Getting Closer.....

[tokenjam]

The house is sold, the new one's been bought and the paperwork is nearly completed.
My thoughts can now turn to boats (with SWMBOs full permission and encouragement).
I should say that I am an in-experienced novice (dazed skip only) and this will be my first boat. I will have some experienced helpers though
My instinct, budget, type of use and mooring options are moving me to consider 20/30 ft Moodys. Hope for a bilge keel (drying etc.). Do bilge/fin keels have any particular (dis)advantages over one another?
There are 4 or 5 for sale so I intend to begin the process of selection and/or compare options, not quite ready to hand over the money yet
Does anyone have comments or suggestions about my next move.
E.G. Is a cheaper boat better and leave cash to upgrade or go for the best equipped within budget. Are there things that should prevent me from considering a particular boat (major structural failures aside); like unknown age of sails etc.
Any advice would be gratefully received

 

[Evadne]

In my experience, buying a boat has one thing in common with buying a house: if you get it with any major alterations or upgrades in mind, and don't do them within the first six months then you may never do them. Unless you're a rich git and you pay the yard to do them for you.
A typical boat is in the water when the weather's good enough to go out sailing and out of it in the cold dark winter. That leaves little time to do things like varnishing, carpentry an other pleasant springtime pasttimes unless you can get an extra fortnight off in April, when the sun shines.
On the other hand, if all the jobs to do are optional, rather than a requirement to make the boat usable, working on the boat is one of life's pleasures and you can spread the little upgrades over many years. Decades, even.

 

[snooks]

There's no such thing as a cheap boat

If a boat is in good condition it will cost more to purchase, BUT it will have been looked after and you won't have to spend so much getting her up to spec

If a boat isn't in good condition, it's likely she won't have been looked after and it will cost you a lot more to get her up to the standard of the good condition boat. So the cheaper one will cost you more in the long run

 

[oldsaltoz]

Looking for your first boat, first look at the most common on the market, because there a lot of them for sail prices will reflect this, avoid one off's or limited builds.

Have an inspection yourself and it looks ok, get a surveyor to check it out, avoid using the sellers surveyor.

If the survey is good you can make offer about 30% below the asking price and make the final purchase subject to sea trials, this means you can check the condition of sails, electronics and all other equipment on board, any items found that need to be replaced will mean a further deduction in your offer to compensate for replacement.

Good luck.

PS it took me years to find my last boat, but well worth the wait, there are some very well priced boats out there, just keep looking at as many as you can and one day you will find her.

Avagoodweekend......

.

 

[Ubergeekian]

There's no such thing as a cheap boat

If a boat is in good condition it will cost more to purchase, BUT it will have been looked after and you won't have to spend so much getting her up to spec

On the other hand, buying a twenty year old boat and doing it up is likely to cost, in total, around 1/3 to 1/2 of a modern boat of the same size.

 

[snooks]

On the other hand, buying a twenty year old boat and doing it up is likely to cost, in total, around 1/3 to 1/2 of a modern boat of the same size.

No one mentioned modern boats

 

[Lee_Shaw]

Hope for a bilge keel (drying etc.). Do bilge/fin keels have any particular (dis)advantages over one another?
There are 4 or 5 for sale so I intend to begin the process of selection and/or compare options, not quite ready to hand over the money yet
Does anyone have comments or suggestions about my next move.
E.G. Is a cheaper boat better and leave cash to upgrade or go for the best equipped within budget. Are there things that should prevent me from considering a particular boat (major structural failures aside); like unknown age of sails etc.
Any advice would be gratefully received

Bilge keel is an excellent choice for coastal cruising in the UK. I'd go for something that is in as good a state of repair and improvement as you can afford. Doing up a boat is the most wasteful route, money-wise.

 

[TiggerToo]

Bilge keel is an excellent choice for coastal cruising in the UK. I'd go for something that is in as good a state of repair and improvement as you can afford. Doing up a boat is the most wasteful route, money-wise.

but the upside is that you can do the improvements you want to your taste.

I would recommend looking at boats whcih have just about bottomed out in the depreciation curve. 5-7 years old (?). At this point things will start to need replacement (depending on use but you can do it gradually and work up a list of priorities).

What sort of sailing do you want to do?

 

[tokenjam]

Thanks for all those ideas peeps.
Given that I'm a bit particular in my requirements, my inclination is to go older (less expensive) with a sound survey and then upgrade rigging, sails and winches as required. There are things that are essential; double rear cabin is one as we do intend to sail with friends and that will leave the rest of the sleeping arrangements to them. We will (hopefully) be coast hopping to begin with and longer (maybe even x channel ) later.
So off to do some window shopping next.

 

[doris]

What ever you do, buy a known make and quality because one thing is for sure. Whatever you buy you will grow out of in a few years as you learn more and your horizons, geographic/performance/whatever expand Buy right and you will always be able to sell..

 

[Skysail]

If you are thinking about a Moody go to the Owners website to see the kind of support available - if you buy one you will find it a great help.

http://www.moodyowners.net/ - Information Exchange, which includes a 'Thinking of buying a Moody?' page for non members.

 

[smeaks]

i sail a moody 27 bilge after i crewed for a pal on an M27 fin. We now regulaly pitch them against onme another. the fin expectedly has an edge up against the wind but it is not great and they are well matched boats. I have sailed her in all weathers and she is forgiving and handles big seas and wind well. eother fin or bilge is agood choice. My time again? i am staying with a bilge when i go bigger...

 

[tokenjam]

i sail a moody 27 bilge after i crewed for a pal on an M27 fin. We now regulaly pitch them against onme another. the fin expectedly has an edge up against the wind but it is not great and they are well matched boats. I have sailed her in all weathers and she is forgiving and handles big seas and wind well. eother fin or bilge is agood choice. My time again? i am staying with a bilge when i go bigger...

That's interesting, I was wondering if the BK lost siginficant performance. As we won't be racing but just 'pooteling' your comments have reassured me.
I'm pretty much stuck to the moody as I've always wanted one and it seems as if they last for years.
Thanks for your feedback