First post, planning to leave shore in 6 weeks permanently :)

[Travellingwithtoby]

There's an oft quoted saying something along the lines of - if it flies, floats or fornicates, rent it...

That had me in fits of laughter ???

 

[Wansworth]

Sounds like you need more of a seagoing workshop minimizing sleeping space to one bunk settee with galley and wctherestfitted as work space maybe with large access to lower in an engine to work on.Youneed a steel 11 meter old motor sailer that you can fettle to your requirements .Preferably shallow draught

 

[Travellingwithtoby]

Webb Chile's is one hell of an Inspiration! I'm feeling lost o his site on my phone so going to find a bigger screen to navigate it on, thank you so much for posting him!

 

[Travellingwithtoby]

Sounds like you need more of a seagoing workshop minimizing sleeping space to one bunk settee with galley and wctherestfitted as work space maybe with large access to lower in an engine to work on.Youneed a steel 11 meter old motor sailer that you can fettle to your requirements .Preferably shallow draught

Yes I think this will come later on on life, I have a broad engineering background and had already considered a steel hull, but the only one I could find had been boarded tightly inside making me feel uneasy about being able to check for corrosion without a major refit.

Most of what I will be doing will be onboard the other persons boat, unless it's something that requires silence and expensive kit (injector rebuilds) common problems I would hope will be easily repaired without removal of the engine!

Now you have peaked my interest, why the shallow draft?

 

[V1701]

How about a centre cockpit boat like a Moody 33 - turn the aft cabin into your workshop? There are some old centre cockpit aft cabin boats where it might work if you gut the aft cabin, Moody 33 asking prices though haven't come down like some others. One or two of the Macwesters have aft cabins and are solid, cheap, boats. If aft cabin not really big enough for a small workshop could certainly be a tool store. I wouldn't buy an old steel boat, too much work...

 

[Wansworth]

Yes I think this will come later on on life, I have a broad engineering background and had already considered a steel hull, but the only one I could find had been boarded tightly inside making me feel uneasy about being able to check for corrosion without a major refit.

Most of what I will be doing will be onboard the other persons boat, unless it's something that requires silence and expensive kit (injector rebuilds) common problems I would hope will be easily repaired without removal of the engine!

Now you have peaked my interest, why the shallow draft?

Access to sheltered creeks or drying harbours and normally these places provide shelter from bad weather and access to shops and cheaper moorings

 

[Kelpie]

How about a centre cockpit boat like a Moody 33 - turn the aft cabin into your workshop? There are some old centre cockpit aft cabin boats where it might work if you gut the aft cabin, Moody 33 asking prices though haven't come down like some others. One or two of the Macwesters have aft cabins and are solid, cheap, boats. If aft cabin not really big enough for a small workshop could certainly be a tool store. I wouldn't buy an old steel boat, too much work...

Or a little smaller but similar the 31ft Westerlies (Renown, Longbow, Pentland etc) are incredible value for money these days.

 

[lindsay]

True, Toby, that Webb Chiles' site is a lot to digest at first sight.

Clicking 'articles', there are four that might be of particular interest:

1, How to Escape
2. Call of the sea
3. Why I sail, and,.....
4. The Seasick Kinjaku and other stories.
Story number three is about an Englishman named Spencer who is none other than the UK's very own Les Powles, a totally committed, obstinate and persistent chap if there ever was one, who called Webb in his own biography, "the most single minded person he had ever met" after meeting up with him while cruising the Southern Hemisphere.

 

[Travellingwithtoby]

How about a centre cockpit boat like a Moody 33 - turn the aft cabin into your workshop? There are some old centre cockpit aft cabin boats where it might work if you gut the aft cabin, Moody 33 asking prices though haven't come down like some others. One or two of the Macwesters have aft cabins and are solid, cheap, boats. If aft cabin not really big enough for a small workshop could certainly be a tool store. I wouldn't buy an old steel boat, too much work...

I will have a look, I think the reason i went off the macwesters was fin keel, i would not feel safe on anything without a full keel personal opinion, old seaworth boats had them so it makes me feel safe.

I like the idea of the aft cabins, does this effect anything else on the boat? Handling etc?

Old steel boat. There is one for sale, I can work with steel why do you feel they are more work than say a grp boat?

I'm gutted I had my eye on a boat and its now under offer

 

[Travellingwithtoby]

True, Toby, that Webb Chiles' site is a lot to digest at first sight.

Clicking 'articles', there are four that might be of particular interest:

1, How to Escape
2. Call of the sea
3. Why I sail, and,.....
4. The Seasick Kinjaku and other stories.
Story number three is about an Englishman named Spencer who is none other than the UK's very own Les Powles, a totally committed, obstinate and persistent chap if there ever was one, who called Webb in his own biography, "the most single minded person he had ever met" after meeting up with him while cruising the Southern Hemisphere.

Haha the most single minded person he had ever met, I'm not sure if I should be worried but I feel like that describes me in a sense!

Thank you I will have a good read through!

 

[Scarboroughsloop]

No connection (other than I have the 31' version) this looks like a lot of boat for the money:

Contest 33 for sale UK, Contest boats for sale, Contest used boat sales, Contest Sailing Yachts For Sale 1971 Contest 33 - Apollo Duck

 

[V1701]

No connection (other than I have the 31' version) this looks like a lot of boat for the money:

Contest 33 for sale UK, Contest boats for sale, Contest used boat sales, Contest Sailing Yachts For Sale 1971 Contest 33 - Apollo Duck

That particular boat has been for sale for a long time, at least a year, it was in Portland/Weymouth for a time. On the face of it looks an awful lot of boat for the money & they're a quality boat. Looks not to be on it's original engine as well, even better. I do wonder whether there's something they're not telling us though...

 

[V1701]

I will have a look, I think the reason i went off the macwesters was fin keel, i would not feel safe on anything without a full keel personal opinion, old seaworth boats had them so it makes me feel safe.

I like the idea of the aft cabins, does this effect anything else on the boat? Handling etc?

Old steel boat. There is one for sale, I can work with steel why do you feel they are more work than say a grp boat?

I'm gutted I had my eye on a boat and its now under offer

Earlier fibreglass boats simply copied old designs but when they realised that with FG you could have smaller, different shaped keels either made from steel & bolted on or moulded as part of the hull and then filled with ballast they started experimenting with different designs, bilge/twin keels, e.g. Having said that I do like a full or fullish keel with encapsulated ballast myself - for ease of maintenance and directional stability, but those older plastic boats are built strongly and have crossed oceans, to discount them all en masse just because they're not full keel would be to unnecessarily restrict your choice of boat (in my humble opinion of course). It is a real buyers market at the moment, there's no need to rush in to anything & there's plenty for sale...

Being able to do repairs etc. on a steel boat is all very well but if it needs lifting to do it that costs. Older steel boats need much more time & attention to integrity and finish than plastic, as do wooden boats. Here's a curveball - ferrocement hulls on the other hand can be relatively maintenence free if you can find a good one (I repeat if you can find a good one). You can leave a good ferro boat in the water for years and they're cheap cos nobody wants them. I had one that I kept in Greece for a few years...

 

[Travellingwithtoby]

No connection (other than I have the 31' version) this looks like a lot of boat for the money:

Contest 33 for sale UK, Contest boats for sale, Contest used boat sales, Contest Sailing Yachts For Sale 1971 Contest 33 - Apollo Duck

Yes it does look good, there are a lot of boats out there and it's quite overwhelming!

I myself prefer a full keel, bit I am starting to wonder if for sensibility I should be looking at bilge keels, we are extremely tidal and have sinking mud everywhere....

I could do with some advice reference this, I feel safer with a full keel, but am I better off?

My biggest worry is the bristol channel that i will be frequenting has hard sand and a rapid tide, if i run aground in a fin keel is it likely to snap?

 

[Travellingwithtoby]

Earlier fibreglass boats simply copied old designs but when they realised that with FG you could have smaller, different shaped keels either made from steel & bolted on or moulded as part of the hull and then filled with ballast they started experimenting with different designs, bilge/twin keels, e.g. Having said that I do like a full or fullish keel with encapsulated ballast myself - for ease of maintenance and directional stability, but those older plastic boats are built strongly and have crossed oceans, to discount them all en masse just because they're not full keel would be to unnecessarily restrict your choice of boat (in my humble opinion of course). It is a real buyers market at the moment, there's no need to rush in to anything & there's plenty for sale...

Being able to do repairs etc. on a steel boat is all very well but if it needs lifting to do it that costs. Older steel boats need much more time & attention to integrity and finish than plastic, as do wooden boats. Here's a curveball - ferrocement hulls on the other hand can be relatively maintenence free if you can find a good one (I repeat if you can find a good one). You can leave a good ferro boat in the water for years and they're cheap cos nobody wants them. I had one that I kept in Greece for a few years...

Thank you for clearing a few points up for me!

I am still unsure of if I would trust a fin keel boat, especially as I am still learning to a point and need to get back on the sea again after over 12 years of land... is a full keel going to make such a difference when anchored in chop and also against grounding damage ?

I hope I never have to find out! But I'd rather have the safer option if I get the choice!

Yea I think steel and ferro cement are beyond my scope for now.

 

[RupertW]

Thank you for clearing a few points up for me!

I am still unsure of if I would trust a fin keel boat, especially as I am still learning to a point and need to get back on the sea again after over 12 years of land... is a full keel going to make such a difference when anchored in chop and also against grounding damage ?

I hope I never have to find out! But I'd rather have the safer option if I get the choice!

Yea I think steel and ferro cement are beyond my scope for now.

Almost every boat out there now is fin keel bolted on, so inevitably they are the ones who get reported when very occasionally structurally damaged.

Most cruisers like me over 40 years have had multiple fin keel boats in lots of different locations and sailing conditions and a few accidental groundings with no problems associated with the keel or hull.

Get the boat that suits what you need to live on and fits with your ideal of sailing - Scott of the Antarctic, pipe smoking fettler discussing stanchion posts sheltering from the drizzle in a warm pub, sea gypsy in the Caribbean or just a floating caravanner taking the dinghy ashore to a Sicilian bar for breakfast after a stormy night sail.

Buy the the boat that fits your particular dream and don’t worry about the keel configuration.

 

[nortada]

Almost every boat out there now is fin keel bolted on, so inevitably they are the ones who get reported when very occasionally structurally damaged.

Most cruisers like me over 40 years have had multiple fin keel boats in lots of different locations and sailing conditions and a few accidental groundings with no problems associated with the keel or hull.

Get the boat that suits what you need to live on and fits with your ideal of sailing - Scott of the Antarctic, pipe smoking fettler discussing stanchion posts sheltering from the drizzle in a warm pub, sea gypsy in the Caribbean or just a floating caravanner taking the dinghy ashore to a Sicilian bar for breakfast after a stormy night sail.

Buy the the boat that fits your particular dream and don’t worry about the keel configuration.

If you are going to manoeuvre in crowded waters (marinas), when initially going astern, fin keeled boats a far easier to handle. If there is any significance crosswind a long keeler can become near impossible.

 

[Travellingwithtoby]

Almost every boat out there now is fin keel bolted on, so inevitably they are the ones who get reported when very occasionally structurally damaged.

Most cruisers like me over 40 years have had multiple fin keel boats in lots of different locations and sailing conditions and a few accidental groundings with no problems associated with the keel or hull.

Get the boat that suits what you need to live on and fits with your ideal of sailing - Scott of the Antarctic, pipe smoking fettler discussing stanchion posts sheltering from the drizzle in a warm pub, sea gypsy in the Caribbean or just a floating caravanner taking the dinghy ashore to a Sicilian bar for breakfast after a stormy night sail.

Buy the the boat that fits your particular dream and don’t worry about the keel configuration.

Thank you for this,

So a question on the difference, what difference would there be between a long heavy keel, and a fin keel in chop when anchored, I would assume the a long keel would point into the current and not rock so much?

Whereas going from the above posts mentioning slamming into waves the fin would not offer this "comfort" having a lesser weight and size?

I am possibly asking an impossible question, I would prefer to have a stable boat as I intend on spending more time at anchor than at a marina....

I love the idea of buying the boat the suits me, but what scares me is just like cars old Volvo's are tanks, new ones are still safe, but head to head the old one would live on. The new one would be scrap.

Does this apply to boats?

Again thank you for letting me ask all the silly questions!

And on the note of fins I have been offered Hurley 22 for cheap, it's a backup boat if I get stuck completely (still cheaper than renting if I stay in it for two months and sell it for half I paid...

 

[Travellingwithtoby]

If you are going to manoeuvre in crowded waters (marinas), when initially going astern, fin keeled boats a far easier to handle. If there is any significance crosswind a long keeler can become near impossible.

That is very useful information! Thank you very much

So the answer is if there is no wind then park astern using prop walk to decide what side of the berth I moor in and if its blooody windy.... just moor hahaha

Would something like a bow thrusters be of use? I saw one the looks as if it clips to the rudder? Only asking out of curiosity

 

[nortada]

That is very useful information! Thank you very much

So the answer is if there is no wind then park astern using prop walk to decide what side of the berth I moor in and if its blooody windy.... just moor hahaha

Would something like a bow thrusters be of use? I saw one the looks as if it clips to the rudder? Only asking out of curiosity

Bow thruster clipped the rudder?

Not too sure how this could work?