Hello, help/advice required

[Bodes]

Hello all,

I'm new to ybw.com and hopefully soon I'll be new to boating. I'm fast approaching 40 and following the well trodden and perhaps clichéd path of many before me I'd like to get myself a boat, ideally I'd like one that won't financially ruin me.
With that in mind I'm asking for advice, I've a budget of approx £20k, if possible less but, and this is where I'm struggling, I'd like my boat to be a diesel sports cruiser. I've looked at several petrol boats close to me, Fairline Carrera and similar, and that model would be perfect for me in terms of size and speed if it were a diesel. There's a fair few Carrera's available for less than £20k but they all need a bit spent on them in order to get them up and running. Because I'm a mechanical dunce it's not really an option to buy something that I'm then going to have to pay somebody else to get working for me.

Is there anything similar I should be looking for, or am I asking for too much boat for that kind of budget.


Thanks

 

[lionelz]

Bump as may take time for first post. May i say welcome. I think the budget may be the issue depending on the boat a diesel will always add fair % to the purchase cost. Try looking at some american sports cruiser as they tend to be cheaper. Do you want a cabin or are you happy to have a cundy or a bow rider? Where will you be based?

 

[longjohnsilver]

My son has just put his 27' Bayliner on the market. It has a Yanmar diesel, about 200hp which was fitted about 10 years ago and has been regularly serviced since then. He's asking £17500, so yes, there are diesel powered boats available within your budget.

 

[wipe_out]

Welcome to the forum..

My input maybe useless because you didn't specify your boat size and "must have" criteria..

Remember that depending on how far you plan on going and where you are based your biggest annual costs are likely to be mooring fees and a maintenance so don't rule out the petrol boats simply based on fuel consumption.. Last time I spoke to a broker he said that about 25 hours use a year is about the average in the UK.. Also if you are wanting to keep costs to a minimum have you thought about getting a boat on a trailer? This year we switched to a trailered boat which will significantly reduce the annual costs (£3000+ mooring fees reduce to £300-£400 in slipway fees).. We had a 26ft petrol sports cruiser and have switched to a 21ft Merry Fisher on a trailer which has all the facilities we had/wanted just in a slightly smaller package that we park on the driveway..

 

[Bodes]

Thanks for the replies

I'm looking for a boat that will comfortably have 4-6 people onboard and sleep 4 people in relative comfort too. I'm thinking of keeping the boat in Tollesbury marina and the majority of use will be around the blackwater and further off shore when I can. A little bit later down the line I'd like to be able to take the boat down to Cornwall, either via road or canal, (I'm not sure I'll be confident enough to go via the Channel) and use it down there for a few weeks a year.

Because I want to keep the boat at Tollesbury it's makes it easier to have a diesel. I looked at a Carrera 24 last week and the batteries in the engine bay weren't covered. Is this normal with a petrol boat? I know very little about boats but it seems insane to me to have a potentially sparking battery so in an enclosed space next to the engine.

 

[wipe_out]

I looked at a Carrera 24 last week and the batteries in the engine bay weren't covered. Is this normal with a petrol boat? I know very little about boats but it seems insane to me to have a potentially sparking battery so in an enclosed space next to the engine.

Usually they are in battery boxes but the boxes are not sealed in any way.. The batteries won't cause any sparks because the terminals are clamped tight, when connecting or disconnecting the batteries the isolators would be open so there is no current and if you are playing with the batteries with a strong petrol smell (high concentration of fumes) then you probably have other issues.. Also the engine bay is enclosed but will/should have a ventilation fan that you will run for a few min before starting the engine to evacuate any build-up of fumes, once running it's not needed because the volume of air being moved through the engine will be changing out the air in the engine bay..

 

[About Time]

Welcome onboard.
One thing to consider though.... Diesel may be slightly cheaper for fuel consumption but the petrol engine will be less in parts for the annual service. At least this is my experience having owned both diesel and petrol. As said above by wipe out really the fuel costs may not be your number one concern. Try to do a full budget and you will see by the end of the year there is not too much difference between Diesel and Petrol. If you are open to Petrol there is plenty of good US sportscruiser in the 20K Sterling range.

 

[SEARANGER ANCASTER]

stick with diesel

 

[Bodes]

Thanks again for the replies.

The running costs of petrol don't really concern me, the boat is going to be a luxury and I know it's going to cost money either way, however I really want to keep the boat at Tollesbury and they only have diesel available and there's just no way I'm going to lump jerry cans around - that's a sure way to turn motor boating into a chore for me.

The safety issue of petrol concerns me slightly, but I'm trying to remain open minded about it, I don't want to get something that I'm going to end up excessively worrying about though and constantly sniffing the air for a faint whiff of petrol.

 

[Offshore57]

Not necessarily...I run a Sea Ray 270 Sundancer with 2 x V6 mercruisers (petrol). They run sweet as a nut...quiet and reliable....with performance if I want it, and dont cost the earth to run. Diesel for larger boats I can agree with obviously.

 

[BruceK]

Thanks for the replies

I'm looking for a boat that will comfortably have 4-6 people onboard and sleep 4 people in relative comfort too. I'm thinking of keeping the boat in Tollesbury marina and the majority of use will be around the blackwater and further off shore when I can. A little bit later down the line I'd like to be able to take the boat down to Cornwall, either via road or canal, (I'm not sure I'll be confident enough to go via the Channel) and use it down there for a few weeks a year.

Because I want to keep the boat at Tollesbury it's makes it easier to have a diesel. I looked at a Carrera 24 last week and the batteries in the engine bay weren't covered. Is this normal with a petrol boat? I know very little about boats but it seems insane to me to have a potentially sparking battery so in an enclosed space next to the engine.

The boat that springs to mind apart from the American cruisers is the Targa 27. You may not get a diesel for 20k but there are some pretty decent petrol variants in that price range.

http://www.boatshop24.co.uk/offshore-cruisers/fairline-targa-27/75259

 

[TQA]

Keep looking for a diesel.

If you want to trade up at a later date you will find the petrol inboard difficult to sell.

 

[BruceK]

Personally I'd be rather wary of a diesel in that price range. Hellishly expensive to repair for what is certain to be an engine long past EOL making for some parts etc to be unobtanium. With petrol the financial risk is lower with replacement engines being a fraction of the price. I was hell bent on diesel when I bought. Now I'm not so certain I would a second time around.

 

[wipe_out]

Keep looking for a diesel.

If you want to trade up at a later date you will find the petrol inboard difficult to sell.

Not true in my experience, I recently sold a 26ft petrol american sports cruiser (5.7L V8).. Probably seen as one of the hardest boats to sell on this forum.. Realistically priced I had no issue selling it and didn't take a big hit either considering I had no idea about the used boat market when I bought it and wanted a quick sale to buy the new boat..

Over the three years of ownership including depreciation, mooring, servicing, upgrades, fuel and repairs which includes fitting a complete new engine and replacing the canopy completely as the big jobs it cost us about £4k per year all in..

Personally I'd be rather wary of a diesel in that price range. Hellishly expensive to repair for what is certain to be an engine long past EOL making for some parts etc to be unobtanium. With petrol the financial risk is lower with replacement engines being a fraction of the price. I was hell bent on diesel when I bought. Now I'm not so certain I would a second time around.

I agree.. I have nothing against diesel boats and if you have the budget to get something good and relatively new then by all means it is the way to go but when the budget is limited I would opt for a newer petrol boat over an old diesel.. In addition as BruceK said if something goes wrong with the old diesel and you can't get parts you are in for mega money to replace the engine and probably the drive as well, if the petrol engine dies at worst you can swap the whole thing for a few £K plus labour..

 

[oldgit]

If you want to actually go anywhere.,dragging umpteen gerrycans from your local Tesco petrol station will eventually start to lose lose its attractions,the smell on your clothes and in the boot of the car will go quite quickly.
Virtually nobody sells marine petrol anymore and your nightmare worry will be finding fuel anywhere to get back home.
Everybody starts out with a petrol boat mainly cos they are cheap and usually immaculate due to fact that previous owners have not used the boats due to cost.
.Imagine a boat with long piece of elastic attached,you can only stretch it so far before it drags you back,willing or not, back to your base.
Buy a petrol boat by all means but bet you pound for penny you will be back on here asking what to get next sooner than you want.

 

[BruceK]

I'm not sure about the latter either. There are increasingly fewer new boats under the 30 foot class being built with inboards. I think that trend will start to see the resurgence of petrol availability. In addition while I was looking in that class I quickly realised that even when new the diesels were a lower sometimes marginal power option. And when I was looking not one could I find where getting on the plane wasn't just marginal, it was often impossible now that the engines were past prime. Sometimes you have to look past the diesel dogma and make the budget compromise. For me it was spending more than I wanted to by 10k. But in hindsight I think petrol may just have been the better option.

 

[Tranona]

Thanks for the replies

I'm looking for a boat that will comfortably have 4-6 people onboard and sleep 4 people in relative comfort too. I'm thinking of keeping the boat in Tollesbury marina and the majority of use will be around the blackwater and further off shore when I can. A little bit later down the line I'd like to be able to take the boat down to Cornwall, either via road or canal, (I'm not sure I'll be confident enough to go via the Channel) and use it down there for a few weeks a year.

Because I want to keep the boat at Tollesbury it's makes it easier to have a diesel. I looked at a Carrera 24 last week and the batteries in the engine bay weren't covered. Is this normal with a petrol boat? I know very little about boats but it seems insane to me to have a potentially sparking battery so in an enclosed space next to the engine.

Perhaps unrealistic to find a boat that will allow all that, particularly taking to Cornwall. Such a boat would be far too heavy to tow and it is not possible to use the canal system to get there. Going round the coast would be a holiday in itself.

Suggest you buy something relatively simple first to find out what you like about boating. learn how to use your boat and how to safely get around the place locally then you will have a better idea of what your next boat will be.