First Motor Boat - Please Help

[nigel2003]

I would like to buy a motor boat and seem to get conflicting advise.

I had thought of a Princess 32 with twin 106 diesels, but friends have said i should stear clear of stern drives and go for shafts.

Also they have said i should not spend £20,000 on my first boat but look out for a boat at sub £10,000.

I would like to use the boat to travel between Portsmouth, where i live and weymouth where we go diving. We go diving off ribs and i would like a more comfortable boat and something the women can be on.

Any advise would be happyily received.

 

[DavidJ]

Nigel
exciiting time for you.
I've always had stern drives but I observe that with shafts the boat maneoverability is better especially in reverse and far less mechanical complexity which as the boat gets older is an advantage. You will find though that you are unlikely to have a choice, when you find the boat you like it will have one or the other and both are well proven.
I think you are wise going for a reasonable size boat first rather than work your way up. Larger boats are easier to handle than small ones apart from the shear comfort value.
Diving, are the people you leave on the boat prone to seasickness because up to an hour wollowing about is no fun for them up top while your down below having fun. Consider parking up somewhere sheltered and bombing out on the tender for diving.
Hope this helps and that the further advice you get doesn't conflict too much.
Ah yes the cost...spend as much as you can you will always be pleased that you did......and make sure you get a hull survey.
David

 

[petem]

Spend what you can comfortably afford. No point in restricting your first boat to £10k if it's not what you want or need. Others on this forum have spent £300,000 plus on their first boats.

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[hlb]

Thats better. Your now in touch with the most learned experts and idiots in the country. You will of course have to make your own decisions at the end of the day. Best to wear tin helmet and thick gloves over here though. Good luck!!

Cant see you getting from Portsmouth to Weymouth in a 10 grand boat. You wont get much for twenty. As your lookng at an older boat. Personally I'd avoid outdrives. Problem is finding one that is'nt on outdrives. Think I'd settle on some thing you can tow down to Weymouth or look at nearer to 50 grand or more If you want to sail round in any sort of comfort and safety. IMHO.



<font color=blue> Haydn

 

[Col]

Welcome to the nut house Nigel.
Any boat is a bit of a compromise, so your choice needs to be based on what you want to get out of it.
For instance:- Your mates have advised against sterndrives, there are for and against for both, again your choice.
For.
Higher top speed
better fuel economy
trimmable (operate in shallower water)
easier to remove fouling (ropes, plastic bags etc) can be reached from back of boat
props can be removed in the water (if you're brave)
engines are sited right at back of boat, allowing boatbuiler to utilise hull space for bigger cabins.

Against.
wander at slow speed, also not as good at slow speed manouvering compared to shafts/rudders
boat has to be taken out for gearbox service/repair
servicing/repair more expensive/frequent(??) (on drives,that is.engines cost roughly the same)

You've then got the Diesel V Petrol argument.
Petrol boats- cheaper to buy, more expensive to run. So depends on expected use, availability of fuel etc:Think the break even point is about 100 hrs?

When you've got an idea of the sort of boat *YOU* like, ask on here for owners comments. You're bound to find someone who's got one/had one.

Lastly, don't go too mad on first boat. Pound to a penny, you'll wan't to change it after first season anyway.








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[trev]

Princess 32 with the 106s is (IMHO) a good starter boat - I started with a 'Project-31' on the same hull with twin 75 hp, and she took us (family of five) all over the East Coast in relative comfort. I would not advise anything smaller for seagoing unless you intend only fair weather sailing (which is imposs in UK).
Nowt wrong with stern drives - take a bit of getting used to when maneouvring, just make sure they are serviced and get a survey!!
You should get a P32 for your 20g and probably get your money back when you trade up to something larger next year. However, you seem fairly into the seafaring life already, so I would generally advise you to buy the most expensive and largest boat you can afford - it saves a lot of time in the long run!!

Trev

 

[Renegade_Master]

If you want to know all about Princess 32 with twin 106 voolvos PM boatone

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[byron]

<font color=blue>I will leave it to others to voice their opinions on boat choice and so on. What I will observe is that a run from Pompey to Weymouth is not something one just does as if jumping into a car and commuting. It is a fairly long run that will be heavily affected by both weather and tide. In say a P32 you will find it hard going in anything over a Force 3. You will also need a full day to do it.


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[Blue_Blazes]

Nigel,
It seems you want the boat primarily for diving, but with some shelter for the non-divers, maybe somewhere to brew up as well. You will want something a bit more seaworthy than a Princess 32 (IMHO), but you don't want to spend a fortune. If you don't mind a higher level of maintenance I suggest you look at a Fairey Huntress or a Bruce Campbell Christina, Most of which are diesel/shaft drive. They both have huge cockpits compared to their size and you should be able to get a good one for less than 20K. I'm in the process of restoring my Christina at the moment, but I've owned her for nearly 8 years now and have used her quite a lot for diving around Alderney. You can comfortably kit up 4 divers on her with reasonable room for 1 or 2 non-divers or boat handlers. You can get more info from faireyownersclub.co.uk

 

[byron]

<font color=blue> OOooo! I can't let this one go. Are you seriously suggesting that he gets an afficionados boat as a starter?
Far better something like a Mitchell Sea Angler for the purposes you describe.

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[Col]

Have to agree with you on that one Byron. Sounds like Nigel want's a boat for a specific duty, as opposed to having a boat for boatings sake (covers most of us here, I would guess)

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[Blue_Blazes]

True, Mitchells are superb dive platforms, a mate of mine has one and we've had up to 8 divers and a boatman on her, but just try getting a half decent Mitchell 31 for less than 20K. As for "Afficianado's boat" as a first boat, I don't see the problem. I couldn't afford a "Yogurt Pot" when I bought my Christina, but I have never regretted buying her. She was my first "proper" boat, only having owned a 16ft Scorpio dayboat previously. The maintenance aspect is the only downside, as with all wooden craft, you have to keep on top of them, but that accepted you get more boat for your money and excellent seakeeping qualities.

 

[DepSol]

Good to see another Channel Islander on her especially one from the Bailiwick of Guernsey and not from that place with the letter J.

Will keep an eye out for your boat when I am up there next but will be up there for Alderney week for sure, use the mooring near the life boats by the breakwater, owned by a well known local.

Dom

2003 is going to be a good year for me

 

[Blue_Blazes]

Dom,
You are unlikely to spot my boat when you are here, (unless I get her finished by Alderney week, not too likely!) she is in my new workshop just above the inner harbour by the chip shop. Do send a PM when you're next coming over and I'll gladly let you take a peek at her, maybe we can have a beer or two. Glad to see you refrained from naming "the place we don't mention", in your post)

 

[longjohnsilver]

Rather than travelling from Pompey to Weymouth why not keep the boat in Weymouth, that's not a trip to be done every weekend, you will almost certainly be put off by rough seas very quicky!

Have always considered the P32 to be more of an inland or sheltered coastal sort of boat. The idea of my boat was also to take out the family whilst I go diving, still do the diving but the family hate it. As others have said sitting around for hours in a swell is enuf to put anyone off. It's certainly not a spectator sport.

If you have the resources i would plan on spending more than your £10K for your first boat, particularly if you are looking at 30+ foot, that amount will only buy you trouble.

What I finally decided I needed was a large cockpit for all the dive gear, a well found hull for gouing to sea and coping with rough weather, shaft drive to avoid the usual problems with sterndrives and to increase reliability, a single diesel engine so there's plenty of space around it to work, and a reaqsonable sized cabin to keep us warm and enable us to cook etc. Also provides accomodation for overnight or longer stops.

A boat worth a look is a Newhaven Sea Warrior, 27 or 28 foot, a decent cockpit and wheelhouse and not too expensive. Or anything from the Seaward range, or Aquastars or Aquabells, or as I did a Channel Islands 22 to start with, now a 32' from the same makers.

I've done a bit of diving from weymouth in the past, intend to get back there this year to dive the Lulworth Ledges, what area will you be diving?

 

[Renegade_Master]

"large cockpit for all the dive gear, a well found hull for gouing to sea and coping with rough weather, shaft drive to avoid the usual problems with sterndrives and to increase reliability, a single diesel engine so there's plenty of space around it to work, and a reasonable sized cabin to keep us warm and enable us to cook etc. Also provides accomodation for overnight or longer stops."

<font color=blue>Hi Long John that description of yours describes exactly a boat I helped deliver to Guernsey last year, huge cockpit, sheltered cabin, heads single 306 deisel, the boat was any Aqua Bell 33</font color=blue>




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[longjohnsilver]

Just out of interest Clive how did it handle the rough stuff?

 

[byron]

<font color=blue>What always interests me about youse dives guys is that the always plump for the coast. Yet diving on rivers near where there were fords from time immemorial must offer the opportunity to discover a wealth of stuff like coins, bearing in mind that no self respecting Roman would cross a river without making an offering. Is it just not daring enough for you to dive in 10' of water?

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[longjohnsilver]

Ha sounds like you're throwing down the gauntlet! Expect you wrere there watching when they threw the coins in /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

Problem with diving in rivers is the huge amount of silt and mud, however some peeps do dive around old bridges and do ocassionally come up with some interesting finds.

Not my idea of fun though.

 

[oldgit]

In agreement with other posters hereabouts that the Princess 32 in not the first boat that comes to mind to do the job you want to use her for.Although well built and offering spacious accomodation for sensible money,boat seems best suited to sheltered estuary and river work.I am sure their will be people out there who will have gone on vast voyages with this boat,but I reckon an early Mk 1 mitchell or similar would be much better for your purposes.They do exist but maybe priced a little more than your indicated budget.Best place is to look on the www.boats-for-sale.co.uk site or buy the monthly mag./forums/images/icons/smile.gif

Oooh look its still not dark and its nearly 5pm