First post in the Thames forum, and first boat. Need advice.

H

HONEYMOMMY

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Hello to all.
Hubby and I are currently in the process of buying our first boat.

We have found a Sealine 305 Statesman 1989. It's older than we were looking for but the size and space is appealing.

The engine and outdrives were serviced late last year, it has a safety certificate.

I would appreciate any advice on what questions we should ask and what we should expect to hear about the boat, especially due to it's age. Can we expect the salesman to take us through the whole boat showing EVERYTHING works, or is it down to us as novices.

The engine is a Volvo AD31 Diesel.

It has no license which is a pain, as I understand they go from December to december with no pro rata.

I am waiting for a mooring quote from Windsor marina.

I would also like adivse on how best to go about getting the survey done.

Yes a little needy with my questions, but very gratefull for any help right now, so we don't make any costly mistakes. :)

Thanks... :)
 
The Sealine 305 is a spacious thing, and has a pretty modern look to it.

The one you're looking at is a clean old thing too, and exceptional value, there's nothing we have seen that beats it for overall appeal at that price!

Expect a few things not to work, but few will cost more than a bit of time or small change to sort out, and a few hours fettling will do it the world of good.

Doggy name might need looking at though :D

Ask the broker in question for surveyors, they use a few local and respected names, never been any issues in the four times I dealt with them. Don't be disappointed by a long list of little issues, this is normal when buying a middle aged boat, and in practise many of the little issues will be easily sorted by anybody of handyman status, or the nice chaps at Thames Marine at Bray, who are good value and in my experience really nice decent blokes to deal with.

The broker, or owner should be happy enough to show you the Ropes, better still moor at Bray, join the Club and expect a lot of kindness from the lovely people who attend the many events. Bray cC is probably the best club for you to join, and the Marina has a lot more social space with beautiful grounds too.

Enjoy!
 
Thanks for that. Ian at Bray was helpfull, but bearing in mind I think we looked at almost every boat under 60K I am sure he was glad when we left after 5pm.. :eek:

I wasn't sure about mooring at Bray, but must admit I didn't really look into it. I will ask him, next time we meet. We definatley want to be in a friendly marina with support available when needed for novices. :o

I know there will be little things wrong due to the boats age, just not sure if there are any major questions we should ask about the boat eg. Fuel tank, bilge pumps, outstanding finance etc. I did notice it had taken on a little water. Not sure if we should wait for the survey, but if there is anything known now I would rather be told before spending out on the survey.

Just unsure, and have a tendancy to overanalyse at times. This is when Hubby gives me his 'look' :D
 
New Thames boating

Hi
Sounds like the one Dominic is selling at Bray
Dominic is very good at handovers, did a sterling job on the ones we have bought from him
He has a list of surveyors he uses
As for engine & leg checks contact Gill at D B marine Cookham he has a good reputation
Bray Cruiser Club have a friendly motley crew who will only to happy to help with boat handling ect. Bisham Abby run good courses for starters, can use their craft if needed
As for moorings if you are looking for cost effective you may want to try EA. try GIles at Hurley lock, it's not the same as a marina but cost effective
Not a hope of getting round the licence unless you leave it on the hard till September then its half price but no boating joy
Any way welcome to the Thames & happy boating
:)
 
Bray Cruiser Club looks ideal. Now I know I saw 'No Regrets' on the committee there. :D

So best mooring nearby question now.??? Windsor marina appeals to us, not sure what there is in Bray. Want mooring close to Langley so we can just nip down there.

Not leaving the boat out till September, and miss the fun.

Thank you for the welcome.
 
Last edited:
It depends if you want low price or good value.

As far as good value goes, Bray wins hands down, due to great location, top club, lovely premises and staff, along with secure parking etc and immaculate Showers/ toilets.

I'm sure there are cheaper moorings, but bear in mind you'll often lose the parking, security, facilities and so on.

You'll find a good club presence will enhance your boating enjoyment immeasurably, and as a result you'll spend more time on the Boat, therefore making it better value despite the outlay.

It's always tempting to save money, but I would try a month at Bray before going elsewhere! We're in our third year now, and have no plans to move. Best get on the water ASAP and enjoy the best part of the year, it's a good one weather wise so far!
 
Same price!

You get reciprocal berthing, so once paid for, you can swap, or visit as much as you like, to Bray, Penton Hook and Windsor.

Also, the other MDL Marina's in the UK.
 
Welcome to the Thames Forum.
Glad you took up the suggestion and moved away from that MoBo lot - it's so much nicer here.

As you can see "we" are a friendly lot.
As a starter, I understand that BCC are having a knees up in my "back garden" (!) at Hurley lock, next weekend, and if you're very nice you might be able to pop in. You can get there by car and you can see what you're missing ;)

I believe B1 will be giving an Organ Recital as well as all the boating chat.

You were concerned that you wanted something near Langley to moor. As Bray is only 15 minutes by boat from Windsor, the 10 nanoseconds it would take by car should not be a problem.
 
TrueBlue said:
Welcome to the Thames Forum.
Glad you took up the suggestion and moved away from that MoBo lot - it's so much nicer here.

As you can see "we" are a friendly lot.
As a starter, I understand that BCC are having a knees up in my "back garden" (!) at Hurley lock, next weekend, and if you're very nice you might be able to pop in. You can get there by car and you can see what you're missing ;)

I believe B1 will be giving an Organ Recital as well as all the boating chat.

You were concerned that you wanted something near Langley to moor. As Bray is only 15 minutes by boat from Windsor, the 10 nanoseconds it would take by car should not be a problem.
Click to expand...

Think you will find that the BQ is above the lock at Cookham next weekend
 
New Owner

HONEYMOMMY said:
Hello to all.
Hubby and I are currently in the process of buying our first boat.

We have found a Sealine 305 Statesman 1989. It's older than we were looking for but the size and space is appealing.

The engine and outdrives were serviced late last year, it has a safety certificate.

I would appreciate any advice on what questions we should ask and what we should expect to hear about the boat, especially due to it's age. Can we expect the salesman to take us through the whole boat showing EVERYTHING works, or is it down to us as novices.

The engine is a Volvo AD31 Diesel.

It has no license which is a pain, as I understand they go from December to december with no pro rata.

I am waiting for a mooring quote from Windsor marina.

I would also like adivse on how best to go about getting the survey done.

Yes a little needy with my questions, but very gratefull for any help right now, so we don't make any costly mistakes. :)

Thanks... :)
Click to expand...



Hi Honeymommy

I've just been through the frustratingly slow but worthwhile process.... :-)

For the survey I used: Simon Kidd of www.southermarinesurveys.co.uk He's extremely helpful and as a complete newbie myself, I was delighted that he let me sit through the full survey learning a great deal about the boat. Young, enthusiastic, efficient......and saved me a substantial amount in the final negotations thanks to his detail :-)

I'm moored at Thames & Kennet Marina in Reading which is also part of a group (Windsor Racecourse is also theirs): dont hesistate to PM me for more info...cant comment about their racecourse site but I'm delighted with the facilities and efficiency of T&K.

For helpful infomation this forum is brilliant and the members are very helpful. You should also take a look at the following http://www.visitthames.co.uk/text/13/boating.html (alspo available is a booklet version which I picked up at Sonning Lock)......

If you searhch in here under 'new owner' or 'advice' you will finds lots of recent posts in answer to my own and others' recent questions about getting first boats.

Have fun and welcome!

Simon
 
Such a friendly welcome. :)

Thanks for all the info. I will investigate surveyor tomorrow.

I have purchase a couple of books, downloaded the engine manual, Haven't found a boat manual yet, not sure if there will be one on the boat considering it's age, so would be nice to find the original old brochures etc.

I am working next weekend which is a pain, but needs must... Bills to pay..:D
 
Welcome Honeymommy. My boat is on the Wey but I generally cruise the Thames. They ae a friendly lot on here, and it doesnt matter which marina you find yourself in because someone will already be moored there and more than willing to help you with any problem that you have with the boat. I myself specialise in trimming and will be available for such activities as drinking tea, re distributing the contents of the cocktail cabinet and or emptying the fridge of fermented beveridge, all of which I am happy for almost no fee, to render shoreside using my own internal tankage and organic discharge system.

Best wishes

HF
 
Hi,

We have also just recently completed a purchase on our first boat and are at MDL Windsor. We purchased our boat in Poole and then moved it up here last month. We used a surveyor based in Poole however I asked him if I could be present at the survey and he went through everything with me and I learnt a lot during the survey about the boat including asking lots of "silly" questions! So I would recomend doing this with yours.

Regarding the salesman taking you through the boat to show you what things are and how they work we had no problems there and they were very happy to go through everything and answer all questions.

This forum has also been very helpful :-)
 
Hello all. Quick update. We are currently at Windsor marina and love it. The pontoons are floating, facilities just right, training available, and everyone is really friendly. Decisions decisions. Lol
 
Another visit to the boat to show Father-in-law today. It was great to see it with the sun shining rather than in the rain.

The salesman has gone through the sales process with us, we have recommendations for the survey. Just waiting on a couple of other boring paperwork bits and have to be patient now.

We have had a look at both Windsor and Bray marinas. Windsor is the favourite. Our problem is that they only have a larger berth available which we obviously have to pay more for till a smaller one becomes available.

I had been advised not to take a shore berth by someone and to stick to the pontoon. The nicest berth available is against the shore, so fixed concrete. They did say it would'nt be a problem because someone goes round morning and evening to check the moorings. Any opinions?
 
Even more advice and comment!....

Hi Honneymommy,

Well, it's great to see you have garnered so many encouraging and helpful comments so quickly here. It just goes to show how friendly boaters on the Thames can be and I am sure that weherever to choose to moor and whatever you choose to do socially you wil have many happy years of boating. For my (late?) addition...

Mooring: I certainlyconcur with fellow boaters berthed at Bray. Very friendly, excellen t facilities, and great location too. For us it's just 20 minutes by car from home and a Windsor and Eton picnics on the riverside are a short 1-lock cruise away for day guests too. We were at Bray for 3 years before selling upand buying a boat near Temple, but a year later we were back at Bray. Can I say more? :)

Clubs: Yeah, there's a few of us Bray Cruiser Club members here. We joined last specifically to get a little helpbeing introduced to longer cruisers and tidal experiences. I really wasn't sure of what to expect from a cruising club, but I can honestly say we have never looked back since (though the Club is largely to blame for us selling our second boat and buyinga third!!!).

Finally surveyors: I have just used a chap called Matt West of UKBoatSurveys.co.uk. He really was exceptional and I would thoroughly recommend him to anyone.

Whatever you do, do have fun and enjoy - what else is life (and money) for! :D
 
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