Help please

[Pastit]

Hi, generally new to boating with little experience however looking to expand this but would really value some ideas and tips.
Thinking of buying what I would class as a day sports boat & trailer, 20 footer? Using mainly on inland waterways however would like to take also to coast on occasions both in this country and abroad likely south of France.
Are there any massive pitfalls, ideas, suggestions? Also never towed or launched a boat from a trailer, looks easy but is it? loads of questions, sorry.
thanks in advance.

 

[Mike k]

bump

 

[landlockedpirate]

Welcome to the forum.

Lots of options for the type of boats you are looking at, we really need more information to be able to make recommendations.

What kind of budget do you have, do you want to sleep on board, how many people do you want to cruise with, what kind of tow car do you have, this will give us a starting point.

There is no boat that will be perfect for all your requirements, but there are boats that should be an acceptable compromise.

 

[powerskipper]

Hi, generally new to boating with little experience however looking to expand this but would really value some ideas and tips.
Thinking of buying what I would class as a day sports boat & trailer, 20 footer?
Have look at doing a PB2
Using mainly on inland waterways, you will need ICC with CEVNI
however would like to take also to coast on occasions both in this country and abroad likely south of France.
Are there any massive pitfalls, ideas, suggestions? Also never towed or launched a boat from a trailer, looks easy but is it? loads of questions, sorry.
thanks in advance.
The RYA web site has info , also mendezmarine.co.uk has stuff on courses etc.

 

[prv]

To translate the last post into English

Hi, generally new to boating with little experience however looking to expand this but would really value some ideas and tips.
Thinking of buying what I would class as a day sports boat & trailer, 20 footer?
Have look at doing a PB2

PB2 means the Royal Yachting Association's Powerboat level 2 course, which is the standard course for smallish motorboats. You don't legally need a boat "driving license" in this country, but if you don't have any experience then it's very sensible to do a course like this.

Using mainly on inland waterways, you will need ICC with CEVNI
however would like to take also to coast on occasions both in this country and abroad likely south of France.

The ICC is the International Certificate of Competence, a kind of European "boat driving license" because in many countries you do need one. The CEVNI part is an extra tick in the box on that license which you need in order to go on the European canals and rivers. You don't need them in the UK so you could forget about it for now - though if the people running your PB2 course offer to do you an ICC at the same time it would probably make sense to take them up on it.

Pete

 

[superheat6k]

Make sure you buy something you can easily sell on. If you get the bug you may want to move up sooner than you think. If you don't you may want to get shot easily.

Many on here disagree about many things, but virtually all have caught this damn marvellous bug !

Welcome aboard.

 

[powerskipper]

Thank You

 

[RogerRat]

To translate the last post into English

Pete

Thanks,
Some of those worms are to big for Julie's spiel chucker.

 

[Pastit]

Thanks to all your comments its really appreciated, I have my PB2 this was taken 4 years ago but aware it needs to be updated shortly as I understand only lasts for 5 years. Not heard of ICC and CEVNI so thanks for that.
Boat wise thinking of about a 24-28 footer with accommodation (£30k ish???), currently have range rover so hopefully wouldn't have much of a problem with towing?
Cheers

 

[landlockedpirate]

Range rover means you can tow anything up to the legal limit of 3500kg. With your budget you have a healthy choice accross a variety of boats types.

There is a huge choice of trail-able sports cruisers, keep it under 25ft to keep it legal on weight. They are not perfect for inland water (they wander quite a bit and need constant steering input) but they do tick most of the boxes you want. The diesel fanatics will appear soon to tell you it must be an oil burner or you will die in a ball of flames/bankrupt yourself in a week, but IMHO these type of boats (at your price point) are much better suited to a petrol V8.

You should be able to pick something up thats no more than 5 years old, look for a fuel injected engine and a duo prop drive. They should also have most of the creature comforts needed to make staying on board doable for even extended stays. Dont forget to budget for the trailer, new ones are 4-5k and good used ones are 2-3k (if you can find one). My best advice is to go out and look a some, there are only 2 basic layouts with either the cabin door to port or central. Boats to look for:

Sealine S23/24/25 (This is the only boat that does work with the diesel option, but the boat will feel smaller than the American options)
Rinker 250
Four Winns 248
Searay 240
Maxum 2400
Bayliner 245
Regal 2565
Chaparral 240

There are lots more, but it gives you something to be looking at.

A word of caution, trailing something this big has huge advantages, its allowed us to cruise all over Europe, but towing can be hard work. Its too much trouble to take the boat out just for the day and we find that the minimum we use ours for is a long weekend. Slipways need to be carefully researched, I tow with a RR, but even that struggles for grip on poorly maintained slips with 3500kg on the back.

 

[Mike k]

Hi, generally new to boating with little experience however looking to expand this but would really value some ideas and tips.
Thinking of buying what I would class as a day sports boat & trailer, 20 footer?
Have look at doing a PB2
Using mainly on inland waterways, you will need ICC with CEVNI
however would like to take also to coast on occasions both in this country and abroad likely south of France.
Are there any massive pitfalls, ideas, suggestions? Also never towed or launched a boat from a trailer, looks easy but is it? loads of questions, sorry.
thanks in advance.
The RYA web site has info , also mendezmarine.co.uk has stuff on courses etc.

I got ICC simply by passing PB2 and joining RYA - may as well have it.

 

[rhino_mac]

I got ICC simply by passing PB2 and joining RYA - may as well have it.

I was told by my instructor this is all you need to do. Just make sure your instructor is RYA approved who does your PB2 and you can apply for ICC up to 10m I think (once you've coughed up to convert - or it's free to convert if you are already an RYA member).