Hacker
Well-known member
Background; we had a Cornish Crabber 26 which we sold 2 years ago as my partner had difficulty in pulling ropes. That decided us to move to a motorboat. At the start we really didn’t know what we wanted (and had set a low budget). Initial thoughts were “let’s get a 20ft harbour launch”, then “well it needs a head” and “we could spend a night or 2 on it”. So pretty soon we were looking at high 20ft region. I used to be an ILB coxswain so sea keeping was important, ideally twin shafts as well.
So started 2 years of hunting. We’ve looked at a Skilso 975 (was a bit tired); an Aquastar 27 Pacesetter (lovely well cared for boat but too small); a Storebro 34 (had a very wet sub deck that would have been really expensive to fix); offered on an Aquastar 33 Oceanranger (deck delamination and engine issues) so pulled out of the sale; Seward 29 (too small and underpowered); Viki 32 (offered on it but couldn’t agree price), this showed us we needed to really think about our budget); Nimbus 370 Commander (probably too large and had serious issues due to lack of maintenance); Antares 10.80 (very tatty); an ex RNLI Barnett 52 (heart ruling head!); another Seaward 29 (lovely condition but still too small - do we ever learn!); a Channel Island 32 (lovely boat in great condition but too expensive); a long trip to Southampton to see two Aquastar 38’s (both needed very large amounts of refurbishment that was not apparent in any photos).
On the journey back we reflected on the condition of the CI 32 compared to the Aquastar’s and how much more money we needed to find. After some pension pot robbing and negotiation we managed to agree a deal. Survey was 2 weeks ago and yesterday we took ownership. The previous owner is a member of this forum and should be proud of how well he has looked after her. A few jobs to do over the next few weeks and then we can start using her.
So started 2 years of hunting. We’ve looked at a Skilso 975 (was a bit tired); an Aquastar 27 Pacesetter (lovely well cared for boat but too small); a Storebro 34 (had a very wet sub deck that would have been really expensive to fix); offered on an Aquastar 33 Oceanranger (deck delamination and engine issues) so pulled out of the sale; Seward 29 (too small and underpowered); Viki 32 (offered on it but couldn’t agree price), this showed us we needed to really think about our budget); Nimbus 370 Commander (probably too large and had serious issues due to lack of maintenance); Antares 10.80 (very tatty); an ex RNLI Barnett 52 (heart ruling head!); another Seaward 29 (lovely condition but still too small - do we ever learn!); a Channel Island 32 (lovely boat in great condition but too expensive); a long trip to Southampton to see two Aquastar 38’s (both needed very large amounts of refurbishment that was not apparent in any photos).
On the journey back we reflected on the condition of the CI 32 compared to the Aquastar’s and how much more money we needed to find. After some pension pot robbing and negotiation we managed to agree a deal. Survey was 2 weeks ago and yesterday we took ownership. The previous owner is a member of this forum and should be proud of how well he has looked after her. A few jobs to do over the next few weeks and then we can start using her.
