23-27ft sportsboat that can handle a bit of sea?

[dom_moore]

bob thanks for your interesting and encouraging advice!

for some perverse reason i cant shake off this interest in those sunseekers...must've watched too much miami vice as a kid i dont know!

i have enquired about moorings etc...and that will be the go for me i think rather than the trailering

i accept there will be a compromise in the conditions and locations that i can use the boat, but i've still got a couple of years of 'youth' (ish) left so going for kicks and posing with this one, and then next time, with a bit more experience under me belt i can get a more dedicated offshore tool - and use it to its potential

in the meantime i'll try to find out a bit more about the sunseekers and make a trip down to that essex boatyard where they seem to have a few

one more question of anyone can stand it - inboard petrols...explosion risk? are there steps that can be taken that will eliminate this?

 

[KCook]

As for US brands - in the sub-24' range - for offshore - I would just stick with Baja, Monterey, Regal, Rinker, and Sea Ray. Most US runabouts are more at home on lakes and rivers than the ocean.

Kelly

 

[gjgm]

wind and swell.. hmm not really what most people head for to be honest. You might be a real action seeker, but your crew/family etc- might find quite quickly its not at all fun when conditions turn a bit grim. I take your point that a sea capable boat will be better than a flat bottomed ski boat for example, but you might soon find there s a reason that the boats arent out ! Scare someone just once, and they wont ever get aboard again....
You dont need a boat in winter, so dont rush. Have a look around the marinas in Spring -Mylor too, and see what people are using in your size. If you want "sports" then its the Americans;if you want a bit more cruiser, you have a wider choice I,d say. But it can get quite lumpy in the Garrick Roads and around those headlands. Think fleeces and waterproofs, not bikinis and suntan lotion, and you are on the right track! Fantastic place to have a boat, though.

 

[Nick_H]

[ QUOTE ]
one more question of anyone can stand it - inboard petrols...explosion risk? are there steps that can be taken that will eliminate this?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, buy a diesel /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[ari]

[ QUOTE ]
one more question of anyone can stand it - inboard petrols...explosion risk? are there steps that can be taken that will eliminate this?

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't worry about it. Contrary to common lore on this forum, petrol boats aren't popping like champagne corks at Henley all summer long, it's very very rare to hear of a problem.

And most of these super safe diesel boats have gas systems on board, far more dangerous than petrol owing to it being pressurised.

 

[thailand69]

As long as everything is properly maintained and has all the right "bits" (i.e. your fuel lines are not Garden Hose etc etc /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif) then a Petrol Engined boat is no more inherently "dangerous" than a petrol engined car. The difference is that more regular maintanence on a boat is required than a Car, cos the environment is more hostile (and things wear out / get affected by vibration / salt / underuse etc ) than plodding up the A427 etc in a fiesta /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif and the consequences of a breakdown at sea could be more serious than waiting an hour for the AA.

One other thing to bear in mind is, with this sort of boat you probably won't be keeping her for 10 years - nothing wrong with them as such (for the job they do), just that folk either end up going bigger / taking up another hobby or interest / realise that she is not exactly what they are after / just fancy a change!

When you come to sell the boat you will find that a £20k boat from the late 80's with elderly large twin petrols and outdrives will be harder to sell than something cheaper (with a single), even if everything is still working, for no other reason than their are more folk with / willing to spend £10k ish than £20k, and also "if push comes to shove" it is easier to "take a bit of a knock" on the cheaper boat to sell it on.

With these sort of boats I would not be in a great hurry at this time of year, they made millions (well, nearly!) so always plenty for sale. Spend your time going and seeing as many as possible - in a fairly short time you will get to learn quite a bit and be in a far better shape to be able to tell a good un / what is a fair price when you come to handing out cash. Also keep an eye on the ads to see how long things stick around (as well as asking around the boatyards / marinas to find out how long things have been for sale).

When you find one I would also make sure you do get an Engineer to check out the engines and the outdrive (finding a good one may be as hard as finding a good boat! - so I suggest you start asking around for feedback / recomendations when you start the boat hunt).

BTW nothing wrong with Miami Vice (the original that is!!) /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[dom_moore]

bob - fantastic advice there again, thanks mate

i was thinking that this time of year i wouldnt need to be in any rush - i was thinking that around feb, when easter is a bit too far away and the market is slow after jan may be a good time to strike

i've started poking round a couple of places down here, off down to essex next week to sniff around there. then probs a couple of marinas on the south coast as i mosey home

i'll no doubt be back here when i;ve got my eye fixed on a couple, will have some pics too to maybe give it a 'trail by forum'

best wishes all