Hi. New here. New to boating. Need advice

[dannylacose]

Hi all. Is a Jaguar 25 mark II good enough as a liveaboard ?

I don't know much about boats, but I've always fantasised about owning one. I'm in my mid-fifties now and I'm not getting any younger. So I've decided to go for it.

I like the look of the Jaguar. It looks sleek and pretty to me and I don't think I'll have any problems with the limited room, since I'm a bachelor who doesn't own much stuff anyway. The boat also looks like a good starter boat. Something that would help me get to grips with the new lifestyle and also help me learn how to sail.

I've seen one or two that I quite fancy. But I thought I'd seek your opinions first.

My budget is about 10 grand. I'll have more money if I sold my flat, but I'm saving that for my second boat maybe.

Anyways, like I said, I don't know much. Please help me make my dream come true.

 

[NormanB]

How tall are you?
The lack of standing headroom if you are a 6 footer may prove tiresome fairly quickly as a liveaboard.

 

[Tony Cross]

Welcome aboard!

The ideal boat is always 5 feet longer than the one you have.....

 

[dannylacose]

How tall are you?
The lack of standing headroom if you are a 6 footer may prove tiresome fairly quickly as a liveaboard.

I'm five foot seven. Thanks.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Hi
Many moons ago we had a jaguar 25 , which we sailed all over Northern Europe, great sailing boat and for a couple of weeks with two children's on board it was fun , not sure I want to live in one full time .

 

[LadyInBed]

A bit larger and heavier makes for a more stable platform. A lot depends on the amount of time you expect to spent sailing to that sitting in a marina.

 

[Sandyman]

Worth reading this: https://marinestore.co.uk/Sell_Up_And_Sail.html

 

[sarabande]

Danny,

No, definitely to the Jaguar. Nice boats though they are, she is simply not big enough for a comfortable liveaboard existence.

You have a budget that's more than capable of picking up a useable 30 to 35 ftr, which woudl give you a separate sleeping area, shower and heads, and a day area. It's important to separate the two.

What about moorings/marina ? What's your preference and cost choice ?

Do you have to buy a pure saily boat, or would a small motor-sailor with a weather proof wheelhouse be OK ? You must think about reducing the fatigue factor of living in a very small space.

How much sailing and voyaging do you intend to do with this boat before you go for your second one ?

Do you know much about diesel engines, 12v electrics, sailing theory and navigation ? How about the RYA Coastal Skipper course to start with ?


Dreams are great, and very important, but they have to be founded on practicality.

 

[vyv_cox]

Do you have to buy a pure saily boat, or would a small motor-sailor with a weather proof wheelhouse be OK ? You must think about reducing the fatigue factor of living in a very small space.

This is a very important point. Our 26 ft Colvic Northerner, very much a motor-sailer, has more living space in it than our Sadler 34. Neither of us is tall, so headroom below is enough for us but the wheelhouse has far more headroom.

 

[Kelpie]

The question of where the boat will be kept is almost more important than the choice of boat itself. In a well appointed marina the boat might be somewhere to sleep and eat, and everything else is done ashore.

 

[dannylacose]

Danny,

No, definitely to the Jaguar. Nice boats though they are, she is simply not big enough for a comfortable liveaboard existence.

You have a budget that's more than capable of picking up a useable 30 to 35 ftr, which woudl give you a separate sleeping area, shower and heads, and a day area. It's important to separate the two.

What about moorings/marina ? What's your preference and cost choice ?

Do you have to buy a pure saily boat, or would a small motor-sailor with a weather proof wheelhouse be OK ? You must think about reducing the fatigue factor of living in a very small space.

How much sailing and voyaging do you intend to do with this boat before you go for your second one ?

Do you know much about diesel engines, 12v electrics, sailing theory and navigation ? How about the RYA Coastal Skipper course to start with ?


Dreams are great, and very important, but they have to be founded on practicality.

Thanks. Lots of tough questions.

Like I said, I know next to nothing about boating. But I'm a quick learner. I'm a dab hand at DIY if that's any help. The RYA coastal skippers course is definitely on my to do list.

The mooring/saling ratio would probably be about 80/20 to begin with . With time however that could rise to about 50/50.

Mooring fees of anything up to three grand a year would suit me fine.

 

[dannylacose]

Thank you everyone for your replies.

The RYA Coastal Skipper course is definitely on my to-do list in the foreseeable future.

Regards the boat, I suppose I still have some more looking to do. I still like the Jaguar though. At first glance the space inside it seemed okay to me. But I'll defer to your superior wisdom and inspect a few other boats as well before I finally make my mind up. But I'd definitely prefer a sailboat over a motor boat.

Although I don't know much about boats I'm eager to learn everything I can. No better way than to own one I reckon.
Navigation, engine, sails, rigging, electrics. Those are things I'm going to have master over time.

Regards mooring fees, I'll be happy with anything up to 3 grand a year. Obviously I haven't decided on a location yet. But I'll be doing a lot of research on that and asking a lot of questions.

Regards cruising I'll be aiming to start slow. The odd five, ten miles out and back, every now again, while I master the intricacies of sailing. Eventually (no timescale here) I hope to be doing what everyone else is doing and sailing my boat to whichever place catches my fancy.

Number one priority at this point however is find a boat I'll be comfortable living in. But I don't really need that much space. That's why the Jaguar appealed to me. When eventually I move out of bricks and mortar, most of my meagre belongings would either be gotten rid of or stored elsewhere.

Eventually, after I know my way around, I may decide to sell my London flat and buy a bigger, newer boat. I reckon I've got about 60 or 70 grand worth of equity locked up in there, so that should open up my choices some. Then again, I may be happy enough with my first boat and decide to hang on to it.

Though I've got a lot to learn, I've got a lot of time to learn it in. I'll be retiring in about 13 years. I don't intend to be in an old people's home when that happens.

Keep the ideas coming guys. Your contributions are much appreciated.

 

[Tranona]

There are many types of liveaboard. If you are looking for a substitute for a land based home on a permanent basis then a 25' ha severe limitations. However if you are looking to spend long periods such as week time while you are working, or going off for a few weeks at a time but maintaining a land base, 25' is doable providing you accept a lifestyle somewhere between camping and caravanning.

If the boat becomes your only home then you need to look at 30'+, and even then accept that your lifestyle will be minimalist. Suggest to partition off your flat into a space similar in volume to a boat, move your bed, dining table and kitchen basics into the space and try living in it.

To give you an idea, I lived on board a 26' for a year, 4 nights a week working in a boatyard. Just about manageable as there was a weekend to recover! Later in life bought a boat to stay for extended periods aboard (6-8 weeks at a time) in the Med. 37' for two was a good compromise for 2 people for ease of handling and comfort, although in retrospect wish we had been bolder and gone up to 42'.

 

[dannylacose]

I'm looking at a Westerly Longbow Ketch within my price range

http://www.boatshed.com/westerly_longbow-boat-225023.html

Would this sort of boat be good enough as a liveaboard ?

 

[RupertW]

I'm looking at a Westerly Longbow Ketch within my price range

http://www.boatshed.com/westerly_longbow-boat-225023.html

Would this sort of boat be good enough as a liveaboard ?

That's a nice looking boat (don't know what it's like inside or the rigging/sails condition) and if the 6 1 headroom carries forward for the whole saloon it might work for you. Whatever the broker notes say it won't a "performer' but that isn't the first thing on the list for your needs but it would be a good intro boat for you, and certainly a chance to learn how to maintain and fix things.

I would have a look and decide whether (with your own stuff around you and a fan heater to keep it warm and dry) whether you'd be happy getting on board every night no matter what the weather. Oh, and do you do the kind of job that needs a suit and ironing?

 

[dannylacose]

Oh, and do you do the kind of job that needs a suit and ironing?

Yes. But why do you ask ?

 

[NormanB]

That would be much better prospect than a Jaguar as a liveaboard. From the pictures it looks OK but that can only be a superficial assessment and a physical examination would be required preferably from a knowledgeable friend.

Of course you are buying an old boat and you can expect a fair bit of fettling to do. Hope you are DIY inclined and capable on that front.

To consider it as a liveaboard you may wish to explore how you are going to keep warm and a full cockpit tent may also be worth looking at as it will keep the inside of the boat dryer and warmer.

In passing and a minor point, the engine looks tidy but the engine plumbing needs attention - those nylon hoses are not really fit for this purpose.

 

[Kelpie]

Yes. But why do you ask ?

Because if you live on a small, old boat, it's much easier to go to work smelling of damp and diesel.

 

[Bru]

I'm looking at a Westerly Longbow Ketch within my price range

http://www.boatshed.com/westerly_longbow-boat-225023.html

Would this sort of boat be good enough as a liveaboard ?

That looks suspiciously like it's lying in Fambridge Yacht Haven where Essex Boatshed are based ... and so am I!

I've done the liveaboard thing on a Sabre 27 for the best part of a year, gorgeous boat she was and we loved her to bits but in the end she was just too small and although perfectly set up for cruising she lacked facilities that are fairly important for living aboard all year round

I'm now living on board a Westerly 33 ketch, the Longbow's somewhat larger successor, and it's a vastly improved experience. I'd say that Longbow looks a pretty good bet for a solo liveaboard

You do need to consider that in the depths of winter a fan heater simply will not cut the mustard. I don't care what anyone says, when the temperature gets below and stays below freezing even a 2kW fan heater and a 500W supplementary heater couldn't keep the 27 footer bearable and there'd be no hope on the bigger boat/ Anything you buy won't have much at all in the way of insulation and the heating bill on marina shore power would be astronomic (I'm now running a 4.1kw blown air heating system which works a treat and costs less than half as much to run but even so I've burnt through well over a hundred quids worth of diesel since Christmas and that's at 100% domestic use rates)

There's a whole raft of other issues too which I could write pages about and it occurs to me that if you're interested in that Longbow and decided to have a look at her, you could come and have a chat over a coffee or something stronger and pick my brains on what I've learnt about living on a yacht at the more budget end of the market

HTH
Bru

 

[Tranona]

That is much more like it. Looks in better than average condition and would make a good first boat for liveaboard.