Cabin Cruiser selection help needed

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stevethompson

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Advise please, I am thinking of buying a cabin cruiser to use on Englands rivers but would also like to be able to cross the channel to France and use the inland waterway system there.
My query really relates to the type of craft/hull that is required as it needs to be stable and safe out at sea especially if there was an engine failure.
Help appreciated.
Steve
 
you could look at a princess 32 with a newish pair of diesal engines, sleep 5 and at home on rivers and the odd channel crossing weather permitting
 
How about stability especially if you had an engine failure out at sea assuming just a single engine and as most of these boats have little in the way of balast.
 
I used to cruise the Bristol Channel in a Project 31 which was the predecessor of the Princess 32. We cruised at 7 knots and maxed out at 10 or 11 knots!
They are nothing like as good as a modern boat, but are quite sea worthy.
 
£20K buys a sound enough Fairline Mirage, which should sleep 2 adults and 3 smaller persons.

Many have twin engines, are seaworthy enough, and pretty nice all rounders.

I stand to be corrected on this info by the specialists here!....
 
Hi Steve.Wonder where your location is and what rivers you intend using the boat on.Reason for asking is that the sort of boat you are going to get for that sort of budget is going to be slow and if you are not living in the southeast it is going to take forever to get to any port handy for France.Fine if you are retired,but if as we suspect you are a young family man,takng a month off may be out of the question.
A fast 5 berth boat simply will not be there at the price and with the cost of fuel about to rise it could be out of your budget to fork out 3/400 quid for just the run across the channel.Most river boats will not fit on proper canals,simply too big.
My advice would be to limit your horizons for now and go for a 30 ft ish cruiser from one of the recommendations given elsewhere,and add the Princess 33 to your viewings.You really really need a Deisel to do any proper distances and an old petrol boat will be almost impossible to give away when you want to sell.
With most older boats any expensive trouble will come from lack of mantaince from previous owners of engines and drive system,so pay special attention to those bits and pieces,hulls do not normally give any trouble.
Good luck and remember that in this price range cash is KING,do not be afraid to offer 10 25 or even 50% under the asking price.You may be told to s*d off or you may get a nice boat for sensible money.If I had say 25K,I would be looking at asking prices of 35/30K.
 
Thank you for the reply oldgit !!
I will be looking for a diesel and probably run it on biodiesel, the future does look dim with regards to fuel costs.
I see what you mean about time and distances and will bear that in mind.
The Princess range looks encouraging and they do seem popular.
Thank you for your wise thoughts
Steve
 
Not only the Princess,but lots of other volume produced boats out there such as Fairline,Cleopatra,Seamaster,Birchwood,Colvic,Freeman,Ocean etc etc.As with most stuff,there are one or two to avoid,err one actually,but in order to not start world war three will not mention any names. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Good places to look on the interweb are www.Boatsandoutboards.com and mebbe Boatshop, any marina with an onsite brokers office will not really be interested in any sub 50K stuff so for the best place to find this sort of boat would recommend just wandering around the smaller boat yards and ask whats up for sale.
 
Does anyone have any views on fuel consumption.
For me a single engined diesel would be ideal obviously slower that a twin engined boat but less costly to maintain and run.
I have seen all sorts of consumption figures thrown about but some first hand figures would be great.
I have a 7 litre Dorman 4 cylinder generator and under full load it uses 2 gallons an hour, obviously I will not be trying to sail on my generator but more from a comparison point of view !!
 
Reminds me:

Thames and Kennet have a huge Cleopatra 1000, which is big, has twin Diesels and sleeps 5 easily!

Google for Thames Boat sales, and look for 'Ria'

It's under £25K and could be less fer sure....
 
Princess 32 or Fairline Mirage 29.
Mirage rated in recent MBM mag as excellent buy.
I recall that there is a rare twin diesel Mirage for sale in Falkirk, called "Pepperoni" I think .. and another petrol twin 145HP petrol at Dover called "La Moustique". Both very capable of channel cruising I would think . (Both featured on eBay recently - not sold). My Mirage, like many others, has settee converting to bunk which makes a 6 berth and I still have fair weather berth/sunbed in cockpit. Speed, well not like modern sports cruisers perhaps but I can do way over 20 knots.
For Princess 32 with the 106HP volvo diesels, check carefully about spares as these engines now getting rare.
 
Engine failure is bad news in any boat at sea. Even fatal in bad weather! All types will stay afloat except in the very worst storm conditions, although the motion will be horrendous and terrifying. Good maintenance will help to avoid the situation arising. Forget seagoing until you have plenty of experience of the boat and how to repair it in an emergency.
As a newcomer you must understand that the welfare state ends at the sea wall and you must rely on your self when at sea. This is what many of us love about boats and the sea, it is one of the last areas where this bloody fascist government still allows you to kill yourself without any interference!
Oh yes, and still enjoy yourself!
 
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