Boating on a budget - The Boat

Yellow Ballad

Yellow Ballad

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Sorry for another one of those threads....

Reading the other thread it got me thinking what's the ideal first boat for boating on a budget. Lots of talk on how to cut costs but not much on the ideal boat.

Budget £1500-£2000 (after all we're all skint).
Twin/Bilge/Lifting/Swing Keel to dry out.
A mast that can be stepped with a couple of people.
Fit a small family, 2 adults 1 Child for a weekend or a singlehanded duffer.
Something that's sea worthy, you could close the hatch and sit out a blow at anchor.

I'm starting with a Corribee.....
 
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There are dozens of good boats out there- individual condition and suitability for available berthing and cruising grounds is what will decide.
 
Two I have owned... A Pandora International (bilge keel) or an Achilles 24 (triple keel).
Both sail well but are a bit cosy inside ?.
Both have an outboard well in the cockpit. It is much easier and cheaper to maintain an outboard rather than an inboard engine. Both are fine with 4 to 5 HP.
 
Kelpie said:
There are dozens of good boats out there- individual condition and suitability for available berthing and cruising grounds is what will decide.
Click to expand...

+1

Little point identifying particular designs/marques, unless you have very particular criteria to meet, and boating on a budget surely means being flexible about expectations.

Corribee's a great boat, but not one many would today choose for 2 adults and a child.
 
To get a boat cheap, it has to be close to you. No good finding the perfect boat at a bargain price if it's 500 miles away and doesn't even have a trailer.

That's how I ended up with the one I have. I set out to buy a small cheap boat with lifting or bilge keels, and after deciding I was not going to travel 300 miles to look at a boat and then trust an unknown trailer to get it back, I looked at what the local brokers had, and found my boat 20 miles away.

My suspicion about unknown trailers was absolutely right. The 20 mile tow home was awful, the trailer was set up really badly. I would not have been wanting to tow it like that for hundreds if miles. With the boat in the water I was able to work on the trailer and it now tows fine.

So just look at everything available close to you with an open mind and decide if any will do what you want and make an offer.

Expectations have certainly changed over the years. I have the sales brochure from when my 18ft 6 boat was built in 1983 that describes it as a "spacious 4 berth family cruising yacht" I doubt many now would agree with that statement.
 
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Kingfisher 20, 20+ or 22?

I had a K20+ as my first boat (as did Ellen MacArthur!). Built like a bomb shelter, bilge keels, and a proper yacht interior, including 2 cabins and a head that outshines that in a lot of 30 foot boats. Great, safe little thing.
 
My first 'boat with a lid' was a Vivacity 20. Was in bad blows several times with no problems; she could handle the sea very well for a boat of that size. The only two major alterations that I did were (1) a furling Genoa and (2) a single-cylinder diesel engine.
The difference that the Genoa made was like turning on turbo power. I never hoisted the jib after that.
The little 9hp diesel was for convenience after two seasons with an outboard. The OB was unwieldy to put on and off, the prop would frequently come out of the water when in big waves and there was a spate of OBs being 'removed' if left on the transom. My feeling is that the 65kilos of diesel engine also made the boat stiffer.
Major problem with a short boat is the lack of headroom. Although I quickly learned how to move about on my knees when below, I couldn't do it today.

The Corribee has arguably nicer lines but is more cramped below and, I suspect, would be wetter when beating.

Two boats and twenty years later I still miss my little Viv although the new owner and I continue to be best friends.
 
sniffyjenkins said:
Kingfisher 20, 20+ or 22?

I had a K20+ as my first boat (as did Ellen MacArthur!). Built like a bomb shelter, bilge keels, and a proper yacht interior, including 2 cabins and a head that outshines that in a lot of 30 foot boats. Great, safe little thing.
Click to expand...

Second that, I grew up cruising the west coast of Scotland on a Kingfisher 20+, Dad traded it in against an Albin Vega when I and my siblings couldn't fit in the forward cabin any more. Fantastic little boats. The head had a sliding, slatted door arrangement that meant you could shut off the forward berth and the saloon and enjoy a very spacious and private few mins in total comfort on a proper sea loo.

http://yachts.apolloduck.com/display.phtml?aid=482298

http://www.kyoa.org.uk/k20technical.htm
 
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I think your first ideas not bad, though I admit to some bias. I quite agree about the Corribee being a bit crowded - 2 small adults are one too many - but they're actually quite dry boats.

Point of info, Sniffy - Dame Ellen's first boat for her circumnavigation of the UK when she was 18 was actually a Corribee.:)
 
Think you'd find a Corribee a bit cramped for three. There are more civilised alternatives.
Folkboat Tom said:
Sorry for another one of those threads....

Reading the other thread it got me thinking what's the ideal first boat for boating on a budget. Lots of talk on how to cut costs but not much on the ideal boat.

Budget £1500-£2000 (after all we're all skint).
Twin/Bilge/Lifting/Swing Keel to dry out.
A mast that can be stepped with a couple of people.
Fit a small family, 2 adults 1 Child for a weekend or a singlehanded duffer.
Something that's sea worthy, you could close the hatch and sit out a blow at anchor.

I'm starting with a Corribee.....
Click to expand...
 
achilles 24, great performance, available with triple keel (3 percent performance reduction but can dry out) or fin. small space inside avaliable ready to sail £2000
 
Anything in the 19-22ft bracket with bilge keels and a trailer would be ideal. It needs to have a trailer which prevents large haul out fees, and if you do decide to have it on a swinging mooring you can very cheaply. Look at newbridge navigators or newbridge venturer, these are in that price bracket and they have a roomy interior for the size of boat. Hurley 22 maybe?
 
ProDave said:
To get a boat cheap, it has to be close to you. No good finding the perfect boat at a bargain price if it's 500 miles away and doesn't even have a trailer.

That's how I ended up with the one I have. I set out to buy a small cheap boat with lifting or bilge keels, and after deciding I was not going to travel 300 miles to look at a boat and then trust an unknown trailer to get it back, I looked at what the local brokers had, and found my boat 20 miles away.

My suspicion about unknown trailers was absolutely right. The 20 mile tow home was awful, the trailer was set up really badly. I would not have been wanting to tow it like that for hundreds if miles. With the boat in the water I was able to work on the trailer and it now tows fine.

So just look at everything available close to you with an open mind and decide if any will do what you want and make an offer.

Expectations have certainly changed over the years. I have the sales brochure from when my 18ft 6 boat was built in 1983 that describes it as a "spacious 4 berth family cruising yacht" I doubt many now would agree with that statement.
Click to expand...
What did you get Dave? Mine said the same in its brochure, they were having a laugh :)
 
Folkboat Tom said:
Sorry for another one of those threads....

Reading the other thread it got me thinking what's the ideal first boat for boating on a budget. Lots of talk on how to cut costs but not much on the ideal boat.

Budget £1500-£2000 (after all we're all skint).
Twin/Bilge/Lifting/Swing Keel to dry out.
A mast that can be stepped with a couple of people.
Fit a small family, 2 adults 1 Child for a weekend or a singlehanded duffer.
Something that's sea worthy, you could close the hatch and sit out a blow at anchor.

I'm starting with a Corribee.....
Click to expand...

With that sort of budget you are into "old banger" territory and the choice depends not on make but condition, location, your skills and even your ability to haggle. There are thousands of old british boats lying around unloved and unused.
 
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