Can someone help with this question

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Pezza

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Not sure if I'm on the right train of thinking but. I'm not a boat owner but want to be. I want a boat instead of a motor home and would like to explore my local shoreline (new forest & isle of white) with staying on it for long weekends and some holidays to salcombe and Dartmouth. I don't want the faff of a sailing boat so a motor cruisers seams to be best but I am worried that fuel costs may put an end to going any further then my local water. Is a motor sailer cross between sail and motor cruisers and would this help with fuel consumption. If so Is there a type that would suit what I want but be very easy to sail with out to much rigging and can operate as one man as my wife and daughter would not want to spend a journey keep faffing with winches ropes and sails, and i don't want to be running all over boat trying to do everything. Many thanks
 
With a motorhome you can still visit all these places probably more easily without the constraints of the weather, and nearly 30 mpg.
Motorhome and 3 paddle boards should do it, You can even explore the other coasts of Europe.
 
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My Boat does not consume a lot of fuel and fuel as never been an issue, The issue would be the knowledge of being safely on the water! I would do some reading before you start looking at a boat or maybe go out with a mate or hire a boat with skipper so you can see the issues of going to sea in a boat!

I started with a small boat and lots of reading and making mistakes, this is now my fifth boat and I still learning its a lot of fun but lots of maintenance and expense too.not just drinking G&T on board.
 
If you buy a boat you have to pay insurance, maintenance, mooring, repairs (something always breaks) and fuel. Then there is the depreciation when you come to sell it. Often fuel costs are the smallest in the overall cost of ownership. Boats that are 8 - 15 years old tend not to depreciate much, and if you can do your own maintenance then the mooring and fuel costs are your biggest bill. Also in the UK you don't need any training to take a boat out. However if you haven't done any formal boat training its well worth the time and money. An RYA powerboat level 2 course might be a good place to start to get a better understanding of what's involved and talk to other boaters.

The mooring fees in the area you would like to go boating are very high. Almost certainly a lot more than your fuel costs. MIght be worth phoning a few marinas to get an idea of how much to park your boat or how much to use a slipway if you decide to get a boat you can tow - which might be a good solution. Fuel costs depend on size and type of boat. Sailing boats are very fuel efficient when driven using only the engine but only go @ 6 knots. Sailing boats with self tacking jibs and in mast main sail furling are really easy to sail if you are effectively single handed. Even easier if you get an electric winch to do the hard work.

A motor sailor is not a great solution unless you want to go a long way in poor conditions. Yes you can sail it or you can motor it or both, but you can do that with any sailing boat that has an engine. You can get displacement mode (slow) power boats which will probably do 3 or 4 miles per gallon (sounds terrible but you don't actually go that far, that often) but your speed will be similar to a sailing boat and take the same amount of time.

A fast planing motor boat @ 25 - 28 feet long will probably do @ 1.8 mpg at a 22 ish knot cruising speed. A 38 - 42 foot sports boat at cruising speed (20- 25 knots) somewhere between 1 and 1.3 mpg depending on design/drive system etc. However they can go slowly at @ 6-7 knots and again you will be in the 3 - 4 mpg range. However going slow in a fast planing boat needs calm water else it gets a bit rolly polly.
A rough rule of thumb is that the total running costs of a boat of any type will be about 6% - 10% of the cost of the boat.
 
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As said you do need to work out where you would keep your boat. If you can keep it at home on a trailer you are limited to the size of boat and you need a suitable tow vehicle. Have you any boating experience? Perhaps doing a power boat 2 course would be a good first step? What sort of budget did you have in mind?
If you don't want to sail there seems little point in getting a sail boat rather than a displacement cruiser or a semi displacement one.
More information would allow people to come up with more help.
I have friends who made a lot of use of a motor home and carried a Portabote and outboard with them, that would be another option.
 
Thanks for your replys. Here's a bit more info on my stuation. The purchase of a boat is at least 2 yrs away so this is why I thought I would start to build my knowledge on the subject. We're now middle aged with a 10 yr old. We have a 12ft Orkney spinner (fiberglass) 5 hp outboard and started using it last rear. I have luanched from Lymington, Beaulieu, and Mudeford. 1st time out this year the other day from Lymington and it was great. Other then this no boat experience. I am prepared to do any courses that would help. I suffer with the humidity and pollen of the New Forest in spring and summer months. We were think of a holiday static caravan, chalet or motor home to enjoy the coast of Dorset with the fresher cooler air from the sea helping my condition. All these ideas I believe will carry similar pros and cons and cost of boat ownership. The last couple of times going out in the boat and seeing other boats, I thought a boat could be like a motor home with out the traffic jams and stress of traffic. I do enjoy the sea the boat and fishing, paddle boarding so this isn't just a sudden thought about boating. I though a powered cruiser would be the way to go as I would like to use like a holiday caravan or motor home I was thinking of a 4 berth as I don't want to feel like I'm trapped in a small cave when weather is poor and sat aboard. I liked the look of a 1984 Princess 30 ds
 
The 30Ds would be a good choice for starter boat offering a stable and comfortable ride and sensible step up from your present boat.
No silly electronics or fragile control systems.
At the budget which I suspect you are considering it offers a lot of interior space for the money and decent aft cockpit to enjoy the outdoors.
Over 900 were built from 1980 to 1989 so wide choice available, it was probably the first of a generation of more modern boats with an interior that no longer looked like the public bar in a back street boozer and a big plus ......the hull was designed by Bernard Olesinski. It was probably the last to have constructed from actual wood, not MDF and Fablon. :)
Engine options.
Where you are going to boat, would suggest you get the biggest engine option possible this will probably be a pair of 130HP Volvo Penta diesels.
We have a 30Ds in our boat club that has been everywhere from the Baltic to the "Med", a very capable boat.
Expect consumption to average out at 2-3 gallons of fuel for each hour of boating more if you insist on whizzing everywhere but to be honest ,if you want to go fast this is the wrong sort of boat.
On inland waterways you might well find you are consuming around a gallon an hour,
They could come with pair a weeny 75HP diesels, nothing wrong with those but progress will be slow.
Boats did have the option of single engine, fine on inland waterways and perhaps estuaries but a bit worrying offshore.
Unlikey to find hull problems but mechanicals will need careful checking on any boat this age.

IMHO.
The flybridge version was not a resounding success and for good reasons.
Under no circumstances do you want petrol....Not never ever.


Avoid outdrives ?‍☠️
 
Hi Pezza, I have a Princess 30 DS, if you would like to have a proper look over one and discuss what it’s like to own one, I would be happy to spend an afternoon with you one weekend, maybe even pop out for a jaunt round the Solent forts, if the weather and tide is conducive. She is based in Southsea Marina Portsmouth, which is at the mouth of Langstone harbour. I will be available for this from beginning of July. Happy to help, always looking for an excuse to go for a ride ? Plus extra deck hands are welcome! Boat is just big enough for social distancing if we still have to worry about that at the time.
People were very generous in helping me decide when I was a newbie 3 years ago, so i feel it’s only right to pay it forward where possible. Just PM me here with a phone number if interested, and we can have a chat about it
Regards
Gary
 
GaryJeffery said:
Hi Pezza, I have a Princess 30 DS, if you would like to have a proper look over one and discuss what it’s like to own one, I would be happy to spend an afternoon with you one weekend, maybe even pop out for a jaunt round the Solent forts, if the weather and tide is conducive. She is based in Southsea Marina Portsmouth, which is at the mouth of Langstone harbour. I will be available for this from beginning of July. Happy to help, always looking for an excuse to go for a ride ? Plus extra deck hands are welcome! Boat is just big enough for social distancing if we still have to worry about that at the time.
People were very generous in helping me decide when I was a newbie 3 years ago, so i feel it’s only right to pay it forward where possible. Just PM me here with a phone number if interested, and we can have a chat about it
Regards
Gary
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Hi Gary thanks very much for your offer. I have come to the realisation, that boat ownership is not going to really be the answer that I'm looking for mostly due to the maintenance time and expenses that go into it, I have a hobbies already that takes up a lot of time and will be looking to do get deeper into in the future so think a boat of the size of a princess will just not work. I've still got my 13ft Orkney spinner to go out on. But would still love to come out on your boat some time just to see what it's like. You never know. 07766805014. Cheers
 
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