How to buy a cheap boat that comes with mooring?

[Dellquay13]

Thanks for these replies, it's a lot more than I expected.

I can see what most of you are saying; that what I'm looking for isn't really a thing. I thought there would be a certain % of sellers who couldn't afford the boat/mooring and you could get them both together. No worries.

The reason why I wanted that setup is because I'm banned from driving so I can't move it on my own.

The reason why I wanted a boat in the first place was because I'm a bit of a prepper and I wanted somewhere to stash some stuff (somewhere that I owned rather than rented) It's funny that lock-up garages were mentioned because that was the original idea but the cheapest boats are cheaper than the cheapest garages.

The area I was looking for is south Wales. Anywhere from Pembroke in the west to Bristol over the border but preferably more south central Wales.

From what I've seen, the fees for a ~20ft boat are ~£100 per month which is affordable.

In terms of upkeep, I can do any easy jobs myself and anything mechanical or technical I could ask some friends. I wouldn't even be thinking about trying to sail it anywhere for ages anyway.

You won’t get a transferable marina berth included with a boat purchase in Pembrokeshire.

Both marinas have waiting lists and when a boat is sold, unless the seller has a new boat to put in its place within weeks, they lose the berth to the next person on the waiting list, but they are still liable for the remainder of their contract fee. The seller cannot pass the berth on to the buyer, it is forfeited if not continued in their name.

Marina berths in Pembrokeshire are also a lot more expensive than £100 per month.

Moorings on the Milford Haven are not transferable either. They are on waiting lists administered by local groups on behalf of the Port Authority.

 

[DCI Burnside]

I've been reading some other beginner type threads here and watching some youtube videos and I'm starting to understand the breadth of the potential pitfalls involved in this. I think, because of these, I would need a separate/reserve budget just in case. I feel like whilst I could do the hard work, I would also need a lot of specialist knowledge and equipment (which I don't have) and that amount of money would basically bring me to where I could afford a lockup garage instead. For the sake of simplicity, that just seems like a wiser bet. This is a cracking forum though with lots of detailed and informative answers, high volume of posters and no trolling which is quite rare these days! Thanks for all your help.

 

[DCI Burnside]

Marina berths in Pembrokeshire are also a lot more expensive than £100 per month.

Happy to be corrected if I've misunderstood this but this place has a 25ft boat mooring at under £100 a month.

Instant Quote - Rudders Boatyard

 

[Dellquay13]

Happy to be corrected if I've misunderstood this but this place has a 25ft boat mooring at under £100 a month.

Instant Quote - Rudders

that is for a swinging mooring mid river. Basically an anchored buoy you tie your boat up to.
To rent that size mooring from the port authority direct is a little over £100 per year for the licence, but you have to supply and maintain the mooring tackle to a professional level, around £1000 to get the mooring supplied and laid, about £300 per year to get it serviced.
Not many insurance providers cover boats afloat all year on swinging moorings in the haven. Rudders get around the winter restriction by being a moorings supplier and contractor business.

 

[DCI Burnside]

I did suspect it was too good to be true. Your reply mainly confirms that I don't know anywhere near enough to get involved in this.

I've pretty much ruled out the idea anyway but I did know that this was in a river. My instinct was that river water would be less corrosive?? than sea water. Is that true? Could you estimate the typical annual mooring cost for a ~20ft cabin cruiser in south Wales (not including plush areas like Cardiff Bay)?

I wouldn't insure it anyway. Insurance is a negative sum game. Like roulette or fruit machines for property. A premium for big business to prey on your fears.

 

[Mark-1]

I did suspect it was too good to be true. Your reply mainly confirms that I don't know anywhere near enough to get involved in this.

I've pretty much ruled out the idea anyway but I did know that this was in a river. My instinct was that river water would be less corrosive?? than sea water. Is that true? Could you estimate the typical annual mooring cost for a ~20ft cabin cruiser in south Wales (not including plush areas like Cardiff Bay)?

I wouldn't insure it anyway. Insurance is a negative sum game. Like roulette or fruit machines for property. A premium for big business to prey on your fears.

A marina would certainly require third party insurance. A swinging mooring likely would too.

You're right to quit this plan. Even a small boat on a mooring is unlikely to work out cheaper than a garage (I've rented a garage in the past), and unless it's a really nice one, carries the liability of large disposal costs if you can't sell it in future.

Go for the garage.

 

[Sailing steve]

I wouldn't insure it anyway. Insurance is a negative sum game. Like roulette or fruit machines for property. A premium for big business to prey on your fears.

No insurance?

What would you do if say, you were involved in a collision that was deemed your fault and during the incident you caused several thousands of pounds of damage to a third party's boat or inflicted life changing injuries to another person or knocked somebody overboard and they subsequently drowned.

Entirely aside from the moral responsibility issue here, unless you were well covered by insurance that incident could potentially cost you every penny you've got.

 

[xyachtdave]

^
He did say he was banned from driving.

 

[Dellquay13]

No marina, mooring business or boatyard is going to entertain a ‘prepper’ using a cheap boat as a floating shed ostensibly until the ‘end of days’.
They all know how much such ventures are likely to cost them in time and money when the rent inevitably stops coming in.