Right now yachts are demanding a high price & brokers are running short of boats to sell. That means you may have problems getting a newer boat for the money you are quoting.

Edit. I see the OP has placed an offer on a boat so one wishes him luck
 

Koeketiene

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Some will say the loooooooooong boring drive to Shotley is too much, others will say the mere 15-20 minute drive is better than the 1.5 hour sail from Ipswich to the sea. I'd rather drive the 9 miles by road than spend an hour and a half at both ends of the trip on the river, but if you only plan to river sail it might not matter.

We lived in Hertfordshire.
Driving to Ipswich took 90 mins.
Driving from the A14 exit to Shotley took another 30 minutes (20 in Winter).
Especially in Summer, and depending on the state of tide, you could spend the better part of an hour to lock out.
So, by the time you had locked out your 'winnings' by being closer to the sea were all but gone.

In Winter, the lock was always ready for us when I called them on VHF.
I once asked why this was and the reply was, very few people sail in Winter and I know what car you drive.

Another consideration when berthing in Shotley is that when the winds are easterly, you can get a certain amount of sooth on deck from the ships berthed in Felixtowe.
 

PaulRainbow

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Driving from the A14 exit to Shotley took another 30 minutes (20 in Winter).

Was that you i followed to Shotley driving at 5 miles per hour ? :)

From the roundabout near Foxs to Shotley is 9 miles, i usually do that in 15-20 mins. From the same roundabout to the Haven marina is 2 miles, which take 5-10 mins, depending on the traffic. That's just 10 mins extra to Shotley.

Especially in Summer, and depending on the state of tide, you could spend the better part of an hour to lock out.
So, by the time you had locked out your 'winnings' by being closer to the sea were all but gone.

I've been at Shotley for 10 years, on and off, once in that time i've had to wait about an hour to get out, it's usually much, much less. Same with getting back in, although it's best to avoid 5:00 PM on a Sunday.

Another consideration when berthing in Shotley is that when the winds are easterly, you can get a certain amount of sooth on deck from the ships berthed in Felixtowe.

I do get some dirt on the boat, but i find i get that in town marinas too, presumably road related. London was terrible.

At the end of the day, the choice of marina is the same as the choice of boat, it's a compromise. We all have different boxes to tick and right now Shotley ticks more of mine than the other marinas.
 
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Koeketiene

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Was that you i followed to Shotley driving at 5 miles per hour ? :)

From the roundabout near Foxs to Shotley is 9 miles, i usually do that in 15-20 mins. From the same roundabout to the Haven marina is 2 miles, which take 5-10 mins, depending on the traffic. That's just 10 mins extra to Shotley.

In Summer, you do encounter tractors and very few (if any) places where you can overtake.

I've been at Shotley for 10 years, on and off, once in that time i've had to wait about an hour to get out, it's usually much, much less. Same with getting back in, although it's best to avoid 5:00 PM on a Sunday.

We sailed a 44' oil tanker at the time.
This may very well have added to our waiting time, as you could fit one other (or maybe) two other small boats in when we locked.
So, if there were already 3 boats in there, we inavriably had to wait for the next lock.

What finally did it for me was running aground (just short of our berth) inside the basin on several occasions.
Boat drew 7'.

I do get some dirt on the boat, but i find i get that in town marinas too, presumably road related. London was terrible.

At Fox's, you could get dirt from the nearby scrapyard.

At the end of the day, the choice of marina is the same as the choice of boat, it's a compromise. We all have different boxes to tick and right now Shotley ticks more of mine than the other marinas.

Quite so. Every place has its pros and cons.
Out of the 11-12 years we were Orwell based, we spent 8 years at SYH.
Pros:
Easy to get to.
Well sheltered in Winter (we were on a swinging mooring in Summer).
No lock.
Cons:
Hoops instead of cleats on some pontoons.
HPYC (lightship) could be somewhat unwelcoming - especially when the blue blazer brigade was in residence.
 
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Leighb

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We have lived on the Shotley peninsula for about 20 years, we reckon 10 mins from Fox’s to home which is down Pin Mill Rd, from here to Shotley perhaps another 10, not done that so regularly but do go to the garage in Shotley Gate quite often. Half an hour from Fox’s to Shotley marina would be unlucky, a good part of the mileage is restricted to 30 or 40 mph so not much opportunity to overtake sensibly anyway. I agree farm machinery is an occasional drag, but not frequently.
The extra time trundling down the river at 6 knots from Ipswich more than makes up for slight extra travel time to the Marina and locking out. You are also very likely to find that they have dug up the Wherstead Rd yet again and going to Ipswich Haven can take for ever!!
 
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Leighb

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Farm machinery isn't the problem; it's the old duffers in little, improbably coloured Korean hatchbacks who hold the traffic up on that road.
That can be true, there are strange individuals who drive at about 29mph in the unrestricted stretches and then speed up to 35mph in the 30 limit! I have one followed of these in a red car on more than one occasion. They are not often out at weekends though.
 

pvb

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That can be true, there are strange individuals who drive at about 29mph in the unrestricted stretches and then speed up to 35mph in the 30 limit! I have one followed of these in a red car on more than one occasion. They are not often out at weekends though.

Damn! I don't go at weekends.
 

AntarcticPilot

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That can be true, there are strange individuals who drive at about 29mph in the unrestricted stretches and then speed up to 35mph in the 30 limit! I have one followed of these in a red car on more than one occasion. They are not often out at weekends though.
My pet hate is people who drive at 50mph in a national speed limit zone on a road where 60mph is fine (obviously, I don't worry if it would be unreasonable to drive at 60!). I think they haven't realized that the national speed limit went up to 60 in 1977!
 

BabySharkDooDooDooDooDoo

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My pet hate is people who drive at 50mph in a national speed limit zone on a road where 60mph is fine (obviously, I don't worry if it would be unreasonable to drive at 60!). I think they haven't realized that the national speed limit went up to 60 in 1977!

Or people that drive at 42 mph regardless of the speed limit in force at the time.
 

PaulRainbow

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I like the ones that join busy carriageways, from long slip roads, at 30 mph. It's great fun having to slot into the other traffic, that's doing 60mph. Grrrr
 

davidej

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That can be true, there are strange individuals who drive at about 29mph in the unrestricted stretches and then speed up to 35mph in the 30 limit! I have one followed of these in a red car on more than one occasion. They are not often out at weekends though.
There are lots of them in this part of the world!
 
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