Hello! And is my boat choice suitable for a newbie?

[Vizard]

Firstly hello!

I have never owned a boat and my boating experience is limited to a half day hire in Italy last year.

My plan currently is to buy a boat over winter and tow it to Italy for next summer, where I will do some coastal touring.

I'm organising my RYA powerboat course imminently, to be followed by an ICC in the spring.

I have it in mind that a Windy 25 or 28 would be the sort of thing that I would like to own and run. However, is that too much boat for a first time ownership?

Many thanks for any pointers.

 

[Seastoke]

Firstly hello!

I have never owned a boat and my boating experience is limited to a half day hire in Italy last year.

My plan currently is to buy a boat over winter and tow it to Italy for next summer, where I will do some coastal touring.

I'm organising my RYA powerboat course imminently, to be followed by an ICC in the spring.

I have it in mind that a Windy 25 or 28 would be the sort of thing that I would like to own and run. However, is that too much boat for a first time ownership?

Many thanks for any pointers.

Is a windy 28 towable not sure but time to research and good luck, ps are there many winds for sale in the uk.

 

[Vizard]

Thanks

I've been told the 28 can be towed but I've not done my research. It looks like there are more 25s about and as a first boat I wonder whether the lower price tag may be a good thing.

 

[CLB]

Is a windy 28 towable not sure but time to research and good luck, ps are there many winds for sale in the uk.

28 is 2.7m wide, which puts it into convoi exceptionnel category in France. You would need to check Italy and any other country you may be passing through, but I would stick to something up to 2.5m wide for an easy life.

 

[Vizard]

Good to know thanks.

 

[MRC]

With a trailer and fluids I would think it’s way over 3500kgs

 

[Vizard]

Too cumbersome then.

 

[julians]

I've got a windy 25, so if you want to know anything specific just let me know.

Would have thought even a windy 25 would be a handful to be towed by even the biggest 'car'.

 

[Vizard]

It would be a Range Rover but I am not dead set on towing it.

So in your opinion is a 25 a good first boat or should I do my learning on something cheaper / more basic?

The 25 appeals because it's a good looking boat, the right sort of capacity and looks like it could be good to spend a day out on. I imagine there is a good second hand market too.

 

[julians]

It would be a Range Rover but I am not dead set on towing it.

So in your opinion is a 25 a good first boat or should I do my learning on something cheaper / more basic?

The 25 appeals because it's a good looking boat, the right sort of capacity and looks like it could be good to spend a day out on. I imagine there is a good second hand market too.

I think it would be fine as a first boat, it makes a good day boat, and is fine for a weekend away for two as well. Excellent handling, goes through the sea like a boat 5 feet longer.

Mine doesn't have a bow thruster, so can be a bit tricky to handle, you get used to it, but a bow thruster would be a good thing.

 

[rubberduck]

We learnt on a Rinker 250, so assuming it ticks all other boxes, should be fine size wise. It was borderline towable in UK (laws on weight dims)

 

[superheat6k]

Be aware that trailer boating can rapidly lose any support for your newly found hobby from your likely assistants, especially if this is SWMBO.

She (or he - I don't know) may imagine boating as sitting in swarve sunny places drinking a G&T sitting in a bikini. So perhaps standing in waders or wet shoes trying to fight YOUR disobedient new toy onto YOUR trailer, after being banged around and soaked on a wet windy afternoon may not match the mental picture !

The first few launches and recoveries can be good fun, until you experience your first difficult recovery in a tide way or gusty conditions, or manage to partially immerse the car in the process.

This is why so many boats on trailers sitting on driveways do just that - sit and sit and sit.

The range you are considering is likely fine for a first purchase, but whatever you buy be aware that within a year you will either catch the bug and want to move up to a boat too big to trail anyway, or you will want to take up golf. This means only buy a a boat you can likely sell on without too much fuss - nothing more frustrating than longingly wanting that 32' PrinFairSeaSeeker in the local Broker's window, whilst unable to move your current boat on, and nothing more expensive (relatively) than becoming a two boat owner.

Good luck and welcome to the mad mad world of owning a boat.

 

[DavidJ]

In the past I’ve towed a Sealine S23 to Spain a number of times using a Pajero (Shogun) 2.8 and a 3 litre Vauxhall’ Monterey (badged Isuzu Trooper). Once you get onto European motorways it’s fine but I would never tow anything bigger. Agree with superheat about launch and recovery. We always had it craned in. Less stress and saves salt water damage to bearings, cables and brake internals. Cost is about €100 each way.
Our trailer although to spec was not up to job for long journeys and we had a number of punctures so get a really good one.
Hope this helps

 

[julians]

"but whatever you buy be aware that within a year you will either catch the bug and want to move up to a boat too big to trail anyway"

I don't really understand this desire for an ever larger boat, maybe it's because I've had bigger boats, so I understand their downsides, and would much rather have something the size I have. I guess it's about finding something that does what you want for the budget you want, and it appears that what I want Is probably different from what most want.

 

[Vizard]

Superheat - You're really selling this to me! My wife is 7 stone soaking wet, so I am not sure how much trailering of boats she will be doing.

julians - thanks for your first-hand knowledge. I may come back to bother you when I've done some more research. Be warned though, I had to Google "bow thruster", so that should set the picture as regards my level of knowledge.

 

[PlanB]

Size doesn't matter (within reason!) - training and practice does! And you can't beat own boat tuition if it's your first boat.

 

[YellowPeril]

I can share my experience - there may be something that can help you identify how (or how not) to get further into boating.
Others are better qualified to comment on your boat choice, but I’m sure Windys are a fine place to start.

About 5 years ago I decided to buy a boat for day trips, for possible use in Spain or the UK. Aside from budgetary constraints, I was limited to what I could tow using a typical estate car (<1600kg in my case) so we are not talking big here. I settled on a 16ft walk-around boat – nothing too flash but it served us OK for day outings on the Solent.

Just before buying a boat I did the RYA PB2 course. Two things to note:
• I did the course in January in the UK as I figured that if I enjoyed it then, I’d enjoy boating any time. A bright January day on the Solent is usually calmer than a hot July day – at least that is how I convinced my wife.
• My wife did the course also – she had to enjoy boating as well, otherwise it was a pointless pastime for me.
We both thoroughly enjoyed the course and swiftly returned to do the VHF course.
I seem to remember that converting the PB2 to ICC involved nothing more than paying the RYA some money.

By Spring we had the boat and ventured around the Solent. All good fun and a great experience.
The boat was kept ashore on a trailer. However good we got at launching and recovery, the knowledge that we had to recover the boat at the end of every outing always played on our minds. The wind, tides and the wash from other vessels all effected using the slipway and every time was different. After 1 year the trailer was replaced by a berth in a marina.

The boat was no bother to tow. OK so it wasn’t that big, but we towed it through France to Spain with ease – the motorways make it simple. The only notable downside was that our fuel consumption doubled!
Upon arrival we used a slipway, but if you are looking at boats ~25+ foot I imagine a crane will suit you better. Those trailer bearing have got to get you a long way home and a salt-water dunking is not ideal.
Having the boat in Spain during our stay was absolutely fantastic. I would not hesitate to tow a boat there again.

People frequently mention that you won’t keep your first boat for long – either because boating is not actually for you (or other half), or you want bigger.
In our case we enjoyed it so much that day trips were not enough – we didn’t want to go home come after a day out so needed a boat we could stay on.

The open boat got replaced with something with a cabin. It’s still only 19ft so could be towed, although in my case I’d have to change my car. Whilst we have the use of a mooring in Spain our compromise is that the boat lives in a UK marina. It gets used far more frequently here – in fact we stayed on it this week and had a lovely day out on the water. It may be small but we manage – in fact we love it.

As we can’t currently tow the boat to Spain we started to look at rental or boat-share options. Your solution will be personal to you, but there are many options available and as you have a Range Rover you are not as constrained as me.

Enjoy whatever you choose and good luck.

 

[BartW]

hi there, I can say that we are experienced trailer boaters; copy from the "my boat history" thread

in 2000 10yo Zodiac MarkIII 4.7m with Evenrude 50Hp (still have the 48y old vintage engine, if someone interested )
in 2003 3yo Faeton 6.3 Sport 200Hp Merc inboard, on trailer (sold)
in 2007 3yo Faeton 7.3 Sport 220Hp Merc inboard, on trailer (sold)
in 2008 new Karnic2660 2 x VP D3-190, on trailer, still use her for diving, but thinking to sell her
..

we towed these boats all over Europe, have a look at the sticky "cruise reports " on top of the threads overvieuw page
and enjoyed that very much with my family and or friends, but I realise that we are rather the exception

28ft will be slightly over the legal limit of toweable, (weigth and width)
I guess that a 25ft windy is perfect. and its a good and nice boat.

its easy to apreciate the advantages of trailer boating (freedom to explore many different cruising area's)
and disadvantages (the hassle with launching the boat)
you have to make up that ballance for your situation.

regarding the towing of 3.5T behind a SUV,
we had absolutely no problem with that towing from Belgium to Scotland, or to SOF, or to South Croatia...
me and my wife swapped the wheel, and that was when we were young ;-)
and we did that in steps, gradually bigger, the zodiac was 800kg incl trailer, and the Karnic is "on paper" 3500kg on trailer.

but you have to respect some basic rules:
- make sure that car and trailer (tires, brakes and bearings) are in perfect condition
- weight distribution in car and tow should be checked and adjusted (ao enough weight on the tow hook, but not over the limit)
- be relaxed and never in a hurry, max speed 90km/h, just like truck's
- you need to be handy on the slibway, take advice from experienced people, and think before acting, plan the procedure carefully...

 

[Bigplumbs]

28 is 2.7m wide, which puts it into convoi exceptionnel category in France. You would need to check Italy and any other country you may be passing through, but I would stick to something up to 2.5m wide for an easy life.

That will be to big and too heavy to tow certainly in the UK

 

[CLB]

That will be to big and too heavy to tow certainly in the UK

Actually, in the UK the width would not be a problem. Weight wise, it would depend, but it could just about be kept under 3500kg once on a trailer.