Bought my first boat 800 miles away. Need advice!

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Boater On Thames

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I just bought my very first boat today. She is a 41 feet aft cabin flybridge. Make in 1992. Twin engines total 600 hp. The survey report said she is in serviceable conditions. She did 15 knots top speed at 2500 rpm during the sea trial whith full tanks. The problem is that the boat is in north of Scotland, and I am living in south of England. It's about 800 miles away from home. What do you think the best way to bring her home? Thank you in advance.
 
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If it’s your first boat then bringing her to your home port over water may not be the best approach. Anyway, that’s an awfully long time to take off work or family as well as an awful lot of diesel for a mobo of that size. I’d look into transport companies if I were you.
 
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Get her loaded onto the back of a large lorry! A boat that size is going to do very few miles per gallon and the fuel cost of that 800 miles will be comparable with the haulage charges without taking into account the additional wear and tear on somewhat elderly engines and the demands on your time.
 
Congratulations. The best way would be for you to own a truck, with a low loader! A couple of points need to be established first though; is the boat on a trailer that's capable, and do you have a time scale that prevents you from waiting for a more predictable period of fair weather, where you might sail her down? You mention that she's servicable. If you need her down with you, and have to hire a dedicated boat transporter, then that's becoming very pricey! Any pictures of your purchase?
 
A new boat, limited experience and 800 miles. That would be one hell of an adventure! Moving her by road would be infinitely less fraught and probably cheaper too......and much more sensible.
 
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I'd take some time off work and motor her down. But given your lack of experience, hire a delivery skipper.

You'll learn a hell of a lot, and have a job list before the start of the sunny season.
 
Thanks mates. I was thinking to bring her home port by port over the water. Maybe sail a 50 miles every weekend. So, maybe in two or three months or so to get home. Is this sounds stupid? Just a thought. Thank you.
 
We were in a similar situation recently although less distance, Devon to North Wales.

Initially we were thinking romantically about having her down in Devon for a season. Then at the end working our way back up as a holiday. Would loved to have done it, but with normal life getting in the way, the head overcame the heart and we transported up to North Wales.
A winter ashore, ensures we will be ready for our first spring/summer local to home.

Good luck and whatever you do - enjoy it! :cool:
 
Lucas Gan said:
Thanks mates. I was thinking to bring her home port by port over the water. Maybe sail a 50 miles every weekend. So, maybe in two or three months or so to get home. Is this sounds stupid? Just a thought. Thank you.
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If you have never been on a boat at sea I suggest you find some experienced crew. At 15 knots at this time of year you could probably manage 100 miles in a day So that's only just over 1 week, but unlikely you could do the trip without waiting for the weather.

Where is the boat now and where is the destination?
 
we bought in scotland last year. we got several quotes and trucked it down. it can be quite cheap if you can find somebody who is headed back empty having already dropped off a load in scotland. Equally motoring it would cost a fortune in fuel!!
 
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Lucas Gan said:
Thanks mates. I was thinking to bring her home port by port over the water. Maybe sail a 50 miles every weekend. So, maybe in two or three months or so to get home. Is this sounds stupid? Just a thought. Thank you.
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That sounds reasonable but of course you will be at the mercy of the weather and some weekends you'll be going nowhere. A great way of getting to know the boat. At the beginning of the season, with only limited experience, I bought a new yacht which was 250 miles south. My intention was to wait for a weather window and hurtle up north allowing myself 2 1/2 days. In reality it took 5. Mind you I was chuffed with myself when I finally did make it back.
 
1. Truck for convenience and economy.
2. Self delivery (if you believe you are competent) over as long as it takes for gratification, enjoyment and knowledge gained.

IMO, delivery skipper option makes no sense as it will surely be more expensive than trucking for a mobo; it's a marginal issue for a sailboat.
 
Lucas Gan said:
Thanks mates. I was thinking to bring her home port by port over the water. Maybe sail a 50 miles every weekend. So, maybe in two or three months or so to get home. Is this sounds stupid? Just a thought. Thank you.
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We bought a boat a similar distance away - and used it as an opportunity to see new places on a very slow delivery cruise home. BUT, it wasn’t our first boat, we had plenty of time - and we waited till Spring before starting the delivery cruise.

The West Coast of Scotland has some of the best cruising waters that you might enjoy, if you have the time and the weather, when passing south. But equally generally places where need to have confidence in the boat and the skipper.

Also the North of Scotland is a very big place. Makes quite a bit of a difference whereabouts exactly - and in particular which side of the Pentland Firth and Cape Wrath (East, West or North of these)!
Finally, doing short hops each weekend is likely to be near impossible until get closer to the South Coast, or you own a seaplane. Have done a lot of travel to / from remote parts of Scottish coast and can take a day each way by public transport.

So a delivery cruise can be great fun and experience. But unless can wait till spring, can test boat on short trips beforehand then, and have experienced assistance then ............. another vote for a low loader lorry.

PS. An alternative “best of both” solution might be to get boat to somewhere like Largs on the Clyde (lorry or shorter sea trip, depending on current location). Then keep there for a winter and season to use in sheltered but spectacular waters of the Clyde. Move south. (If still want to) later when more experience of boat and skippering it. Clyde much easier to commute to from the South
 
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Sounds like you're not afraid of the fuel costs or the marina berthing fees, so port-hopping down makes sense, and you'll get to know the boat in the process. After all, boats are made for enjoying the water, not for riding around the countryside on the back of trucks.

Since it doesn't sound like you know much about these aspects, I'd get the engines serviced, but try and be there to ask stupid questions and see how it's done, so you can do it yourself next time. If the survey showed any points that need addressing, get them done too.

Then get someone to show you how to handle the thing a bit, especially mooring up and undocking, as that tends to be the most difficult part. Doesn't have to be a delivery skipper, there's usually someone around that can do it. If you don't know anyone, a local RYA school might do it, or I've seen a broker with lots of boating experience doing this for new owners on the side.

Figure out the cruising speed for the boat. While the top speed might be 15 knots, that's probably not the cruising speed. It will be at the sweet spot where the miles per gallon are the lowest - where that is depends on the boat. Then plan passages with that, and don't forget to check tides and weather. Make sure whatever chartplotters you use are supplied with charts for the whole trip, so you don't end up sailing off the edge of the chart. May be wise to take a few paper charts as backup.

Try and get someone with some boating experience to come along, at least for the first leg or two. Good to have company, you'll learn a lot and it's tricky to moor up a big boat on your own. Hopefully you'll have some friends that you can share the fun with too, and in return get help with the mooring lines.

Do expect that this time of year there will be many weekends where you don't want to move the boat along the next leg because the weather's too lousy, and you'll end up paying for another week in the marina at visitor rates. Also do expect for stuff to break and having downtime because you're waiting for parts or people. Welcome to boat ownership! :encouragement:
 
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