First Boat Advice

[nickforest]

Wow this thread turned into a monster.

I have a confession to make, all the great advice I received actually served to underline how much I have to learn, I was very close to putting an offer in for a lovely fairline, but engine doubts on the sea trial put me off massively and gave me a huge reality check. So...

I bought a Hardy Pilot.

The way I justify it, it's hugely cheaper than the boats I had been looking at and will give me a lot of leeway to make mistakes that are a lot less costly. A good all rounder with A 75hp outboard gives me some flexibility. Its small enough to get up the small river to my local boat club where theres a wealth of knowledge to hand but big enough for the wife and kids to have a comfortable day out and hopefully sow the seed for something bigger. It's certainly no swanky gin palace but they're beautiful in my eyes. There'll also be some work to do over winter to put my mark on her.

Anyway, I have no doubt that I'll shortly be flooding the forum asking for more specific advice. But hey, at least it's a start.

Thanks again for all your advice.

 

[Greg2]

Not a bad decision. Great opportunity to learn without breaking the bank and when you upsize, which you surely will, then you will know a lot more and the decision on the next boat will be well informed. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[Bigplumbs]

Wow this thread turned into a monster.

I have a confession to make, all the great advice I received actually served to underline how much I have to learn, I was very close to putting an offer in for a lovely fairline, but engine doubts on the sea trial put me off massively and gave me a huge reality check. So...

I bought a Hardy Pilot.

The way I justify it, it's hugely cheaper than the boats I had been looking at and will give me a lot of leeway to make mistakes that are a lot less costly. A good all rounder with A 75hp outboard gives me some flexibility. Its small enough to get up the small river to my local boat club where theres a wealth of knowledge to hand but big enough for the wife and kids to have a comfortable day out and hopefully sow the seed for something bigger. It's certainly no swanky gin palace but they're beautiful in my eyes. There'll also be some work to do over winter to put my mark on her.

Anyway, I have no doubt that I'll shortly be flooding the forum asking for more specific advice. But hey, at least it's a start.

Thanks again for all your advice.

Well done and an outboard boat is an excellent choice. Have you any pics of her you can post

 

[BruceK]

Na...its just that anything above a F6 innit tends to modify my cruising plans somewhat........ Sensibly spent the BH weekend above the lock. Hopefully this weekend looks better for bit of boating...not much daylight left either !

You wanna get a proper boat. I was out in my tent boat with devils egg whisks

Ditto 6 days of F6's out of 10. And I thought you said something about

For many owners a few summer weekends is absolutely fine and the boat choice including its drive system is reflected in this, should you however wish to extend your boating throughout the year and perhaps do little more than the odd weekend when the weather is kind, something that is capable of doing rather more hours comfortably and reliably might possibly be on the cards.

You're a card :encouragement:

 

[nickforest]

She's lovely (to me) 1990ish but hopefully a good start to learn on.

For those that are interested, here's a couple of pictures.

 

[Murv]

Stunning boat, congratulations, a very good choice :encouragement:

 

[BruceK]

Hope you have many happy memories on her. Congratulations!

 

[Bigplumbs]

Lovely boat I am sure you will have huge amounts of fun in her

Dennis