First time buyer needing help

[warner]

I am looking to buy my first boat. I have many questions and would appreciate the views of anyone willing to comment.
Looking for a 30 -35 foot boat for day or weekend cruising in the Falmouth area. I have been told Sealine, Sunseeker and Fairline are possibly the best choice but I have some concerns:-

1) Am I taking on too much as a first boat.
2) I have heard a shaft driven boat is better tha legs as maintenance of legs is expensive.
3) Most boats I can afford are likely to be 10 years old so am I likely to be buying something in need of a lot of extra costs.
4) I am looking at a partnership to help with costs - is this practical.

I have loads of questions but can not expect to cover everything. Your comments would be very much appreciated.

Clive

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[bluemarlin]

what ever boat u buy will always be a compromise. To start sit down with a blank sheet of paper and ask yourself, What do i want from my boat. That done the hard part is finding somthing to match your criteria, thats the compromise. Yes shaft drive is simpler, less maintenance and less to go wrong, however outdrives give you more versatillity.

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[warner]

Thanks for comments.
I have, if a go into a boatshare, a budget of £70,000 and feel a Sealine 4/6 berth would be ideal. My big fear is that as as first boat it may be too much for me to handle.
Its a fear of the unknown I guess.

Clive

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[lanason]

Ask yourself the following questions:-
Do you want to sleep overnight ?? if so how many people ??
How long do you have at any one time ?? day, weekend, longer??
How far do you wish to travel ??
How fast do you wish to travel ??
What uses ?? Skiing, Crusing, sitting off the beach, sitting on the mooring ???
How much can you afford in maintenance costs ??
Do you want "wind in your hair" sportsboat stuff or "comfortable" flybridge stuff ??
How much experiance do you have ?? Will the familiy like it ?? Have you been out on a boat before??
For the size you are talking about you must (IMHO) have twin diesels. Legs are good for drying moorings or for shallow water / close to beaches. Shafts are easier to maintain and usually give better handling due to having rudders.

Having answered the above - trow the bit of paper away and buy the first boat you like the look of. The reason being that after a few trips you will have decided on the NEXT boat you want or hate the idea and want to chuck it all in.
Take to the water, get the experiance on whatever - Fairseekcess are all good makes and british but their are loads of others out there. I like the Jeaneau 805 leader - as featured in this months Motor Boats Monthly.
But you pays you money and takes your choice......

<hr width=100% size=1>Adrian <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/kelisha>Kelisha</A> Nothing is better than a Holiday

 

[powerskipper]

If you get some training when you first get the boat, you will not have a problem with size, shafts are easier than out drives but are more expensive and tend to be the bigger boats. enjoy looking and ask loads and loads of questions.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://powerskipper.mysite.freeserve.com/>http://powerskipper.mysite.freeserve.com/</A>
Julie

 

[Magnum]

Our first boat (this year) was a Princess 42 Flybrige. We got our Day Skipper Shorebased qualification over winter and had 2 days on-board tuition. That gave us the bare minimum to be able to take her out without risk to ourselves or others. I've since clocked up over 70 hours at the helm and at the risk of sounding less than modest can bring her into our berth far better than quite a few "experienced" folk at our marina. If you are methodical and think about the consequences of your actions you will quickly gain enough confidence to handle a boat of this size as your first. But training - theory and practical - is an essential foundation.

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[PRH]

I bought my first boat this year (1987 31' Fairline Corniche) and have not looked back.

I have done a day skippers course and I have also asked lots of questions, you will be pleasantly surprised at how 'boating people' will share their knowledge freely with you, it's a great club to be in.

This forum is an excellent place to ask questions, they even answer daft ones.... though you do get a difference of opinion which you need to take into account.

I have no experience of sharing a boat but it may be difficult when you first own it as you will want to be out on it as often as you can.

Go for it but be prepared to have deep pockets.

Good luck.


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[Renegade_Master]

Re: First time buyer (I wonder)?

Hi Clive its Clive of Sun Coast Sea School here, I'm sure I used to know a guy with your name worked at Croydon with me ..........anyway I digress. My first boat was 32ft with twin stern drives, based on non tidal Thames. Accomodation was lacking for SHMBO so went out two months later and bought a 37ft twin shaft driven semi dis cruiser.

I must say much prefered the second choice, much better to live in and with, what with having an aft cabin and shafts.

I dont think 30-35ft is too big to start with at all,in fact the 37ft on shafts was far easier to handle than the 32ft boat with sterns. Having said that do take some training first, a Day Skipper Practical (gets you the ICC also), I would recommend. We run such courses with beginners all the time. Good luck in your search
regards Clive ...........(erm wonder if it is the same Clive?)


<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.suncoastmarine.co.uk>Sun Coast Sea School & Charter</A>

 

[gjgm]

love it around falmouth.. you re very lucky!
There was some articles about boat sharing some time ago in one of the mags. If i remember, its generally very hard to keep up a happy relationship. Small things, like one party cleans the boat better than other, to financial ones, to who loses the ir weekends boating when a repair needs to be done. Think RYA had some sample agreements, but its the small detail that makes or breaks it.. do you really sue him.Maybe one of you feels the boat isnt quite right for you, and then one party cares more than the other.
There were one or two cases where people had managed,though.

Most people are very proud of their boat, and willing to show you round it, or maybe take you with them one time. Dont be embarrased to ask. Just remember to offer to repay in some way, some thing non boaters tend to forget-- its not a cheap hobby!
Otherwise, get a berth at Mylor, and I ll invite myself out next summer!

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[oldgit]

just a comment but.

Several posters here appear to have jumped in with both feet and been able to buy (and afford) what are fairly substantial boats,and have been able to stay the course when things got ,ahem a bit challenging(meaning expensive and/or steep learning curve situation.A few more have invested large amounts of money and have decided that boating was not for them after all,which is fine as although mucking about on the water appears to be no more difficult than driving a car,boating has to be worked at.You get out what you put in and boating will take all the dosh you can throw at it and still be wanting more.So biggest and swankiest is not always best.
IMVHO buy a very affordable boat boat for now,one which you can bash about a bit and then get the barge of your dreams later if the urge to boat is still rampant.

<hr width=100% size=1>Nastro Azzurro.Hoegaarden.Chang.Tiger.

 

[mrplastic]

Re: just a comment but.

I agree completely. Buy something you can bounce off of the pontoons with worrying to much about it. If you get something big, shiny and expensive you'll be so worried about even a little bump or two that you will not enjoy the learnin' part and probably become disillusioned very early on.

Also bear in mind that boatin's not for everyone. Yes it all looks very glamorous and sometimes, it is but that's just an impression. It's a lot like standing in a shower tearing up £50 notes, It can also be hard work and unpleasant at times but mostly enjoyable and worth the effort (read sacrifices!) In the few years I've been involved I've seen several new faces with new boats give them up because it wasn't what they thought it would be or the wife/girlfriend/partner/dog kept being sick or they just got bored.

Trainings a good idea, it'll give you the confidence to do more than just potter around the harbour or stick to the same old routes. Don't let the negatives put you off though, there a far more positives. Go for it, but be certain you know what you're actually going for and exactly you are getting into.

CLP

<hr width=100% size=1>EVERYTHING begins with an E

 

[tcm]

hi.

imho, it's not the handling of a big boat that is a problem but the maintenace of it in money and time. So you can forget any golf.

Note that the windage (how easy to get blown around) goes up in proportion to the square of the length of the boat, whereas the the inertia (resistance to such effects) goes up in proportion to the cube of the length. Hence, bigger boats go where they are supposed to more predictably than small ones in the same conditions.

A big thing (as others say) is whether the boat is trailerable: over 30 feet is too big, under 30 feet (28 i suppose) gives you loads of flexibility in terms of having a season in different places.

Having said that...i don't really agree with the actualité of getting a poxy cheapy small boat to see if you like it. If it's nastier than your house, the wife won't go, hence lots of raggies are on their own. If it's much much nastier than the house, then you won't go either. I think that thousands of 30-40 foot boats (starter boats these days) are for sale either cos they like boating and want to trade up, or they hate it (bought too small to cram in?) and want to get out of boating .

Bestwould be to rent for a while - if you haven't done this,. make sure you do it first. If you don't plan to use the boat for 6 weeks a year, it ain't worth buying it really.

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[warner]

Thanks to eveyone for the comments. I do think a 30 - 33 foot boat is what I will be going for and I hope to use it regularly, living on site in Cornwall. I guess my golf will suffer but what the heck. I want something where I can include the whole family which is difficult with a non-golfing family.
Having looked about it seems Fairline, Sealine and Princess are favourite preferrably with a flybridge.
I'll post again when I have purchased.

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