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Escape committee

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Hello I would be grateful for your assistance. If there are previous postings or something I should read, I would appreciate some direction. But.....

My wife and I have in the past tried yachting. I did a competent crew course 7 years ago. Neither of us got it. We have talked together about our experiences and agreed that although the "journey" was OK, we also enjoyed the destination too. So actually we would like to choose a restaurant in a fab location and get on with it, enjoying the sun and sea but moreover the lunch.

We are currently living and working in Malta. Just outside my apartment are hundreds probably thousands of boats moored. This lead us to think:

When we have finished our contracts and have time off or maybe retire, could we go round the med visiting all the places that we know has history, culture, good food and wine?

What size motor boat would we need for 2 people to be comfortable in?

Would this break the bank?

Where might we learn to handle a boat responsibly before setting off?

What answers do I need to questions I have not even thought of.

Given that we don't know anyone who owns a boat in Malta.....where do I start.

Pretty fundamental stuff really. And apart from all the positive stuff for a sense of balance what are the downsides? It looks great, but are we romantic fools?

I seek the guidance of more experienced people hence this post.

TIA
 
I'll give you a starter for 10.

I would start by going down to the nearest marina and start chatting to boat owners, they're usually only to pleased to talk about their boat and life style, take a note of boats for sale (there'll be loads) that take your fancy and look them up at the Brokers. If you're still not put off find a local company that do RYA Powerboat 1+2( http://msa.maltasailingacademy.com/courses/powerboat-level-1-2/ )and do a bit of training,
Its impossible to give an idea of costs until you know what boat you'll buy, but it will be a lot more than you were expecting!
 
If you're thinking of motor boats, then you need deep pockets to do more than the odd lunch trip. Fuel consumption can be very high indeed. We had a small 6m boat with 2 berths which used to give about 1 mile per litre of fuel. Up the size of boat to say 12 metres, which is the size of our boat, and you're probably looking at four or more times the fuel consumption for a fast boat. A slower boat of that size will still have something approaching double the consumption. Buy one of the motor boat magazines and look at the fuel consumption rates in their new boat reviews: it put us off having a larger motor boat.
If you do have deep pockets, then enjoy. Otherwise, you may need to re-examine the question or modify your ambitions.
Actually, doing your RYA powerboat course will give you several days with an instructor who will be able to tell you far more about the costs and practicalities, so I'd suggest that is your next step.
 
We bought our first boat, a 45 foot flybridge, three years before we took early retirement. We spent those three years learning and planning,, then set off for the Med. We had great trip down, 2000 miles over five months, spending nearly £10, 000 on fuel, which was Ok as we had budgeted for it.
We have never regretted it and years later still spend most of our time on board, but don't go very far now due to fuel and maintenance costs. But we wouldn't have missed our experience to date and can't think of a way we would rather live.
 
PlanB said:
We bought our first boat, a 45 foot flybridge, three years before we took early retirement. We spent those three years learning and planning,, then set off for the Med. We had great trip down, 2000 miles over five months, spending nearly £10, 000 on fuel, which was Ok as we had budgeted for it.
We have never regretted it and years later still spend most of our time on board, but don't go very far now due to fuel and maintenance costs. But we wouldn't have missed our experience to date and can't think of a way we would rather live.
Click to expand...

I presume that there are yacht clubs in Malta. You might think along the lines of meeting boat owners and learning various things from them.
 
As already suggested you need deep pockets to do more than short trips with a MOBO. If you really intend cruising widely in the Med then a sailing boat or at least a motor sailor is far more practical. Planing speed boats need to be large - at least 36' to be comfortable to live on, but are not comfortable at anchor. Displacement or semi displacement boats are more manageable and economical, but there are few built in smaller sizes that are suitable for offshore work. You will see when you look around the marinas, even in Malta that there are few MOBOs that do anything more than short day passages.

There is a vast amount of material - on this forum, in magazines, blogs, books etc where people share their experiences of cruising life, so a bit of research should give you a clearer idea of what is possible.
 
Escape committee said:
Hello I would be grateful for your assistance. If there are previous postings or something I should read, I would appreciate some direction. But.....

My wife and I have in the past tried yachting. I did a competent crew course 7 years ago. Neither of us got it. We have talked together about our experiences and agreed that although the "journey" was OK, we also enjoyed the destination too. So actually we would like to choose a restaurant in a fab location and get on with it, enjoying the sun and sea but moreover the lunch.

We are currently living and working in Malta. Just outside my apartment are hundreds probably thousands of boats moored. This lead us to think:

When we have finished our contracts and have time off or maybe retire, could we go round the med visiting all the places that we know has history, culture, good food and wine?

What size motor boat would we need for 2 people to be comfortable in?

Would this break the bank?

Where might we learn to handle a boat responsibly before setting off?

What answers do I need to questions I have not even thought of.

Given that we don't know anyone who owns a boat in Malta.....where do I start.

Pretty fundamental stuff really. And apart from all the positive stuff for a sense of balance what are the downsides? It looks great, but are we romantic fools?

I seek the guidance of more experienced people hence this post.

TIA
Click to expand...

Mobo's are for people who are very confident they've got LOADS of money. It's only a bit later that they re-adjust their ideas of what "loads" means. If you're already worried about breaking the bank, well hum, the answer is that yes it will break the bank.

And ... i would think you'll be better off with a car or a camper van, and ferries if you didn't "get" a competent crew course? A mobo is a great way to burn loads of money, and you'll still need transport ashore. Plot a course up towards the south of france, and enjoy the fab lunches while the vehicle is safely and easily parked in a car park. The Colomb D'or in St Paul de Vence will sell you a fab lunch for a fraction of the cost of a day's mobo fuel.
 
There are mobos and there are mobos! A 45 ft flybridge is very different from a smaller displacement craft, although even the latter would burn a lot more fuel than the measly 1.5 litres per hour that my Sadler consumes. My 26 ft motorsailer has almost as much internal living space as my Sadler 34, not that I would recommend it for Mediterranean cruising. There are thousands of smaller mobos in the Med, perhaps not roaming from one end to the other, but covering smaller areas without breaking the bank.
 
Escape committee said:
Hello I would be grateful for your assistance. If there are previous postings or something I should read, I would appreciate some direction. But.....

My wife and I have in the past tried yachting. I did a competent crew course 7 years ago. Neither of us got it. We have talked together about our experiences and agreed that although the "journey" was OK, we also enjoyed the destination too. So actually we would like to choose a restaurant in a fab location and get on with it, enjoying the sun and sea but moreover the lunch.

We are currently living and working in Malta. Just outside my apartment are hundreds probably thousands of boats moored. This lead us to think:

When we have finished our contracts and have time off or maybe retire, could we go round the med visiting all the places that we know has history, culture, good food and wine?

What size motor boat would we need for 2 people to be comfortable in?

Would this break the bank?

Where might we learn to handle a boat responsibly before setting off?

What answers do I need to questions I have not even thought of.

Given that we don't know anyone who owns a boat in Malta.....where do I start.

Pretty fundamental stuff really. And apart from all the positive stuff for a sense of balance what are the downsides? It looks great, but are we romantic fools?

I seek the guidance of more experienced people hence this post.

TIA
Click to expand...

If you are thinking of long term cruising, sail is the answer. Don't be put off by a previous experience. Reading this forum (and Scuttlebutt) is a also a good starting point. Then perhaps a flotilla holiday or sharing a charter with a competent (and non-stressed) sailor.

There is nothing better than ghosting along admiring a coastline in a light breeze and no noise (or fumes) other than the water swishing by.

Go for it. It's not hard to learn and common sense makes up a good deal of the knowledge required.
 
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