Hi All, new(old) buoy onboard.

[Wightwill]

Good Afternoon,
Just wanted to check in and say "Hello".
Originally from Shetland I grew up with boats and the sea and worked afloat in various industries most of my life. I haven't had a boat in a long time though what with work and moving around.
Settled in the Isle of Wight now and am looking to get back on the water for fun as well as work. Quickly realising it is not a buyers market but hey ho.
Currently sizing up a Storebro that has some issues and would welcome any advice from anyone who has one or has worked on one. Also quite like the Princess 30DS but none around, in my price range, with shafts at the moment.
Would also like recommendations for yards around the eastern Solent that do good work and won't take my arms and legs in payment.
Thanks in advance
Will
Oh and if anyone on the island has got the kettle on and fancies a natter I'd love to come round and check out your pride and joy. I'll even bring the biscuits.

 

[oldgit]

Welcome.
Can only comment on the 30DS. Good solid boat,seem to be few for sale in the UK, one flybridge recently advertised has had its price reduced by 25% recently. Only comment 30ft is usually regarded as to small for a flybridge.Once apon a time a decent DS could have been bought for 25-30 K
Looking at your likely boating area would suggest that something with a pair of 125hp diesels would be preferable, any 30DS with smaller engines ie. 80HP will be very slow, realistically expect 8-10 knots .
The Thames could be a good hunting ground right on your doorstep , with a caveat about engine care.
Thames boaters (Not All) tend not to to worry about the boat conking out 5 miles offshore, when the worst to fear is a slow drift the river bank.
Diesels & Shafts all the way of course, even if the seller will give you money to take away his petrol boat with outdrives.

 

[colhel]

I was waiting for a local to respond to your query about boatyards, as the only one I can think of on the Eastern side is Bembridge but I've never used them or heard any feedback from others. There's loads up and down the Medina from Cowes to Newport.
Lovely part of the World to live btw .

 

[Leighb]

We owned a Storebro 31 Biscay until recently which we owned for about 5 years. Lovely boat, very nice accommodation for 2, or a family of 4. Old Volvo engines can be a bit of a nightmare and we never quite got ours sorted, mainly problems with cooling. Ours had the TMD40s, later ones with different engines may be better? Some have been reengined which would be ideal.
The other thing to be very wary of is the lovely wooden wheelhouse structure. Check it very carefully for rotting sections where water has leaked in.
We did look at a few 30DSs before we bought the Storebro, They seemed nice boats although a bit plastic feeling inside. The DS layout may suit you better. We did not see a nice one and preferred the look of the Storebro.

 

[burgundyben]

There's a few of us on ybw on the island and we have the occasional cuz in Cowes.

We even get the odd north island visitor.

 

[dj43]

Hi and welcome, we keep our boat at East Cowes, can highly recommend Richardsons at Island Harbour on the Medina, they have carried out works on our boat, to a very high standard, they are old school, no drama and have some very experienced employees, unlike some of the other yards, and there rates are very competitive, I would avoid Kingston marine services, part of cowes commission, they damaged our boat on lift out then blatantly denied it ,

 

[Wightwill]

Welcome.
Can only comment on the 30DS. Good solid boat,seem to be few for sale in the UK, one flybridge recently advertised has had its price reduced by 25% recently. Only comment 30ft is usually regarded as to small for a flybridge.Once apon a time a decent DS could have been bought for 25-30 K
Looking at your likely boating area would suggest that something with a pair of 125hp diesels would be preferable, any 30DS with smaller engines ie. 80HP will be very slow, realistically expect 8-10 knots .
The Thames could be a good hunting ground right on your doorstep , with a caveat about engine care.
Thames boaters (Not All) tend not to to worry about the boat conking out 5 miles offshore, when the worst to fear is a slow drift the river bank.
Diesels & Shafts all the way of course, even if the seller will give you money to take away his petrol boat with outdrives.

Totally agree that the 30DS is too small for a fly bridge and nearly spat my tea out when I saw the price of that one North of the boarder although I think that may have been a sneaky ploy to make it look better value at 39k. There was one for 20k in the south of France but it went before I could seriously think about it. Would have been a major headache to deal with but at that price it would have been worth further consideration. There is one in NI aswell but the owner never got back to me when I asked for more pictures. Just have keep looking I suppose.

 

[Wightwill]

There's a few of us on ybw on the island and we have the occasional cuz in Cowes.

We even get the odd north island visitor.

Great. Let me know next time and if shifts and shore bosun allow I'll come along.

 

[Wightwill]

I was waiting for a local to respond to your query about boatyards, as the only one I can think of on the Eastern side is Bembridge but I've never used them or heard any feedback from others. There's loads up and down the Medina from Cowes to Newport.
Lovely part of the World to live btw .

Thanks Colhel, that's good to know.
I was looking for one on the mainland as the boat I'm looking at will need to be trucked down from inland if I get her and needs a little bit of work while out of the water so I thought it would be easier to do that before I take it across the Solent.

 

[Wightwill]

We owned a Storebro 31 Biscay until recently which we owned for about 5 years. Lovely boat, very nice accommodation for 2, or a family of 4. Old Volvo engines can be a bit of a nightmare and we never quite got ours sorted, mainly problems with cooling. Ours had the TMD40s, later ones with different engines may be better? Some have been reengined which would be ideal.
The other thing to be very wary of is the lovely wooden wheelhouse structure. Check it very carefully for rotting sections where water has leaked in.
We did look at a few 30DSs before we bought the Storebro, They seemed nice boats although a bit plastic feeling inside. The DS layout may suit you better. We did not see a nice one and preferred the look of the Storebro.

Thanks Leighb.
Had a look at one last week and the wood work was definitely an issue along with the fact the engines had been serviced in 3 years but I really like the look and layout of the boat. The price asked reflects this so the question is whether to suck it up and do the work on this one or wait for a better one or 30ds to turn up.?

 

[Hambleite]

Hi Wightwill,

I'm sure you've looked at all the webpages related to Storebro but in case you haven't, I'd recommend browsing through www.storebropassion.de

I very nearly bought a 34 in February 2020 but decided to wait out the inevitable uncertainty created in March 2020!

For Storebro boats there are often more for sale on www.scanboat.com. These boats tend to have a premium but they also tend to be well looked after.

Happy hunting!

 

[Wightwill]

Hi Hambleite,
Yes I've had a look at Storebropassion, very interesting to see all the history. I have been trawling Scanboats as well but it would be quite a hassle buying a boat from Scandinavia and would add a bit into the overall cost.
I've decided not to pursue the one I was looking at here as there was quite a lot of work required, which I don't really have the time for at the moment. Happy just to sit on the sidelines and watch for now to see which way the market heads now.