Buying advice, fishing boat, £20k, 20 or 23 footer, which?

[guyd]

I have sold some assets, and after a cancer scare (and hopefully shortly the all clear) at 42, I have decided to buy a newer boat.

I am budgeting 20k. Where I am requires a solid, rough seas boat, able to be mud moored. The tides here are astonishing.

There's a diesel fuel barge, but no petrol. So I can't be ar&d with an outboard nd lugging petrol about in cans.

I need planing, as the window of fishing over high tide is short, and 7 knot tides need some speed. FUEL economy almost irrelevant due to the lack of hours use.

I need a possible bunk for 2 for possible overnighters. Two mates, not the wife. V basic cooking only.

Is the arvor 230as the boat of choice here?

I'm not out to impress anyone, function over form.

 

[salar]

Merry Fishers are very popular and fit your requirements. Worth asking the question on www.worldseafishing.com Boat Owning thread. You will have plenty of people wanting to help you spend your money!

 

[BruceK]

Saw this locally earlier. £26k advertised but may be negotiable, as a few others going a lot cheaper.



http://www.boatshop24.co.uk/boats-for-sale?sstr=newhaven sea warrior

 

[Oscar24]

I have sold some assets, and after a cancer scare (and hopefully shortly the all clear) at 42, I have decided to buy a newer boat.

I am budgeting 20k. Where I am requires a solid, rough seas boat, able to be mud moored. The tides here are astonishing.

There's a diesel fuel barge, but no petrol. So I can't be ar&d with an outboard nd lugging petrol about in cans.

I need planing, as the window of fishing over high tide is short, and 7 knot tides need some speed. FUEL economy almost irrelevant due to the lack of hours use.

I need a possible bunk for 2 for possible overnighters. Two mates, not the wife. V basic cooking only.

Is the arvor 230as the boat of choice here?

I'm not out to impress anyone, function over form.

Am in a similar position and have come to a very similar conclusion re the Arvor 230
The only negative with the Arvor seems to be a problem with the VW turbo unit but I'm sure this is just down to people not using the boats enough. The Nanni powered boats are apparently 'bombproof'
The jump up to a 250 just seems a bit much, but I understand they are cat b boats where the 230 is a cat c

Pity you are ruling out an OB powered boat as there are some very nice Quicksilvers about with 100Hp units. Should be good for 20+ knots cruise and modern 4 strokes are just as reliable as an IB
All imho

 

[Ferris]

I like the Merry Fisher 655. They are supposed to be an excellent seaboat and I like how they offer a good mix of fisher / cruiser. A little over budget however.

http://www.boatshop24.co.uk/motorboat/jeanneau-merry-fisher-655/124618

Is a 15kn cruise fast enough however?

A bit older but cheaper would be this Starfisher 670:

https://m.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=478760

 

[Bouba]

Am in a similar position and have come to a very similar conclusion re the Arvor 230
The only negative with the Arvor seems to be a problem with the VW turbo unit but I'm sure this is just down to people not using the boats enough. The Nanni powered boats are apparently 'bombproof'
The jump up to a 250 just seems a bit much, but I understand they are cat b boats where the 230 is a cat c

Pity you are ruling out an OB powered boat as there are some very nice Quicksilvers about with 100Hp units. Should be good for 20+ knots cruise and modern 4 strokes are just as reliable as an IB
All imho

Before getting the small Arvor I would check the Arvor owners group forum, there has been an awful lot written about the VW turbo

 

[ashtonmarineservices]

Hi

This all comes down to what your purchasing criteria is and rate out of 10 please

Looks
Sea handling
Resale value
running costs

ie if the wife is going the merry fisher is well worth a look, if its less about looks the arvor is the better sea handling boat but they hold the value better so it is probably going to be older than some of the other makes.

The quicksilver, arvor and merry fisher are v v different when being pushed or bigger seas so I would sea trial before buying.

enjoy

Dave

 

[Bouba]

Hi

This all comes down to what your purchasing criteria is and rate out of 10 please

Looks
Sea handling
Resale value
running costs

ie if the wife is going the merry fisher is well worth a look, if its less about looks the arvor is the better sea handling boat but they hold the value better so it is probably going to be older than some of the other makes.

The quicksilver, arvor and merry fisher are v v different when being pushed or bigger seas so I would sea trial before buying.

enjoy

Dave

I would add,
Do you need a toilet and should this be a sea toilet and do you want it in the middle of the cabin or in a separate room. I know that this is à boat for fishing with mates but if you ever do invite women on board they do like a bathroom.

 

[guyd]

Thanks lads, a few things I hadn't considered there.

The sea warrior is a nice boat but a bit old, the boat I have is a 1970 ' s colvic 20 and it shows its age....
Looks 6
Sea handling 10
Resale value 4
running costs 4

Being an engineer, I'm pretty sure that the normally reliable vw turbo turbo is reliable, but just not in the context that most boats are, which which is often left for for weeks then thrashed mercilessly. anyway, it's just a turbo, and not difficult to replace.

I don't doubt the modern outboard is reliable, it's just the faff of filling with petrol, there's no petrol station for miles. or correct me? It's in Watchet.

 

[guyd]

Sea bog is nice, don't care where. My marina has has a disposal point, but I'm lazy.

 

[Baddox]

The Arvors are good fishing platforms that have a lot of deck space at the expense of room in the cabin.
The Merryfishers, Antares, Ocqueteaus etc, may be more suited to you with more cabin and less deck space but still enough roomfor three to fish, plus separate heads and diesel inboard engines.
I’m about to put my Ocqueteau 645 up for sale, and looking at similar boats on the market, you’ll have a choice of 21 footers close to your £20k budget but going above that size will cost more or involve a big compromise, usually on age or engine size.

 

[ashtonmarineservices]

This would be my list

Cheverton 24 great sea handling. not easy to get hold of. Classic hull, heavy . great side on in big swells
Arvor: Ok its not a jumped up warrior but yeeks they are good. A bit heavier lay up on the GRP and they would would be perfect
Hardy 22/ 24 and would depend on the deal you get. Again well built solid boats with VG handling and should be on your list
Aquastar 27 . I know a bit bigger but fantastic boat and great value but not the best looking in my opinion but then I dont see the looks frightening the fish away and they do handle well

enjoy your sea trials!

Dave

 

[omega2]

Add a little more dosh and get a "proper" boat.

http://www.findafishingboat.com/aquastar-27/ad-79497

 

[fisherman]

Don't make a mistake and buy a registered FV, if you don't keep up the track record it will dump value. Ex FVs can be very cheap.