Another newbie!

[Phill]

Hi all,
Thought it polite to take a couple of minutes to introduce myself. I got into boating in my mid twenties on the river Thames. Me and my wife bought a Freeman 22 and spent many happy hours restoring her to her former glory. Spent even more happy hours on the river with loads of mates, barbies and beer. Then we traded the Freeman for a Princess 32 and had that for a couple of seasons. Then the kids came along. It was OK at first but with one toddler and a newborn, things became stressfull and the boat was sold.
Now they're older I want (need) another boat. We hired a river boat last summer and all went well. I have a hankering to go to sea (after time spent on a mates sailing boat) as well as use it on the Thames so am looking for a boat that will do both to some degree, but obviously my budget is never big enough for the boats I want.
Browsing through previous posts has already given me loads of useful information.
Look forward to talking to all of you and maybe meeting you someday.

Phill

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[Dave_Snelson]

Hello Phill - welcome aboard matey. My boaty history is somewhat similar to your with the mix of kids and a break in between etc.

Good luck and let us know how you get on with your boat hunting.

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[Althorne]

Welcome Phill,
We like newbies they instill some fresh vroom, vroom into a sometimes dull evening. I am in London so maybe we willmeet one day. Good luck with boat hunting.


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[apollo]

Welcome!

Which part of the Thames have you been based on?

There are a few of us on here from the middle upper thames.

Perhaps you can join the Thames Posse at the next get together?

The most important and showstopper question, what kind of budget are we talking about here?

Cheers

Mike

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[Phill]

Mike

We were moored at bray marina and had many weekends at Windsor or Runnymede. More often than not though we went upstream to Cliveden, cookham or Marlow.
We spent as many as four weeks holiday and most weekends between early April and October each year on the river. We've been up to Letchlade but only as far down stream as Chertsey.
We did this for about five years and never once tired of it.

My kids are aged between seven and twelve and costing me a fortune, so I have a budget of up to thirty grand. Now I know thats not a lot in boating terms but I'm still trying to decide which route to take. I would like a boat that accomodates the family and is happy on the river, but could also be taken to sea at some time after i've had a bit of training. The reality is I'd probably be better off buying a River boat for a couple of seasons, whilst I do some courses, and then exchange that for a sea boat later.

Any thoughts from any one who's been here, gratefully recieved.

Phill

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[apollo]

Phill

What was wrong with the Princess 32?

Admittedly a diesel one would be better than a petrol.

Some friends of ours have had one for years and visited Holland many times?

If you can squeeze a bit more than thirty, a Princess 33 is pretty good for river and Sea. I suspect you could beat a P33 down to thirty especially towards the end of the year. Benefits are Ford diesels and shaft drive.

A Freeman 32 may be another alternative albeit a bit older.

My personal preference would be non-volvo and non-outdrives but heh, thats my own opinion.

Bray is where we are and we do pretty much what you describe.

If you should come back to Bray, consider joining the club as we go downriver every whitsun and its a good way to break yourself into tidal cruising.

Good Luck on the boat hunt!

Mike

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[Phill]

Mike

Our 32 was a fantastic boat but even the newest is now 25 years old. This puts me off slightly but maybe it shouldn't.
I had thought we need to get a newer type (ie sports cruiser) of boat but am now thinking again.
Our freeman had a Ford Watermota engine and was a doddle to work on. The 32 had a Volvo petrol With outdrive and I also found that superbly reliable and easy to repair. I've recently looked at a boat with twin Mercruiser 4.3's on Alpha ones and they are really crammed in and look a nightmare to repair.
Have you had problems with Penta's? Or do you just prefer ford Diesels.

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[apollo]

Well its your choice, but for 30K all you are likely to get is something American with no decks and big petrols OR a 25-30 year old diesel boat.

You pays your money and takes your choice....

I too have two kids and I like a boat with decks, one with cheap parts (as kids already cost me too much) and no outdrives as previous boats with outdrives always had several props in for repair at any time (the Thames is shallower every year.)

Have fun

Mike

PS Your boat wasnt "Silkstream" by any chance was it? (I know a previous owner)

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[Phill]

Mike

My boat was called Cita. A 1978 Princess 32 that we sold in 1993 through Domonic at Bray Marine Sales. I believe she's still going strong on the Broads now.

I guess I'll know the right boat when I see it, In fact Vall Wyatt has a nice 32 but seems expensive at 24k for a single petrol engined boat.

As you say, keep looking.


Phill

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[duncan]

welcome Phil

A p32 seems jsut the right boat and a petrol one should do for a bit until you are sure it's right (or have an engine problem) at which point it should still be within your budget to stick a nice new diesel / drive in to keep you going for the next 10 years and give you the range and comfort you think you will want.

24k sounds like 17 in about 2-3 months time............

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[Bejasus]

Just a thought, but a nice Seamaster 30 with twin diesel engines on shafts, fore & aft cabins with saloon & centre cockpit seem right for the £25-£30K bracket, and will happily cross the channel and sail up and down the Thames all day long. Getting on a bit now, but still a good boat nonetheless.

Specification:
Length: 30'; Beam:11'6"; Draught: 2'8½" Weight: 4 tons;

Engine options:
Single or twin Perkins 4107 / 41098 diesel
Single or twin Thornycroft 2.52 BMC diesel.
Various Volvo Penta petrol engines
Various other engines were available to order.

Used to quite fancy a Fairline 29 with twin diesels myself.
One of my mates has a single diesel engined on outdrive P32, which he quite happily took from the Broads up the east coast to Inverness.


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[Phill]

Hi Duncan

Good plan!
Our last 32 was everything we needed on the river, But I have no idea about their sea capabilities.
I think I'm right in saying its a displacement hull and can never go faster than about twelve knots, so what size of modern diesel would achieve that? I guess there is a formula for working out hull speeds and required engine power for displacment craft.
The 32 seems to have quite a narrow beam and I'd thought that was the reason most are inland. I don't think I've ever seen a 32 in a coastal marina.
I would be interested to hear from anyone using one of these boats at sea.

Phill

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[apollo]

P32 will go to sea but you are right, they are narrow for their length.

P33 would be better as the hull is pretty bulletproof and as other have said a Seamaster 30 is also an excellent choice too, there are loads around at reasonable prices.

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[Greg2]

Hi,
We used to have a P32 with twin 106HP engines - flat out 14 knots on a (very)good day and more like 8 to 10 normaly. The 130hp version will give a bit more. They are OK as a seaboat (we went out in ours in some lumpy conditions) but we are talking coastal work. Sold it to a guy who keeps and uses it on the west coast of Scotland. Can't get better accomodation for the money IMHO. Wouldn't consider a petrol version as the price difference isn't that great and I prefer the safety of diesel.

Note your comments about age of boats - not something I worry about. Condition is more relevant (IMHO) as GRP boats show every sign of going on forever. My boat is 25 years old but is in good nick and is well built. Engine survey is worthwhile, with oil analysis to make sure there aren't any hidden surprises.

Good luck in finding the right boat.

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[wonging]

Hi, i know of two princess 33's which seem in nice condition and are gonna go for sub 30k, both have twin diesels, one has 80hp fords, other 90hp volvo's, if your happy with 12 knts that is, the p33 is far superior to the p32, its longer, wider and shaft driven with a faster hull

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