Boat suggestions please

A

Adrian_hud

New Member
Joined
22 Sep 2006
Messages
2
Visit site
So i want a boat. My sail area is going to be Windermere - so i need a shallow draft to get into marinas and onto jettys - no bigger than a 3.5 ft draft or lifting keel - (but there does not seem to be many about) I am after something between 26 - 30 ft in order that it will include 2 double cabins - or at least space for 2 adults to cuddle up and somewhere to shove the kids. Heads would be good too. The problem is the market seems really slim on pickings. I am a bit wary of getting an older boat as i would like as little maintenance as possible. So does anyone have any boat type suggestions, things to consider on top of my thoughts and apart from YBW and the windermere brokers anywhere where i can find a selection of boats to consider. Your help would be greatfully appreciated - if it matters, budget is definatley no higher than 35, but i would rather spend 25, thanks again
 
Sorry to do this Odin 820 (Preston Marina) or Macregor 26x for motor/c for sail. You wont cross any Oceans and your pogo stick might be redundant but hey £18k ish on the lakes aint bad.
 
Look at the Parker range of boats.
All have lifting keels and are very innovative designs.
They never stay long on the market - very popular
 
Look at a MacGregor 26 - X or M. We sail our 26X on the Veerse Meer in The Netherlands. For in land sailing it is a great little boat. Like all things in life it is not perfect, but for the money (new or used) you get a lot of boat with a lot of space inside. A double to cuddle up in was a priority for us and we've had a guest or two for a weekend. The systems are all very simple and there is not much to worry about from a maintenance point of view. The heads are very small so I would definitely keep it in a marina with good shore facilities.

Finally, if you get bored with Windemere, you can hitch it up to your car and go to another lake, or even The Netherlands as we did!
 
Can you use the 50hp engine that most Macgregors have, on Windemere ?? They are okay if you want a floating caravan......That huge slab side freeboard looks so ugly to me...

Look at the Parkers...if you can find one ????

We love our 235......you might want a bit more room but we have 4 and a dog aboard. Got to be the best trailer sailer there is !!!!!


http://www.parkeryachts.co.uk/
 
I have a 27' long keel MAB on Windermere. 1.6M draught, moored at Fell Foot, I can get onto the jetties at Ferry Nab OK. There are plenty with deeper draught than mine. Don't worry too much about draught, under 2M you'll be fine, and the water is deep right to the edge on much of the lake. Get a depth sounder!

You want a stable, stiff, light boat (a contradiction I know). Wind on Windermere is very patchy and gusty, one minute you can be becalmed, and the next you are seriously over-canvassed. You want a boat with engine controls that are easy to access and an engine that starts quickly. Reefing lines to the cockpit would be good.

There are a couple of Dufour 1800's moored near me, and I have the impression that they're quite suitable for the lake.

Sailing on Windermere requires constant adjustment, you need to sail a yacht like a dinghy. I guess a fin keel that will turn on a sixpence would be good - Windermere means a lot of tacking.

Heads are a pain, because you cannot discharge you want a good size holding tank. If you are on a marina berth then fine, but most Windermere moorings are swing moorings, so you may need to go for a sail to Ferry Nab to empty holding tank, fill up water tank etc.

HTH. Lakesailor is the real expert re. Windermere on here, but you're welcome to PM me if you've got any questions. I will probably take my boat out of Windermere at the end of the year and put it back in the sea.

Steve
 
An Evolution 26 might be good for Windermere. A pretty fast boat with a lifting keel. We had an Evolution 22 some years ago. They might be a bit old now though. Other than that, I second the suggestions for Parkers - very nicely built boats. Also Hunters are good.

We had Avocet on Windermere for a couple of seasons - 4'6" draft and a long keel. As has been said, much of Windermere is as deep as the Irish sea anyway. At the height of a dry summer you might struggle to get into some areas - like White Cross Bay and the moorings at the North and South ends are pretty shallow. Also, obviously, the narrows between Belle Isle and Bowness would get pretty shallow too but with a depth sounder it is perfectly navigable. If you get a boat that is too much of a lake boat and you subsequently get fed up of Windermere and go out on the sea, you might regret it.
 
Thanks for the help, the draft issue is because we will probably keep the boat in one of the marinas - probably the (shepherds?) village - they reckon on a max draft of 3.5 ft - so a wing keel may be a bit tight? Dont fancy Low Wood as it is the same price, the boat has to come out of the water for a few months in winter and a colleague managed to wear through his mooring ropes in 3 weeks due to the exposure there. We need marina facilities as we are not local and want that extra bit of luxury / comfort. I am totally in the dark about the only other marina that i know about which is the place that sells bayliners - thoughts and suegstions on facilities there? Thanks for the help so far....
 
We were in White Cross Bay. The jetties are owned by the caravan park there. The first year, we were on a jetty because whe had a baby and a 5 year old so rowing out to a mooring and transferring wasn't really an option. The big problem with the jetty was that there wasn't much water under us and as the lake level rose and fell, it was hard to get the mooring lines the right length. That, combined with the (almost permanent) wash from passing boats made it pretty hard on the topsides. We made up a fender board which helped but over the winter the lake rose high enough to come over the top of the jetty and it spat the board out. Not a good season for rubbing strakes that year! Also very exposed to the prevailing Westerlies as it is not far from Low Wood.

The following year, we got a mooring laid in the bay. That was actually much more satisfactory. It survived a particularly vicious gale over that winter with no problems at all. In fact, the mooring is probably still there now!

Probably the most sheltered and luxurious place on the lake is the Windermemre Marina Village but it is eye-wateringly expensive! That said, everywhere on Windermere is pretty expensive!

All this was before the 10MPH limit so I don't know how that has changed things on the lake.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top