Buying my first boat.

[NickE]

I am about to buy my first boat. I have done quite a bit of sailing and powered boating over the years and have decided on a powered boat.

I am fortunate to live near the Thames at Maidenhead and feel that to get good utilisation mooring near home is a good idea. Therefore speed is not a big factor (limit is 4kts. on the non-tidal Thames) comfort and low speed handling is. I stand to be corrected but I have always found that a planing hull with a sterndrive is not the easiest of boats to handle in confined spaces at low speed. As speed is not a factor a displacement type hull is an option.

The Linssen boats appear to offer me what I require. One in particular in my price range, £100K, a 1993 Classic Sturdy 360 AC offers good accommodation and, in my eyes, is a very attractive boat. The boat can be found at http://www.linssenyachts.com/gb/default.htm although the photograph does not do the boat justice.

I have visited the Linssen factory in Holland and was staggered to find all their used boats beautifully presented…..indoors! Having visited numerous brokerages and seen some appallingly presented boats the operation at Linssen Yachts was a breath of fresh air and judging from their attitude and showroom I feel confident that they take customer satisfaction very seriously.

I have researched mooring costs, river licence, safety certification etc but because the boat seems relatively rare I am having difficulty finding information on the following:

Is the price realistic for that boat?

What sort of depreciation should I expect?

What are the disadvantages of a steel hull?

Are the engine hours (Volvo TMD – 31B 4 cyl.) at 2826 unacceptably high?

I would be delighted to hear from any owners of a Linssen boat and all opinions are welcome, either here or by private msg.

Thanks very much.

 

[oldgit]

Have seen several of this type of boat locally(Medway) and they appear to be a very nice proper boat ie stable spacious hull where good design has not been pushed aside by "fashion".(are you listening Sealine)In my opinion you a very fortunate in being able to start with this boat.
Any good surveyor will be able to tell if the hull has any problems but there are more places able to do repairs to steel hulls, than GRP and cheaper to I suspect.
Those engine hours indicated that the boat has been used(good sign) provided it has been well looked after, the hours are very low compared to what a lightly stressed engine like this is capable of.
Cannot comment on price but agree that most continental brokers put our lot in the shade.

Just hold tight dear it will not be so rough when we get round the corner,trust me.

 

[nicho]

Nick.

We had several years on the Thames, mainly with planing boats (for the odd foray out to sea). We were based at Windsor marina. Planing boats, especially with outdrives, can wander a bit, but apart from being inconvenient, it's not a big hassle.

A friend of ours has a Linsson (lives at Bray with his own mooring), and it is a really beautiful boat. His has a single 100HP non turbo diesel, and the boat has a bowthruster (not a bad idea with a large single engined boat). You do have to consider that at 4 knots, a turbo never has to work, and can seize. Also, large, under utilised diesels that never operate much above tickover can glaze their bores and cause further problem - diesels do like to be worked hard. Brooms. Pedro's and other Dutch Steel boats are also very popular on the Upper Thames

Many of the 'specialised' rivers boats (of even quite large size), operate with 35 hp Nanni diesels, and they are more than adequate. Of course if, as many do, you venture beyond the Thames Barrier from time to time, you will need more power than that, so it does need thinking about.

Remember to watch your air draught - you probably already know, but the Cookham footbridge is pretty low, and you will need to get under it. I cannot remember it's height, but the Cookham lock keeper will tell you. Quite large flybridge boats get under OK, as long as their radar arches are hinged (I think Linssons are pretty good on air draught anyway).

The Thames is a great, and social place to have a boat. The BBQ's by the meadow at Cookham are legendry!. However, after 4 years at 4 knots, we left for the South Coast to spread our wings a bit.

Whatever you get, good boating.....

Mike N

 

[Guest]

Nick I'm selling my boat which with a former owner, spent 16 years on the Thames. Each winter
she was lifted out winterised and shrink wrapped. Shes been fitted with all
the things ones likely to need i.e. Inverter, bow thruster etc. She has a large keel and with the twin engines
makes a perfect Thames cruiser. The engines only need just above tick over to do 4 kts, so total fuel is
only about .75 gal per hour. Like the Linssen she is aft cabin 37ft 12ft 4" beam.
The boat is a Broom 37 Crown. If interested please PM me.

"The Med has got me" (no not the Medway the other Med)

 

[Guest]

Re: Forgot to say

Forgot to mention she has a Boat Safety certificate till 2005 and a Thames licence till Dec 02
Clive

"The Med has got me" (no not the Medway the other Med)

 

[byron]

Whilst the Linsen is a cracking boat, for my money I would sooner have the Crown. You get the best of both worlds with it. A good sea boat and a splendid river boat plus the added advantage of two engines, the Linsen will roll on wet grass as she doesn't have enough weight down below.

<font color=red> ô¿ô</font color=red>
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.freeware.mcmail.com/435.htm>http://www.freeware.mcmail.com/435.htm</A>

 

[Guest]

Re: Oldgit

"Those engine hours indicated that the boat has been used(good sign) provided it has been
well looked after, the hours are very low compared to what a lightly stressed engine like"

Fred 2800 plus hours low? have you taken leave of your senses. the average boat
it would seem, only does about 100 hrs per season.

"The Med has got me" (no not the Medway the other Med)

 

[oldgit]

Re: Allrite Allrite

Ok Ok so you can Copy n Paste.
Better high hours frequently and regular used engines ready to go, than ultra low hours corroded internals never used all gunked up inside clunkers waiting to conk out on you.
3000 ish hours not even 25% way through life time ...........

Just hold tight dear it will not be so rough when we get round the corner,trust me.

 

[tcm]

Re: 2800hours

yes, it should be fine. But it is on the high side, though indicates that the boat hasn't been unloved. The owner should know the boat very well indeed (or be running a ferry service) and be able to bore you stiff about how he fixed this and that and where he went.

 

[NickE]

Thank you all for taking the trouble to reply, very helpful.

cneighbour, I have sent a private message.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by NickE on 13/10/2002 23:16 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Guest]

Re: Allrite ? whats that spell Fred ?

Sounds like a brand of cleaner or Micheal Barrimores catch phrase

Know what you mean theory is higher hours better for all the reasons you state, remember talking
to mechanic in Newhaven he said the pilot boat had same perkins as mine did 6000hrs before needing
anything major. Of course pilot boat well maintained. However........................

"Notwithstanding the above how come when looking at adds, most of us if we see a boat with low hours
instinctively favour that over one a similar one with higher hours."
Same if we are looking for a car we look at the mileage, although the same points you made can
applied here too.


"The Med has got me" (no not the Medway the other Med)