General advice for a newbie

[jimbouy]

Hello.

I am looking for your general advice.

I am thinking of getting back into the sailing world. Having spent much of my youth in various sailing dingies and some time on larger boats with the ocean youthclub.

Its been over 2o years since I sailed but I am now at a stage where i feel that i have some time and money.

I am contemplating a small trailer sailor such as the leisure 17. They seem to have a good safe rep. and to be avaliable second hand at very resonable cost. £1.5k for example.

Firstly what is your buying advice. How do I tell a good boat from bad. At that price range I assume i don't need a survey.

My preferrred option is to find moorings, but just how practical is trailor sailing??

I have access to a family holiday home on th IOW and did most of my dingy sailing from Bembridge ( we kept the various dingys we had at the Atrils (spelling?) yard.

I imagine starting out just doing a little day cruising so what suggestions for moorings? I have been looking on the net to get ideas of the cost of moorings etc but there seems to be little info.

Finally there is the question of training.

I notice my local evening school does the day skipper theory over the winter at a cost of £138, that can't be bad.

Do you think doing the practical coyurse would be a must?

Any other advice or experiences would be welcome.

jim

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[Evadne]

Hi Jim,
I am of the school of thought that you should buy the biggest boat you can afford. There are lots of reasons for getting a smaller one but, especially ease of trailing and lower costs but in my experience most people pick a small boat because they are afraid of the responsibility of handling a larger one. I think this is not a good reason; a small boat can get you into trouble just as easily as a big one, but a big one can look after you better. If you can handle an 18-footer, you can handle a 28-footer. More than 35 feet and you start to get beyond the size that can be handled by two people with ease, although others will probably disagree.

Bembridge is one of my favourite places, I don't know what the moorings cost but in general IOW is cheaper than Hampshire. Over the water Chichester harbour is a good base as well, and you could consider putting your name down for Ryde or Hillhead.

Evening classes are highly recommended, not just for the knowledge but for the range of people you get to meet. If you can vaguely understand tidal vectors then try coastal skipper. I did Day skipper after two years of boat ownership and it was a bit of a waste of time.

Buying a boat: there have been lots of threads here and on Scuttlebutt on this, do a search. Personally I'd want a survey, unless I felt I was knowledgable enough to know what I was looking at. £200 could stop you buying a boat that is completely worthless, and it gives you pointers as to what will need doing in the future.

Good luck, stay in touch and let us know where you end up.
David



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[tamarnessie]

Hi Jim

if its a Leisure 17 you want try this website:

www.leisureowners.org.uk

and look under 'Owners Forum' - 'General Discussion Area' - then thread titled 'Need Advice on buying a L17'. Contains some handy points to look for, most problems tend to be with the rudder.

I own a Leisure 17 myself and have had no major problems since I bought her 4 years ago. The L17 is very affordable way to go afloat with minimal costs in moorings, winter storage and insurance and I find her very easy to handle by myself.

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[Nautorius]

Hi There,

I have owned two leisure 17s and a Leisure 20. The first leisure 17 was a dog. It had been left to rot away, was full of water and looked terrible. Once cleaned up it was fine and worked no problem. The only issue was leaking windows that can easily be solved with new seals. We then upgraded to a slightly better one. The £500 extra got us one with interior lining and cooker etc. It was a beauty and we still miss her.

My advice is to buy the best one you can. A few hundred pounds makes all the difference. We towed ours all over and it is fine as a trailer sailer. I now am converted to power but we still have a sailboat in the family when I feel the urge.

Good luck,

N.

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[amadeus]

Hi Jim Welcome and what a sensible idea! Have at look at a dayboat eg the Devon yawl or the cuddy version the dayboat. this is 16 foot long with a bowsprit and two masts so it looks great and is built very solidly. The second hand price is great and you can keep it on a drying mooring. Look on the website www.devonyawl.com or you could contemplate a hawk 20 or a local boat such as a bembridge one design ?mermaid or perhaps (but no... not a drascombe). Good luck with the search. Seagull

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[jimbouy]

Hi Nautorius,

What kind of work did you have to do on your first leisure?

The idea of some DIY sounds good to me, as a way of really getting to know your boat and then you really know what condition it is in.

Did you get surveys done?

Jim

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[jimbouy]

David,

All good advice, but i am not sure about going bigger as i expect to be sailing single handed most of the time.

i hope to be able to get down to the IOW during Sept. and can have a look at all the mooring options. Its the ongoing yearly costs such as this that are my concern at the moment.

jim

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[jimbouy]

Hi tamarnessie,

I had already found the owners web site but missed that thread on the forum, so thanks for that.

Everyone who owners a L17 seems to love it and i think i shall be looking at some over the coming months.

Jim

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[Nautorius]

Hi Jim,

On the first one I basicaly I had to do a full clean out. The easiest way was take everything movable out and then Jet wash the inside. Once that was done all of the limited woodwork had to be repaired or replaced, windows re-sealed, rigging checked and replaced where neccessary and the hull stripped, the keels and rudder checked (They can get quite bashed and the rudder de-laminates) then re-antifoul. I took me 6 weeks at about 12 hours a week and was well worth it. One other area to watch is the Hatch. Because of the design it can get quite damaged and cracked (It lifts up and catches on the coach roof). I had to re-mould a new one as it was beyond repair. A good hatch is essential if you want too keep the boat dry.

It was my first cruiser after a GP14. I had very limited DIY boat skills but by taking it slowly and carefully I learned a lot. I bought the boat for £1200 and sold it for £1350. I spent about £250 on it and used it for two years. I was happy with my Investment. They are great boats to learn everything in. They are not the fastest but they are stable. Only one word of warning. Most come with an old 2hp engine, budget to upgrade to a decent 4hp. The difference and safety is well worth it. Any more Info PM me,

Good Luck

N.

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[tamarnessie]

Hi Jim!

pleased to hear that you are so taken with the Leisure 17! Don't forget to join the Owner's Association if you do buy one, they're all very friendly & helpful. I don't regret buying my L17 for one moment, but it sounds like Nautorious had the same problems as me when he/she purchased his L17.
Mine had been neglected as the owner's husband had died and she understandably lost interest. The rigging was completely shot-up and was at the end of its life anyway, so I had it replaced which cost me £700. As with any boat of that age I had to replace the window rubbers, I bought the seals but lost my temper fitting them, so called in Autowindscreens who refitted them all for a cost of £40. (I know that's cheating!).
Most L17 owners have problems with water ingress into the sealed bouyancy tanks by some means or another(its freshwater not seawater!).There is no bilge as such on a L17. This problem is easy to rectify, see owner' website. Also, the chain locker may hold water. Some L17s, such as mine, have no drainhole so the chain will sit in a goopy mess of water & mud after a while.
Hulls are usually sound, osmosis does not seem to be a problem for Leisure yachts.
Due to the condition of the boat mine cost me 1k, but you will find a nice one with all the kit & caboodle for around 2k. Watch for the condition of the trailer, if its original it may not be roadworthy!
Lots of luck in your search - let us know how you get on.
Regards!
Nessie

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[gerryraby]

I dont know which area you live in but if it is anywhere near East Grinstead, you want to sail in the Solent, you are looking for some experience and the ability to sail on diffrent boats before you buy one try the following site: www.ashdownsailing.org.uk

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