First Boat?

[David_Parsons]

I am a first time buyer who after years of looking at boats has decided to do something! I have passed my day skipper theory and practical so feel able to start sailing with reasonable competance and safety!
My question is what sort of boat should I get? I want to be able to Day Sail with my wife and 2 children but also try a bit more adventurous sailing with my wife, a little coastal cruising from marina to marina sort of thing.
I guess I want a cabin boat with a lifting keel and a simple (bermudan) rig, what would you advise? The Hunter 490 seemed interesting but is it too small and if so what boat would be more suitable? My budget is also limited to £2-3000.
Any ideas, advise, personal experiences would be much appreciated.
Thanks for taking the time to read this

Dave P (and family)

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[Mirelle]

Well, the first bit of advice must be - look at plenty, before committing yourself. It is most definitely a buyer's market, in broad economic terms, and from this time of year, until March, it becomes more and more of one!

You want a lifting keel so presumably you are thinking of a drying mooring? Good idea, financially, but you will need to allow for the cost of a dinghy and probably a Club membership so as to have somewhere to keep the dinghy and oars/outboard.

I would go for a fairly small boat, that sails well. A sparkling sailing performance makes up for a lack of creature comforts down below - really, you only need somewhere to put a kettle on, use the loo and occasionally sleep, and you may well find that you can all sleep in less space than you thought you could!



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[kilkerr1]

Hi. I'm also a first time buyer, with needs pretty much like yours. Limited budget (absolute max was £3000), plus wanted something which could dry out, be relatively comfy, and be happy with the more adventurous sailing. After loads of research - and not a few questions posted to this forum - I decided on the Kingfisher 20+. Found one. Bought it! They're rugged little boats, not going to break any speed records, but if you want a little cruiser who'll look after you, be happy drying out (bilge keel) and provide some home comforts (2 cabins, with a proper heads and hanging locker all sqeezed into 21' 7", amazing) this is definitely one to have look at. Have a look at the Kingfisher Owners Association website at www.kyoa.co.uk, and click on Kingfisher 20, then click Technical. There are photos, diagrams, etc. They were been really helpful while I was deciding on a boat.

I'm going on a bit, but I really do think these are great little boats. If you want any more info PM me. I can send you photos and links to other info.

Good luck!

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[Bladerunner]

check out

www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk


sorry don't know how to post it as a link !

<hr width=100% size=1> Tu ne quaesieris, scire nefas

 

[Jools_of_Top_Cat]

I would guess a trailer sailer would suit best, then you would not have to worry about mooring/berthing.

It would also give better scope to sail anywhere, inland if poor weather. Maintenance is always easier on the drive, I hate having to lumber tools down to the boat generally finding the ones I need are still at home. In your price range you are going to have to do some work, IMHO.

Or, it might be worth considering a Warram catamaran, a lot of boat for your money, and for more space for family cruising.

Just some thoughts, good luck. But don't forget to budget for all the hidden costs, insurance, safety gear, clothes, hardware, charts, and on and on, it gets easier, but the first 12 months at least, you will not be going out or dressing as well /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

I hope you find you boat soon, fair seas

<hr width=100% size=1>Julian

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.topcatsail.co.uk/Honda_00.html>Honda Formula 4-Stroke racing</A>

 

[chriscallender]

Just to throw in an alternative view - I did exactly what you were suggesting to David - and ended up keeping the boat on a mooring anyway. I found that it was such a big job to get the boat on/off the trailer, rigged etc. that it was not something I was going to do every weekend, I'd rather spend the time sailing.

I do agree with you that maintenence is a lot easier at home, but wonder whether a small bilge keeler would have been more suitable - one thats still small enough to trail.

My thinking is that you loose a lot of space inside the cabin to have a lifting keel - normally its made into some kind of table but still it really restricts moving about inside the boat.

Bilge keelers can still be launched quite easily from a suitable slip, OK the trailer will need to be dunked into the deeper water on the end of a rope attached to the car tow bar, but if the launching/recovery isn't so frequent I think that can be a better compromise than loosing the space inside.

Funnily enough having said all this, I ended up getting a 2nd boat with a lifting keel as well - a seal 28 - but I feel that in that case I could afford the space for the keel box and its showed its worth in getting us into shallow places that most other boats can't go.




Chris

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[Castletine]

Consider a Classic

Like you I set myself a budget of approx 3k and went out looking for a trailer sailer - I ended up spending just over twice that on a wooden Gentleman's motor yacht from 1931!

What became really apparent in my hunt was for space and safety for the children and creature comforts for SWMBO. This includes hot and cold running water, fridge and a 'proper loo'

The downside to this is she is not a proper sailing boat, but we've addressed this by buying a sporty sailing dinghy that seconds as a tender but is mainly for us 'boys' to race around in whilst the 'girls' sip G&Ts from the bathing decks.

And because the boat is a bilge keeler, I can moor in less expensive mud berths that also do my woodern hull the world of good.

And don't believe the rubbish you hear about wooden boats being outrageous to maintain. If you find a good one you only have to ensure that you keep on top of the jobs that need doing. A good one will outlive you!

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[Mirelle]

Re: Consider a Classic

Advice which appeals strongly to me! A very sensible choice - there are some lovely pre-WW2 motor yachts which seem to be right "out of fashion" and consequently change hands at a price which gives you a lot of boat for the money. And I absolutely agree with what you say about wooden boats and mud berths - this is the cheap way to go - it has to be, for me!

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[Mirelle]

There's a lot of good advice in the postings made above.

A lot depends on where you live and what car you have, but trailer sailing seems like an awful lot of work, in the UK, where nowhere is that far from the sea. In the USA, trailer sailers make much more sense, because a lot of people sail them on inland lakes, so they can "change lake" every week or two, and they usually have big cars and wide roads, with lots of launching places.

In the UK handling a trailered boat can be an absolute pain in the neck. A drying mooring can usually be found cheaply enough (Pds 32 p.a. where I am - no waiting list but lay your own gear) and a lifting keeler or a bilge keeler will be happy on it.

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[David_Parsons]

Wow, Thanks for all the replies and advice. I was thinking of a trailer sailer, hence the lifting keel. I live about as far from the sea as is possible! So I was planning to use the boat on the local lakes as well. I have a reasonably strong car a Rover 218; 1.8 litre turbo diesel so I should be able to trail a reasonable boat on a braked trailer.

The top three things I think I need are
1) Enough space for 2 adults and 2 sprogs, with a cabin for Kids to hide in and for bearths if the 2 adults try a bit of cruising.
2) I do want to be able to trailer sail, though the points about time spent setting up and the cost of moorings are well made, what about unstayed masts?
3) Cost is paramount, I am already going over the budget my wife has set me!!! £3000 is the most I can go to.

More advice and ideas would be fantastic as I am still very confused!

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[kilkerr1]

Get some back issues of all the sailing mags you can (especially PBO) and scour the second hand boat reviews. Look on the Web too for boat reviews.

A max budget of £3000 really shouldn't be a problem for what you want. Have a look on Boats and Outboards (www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk), loads of little cruisers for your kind of money there. Also, quite a few have good photos. Also look at YBW's own brokerage search: http://ybw.yachtworld.com, I've just searched using your criteria and there's plenty there!

Also have a look on Ebay (if you're feeling brave), there are a few trailer sailors on there at the moment. Also a Kingfisher...: www.ebay.co.uk, and search for 'boat' (though you get a lot of gravy and suace boats...) or 'sailing'. Some of the ones there are:

- 19' Newbridge Navigator, looks nice - but going in 5 hours!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2426890162&category=1297

- Kingfisher 21
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2426676383&category=1297

- Hurley 18
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2427154020&category=1297

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