Difficult decisions!

[nicho]

We bought our 2000 Bavaria 34 from a fanatic owner 16 months ago. Due to COVID and wife’s health problems, we have hardly seen it in 2020. Unfortunately, with her Sjogrens auto immune problem, and the fact she evidently had a stroke (which we knew nothing about), means she is now somewhat limited in what she can do. She has little strength in her arms and hands, and her knees are distinctly dodgy. We are mulling over what to do. both being mid seventies (age and fashion!), It seems pretty obvious we are not going to use the boat as intended, and on pensions income, it is a lot of money to pay out for little return. Both of us seem to have lost the boating mojo, and frankly, I think it will have to go, and spend time luxuriating in some nice hotels, and our touring caravan. Shame, because the previous owner put in brand new D1-30, replaced all the rigging, and we fitted bow thruster a few months ago. We’ll give it careful thought over the next few weeks - we have been boating for over 30 years, but pride of ownership is not worth £8k a year.

 

[Stemar]

You have my sympathy. Milady is no longer well enough to sail so we're in a similar position. I'm only really fit enough to potter around the Solent, but not sure if I really want to only that. Covid willing, 2021 will be decision year for me too, though both the capital investment in the boat and the ongoing costs are a lot lower.

Since our boat is worth little and a club mooring is cheap, I'm inclined to think I'll probably keep going as long as I can get out to her on her mooring without too much difficulty, but I hope I'll be smart enough to say enough when it is enough, and not leave her to rot on the mooring until she's simply a liability for my executors to deal with.

 

[nicho]

You have my sympathy. Milady is no longer well enough to sail so we're in a similar position. I'm only really fit enough to potter around the Solent, but not sure if I really want to only that. Covid willing, 2021 will be decision year for me too, though both the capital investment in the boat and the ongoing costs are a lot lower.

Since our boat is worth little and a club mooring is cheap, I'm inclined to think I'll probably keep going as long as I can get out to her on her mooring without too much difficulty, but I hope I'll be smart enough to say enough when it is enough, and not leave her to rot on the mooring until she's simply a liability for my executors to deal with.

Sorry to hear that you are in a similar boat!! It is difficult, and we don’t want to regret the decision made when it comes to it. It is a beautiful boat, lavished on and we love it, but I don’t want to simply use it as a floating caravan. It’s too much money to do that, and we do have a fabulous touring caravan to visit other parts of the U.K.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Sorry to hear about your situation (you too Stemar). I think the regret is likely to be if you hold on to the boat and another year goes by with the associated expenses and lack of use, rather than selling on and moving on. Your analysis does suggest the need to move on from sailing. I speak as a committed delayer with stuff hanging about that just ends up costing me time and money for no benefit. With spring likely to arrive a lot faster than we currently could expect, the danger will be that you do use it as a caravan but fail to exploit it's sailing fun. A well found vessel will sell and there are apparently savings in the bank accounts of the middle classes, post Covid. I think you could do well selling in early spring.

 

[nicho]

Sorry to hear about your situation (you too Stemar). I think the regret is likely to be if you hold on to the boat and another year goes by with the associated expenses and lack of use, rather than selling on and moving on. Your analysis does suggest the need to move on from sailing. I speak as a committed delayer with stuff hanging about that just ends up costing me time and money for no benefit. With spring likely to arrive a lot faster than we currently could expect, the danger will be that you do use it as a caravan but fail to exploit it's sailing fun. A well found vessel will sell and there are apparently savings in the bank accounts of the middle classes, post Covid. I think you could do well selling in early spring.

Thank you, my thinking exactly. Pretty sure we will sell in the Spring, but giving ourselves a week or so to mull it over.

 

[nicho]

Deleted, duplication.

 

[Zagato]

Boat share or sell and charter perhaps. It,s looking to me that we could have a similar position to last year. These vaccines have not really been proven yet, the gaps between doses is getting longer to just get more people ticked off for govt figures. I put a £300 deposit on a mooring for next year but am wondering if it was the right thing to do. It's a tricky decision as you are in love with a new boat that is all up together, it's a real shame to sell and an end to sailing BUT if you cannot sail her then you know what to do. Chartering a smaller boat on the occasion when you can sail seems a better option, none of the ongoing coasts or worries. You can even hire a skipper if necessary... you will still be on the water then ?

 

[Stemar]

I suspect the market for aging Snapdragons is pretty limited, so I wouldn't get much. A friend scrapped hers after failing to sell a few years ago, but she was asking far too much. As a result, I'll keep going for a bit.

Chartering wouldn't be an option for me as my year's sailing budget wouldn't get me more than a long weekend's charter.

 

[Blueboatman]

Think of it this way perhaps ? With a 70mph cruising motor home you can visit every harbour in the uk and take a harbour/seal/whale/sunset tour , picking areas according to acceptable sunshine forecast , AND still be home in 12 hours max with dry feet , when you both fancy a break from things nautical ?

 

[nicho]

Think of it this way perhaps ? With a 70mph cruising motor home you can visit every harbour in the uk and take a harbour/seal/whale/sunset tour , picking areas according to acceptable sunshine forecast , AND still be home in 12 hours max with dry feet , when you both fancy a break from things nautical ?

Problem with that is, visiting harbours means you look at boats, and it starts all over again. Been there, got the tee shirt and the subsequent bills!.

 

[bikedaft]

no easy answer... My Dad is 10+ years ahead of you - he has owned his boat from new (1973!) and just goes onboard now and again, and starts the engine, has a cuppa and has a kip. he has not had much use this year, what with Covid and a knee replacement. however he doesn't pay £8k per year. i (strongly!) suspect i may have to deal with the boat in due course, but he gets to sit on the boat that we had all our family holidays on, and enjoy the view, so i'm not going to start agitating. the boat is worth little, and costs not much on a mooring. but everyone else's sistuation is different. if you could reduce the £8k costs, why not keep for a bit? pottering about on a nice day is priceless, to me anyway

 

[oldharry]

I'm in the same position too. My good lady is in advanced Kidney failure and has a heart condition as well as extensive arthritis making most aspects of scrambling round a boat rather literally a pain. So for a number of years I have single handed most of the time. Except now my hands are arthritic and hanging on is becoming an issue. A brisk sail which I would have enjoyed even 2 - 3 years ago is now a significant challenge to keep things going properly and more importantly, safely. I hate not to keep the boat going 'properly' and giving her best, but that is increasingly hard and painful work I find the decision to reef for example is now coloured by the fact that it hurts, and I can be thrown off my handhold far more easily. Not good.

Its always a bad thing to work out the cost of each trip, but last season afloat cost about £350 per trip. Herselfs health meant sailing was on the backburner. Confidence further shaken on return from an overnight trip to find she had been whisked off to Hospitalwith her heart problem... I need to be there for her.

Now I have someone sniffing round my boat and wanting to put an offer in. My inclination is to sell while I have a buyer. But the little boy in me doesnt want to say goodbye to the best boat I ever owned...... I know once Covid goes and the sun comes out, I shall regret it.

Decisions!

Boy do I envy those octogenarians who just keep going - usually crewed by a flotilla of pretty girls!

 

[Zagato]

no easy answer... My Dad is 10+ years ahead of you - he has owned his boat from new (1973!) and just goes onboard now and again, and starts the engine, has a cuppa and has a kip. he has not had much use this year, what with Covid and a knee replacement. however he doesn't pay £8k per year. i (strongly!) suspect i may have to deal with the boat in due course, but he gets to sit on the boat that we had all our family holidays on, and enjoy the view, so i'm not going to start agitating. the boat is worth little, and costs not much on a mooring. but everyone else's sistuation is different. if you could reduce the £8k costs, why not keep for a bit? pottering about on a nice day is priceless, to me anyway

This is what I hope to be able to do when I am elderly as my annual outlay is only 2K in total on a mooring in Bosham, insurance etc as I store my boat at home. I can go down to the boat which is only 20mins away and use it as a caravan in the most beautiful scenery just to get out of the house for a while. We have always caravanned and done classic car events. It's just a case of mixing things up when you get bored of watering your tomatoes! I am 55 with two teenage kids so have a while to go yet...

 

[nicho]

I'm in the same position too. My good lady is in advanced Kidney failure and has a heart condition as well as extensive arthritis making most aspects of scrambling round a boat rather literally a pain. So for a number of years I have single handed most of the time. Except now my hands are arthritic and hanging on is becoming an issue. A brisk sail which I would have enjoyed even 2 - 3 years ago is now a significant challenge to keep things going properly and more importantly, safely. I hate not to keep the boat going 'properly' and giving her best, but that is increasingly hard and painful work I find the decision to reef for example is now coloured by the fact that it hurts, and I can be thrown off my handhold far more easily. Not good.

Now I have someone sniffing round my boat and wanting to put an offer in. My inclination is to sell while I have a buyer. But the little boy in me doesnt want to say goodbye to the best boat I ever owned...... I know once Covid goes and the sun comes out, I shall regret it.

Decisions!

Boy do I envy those octogenarians who just keep going - usually crewed by a flotilla of pretty girls!

Sorry to hear of your good lady’s problems, advancing years are a real nuisance. I think we all will know when the time to stop has arrived. At 77, I still fly (other peoples) aircraft, but several friends of similar age, have realised it’s time to stop. They got to the point when they were hardly ever in the air, and gave it all up, none it seems with any regrets. I am not there yet, my medical is fine and with no known underlying health problems I will keep flying, but as far boating is concerned, I fear it is coming to an end.

 

[Bobc]

You have my sympathy Nicho. I dread the day when health issues stop us from sailing any more.

The one upside for you is that Bavaria 34s are very sought-after and it sounds like your boat is a very good example, so you will have no trouble selling it for a good price.

 

[nicho]

You have my sympathy Nicho. I dread the day when health issues stop us from sailing any more.

The one upside for you is that Bavaria 34s are very sought-after and it sounds like your boat is a very good example, so you will have no trouble selling it for a good price.

Thanks, the boat is a beauty which is why we bought her. The previous owner was fastidious in maintenance and upgrading, not least with recently replacing the original 19 hp 2020 with a brand new D1-30/sail drive and all the running and standing rigging, amongst many other upgrades. That’s why I have some considerable reluctance in letting it go, especially after spending several £thousands in 2020 on having a bow thruster fitted. Nevertheless, if it’s not going to be used as it should be, then it should be moved on to someone who can use it to the full.

 

[TernVI]

OTOH, I think trying to sell a boat this Spring could be a lot of stress and difficulty.
Well organised people tend to look at boats in the Autumn to fettle them in the Winter and start the season in Spring.

The will come a point when you have to decide whether to leave it ashore, not yet sold, or launch it and try and get some use out of it, which means any buyer has additional expense for a survey. Time is possibly short? We could lose a month to lockdowns and some week due to weather etc.

 

[nicho]

OTOH, I think trying to sell a boat this Spring could be a lot of stress and difficulty.
Well organised people tend to look at boats in the Autumn to fettle them in the Winter and start the season in Spring.

The will come a point when you have to decide whether to leave it ashore, not yet sold, or launch it and try and get some use out of it, which means any buyer has additional expense for a survey. Time is possibly short? We could lose a month to lockdowns and some week due to weather etc.

Thanks. The boat is “turnkey” and really needs no fettling whatsoever apart from refitting the headsail. It is afloat in a marina with heating on, though out for a week in March for polish, antifoul etc. If it goes on the market, it will be in January, though of course, viewing might be problematical.

 

[awol]

Think of it this way perhaps ? With a 70mph cruising motor home you can visit every harbour in the uk and take a harbour/seal/whale/sunset tour , picking areas according to acceptable sunshine forecast , AND still be home in 12 hours max with dry feet , when you both fancy a break from things nautical ?

Your grasp of the geography of the UK is a trifle skewed if you believe all harbours are 12 hours driving from the Midlands.

 

[TernVI]

Thanks. The boat is “turnkey” and really needs no fettling whatsoever apart from refitting the headsail. It is afloat in a marina with heating on, though out for a week in March for polish, antifoul etc. If it goes on the market, it will be in January, though of course, viewing might be problematical.

If it's in the water, then you have little to lose by contacting some brokers.
Top tip, I have been really surprised by the poor quality of some photos in broker listings, so if you have any good ones look them out, and take some more if the sun should happen to show itself. After removing any clutter.
Good luck, whatever you decide to do. It's a tough decision. We might have a wonderful Summer....
I'd say consider all the options, like taking on a partner, but that kind of thing is definitely not for everyone, or every boat.