First boat for £30k??

[Toutvabien]

My brother is looking to buy his first boat, I am a reasonably experienced sailor and he has been out with me a number of times but I cannot persuade him to buy a sailboat as he prefers to get places rather faster than my 5 knot average. He does though like being on the water and is keen to buy his first motor boat so I am looking for ideas and advice on his behalf.

He lives in London and would probably keep a boat on the East Coast with the ambition of cruising the Thames and Estuary as well as once a little more experienced the nearby coasts of France and Belgium. His budget is about £30k and my, possibly ill informed, suggestion was that he should be able to get a fibreglass boat with a diesel engine and there my knowledge of power boats reaches it's limits.

Any suggestions as to what he might get for his money and particularly any pointers about the subtleties of the power boat market would be gratefully received. I can see that as far as any boats are concerned it is a buyers market, I assume that the price of fuel and fuel consumption will be a particularly significant issue for the price of particular models of boat.

So if you, or your brother, were holding £30k and wanted to spend it on a first power boat what would you be looking at??

Thanks in anticipation.

Paul

 

[superheat6k]

Whatever he buys, he will likely soon out grow it and want to buy something more matched to his requirements. The problem for the novice is he probably doesn't yet know what his requirements are.

Therefore something he can move on fairly easily, so a well known make and model - Sealine, Fairline, Bayliner, etc. if he wants to go offshore then two engines. Diesels are easier to move on than petrols, and are cheaper to run, but are more up front cost, more boat for your money.

For £30 k I would look around £40k + and don't be scared to chance his luck. Definitely have a survey.

My certain advice would be to avoid a Bowrider at all costs, they are not suited to the UK weather, nor offshore use.

Good luck.

 

[rhino_mac]

I had a similar budget and went for a single diesel powered 25' sports cruiser. Sleeps 4 in 2 cabins, rudimentary shower, heads and galley and does 30 knots. Small enough to handle as a first boat but big enough not to feel like I have to trade up. I bought a Monterey but there are loads of similar boats (Sea Ray, Bayliner, Regal etc). Mine has the Yanmar 240hp engine. I'm not sure I would want to go any smaller.

 

[rafiki_]

Yep, a diesel engined 25 footer sounds about right. If he can find a Sealine 23 with KAD diesel, or a Glastron 269 with similar engine, these would be a great start.

 

[Whitelighter]

Sealine S23 with a kad32 would be a good place to start if he wants a full blown cruiser.

If he is looking for more of a weekender then a searay 225 would be my choice.

Agree, look at boats asking 35k - 40k and gaggle hard

 

[Whitelighter]

In fact this would be a good option:

http://www.essexboatyards.com/boat.php?id=436

Asking £39k so 30k on the nose might be pushing it but I reckon you'd get close. Plus it has the more modern D4 with 225hp the biat should also be good for water spires as well as having the accommodation and range for some decent cruising.

View attachment 32403

 

[oldgit]

Lets lets assume you brother is not a medallion wearing macho man who may actually want to use his boat more than the single decent day in August.He may have a wife/girlfriend who objects to having her fillings rattled each and every time out and thinks that the red eye dragged through a hedge backwards look is for 17 year olds.Have a look at a Princess DS 30,with twin diesels on shafts.Not to far from your budget,sensible boat with some decent long distance accomodation.A couple at our boat club have got one of these,it has been up to the Baltic and down the Med,a proper boat,merely without sails.

 

[wipe_out]

At the risk of going against the general opinion I don't see a diesel engine as an absolute requirement for a small (less than 30ft) cruiser style boat..

If the OP's brother is getting started with a boat he could take £15-£20K and get a reasonable ~25ft petrol powered cruiser (plenty of them around).. The £10-£15k saving buys a LOT fuel..

When he comes to sell he is selling a cheaper boat.. If the engine has issues it can be re-powered easily and cheaply..

Just my opinion of course..

 

[oGaryo]

In fact this would be a good option:

http://www.essexboatyards.com/boat.php?id=436

Asking £39k so 30k on the nose might be pushing it but I reckon you'd get close. Plus it has the more modern D4 with 225hp the biat should also be good for water spires as well as having the accommodation and range for some decent cruising.

View attachment 32403

had a look at a few Glastron's before buying the Rinker in 2010 and thought they were 'orrid to be honest. the finishing looked very cheap

 

[Toutvabien]

Thanks for your help chaps, very helpful. Brother is not a boy racer (anymore) and although he does like to shift around at a reasonable speed I think that he is looking for a boat that can go places in a bit of weather and not just pootle around when it is 30'C and < force 2 wind. I helped him look at a couple of boats about two years or so ago and nothing in his budget impressed very much, some of them, such as Bayliners, seemed very lightly built with fittings that I did not think would stand up to any real weather.

I get the sense that if power boat prices have moved downwards, as have sailboats, that he might now get something decent in his price range.

The advice above from other posters makes very good sense in relation to getting something small and popular that is easily re-sellable. Petrol engines on boats are something that I have real problems with, apart from outboards on tenders and sports boats, as in my experience they are problematic, not as reliable as diesel and expensive to run.

I was having a poke around a couple of sites and eBay and came up with three boats that seem reasonable value, are they cheap for a reason? They are a few feet bigger than the suggestions above and therefore a bit older, is this a bad way to go with power boats?

http://www.burtonwaters.co.uk/used-boats-for-sale/boat-details.php?BoatID=4050108

http://r.ebay.com/KSdhsn

http://r.ebay.com/OGmW27

 

[Whitelighter]

Of all those, the storebro looks like the best bet. Bit of haggling and it could be sub 25k

 

[vjmehra]

What about an Antares 7, single Diesel, on Apollo Duck there seem to be a couple of these around for 35k, so you could probably get that down a bit (no idea how good/bad they are, but I've been looking at similarly priced boats to you, more out of interest than as a serious buyer, but those look interesting)...

 

[alt]

Yep, a diesel engined 25 footer sounds about right. If he can find a Sealine 23 with KAD diesel, or a Glastron 269 with similar engine, these would be a great start.

I sold a 2002 S23 2 years ago for 32k EURO with a trailer - so you'll have plenty of change with your 30k sterling

 

[superheat6k]

Boatshed.com also worth a look. Sold my last two boats for me.

 

[oldgit]

Of the boats listed the Storboro may be the type of boat best suited to his requirements.
The only reason so many folks end up changing their first boat so quickly is probably due to them watching too many James Bond movies involving Sunseekers doing 30 knots in dazzling sunshine and with Pimms advertising dept picking up the fuel bill.
A far more realistic scenerio involves a stroppy wife and kids ,chilly east wind,a threat of rain and because the credit card card bill is due tomorrow,you will def not be calling in at the fuel berth and you will have to manage with whatever is in the tank.

 

[Toutvabien]

Of the boats listed the Storboro may be the type of boat best suited to his requirements.
The only reason so many folks end up changing their first boat so quickly is probably due to them watching too many James Bond movies involving Sunseekers doing 30 knots in dazzling sunshine and with Pimms advertising dept picking up the fuel bill.
A far more realistic scenerio involves a stroppy wife and kids ,chilly east wind,a threat of rain and because the credit card card bill is due tomorrow,you will def not be calling in at the fuel berth and you will have to manage with whatever is in the tank.

I think, from my experience with sailboats, that Oldgit is bang on. Being able to use the boat as a caravan from time to time has to be part of the equation too, when you want to get away from home but the weather is too manky to go boating being able to hang out on the boat and do some "jobs" can be part of the joy of boat ownership. I don't think he is overly romantic about being a boat owner, although I SINCERELY do hope that he gets better weather this year than we have had for the last two summers!

 

[oldgit]

Other big advantage of that type of boat is you can also use it to go upstream,a future trip praps through London into the Thames or the ability to get into the European canal system may well appeal in a few years.