Going to try the dark side

My next door neighbour has taken me out on his twin inboard diesel engined boat a few times but I just can’t get on with it,
I find the movement uncomfortable and the noise excruciating. Added to that to fill her up is 200 litres. I use on average 20 litres a season.
He crews for me on my Sadler 25 and is always keen on coming out with me for a sail, if it wasn’t for his passion for fishing I think he would abandon power and join us under sail.
I also find it one Hell of a lot more exhilarating at 7 knots under sail than I do at 17-20 under power.
 
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Same with me. Unless one needs to get somewhere relatively quickly and not worry too much about the wind direction. Sailing is by far the most rewarding. I have used powerboats for commuting, did the job, not memorable, even if I like the tech bits.

Edit: I might enjoy a low wake, low power boat for trips on the local river, when sail out on the oggin gets too much for creaky bones.
 
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DownWest said:
Same with me. Unless one needs to get somewhere relatively quickly and not worry too much about the wind direction. Sailing is by far the most rewarding. I have used powerboats for commuting, did the job, not memorable, even if I like the tech bits.

Edit: I might enjoy a low wake, low power boat for trips on the local river, when sail out on the oggin gets too much for creaky bones.
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Best powered boat trip I have ever had was in a friends steam powered river launch, gentle put-put with puff of steam and strangely enough the smell of burning coal.
Shame he’s sold it.
 
In 2015 I was up the mast tuning the rig of our Finngulf 33, it had discontinuous rigging and with other masthead niggles the job took a long time, when she eventually let me down my wife said 'Do you not think we are getting a bit old for this.' After some discussion the Finngulf went on the market, we continued to use her, including a 3 generation trip to race at WHYW with our granddaughter. but by the end of the summer she was sold.
Lost for what to do next, we looked at camper vans but mercifully avoided that, then we found a mobo, a Nimbus 26, big enough for two, which we had trucked up from Ipswich, (Nimbi are what decrepit old yachties are supposed to buy?), we went to Tobermory and later through the Cally to Inverness but it felt like going in the bus. She was easy to sell after one season and we did not lose much so we were able to get a wee yacht the same year.
I am not questioning the OPs decision but still my advice to anyone who enjoyed sailing is to be sure you can put up with the tedium.
 
I honestly hope it is still a long way away, but I can imagine the moment our boat gets too much of a handful and we have to let her go. In that case I could also imagine buying a motorboat, but it would be to cruise the inland waterways of Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany. Plenty to discover there, and inland waterways provide a lot more to keep you busy: locks, opening bridges, barge traffic etc, so the risk of tedium is reduced. If that can keep me on the water for a few more years, I won’t complain.
 
I was once alongside a beautifully made and maintained Fairey Huntsman at Lymington, the owner, an Army officer, invited me aboard for a drink and chat; it turned out he'd converted from sail simply as his time was limited and turning up for work late was not an option.

" It'll do 40 knots, but there's nothing pleasant about it like sailing - you just hang on for grim death from point A to point B ! "
 
Seajet said:
I was once alongside a beautifully made and maintained Fairey Huntsman at Lymington, the owner, an Army officer, invited me aboard for a drink and chat; it turned out he'd converted from sail simply as his time was limited and turning up for work late was not an option.

" It'll do 40 knots, but there's nothing pleasant about it like sailing - you just hang on for grim death from point A to point B ! "
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This encapsulates it

Sailing is about the journey

Moboing is about the arrival.
 
Well done Col, so pleased you're back on the water before the summer is out.

A proper sea boat that you can basically go where you like and she looks dead pretty as well :encouragement:

Guessing you've gone all la-dee-daa so I'll pack some G&Ts + champers next time I'm in Cowes ;)
 
ProDave said:
The only "motor boat" that interests me is a narrowboat. One of our retirement plans is buy one, and live aboard for a couple of years and slowly explore the entire inland waterway network.
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I have always said that if I have to give up sailing, then I would go for a narrow boat and travel around the U.K. canals. The only shame is that immediately you end up stifled by rules and regs once you come inland.
 
Praxinoscope said:
I have always said that if I have to give up sailing, then I would go for a narrow boat and travel around the U.K. canals. The only shame is that immediately you end up stifled by rules and regs once you come inland.
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I am also so minded. But are the rules and regs really that bad?

You need a licence, for sure. The CRT (and Environment Agency) need some income to pay for maintaining the network.

And then there is the Boat Safety Scheme. The requirements for that run to 87 pages, which seems a lot. But most of it is only relevant when first built or if significant changes are being made. Otherwise, it seems to be more like "is the gas locker sound? Are the electrics safe? Is there the appropriate level of fire safety equipment present?" Much of which, to me, seems like a good thing to be checking. I happen to think is just a shame that, so far as I can tell, the BSS does not require boats to have CO detectors.

And some of the CRT rules or local bylaws can be a bit painful, but I guess there is a reason for most of them.
 
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I have mused that, sometime in the hopefully distant future I might want to swap sail for power. Our Furia 332 (33', six berth, one heads) has enough room for me and SWMBO to live comfortably aboard for the 25% of our time we can spend on her as we're both quite short in stature!

I wouldn't need anything fast as I find the slamming while planning bloody uncomfortable and, being used to sailing, I am rarely in that much of a hurry!

Any recommendations for something displacement with as much accommodation for not a lot of money?
 
Quandary said:
Lost for what to do next, we looked at camper vans but mercifully avoided that,
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Don't knock it 'till you've tried it We had motorhomes in our 30s and 40s and loved every minute. It doesn't have to be setting out a vase of flowers on a Caravan Club site. Sleeping in the heart of Australian rain forest with a canoe on the roof and mountain bikes on the back is just as rewarding as a transat.
 
Angele said:
I am also so minded. But are the rules and regs really that bad?

You need a licence, for sure. The CRT (and Environment Agency) need some income to pay for maintaining the network.

And then there is the Boat Safety Scheme. The requirements for that run to 87 pages, which seems a lot. But most of it is only relevant when first built or if significant changes are being made. Otherwise, it seems to be more like "is the gas locker sound? Are the electrics safe? Is there the appropriate level of fire safety equipment present?" Much of which, to me, seems like a good thing to be checking. I happen to think is just a shame that, so far as I can tell, the BSS does not require boats to have CO detectors.

And some of the CRT rules or local bylaws can be a bit painful, but I guess there is a reason for most of them.
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Buy a boat that already has a valid BSS certificate. A contuinuous cruising licence is a bit cheaper than other licences. Max length 55ft if you want to explore all the waterways.
 
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