Hello pleased to meet you all

Thankyou for all your words of wisdom.. I’m disappointed I can’t have the fly bridge and I continue to look … I intend to live about for many weeks at a time I just found this .. hopefully it’s not too big but still has all I want from herView attachment 128627
Looks like a sea boat, engine’s probably too big. You need 50hp not 400hp. I know you might dislike my negative posts now but later in your boating career you will realise why I am being negative ….…promise.._
 
There are plenty of sea boats on rivers so that's not the primary concern really .
However its the physical dimensions of the boat vs the bridge clearances on the waterways that is the issue here .

Consideration should also be given to where the boat will be lifted in together with the bridges to be cleared to get it to the start point at Tattershall
 
Thankyou for all your words of wisdom.. I’m disappointed I can’t have the fly bridge and I continue to look … I intend to live about for many weeks at a time I just found this .. hopefully it’s not too big but still has all I want from herView attachment 128627

Much small than the 44’ flybridge but i still think you’ll be too beamy and with too much draft for the river Ouse. And that will never fit under Barford bridge so you’ll be further East of there regardlesd.
 
And it’s utter madness…__

There are those of us who keep and use their boats on a river but enjoy the occasional sea trip.
Others never leave the river . Some rarely leave the marina. It's their choice and its not for anyone to dictate who should do whatever they please.
Clearly the OP would like a sea boat - finding one that fits is the challenge.
 
Look at the sort of boats being used on the area you wish to cruise.
Talk to some of the owners and take their advice.
I would suggest a 35 ft ex hire craft with midships sliding canopy and collapsible screens.
 
I know it is a sea going boat I intend that once I’ve learned all the necessary things I need to know is to take it across to france and also crossing the wash if barford bridge is to most western point I can get to that is fine barford is a great place to moor up
 
I found this regarding boat size on the great Ouse…….
The River Great Ouse
Length: 23m (70ft)
Beam: 3.15m (10ft 4ins) (Special technique required to go upstream of locks)
Airdraught: 2.4m ( 8ft) (Offord Lock)
Draught: 1m (3ft 3ins)
 
The hobby that dare not speak the truth .
To be brutally honest the boat market at its lower end depends on ab initio boaters buying all those totally unsuitable money pit orphan boats with petrol engines and outdrives etc to keep the market afloat.
A lot of hidden truths in the above posts, most of us (those without access to oodles of cash) have trodden this perilous path among old heaps well past their sink by date.
Many of us ignored the advice offered by more experienced boaters, thought we knew better and jumped in with both feet and paid the price.
To sum up, read the above advice , then ignore it and make all the same mistakes.
Welcome to the world of boating you will not regret it, you will also never have the worrying problem of having too much cash ever again. :)
 
All the above points are well made -there is no point in getting a boat that won't go where you want it to, or which has engines too powerful for the speed limit.
The one thing I will say, though, is not to be put off by size (within reason and subject to the above) for your first boat. My first was a Princess 435 fly (I was taking it to the Med) and with good on boat tuition, dayskipper theory and practice, and a lot of practice I handled it perfectly well.
 
Over here first time users can hire a 40ft+ boat to use on the rivers and canals without any instruction, however you cannot use a boat of that size if you own it and have not passed the licence tests both theory and practical.
You can use a boat up to 15m as long as it cannot go faster than 20km/h without a licence - some regulations changed on 1st Jan here in Belgium.
From 1 July 2021 , a practical test is mandatory to obtain a pleasure boat license. Sails will be tested separately. The tests are taken by recognized practical test centers that are audited and recognized by our FPS. The skills and practical knowledge are clearly described in the attainment targets. The certificate indicates whether the test was taken for motor sailing or sailing.

From 1 January 2022 , the driver of a pleasure craft must also have a license at sea. This obligation applies to a limited group:
  • faster than 20 km/h on a motorcycle;
  • longer than 15m;
  • or business/professional use.
This obligation also applies to inland waterways. In this way we guarantee the safety of every pleasure boater in the increasing traffic on the North Sea.

Note – tolerance policy until June 30, 2022.

The legislation provides that from 1 January 2022, a sailing license is also mandatory for private use at sea (for the group of pleasure craft that can sail faster than 20 km/h propelled by an engine or have a hull length of more than 15 m). Alternatively, a certificate of experience is sufficient. However, in order to give the sector the necessary time to organize the associated refresher courses for all candidates, a tolerance policy will be applied until June 30, 2022 with regard to certification at sea for private use. The assessment of foreign pleasure boat licenses, which after assessment can be deemed sufficient, is still ongoing.
The general pilot's license is sufficient for private use on the Belgian sea (also beyond 6 nautical miles).
Nieuwe wetgeving pleziervaart | FOD Mobiliteit
 
All the above points are well made -there is no point in getting a boat that won't go where you want it to, or which has engines too powerful for the speed limit.
The one thing I will say, though, is not to be put off by size (within reason and subject to the above) for your first boat. My first was a Princess 435 fly (I was taking it to the Med) and with good on boat tuition, dayskipper theory and practice, and a lot of practice I handled it perfectly well.
Completely agree. I'm just trying to prevent the OP from having coked up diesels with failing turbos and being gassed to death in river locks by large smoky suffocating diesel engines......
 
As above, some good advice there. Exercise caution and fact finding as you are is very wise. I have grown up with sea boating and last year I did my first ever river/canal boating on a narrow boat. Although it was 65ft long as supposed to the 44 you looked at, there is no comparison in size and complexity. Something a few feet wide and made from 10mm steel plate that you can ricochet your way in and out of locks with a 30hp diesel compared with 2x400hp - they are worlds apart. It seems to me that the guys with the knowledge suggesting a 30-35ft river boat just smacks of common sense. After all, if it doesn't suit after owning for a while then change it. If you pick a model of boat that is both practical and popular - it is for a reason, it works. Plus easy to sell on if you wish.
Apart from anything else, a 44ft flybridge for £75K - runaway!!
 
Thankyou for all your words of wisdom.. I’m disappointed I can’t have the fly bridge and I continue to look … I intend to live about for many weeks at a time I just found this .. hopefully it’s not too big but still has all I want from herView attachment 128627
Great spacious sea boat, I’ve got a very similar S37.
Again check the height, those arches with radar on the top are very high.
I notice from the ad, two different engines KAD43 and KAD44, must be a typo no one would ever do that.
Sealine 360 Ambassador | 12m | 1995 - Berkshire | Boats and Outboards
 
I know it is a sea going boat I intend that once I’ve learned all the necessary things I need to know is to take it across to france and also crossing the wash

A great ambition, but do note that sea-going navigation and boat skippering is a whole other world about which you can only (at best) learn about in theory while your boat is in the river.

Do make sure you know what you are doing when you get to the stage of moving out to sea, and don''t imagine your first trip out to sea will be to France or across the Wash. Potter about locally and then do some shorter trips (all of which is fun and interesting) to find your feet and discover the shortcomings of the boat, and any repairs/adjustments/additional kit required to it, for that sort of use, before attempting to embark on a serious sea voyage. Doing an RYA Dayskipper course, at least, would be very useful.

Navigation of the Wash is challenging, and a breakdown, say, that would be a minor embarrassment or inconvenience in a river could be deadly at sea.

Good luck with your plans. Hope it al comes together for you.

I notice from the ad, two different engines KAD43 and KAD44, must be a typo no one would ever do that.

You think not? :ROFLMAO:
 
The thing to remember about the wash is that often once out you are staying out till the next tide, it's better now kings lynn has a floating pontoon but LW water entrances are still not going to happen.
That said my first ever sea trip was an un-accompanied 6 knot run from denver sluice to wells in an old RLM31 and took about 10 hours till safely tied up again, had done vhf and day skipper theory and learned along the way with some help from local knowledge.
 
I notice from the ad, two different engines KAD43 and KAD44, must be a typo no one would ever do that.
Yes it looks like a typo as both are stated as 230hp which makes them kad43 , plus the throttles are cable type also suggesting kad43
Looks like a good boat . Maybe a hinged arch conversion would make it suitable?
 
Yes it looks like a typo as both are stated as 230hp which makes them kad43 , plus the throttles are cable type also suggesting kad43
Looks like a good boat . Maybe a hinged arch conversion would make it suitable?

Martyn,

I simply don't understand why a 460hp sea going motorboat would be described as suitable? Unless the OP is intending spending a decent chunk of time in salt water then there's just no point? I understand from the OP that he intends cruising a fenland river and the Gt Ouse, I've done three years on the Ouse and know it well, he really really doesn't want 460hp.....

To be sure I'm not intending to be critical or argumentative or difficult - I just don't get it. I had a Fairline Targa 39 (2xKAD43's) which I cruised from Plymouth to La Rochelle, great boat and engines and ideal for salt water cruising. Prior to that I had Viking river boats with Honda outboards on the back.....ideal for the river. I've now swapped code and have not many horses and big white flappy things.....so I've no idea what I'm talking about!
 
Martyn,
I simply don't understand why a 460hp sea going motorboat would be described as suitable?

It's potentially suitable in that it appears to be the sort of boat the OP would like .
There are plenty of sea boats up here where I am on the River Trent and many don't go to sea. I only get to sea one fortnight a year myself when we like to go to Wells Next the Sea via the Humber and the rest of the time we are on the on tidal and tidal river and using little power most of the time.
 
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Simple formula for those with a budget calculated right down to the last £.
As much boat as you can buy not totally unsuitable for your purposes in your particular location and hopefully with important stuff working long enough to find out if you are in this rediculously absorbing pastime for the long run.
My boat choosen after umpteen swaps, several expensive upgrades and one or three expensive disasters is exactly right for my type of boating it has taken 40 + years to get there.
Am surrounded by impractical boats totally unsuitable for the purposes for which their owners use them.
Their owners frequently appear to be having a lot more fun than moi. :)
Just buy something, get on with it and regret at leisure along with the rest of us.
 
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