My first boat - buying tomorrow fingers crossed (advice pls)

[TonyBerkshire]

Hi all,

Tony here and a newbie to this forum site. I don't know much about boats yet apart from I have wanted one for very a long time. My birthday is coming up so wifey is being a little generous We are buying a Sea Ray tomorrow fingers crossed it goes well. It is used and I don't have time to go see it but on paper and the pics it looks good. I live in Berkshire, Wokingham and appreciate any advice on where I can use the boat, what things I need to do (from a quick google I think a test & license, register it with gov and get insurance as as a minimum.. not sure if I need mooring?) My driveway is large-ish so can keep it on their when not in use but was hoping to go out on the last Sunday of every month with my wife and 3 daughters.

Cheers,

Tony

 

[bowler]

Tony,

We have all been in your shoes. Typically they all look good on paper. Is it through a broker or classified ad?

Ideally any boat would need a sea trial (test drive) before purchase.

Dont want to be a party pooper but just speaking from experience.

So many variables on use. How big is it? How heavy? How old? Do you have a suitable tow vehicle etc.

D

 

[ST840]

As above, from experience get a mechanical/electrical and structural survey.
We bought a boat from an unscrupulous guy in Chichester 12 years or so ago. It looked brilliant, very clean and tidy, engine and engine bay immaculate. We sea trialed it but only at 6 knots due to the marina being locked. Owner didn't want to go all the way to the Solent. As it was so clean looking we were happy.
Any way, turns out the engine was cooked and needed replacing. Cost me an extra £10k.
Be warned, and careful.
Hope all works out ok for you and you have oodles of fun !!

 

[Bigplumbs]

Well apart from it is a Searay we don’t really know enough to give advice more details are needed

 

[TonyBerkshire]

Tony,

We have all been in your shoes. Typically they all look good on paper. Is it through a broker or classified ad?

Ideally any boat would need a sea trial (test drive) before purchase.

Dont want to be a party pooper but just speaking from experience.

So many variables on use. How big is it? How heavy? How old? Do you have a suitable tow vehicle etc.

D

HI Bowler,

I was initially looking at a Regal through a broker and albeit was bigger than the sea ray the interior was not as nice so I saw a private classified listing for a sea ray.

The boat is over 4 hours away and was going to arrange for a delivery company to pick up and when they were there I was planning on making a bank transfer? May go their instead to have a look but I would not know what to look out for?

It is about 20 years old and is 18foot bowrider 2100 lbs. so not a giant boat. I have a 5.7L V8 American import which doesn't have a trailer tow hitch so was going to buy another car to tow this around.

 

[TonyBerkshire]

As above, from experience get a mechanical/electrical and structural survey.
We bought a boat from an unscrupulous guy in Chichester 12 years or so ago. It looked brilliant, very clean and tidy, engine and engine bay immaculate. We sea trialed it but only at 6 knots due to the marina being locked. Owner didn't want to go all the way to the Solent. As it was so clean looking we were happy.
Any way, turns out the engine was cooked and needed replacing. Cost me an extra £10k.
Be warned, and careful.
Hope all works out ok for you and you have oodles of fun !!

Hi ST840,

That is a good idea, so I should arrange for a survey whilst I am there looking at it and then if s/he says it is ok then I can part with the cash? Is it better to pay via bank than cash for boats? Dont fancy taking out a big bag of cash albeit the seller requested this on the advert.

Sorry to hear about the extra 10k but hope the boat is going well now?

What is a solent? and thanks cant wait get on the water...

Tony

 

[TonyBerkshire]

Well apart from it is a Searay we don’t really know enough to give advice more details are needed

Hi Bigplumbs,

Good call!! It is a 20 years old and is 18foot bowrider 2100 lbs. ... model 180

I was going to go with this one first via the link below as it is super cheap and has a berth toilet etc at only £10k (not sure what it is worth?) but it does not look as good as the sea ray from the inside which doesnt have these things but has about 8 / 9 seats.

Regal Valenti 225 used for sale - Motorboat Pleasure Boat in Wallasea Island, United Kingdom | Youboat UK

 

[alandalus11]

Sea Ray and Balsa Core Bottoms - by David Pascoe, Marine Surveyor

As said above, Get a structural surveyor and engineer to check everything thoroughly.

 

[PlanB]

Agree with everything above.
Don't rush into this, especially as it's all new to you.
Certainly have a survey, incl engine.
Unless you've been doing research leading up to the purchase, I'd take the time before buying toget the answers to the questions you are posing. Plenty of help on here, if you supply more info.

 

[julians]

Its very risky buying it completely unseen and based solely on photos.

Its still pretty risky buying it with only you inspecting it, if you dont know what you're looking for in terms of things that could be wrong with the engine, outdrive and hull.

If you get a surveyor & engineer to inspect it, you should get more piece of mind that all is ok (or not!), but it wont be a quick process to organise this and do the deal, the whole process will take a minimum of a few days.

 

[Bigplumbs]

Beware that this is not a scam there are many around

 

[Aardee]

Hi ST840,

That is a good idea, so I should arrange for a survey whilst I am there looking at it and then if s/he says it is ok then I can part with the cash? Is it better to pay via bank than cash for boats? Dont fancy taking out a big bag of cash albeit the seller requested this on the advert.

Sorry to hear about the extra 10k but hope the boat is going well now?

What is a solent? and thanks cant wait get on the water...

Tony

The Solent is the stretch of water between the Isle of Wight and the mainland.

 

[Alicatt]

Hi Bigplumbs,

Good call!! It is a 20 years old and is 18foot bowrider 2100 lbs. ... model 180

I was going to go with this one first via the link below as it is super cheap and has a berth toilet etc at only £10k (not sure what it is worth?) but it does not look as good as the sea ray from the inside which doesnt have these things but has about 8 / 9 seats.

Regal Valenti 225 used for sale - Motorboat Pleasure Boat in Wallasea Island, United Kingdom | Youboat UK

Since when was Wallasea Island moved to Scotland?
That raises a flag on that one too

 

[snowbird30ds]

I would say you are potentially running headlong into a financial disaster on this, take a step back and view a few different style boats first, consider where you want to use it (sea or inland), consider how you'll use it, every boat is a comprise by design so you'll never find the perfect one but your intended use will determine the best type for you.
Sorry but I panicked when you asked what's a solent.

 

[colhel]

It's very easy to make a boat look good in photos.
Here's some I took of my own a few weeks back without trying to make it look good.
If you were to buy our boat based on these photos, you'd be a bit disappointed when you see see her in the flesh

 

[Hangie]

As you planned to keep it on driveway I guess it comes with trailer. Just be careful there, a lot of boats in that price range comes on so called yard trailers. Those are not legal or safe to be towed on any kind of road due to lack of brakes - in that boat case you most probably looking at 1500kg trailer. Before towing it double check that the trailer got brakes and those are fully functional. Also don't forget about S (vertical load on a tow bar) value of your card. Ideally you should measure how trailer is setup before hitching it - Link

I was in a similar position as you few years back. The boat I bough come on a nice trailer with "braked axel" - but brakes were removed. I need to buy everything to re-fit those. Clues to look at photos of trailer - can you see Bowden cables for each wheel ? Can you see brake rod from the hitch ? Can you see hitch with a brake leaver If any of those are missing forget about towing it anywhere!

Finally I've managed to keep the boat on a driveway for a year. After that I got enough Each time I wanted to go it was 2-3h lost due to all the launching chores - straps, transom saver, light board, drums flushing, wheel lock etc. Now I got boat in marina so 10 mins and you are ready to go Yes cost in higher but launching and recovering each time is a pain.

Beside that - good luck!

PS. Check the fuel tank and connectors as those are the pain to remove if rusted or leaking.
PS2. It is probably wooden floor if 20 years old. Walk and put pressure on every bit of floor to looks for any rotting.

 

[madabouttheboat]

DO NOT SEND ANY MONEY. THIS Could easily be A SCAM!!!!

Never buy a boat without viewing!!!!

 

[madabouttheboat]

.deleted

This post related to the Regal. I see the op is buying a Searay. The post above still stands.

 

[Aardee]

I don't think Tony has put up a link to the one he's buying...

 

[petem]

My driveway is large-ish so can keep it on their when not in use but was hoping to go out on the last Sunday of every month with my wife and 3 daughters.

Boating doesn't really work like that. In a boat of that size, you will be very weather dependent and might only get a few dozen days a year when it will be safe and nice enough to go out. The chances of these coinciding with the last Sunday of the month are quite slim.

Instead of getting the wife to buy the boat for your birthday, ask her to pay for some lessons so that you can build up some knowledge and skills.