Torbay
New member
I posted my first post just a few days ago and I've been stunned by the amount of time forum members has been prepared to spend on giving a real newbie the answer to those questions that are so basic you don’t ask because you don't normally ask "face to face".
I've learned a lot that’s helped to both clarify and take me to the next stage and even more helpfully work out some more of those things I don’t yet know. This has happened in a very short time and I firstly wanted to thank all those that patiently wrote in a very detailed and thoughtful way for their time and responses to my very dumb questions.
I’ve more questions! I thought I’d summarise what I think I’ve taken so far and therefore what I’m looking for in terms of ideas and guidance from those that know what I don’t!
I conclude that the irrational fear of water and the inability to swim is both a plus and a minus. Coliholic for example has been able to study at first hand those things that most mariners avoid studying ie what is it that is under the surface of the water, and secondly can these academic studies take place with a glass in hand. I believe that I might in time take his place as being the most submerged boater. Seriously, the advice is don’t give up the idea but be extra vigilant safety-wise. That’s encouraging and I’m going to ignore that defect in me for the time being.
The second thing I took is that I have some fundamental decisions about what use the boat is going to be used for. Because I am a serial prat (ie one who makes the same mistakes continually) if I buy, I’ll buy new. So this makes the use question even more important and poses further questions. I think I’ve also realised that my initial purchase decision should ignore any eventual pipe dream of living on it. In reality I think I know in my heart I’ll never want to do it anyway. In a way this’ll make my choice easier. So my next bunch of questions are:-
Q1. I love the Cote D’Azur. We’ve thought of buying a flat but the French bureaucracy is appalling and the idea of boating down there took its shape. However I’ve learned from the forum that this idea shouldn’t be taken lightly and that this trip could be a few weeks travel both ways, and some of it could be stressful. So, I’d really like to hear from anyone that has gone through the thought process about whether you should by a boat here or in the med (anywhere in the med I think as the arguments are the same wherever you were thinking of) and how they decided on whether it’s a med berth or a UK berth in favour of the other choice.
Q2. The second question is that it’s a long-term joke that the cost of motor cruising is just like pouring money down a drain. I accept that it is and this will rank along side all of the other daft ideas I’ve had, but I’d still like to get to grips with how wide this drain is! So let’s assume that this is a brand new boat worth say £250k, and that firstly (a) it becomes a mistake and I sell it after a year or (b) it isn’t a mistake and sell it after say 5 years for something better.
(a) What devaluation should I assume in these two scenarios of my original cash.
Next – what are the ongoing costs of owning. Ie I understand that my berthing is going to be around £5k per year but what about the other costs eg
(b) Assuming it’s diesel, I can see that most boats I’ve seen the figures appear to be about 1 gallon per mile. Is that the case generally? Does that mean around 90p per nm? Why is it that slower doesn’t appear to produce the same incremental improvement in economy as cars do?
(c) What is antifouling? I didn’t like chickens anyway!? How often would I need to have this done?
(d) Can the boat live in the water all of the time or does it need to be taken out as a matter of routine? Some marinas appear to offer rates that include having the boat out of the water and to a simpleton like me this appears to defeat the object of boat-ownership - so why?
(e) What other costs are there in very round figures.
I very much appreciate any help or ideas on those bits members can advise on and offer grovelling thanks in advance.
J
I've learned a lot that’s helped to both clarify and take me to the next stage and even more helpfully work out some more of those things I don’t yet know. This has happened in a very short time and I firstly wanted to thank all those that patiently wrote in a very detailed and thoughtful way for their time and responses to my very dumb questions.
I’ve more questions! I thought I’d summarise what I think I’ve taken so far and therefore what I’m looking for in terms of ideas and guidance from those that know what I don’t!
I conclude that the irrational fear of water and the inability to swim is both a plus and a minus. Coliholic for example has been able to study at first hand those things that most mariners avoid studying ie what is it that is under the surface of the water, and secondly can these academic studies take place with a glass in hand. I believe that I might in time take his place as being the most submerged boater. Seriously, the advice is don’t give up the idea but be extra vigilant safety-wise. That’s encouraging and I’m going to ignore that defect in me for the time being.
The second thing I took is that I have some fundamental decisions about what use the boat is going to be used for. Because I am a serial prat (ie one who makes the same mistakes continually) if I buy, I’ll buy new. So this makes the use question even more important and poses further questions. I think I’ve also realised that my initial purchase decision should ignore any eventual pipe dream of living on it. In reality I think I know in my heart I’ll never want to do it anyway. In a way this’ll make my choice easier. So my next bunch of questions are:-
Q1. I love the Cote D’Azur. We’ve thought of buying a flat but the French bureaucracy is appalling and the idea of boating down there took its shape. However I’ve learned from the forum that this idea shouldn’t be taken lightly and that this trip could be a few weeks travel both ways, and some of it could be stressful. So, I’d really like to hear from anyone that has gone through the thought process about whether you should by a boat here or in the med (anywhere in the med I think as the arguments are the same wherever you were thinking of) and how they decided on whether it’s a med berth or a UK berth in favour of the other choice.
Q2. The second question is that it’s a long-term joke that the cost of motor cruising is just like pouring money down a drain. I accept that it is and this will rank along side all of the other daft ideas I’ve had, but I’d still like to get to grips with how wide this drain is! So let’s assume that this is a brand new boat worth say £250k, and that firstly (a) it becomes a mistake and I sell it after a year or (b) it isn’t a mistake and sell it after say 5 years for something better.
(a) What devaluation should I assume in these two scenarios of my original cash.
Next – what are the ongoing costs of owning. Ie I understand that my berthing is going to be around £5k per year but what about the other costs eg
(b) Assuming it’s diesel, I can see that most boats I’ve seen the figures appear to be about 1 gallon per mile. Is that the case generally? Does that mean around 90p per nm? Why is it that slower doesn’t appear to produce the same incremental improvement in economy as cars do?
(c) What is antifouling? I didn’t like chickens anyway!? How often would I need to have this done?
(d) Can the boat live in the water all of the time or does it need to be taken out as a matter of routine? Some marinas appear to offer rates that include having the boat out of the water and to a simpleton like me this appears to defeat the object of boat-ownership - so why?
(e) What other costs are there in very round figures.
I very much appreciate any help or ideas on those bits members can advise on and offer grovelling thanks in advance.
J
