Hi new potential boat owner

[lynall]

I will start by saying i know nothing about boats and i mean nothing
I am off to look at a Falcon 23 spc next week and i am after some advice what to look for?
Its though a brokers i gather
How do you buy a boat is it like buying a car privately/dealer etc, does it need a survey?
The engine is a 5 litre v8 petrol, seemes pretty common Volvo Penta so im assuning as so commonn must be good?
What do i look for on a stern drive or is it a z drive?
Any advice on marinas around Maidstone or ones to avoid?
Sorry for all the possibly stupid questions

Ps i could not see an introduce yourself section.


Thank you
Lynall

 

[WilliamUK]

Hi Lynall.
I can't offer any advice on what to look for when buying (my boat-buying knowledge stretches only as far as buying a Lark dinghy - work needed - on eBay and first seeing it in person when the owner delivered it), but while you wait for replies from those who do, you might want to try searching as I'm sure there will have been similar or more general threads.

You can use the forum's search function, or try the following on google (as the built-in search isn't always amazing):

site:ybw.com/forums then enter your search terms

If you leave off the /forums bit it will check the main site in case there are any useful articles on there. The site:.... bit limits the search to whatever site you've put there and will work for just about any site on the internet (some exceptions for badly made sites).

I'd have thought terms like this would help:
site:ybw.com/forums buying first boat advice look for


Best of luck with your search for a boat. If you've got a sailing club or marina in mind, maybe there's someone there who'd come along to see the boat and check it over with you for a few pennies or some beer.


I don't regret letting my heart lead me into a boat purchase... but I wouldn't recommend it either. Be cool.

 

[prv]

Also may be worth asking over on the Motorboat ("mobo") forum, as this one tends to be mostly sailing boat types. Some advice will apply to both, but the Mobo folks will know more about 5 litre v8s - my own engine (in a small sailing boat) is a diesel about 600cc

Pete

 

[Twister_Ken]

Lynall,

Before the mobo guys seduce you, have you considered the fuel bills for a 5 petrol litre engine? Ain't gonna be cheap if you want to go at speed, and if you don't want to go at speed, it's too big.

BTW, marine Volvos have a fierce reputation for pricey spares.

 

[Seajet]

Hi Lynall,

welcome to the forums, you might get more info specific to the boat you're looking at on the Motor Boat forum.

It might be well worth your while to undertake an RYA powerboat course, these things are fun and a good way of meeting like minded people.

I don't know the Falcon 23, but as a general thing I'd suggest

learning the rules of the sea as in keep to the starboard side of channels,

learn the buoyage system and at least elementary navigation,

obey speed limits,

have lifejackets for all on board,

a bucket to bail out with,

an auxilliary engine to get you home if the main one fails

if not conversant with the engine, get trained on it, the lives of yourself & others along depend on that -

a good torch,

flares

a hand held VHF - after taking the very short course to get a licence

a suitable anchor with at least 30 metres of nylon line.

These are not 'nice to have' as a wishlist, they're essential !

Have fun !

 

[Nicholas123]

I think Dylan might be able to give plenty of advice

 

[neale]

I will start by saying i know nothing about boats and i mean nothing
I am off to look at a Falcon 23 spc next week and i am after some advice what to look for?
Its though a brokers i gather
How do you buy a boat is it like buying a car privately/dealer etc, does it need a survey?
The engine is a 5 litre v8 petrol, seemes pretty common Volvo Penta so im assuning as so commonn must be good?
What do i look for on a stern drive or is it a z drive?
Any advice on marinas around Maidstone or ones to avoid?
Sorry for all the possibly stupid questions

Ps i could not see an introduce yourself section.


Thank you
Lynall

Hi Lynall

The Falcon 23 is a lovely little boat. As long as it hasn't suffered any damage or been badly neglected she should be good.

V8 petrol engines of this age are pretty bullet proof too, old american technology. Do you know if it is fuel injected or carb? Injection engines are a bit more complicated but offer better fuel economy. Carb engines are simple but can be juicy top run.

Outdrives can get expensive to repair so a well maintained one is a must. I would definitely suggest you get a good survey done if you don;t know what you are looking for yourself. Make sure they also look at the engine and drive, although they will only comment on what they see, it can still prove useful.

What sort of use are you hoping to get out of the boat. Just a bit of pottering up and down the Medway or trips further afield. Allington marina seems nice but I have no personal experience of keeping a boat there.

 

[maby]

Just do your sums first and make sure that you can afford the fuel to go as far (and as fast) as you need to in order to feel that you have justified the purchase. That is going to be quite a thirsty boat and, if fuel prices continue to rise at their recent rate, may be difficult to sell in a few years time. If your budget will cover your anticipated usage and you can accept the probable depreciation - go for it. We'll watch out for you along the Medway - rather stormy just at this moment!

 

[[70521]]

Hello

Welcome! Before I would buy any boat I'd spend a summer or two as a crew with others and join a club as it will let you learn the ropes and consider if it's really for you before parting with your hard earned cash.

 

[maby]

Hello

Welcome! Before I would buy any boat I'd spend a summer or two as a crew with others and join a club as it will let you learn the ropes and consider if it's really for you before parting with your hard earned cash.

Crewing opportunities are not always easy to find - particularly for aspiring mobo owners! On a sailing boat there are lots of things that need pulling and tieing off - many raggies are grateful for an extra pair of hands. Mobos are more point and click - easy for two and not particularly hard for one - so less opportunities for crewing and you are really just making yourself a guest!

We just dived in with a very cheap boat, gave the other occupants of the marina endless amusement, and we're not too bad now a few years later. Boating is an expensive passtime and you need to do your sums carefully. Cheap boats still seem to sell quite easily, so you should not get stuck with one for too long. Mid to high priced boats seem to be moving a lot more slowly these days, so you really need to do your research first before you commit to anything costing more than a small number of thousands. Your marina fees could be well over a thousand per annum, so you don't want to find that you cannot afford to run the boat, but cannot afford to keep it tied up either and it will not sell for a year or more!

 

[neale]

Just do your sums first and make sure that you can afford the fuel to go as far (and as fast) as you need to in order to feel that you have justified the purchase. That is going to be quite a thirsty boat and, if fuel prices continue to rise at their recent rate, may be difficult to sell in a few years time.

If you want to go further and faster then a diesel boat would offer much more affordable running costs

 

[Spyro]

You do say it yourself that you know nothing so I think it would be a good idea to find out how much fuel a 5l v8 petrol uses. You might get a fright.

 

[maby]

You do say it yourself that you know nothing so I think it would be a good idea to find out how much fuel a 5l v8 petrol uses. You might get a fright.

Even a modern diesel mobo can easily turn in performance figures of a couple of miles per litre - at the current prices a trip to London and back from the Medway could easily cost a couple of hundred quid!

 

[Lakesailor]

Similar size boat, same size engine (injection)

Maxum 2200 SR3 (2009-) Test Result Highlights
•Top speed for the Maxum 2200 SR3 (2009-) is 49.9 mph (80.3 kph), burning 19.3 gallons per hour (gph) or 73.05 liters per hour (lph).


•Best cruise for the Maxum 2200 SR3 (2009-) is 35.6 mph (57.3 kph), and the boat gets 3.42 miles per gallon (mpg) or 1.45 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 154 miles (247.84 kilometers).


•Tested power is 1 x 220-hp MerCruiser 5.0L EFI.

Looks like about 10gals per hour at 35mph
20 gals per hour a5 50mph

But like I say, haven't the faintest idea if they are similar boats.

 

[neale]

Similar size boat, same size engine (injection)

Looks like about 10gals per hour at 35mph
20 gals per hour a5 50mph

But like I say, haven't the faintest idea if they are similar boats.

Not sure but I suspect your examples are from the US so the fuel burn is in US gallons.

I found when running and old school V8 that it burnt around 8-9gph at cruising speed. Obviously a bit of time is spent at less than cruising speed so the average burn was probably around 7gph. Full throttle gets very juicy so best not go there. Something like 18gph from memory.

Same boat now has diesel and gets through a fair bit less.

 

[Lakesailor]

Well your figures are not a long way from the quoted ones.
Still scary at £7 per gallon.

 

[neale]

Well your figures are not a long way from the quoted ones.
Still scary at £7 per gallon.

True, but what you have to keep telling yourself is that you can get a long way in an hour. Dover to Calais for £56 ain't too bad. Admittedly the sailors amongst us might not agree, considering they can do the same for pretty much nothing, but then they do take considerably longer than an hour to cross the Channel.

 

[prv]

True, but what you have to keep telling yourself is that you can get a long way in an hour.

And as a mate's dad with a 6 litre petrol v8 in his car tells me, it's not "miles per gallon" but "smiles per gallon" that matter

Pete

 

[maby]

And as a mate's dad with a 6 litre petrol v8 in his car tells me, it's not "miles per gallon" but "smiles per gallon" that matter

Pete

Absolutely - provided you can afford to move it however far you need to in order to justify the cost of purchasing it! There are people in this marina who seem to move their boats about three times per year - the rest of the time they sit on the foredeck sipping Pimms - if that works for them, good luck to them! They don't worry about fuel consumption!

 

[lynall]

Brilliant thanks for all the replies, certainly wasnt expecting that
Looked at the 23 spc and er it was a dog, maybe i was expecting to much but for 9k i was after something tidy, that i could service once a year with a handful of other jobs every now and then.
Bearing in mind i know nothing about boats, even i could see it was a dog, with a recent fresh blow over of paint, engine was almost a sheet of rust, had a load of work done in 2010, but being a truck mech myself i could tell from the write up the stat had gone, cooked the motor and all the other bits he was boasting about replacing were because his mech had said they were fubarred and needed replacement full stop, ie he spent because he absolutely had to not because he wanted to.
Lisa was a bit miffed with me as i think she thought i was being an arse! but has now agreed with me spend a little more and get something we can use straight of and not have to rebuild, then hate it as its needed so much time and money spent on it.
Once again i really appreciate all the replies, especially the comments ref diesel power, now of to search for the motor boat forum/bit.



Lynall