Boat advice

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RichCom

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Hi all hoping for some advice, I live in west Cornwall and want a boat that a family of four can use and overnight/weekend on. I have been looking and something like the Beneteau antares 760, merry fisher 805 looks ideal diesel inboard probably the nanni 200hp.
Would like to use it for fishing and swimming etc and for trips across to the ilses of scilly.
Have been looking at the Rodman and Faeton also but the bigger ones of those seem to have twin engines which I am guessing will be more expensive to run and maintain.

Thanks
 
Should also mention mooring will be tidal, would that be a problem with the above mentioned boats and budget about £35000

Thanks
 
If you're planning on making trips to the Isles of Scilly then I'd go for an enclosed wheelhouse like the boats you mention. 30-odd miles in a chop can be very uncomfortable and you'd be looking at an hour at least each way depending on what boat you buy.

Will this be your first boat?
 
Sounds like you have a good plan. Indeed what you have already spotted would seem good. Single engine & shaft drive a good combination in my view. Both good sea boats. But I have always quite liked these ACM 31's, and a Rodman is a good sea boat and both these twin engines. A nimbus also a decent brand and along the same lines as all these above but single engine & all would look after you on your way to the Scilly's ;

https://www.rightboat.com/boats-for-sale/acm/elite-31/rb109416

https://www.rightboat.com/boats-for-sale/rodman/900/rb128724

https://www.rightboat.com/boats-for-sale/nimbus/27-coupe/rb108777
 
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Nimbus quality is typically Scandinavian and hard to beat though a 16 knot cruising speed would put me off. I'd be looking at something with a leg rather than a shaft that could cruise at 25 knots.

That ACM is lovely but probably over budget by the time you've brought it back from Jersey and and paid VAT on it.
 
Thanks very much for the replies .
Stats007 I had a boat a fair few years ago and have been in and around them but would consider myself a novice . Plan was to find the right boat and do a couple of courses and Im lucky enough to have a full time skipper that lives next door.

Though the boats with a leg are faster are they not more problematic and costly maintenance wise ?

I saw that Rodman advertised Firefly, seems like alot of boat for the money but how much more fuel would I be looking at roughly compared to a single 230-260 ?

I had looked at the Aquador 26HT but seem to be quite expensive.

Thanks again
 
Looks a nice boat, but with a fresh water capacity of less than 10 gallons spending a family weekend on board won't be fun!

Otoh that Nimbus seems good value, and with the advantage of being shaft driven. 16kts is a great cruising speed, Falmouth to anywhere in Scilly in about 4 hours in relative comfort is pretty good in my books.
 
I suppose that depends on your age-group and sensibilities. 4 hours on a 50' motoryacht with good amenities I'd agree - four people on a 25' boat like an Antares 760 not so keen. I'd much prefer to cruise at 25 knots - conditions permitting - with the possibility of hitting 35 to make the journey in half the time.

That Aquador 26HT is cheap - he'd take £35k for it as it needs a little bit of cosmetic work. The only issue with buying from Ireland in my experience is that they don't service their boats to schedule.
 
I said in my experience. All the boats I've looked at bringing back have not been serviced to schedule with the majority done cash in hand. Speak to any broker in Ireland, it's quite common by all accounts.
 
Even on calm days, there often seems to be a bit of swell heading out to IoS and bouncing off the swell in a light planing boat may not be an ideal family journey.

We had an Antares 8.80 last year and it was a versatile boat with many qualities. But racing along in any kind of chop was a tough on the passengers. Though to be clear, the boat always seemed capable of most things.

I guess the point of my post is that you will probably find yourself doing 15-18 knots on most longer journeys, so unless you really want some +20 knots performance, looking at the slower boats may be worthwhile.

I really liked the advantages of having outboards for shallow water, for keeping them out of the water when moored, and also the simpler servicing and reliability. However, the price of petrol needs to be factored into the maths.

The Nimbus route seems to offer a lot given your requirements. They would seem to have been tested well over many years for your sort of requirements.

Garold

Ps. We are in Brest at the moment, and it looks like about 50% of the boats users round here use the 7-8 m Beneteau outboard powered boats with cabins, for the use you described.
 
Thanks Garold,

Just would of thought that the outboards would be thirsty and expensive, I'm not too worried about the maintenance etc as I'm a mechanic so hopefully apart from parts cost should be cheap !

Just to throw a curve ball in to the works ( not to mention blow the budget out of the water ! ) any thoughts on a Antares 980 fly with Volvo D4 260 ? I know it won't be a speed demon but its a hansom looking boat and a bit more space etc .

Thanks
 
RichCom said:
Hi all hoping for some advice, I live in west Cornwall and want a boat that a family of four can use and overnight/weekend on. I have been looking and something like the Beneteau antares 760, merry fisher 805 looks ideal diesel inboard probably the nanni 200hp.
Would like to use it for fishing and swimming etc and for trips across to the ilses of scilly.
Have been looking at the Rodman and Faeton also but the bigger ones of those seem to have twin engines which I am guessing will be more expensive to run and maintain.

Thanks
Click to expand...

The Antares 760 is an excellent boat for the voyages/area you plan for but a bit tight on space for four. We cruise in ours and find it ideal for two people. If you do settle on single engine i strongly recommend you budget for a bowthruster too.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk
 
Hi Plum .

Thanks for that, the ones I had looked at did have a bowthruster . Do these have protection around the prop to allow it to sit on the sand on a tidal mooring ?
Children are young so thought we may get away with it space wise .
 
Elecglitch said:
Of course they are - they're far to busy Black and Dekering each others kneecaps to get the work done.
Click to expand...

There aren't as many boat engine dealers in Ireland (N or S). Looking at the Volvo Penta website, it shows a couple around Belfast / Lough Neah, Dublin, and Galway, which leaves vast swathes of the countries with no local dealer.
 
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