Help, New boy needs basic advice

[Guest]

Hi

Ive decided I want to buy a motor boat with the eventual aim of taking it aroung the Med. Ive looked around and I think I could live in a 30 ft boat. I can afford 25k.

Are boats like Pricess 32, Freeman 32, RLM 32 going to be properly sea worthy?

What considerations should I make when choosing such a boat?

Ive been sold the idea that twin diesels are the way to go, but whats the minimum power I should consider (as when Im on the move economy will be very important) ?

What exams will I need to pass to be able to take such a boat around the Med?

Any advice very gratefully received, please stop me making a big mistake by buying the wrong thing or even worse taking the wrong thing out to the sea.....

Cheers

 

[Guest]

The easy bit is that all boats are seaworthy up until the point at which the meet a wavy sea, or a very wavy sea, or very very very wavy sea. "Seaworthy" isn't a precise term. But a 30foot boat would be able to go around the med, if you chose the right boat, and the right times when the sea isn't too wavy. In a 30-footer, anything more than a force 4-5 coming at you or a force 6 behind you is a bit uncomfy. But it won't get smashed up until you hit the coast.

You need a radio telphony exam (takes a few hours maximum) and an International Certificate of Competence (powerboats). You don't need to taker any "exam" other than these, so make sure that if you get tuition, you'll get these qualifications.

As to the boat, depends how fast you want to go. It'll be cheaper the slower that you'll accept travelling, becasue the engine will be smaller. But you need to be able to do say 12 knots to be able to get out of trouble against the tide. nearly every boat you sea (on the coast, but not on a river) will be able to do this.

As to the specific boat, they all vary. There's no fab-second-hand boat as (say) a Mercedes car is (usually) fab 2nd hand - because a quick reliable boat will soon be very slow and leaky and unrelaible if it hasn't been looked after. And the hardly-used ones can be worse than the used-a-lot ones. You need to go and find a specific boat and post here and say "are such and such with xyz engines any good?".

A "sea trial" involves going out for a blast on a boat that you fancy, and see if it feels okay, goes nice and quick etc. A surveyor then gets it taken out of the water and checks that it is okay underneath.

25k is at the lower end of 30foot boats for serious boating, and once the 25k is spent, there's fuel, maintenance and berthing can add 15-30% depending on how lucky you are on the purchase, where you keep it, and how much fuel used.

As far as keeping a boat like this (under 12m) in the med, consider dry berthing (there one near Cannes la napoule, use a search engine to find it) so they just lift it down from a (very big) shelf when you turn up.

Likely options include Searay, Fairline, Sealine, Sunseeker for open (med-style) boats, although the sunseeker will be less space more speed for the same boat length. You need shorepower and an awning ("Bimini") and two diesels is definitely the best option, as petrol in the med is not always easy to find, and the same price as road fuel.

good luck

 

[Guest]

Re: Seaworthiness

A bloke (nutcase) in the marina we are in took his 30ft narrowboat across the channel to France, cruised the canal all last summer and then brought it back again. Needless to say, he's a bit weird...

Sorry - didn't see the second post. I repeated a lot in mine.

 

[Guest]

...Mercedes car is (usually) fab 2nd hand ...

You've heard about mine then?
- pile of junk!

I'll be getting a mondeo next time!