How to move a boat?? :)

[BigVtwin]

Hi all. This is my first post, so be gentle.

I have done a search of past threads and cant seem to find the answer (or more accurately i am probably not asking the right question.. )

Very similar position to a few threads i have read on here -

We are total newbies, looking at buying a boat circa 26 - 32 foot.
RYA courses once this pesky virus relents and things get back to some kind of normality
Looking at Liverpool or Fleetwood to store
Weekends and overnights as experience is gained.

So the real question is if we buy the boat, how the devil do we move to Liverpool/Fleetwood without the experience necessary to sail her there?? ?

I would think our options would be - Road or hiring a crew to sail it???

Any advice would be gratefully received

 

[john_morris_uk]

There are several easy answers (assuming you’ve already got a birth for the boat at either of those places). You can hire a delivery crew or engage a delivery company who will deliver the boat for you or alternatively several road transport companies will take your boat and deliver it to where ever you want it to go at a price you also need to pay for a crane at either end lift it on and off the transporter.

One alternative that you might consider is hiring in a professional skipper to accompany you as you sail the boat to its new home. It’s then all down to how well equipped the boat is and how far you’ve got a take it. If it’s from the east coast all the way round to the Irish sea that’s quite a long passage. I suppose it also depends on how much experience you have and how adventurous you are.

PS. I think Liverpool is a far nicer option for a beginner to go sailing from than Fleetwood. Fleetwood entrance is slightly trickier with fewer places to go to close at hand and Liverpool entrance and approaches are extremely well buoyed with more places to visit that are closer and more interesting things to see on short trips.

 

[ryanroberts]

Halcyon can supply combined delivery skipper and training. You can do theory courses online.

 

[zoidberg]

John Morris is right about options.

I'd encourage you to think hard, and again, about your two choices of base port. Both present a range of difficulties for real beginners, and I'd have thought that a port which gives immediate, straightforward access to plenty of deep-enough water, without very strong tide-streams running hard across the lock entrance gates, and without mixing-it with volumes of commercial traffic, would make for a more pleasing and less stressful first few months.

Where is the boat at present?

It may be that sharing a delivery trip with someone properly competent AND compatible as 'person in charge' would make for a very satisfactory beginning.

 

[[70521]]

Much will depend on where you find your first boat. I got mine road transported as I did not fancy a trip from the Bristol Channel to the Exe at the end of March in a boat that I had not sailed before. As others have mentioned getting a professional to move the boat for or with you is another option.

When I sold my first boat it rather coincidentally went back to where I had bought it from!

 

[LittleSister]

In some instances someone selling a boat may be willing to assist you moving it to somewhere else if it's not too far, but this is definitely not something you can assume will be the case.

 

[Biggles Wader]

I would think about changing tack a little. Getting a boat moved by someone else is going to be expensive, and that on top of the expense of buying it and paying for its mooring and other costs. Doing the RYA courses is also going to cost a significant amount. I would think about delaying buying a boat and just do the courses as and when you can, thus gaining some of the skills you are going to need as a boat owner. Then I would look into gaining a bit of local experience crewing on other boats if possible. Sooner or later you will need this anyway even if your own boat has been bought and delivered. Then look at buying with the benefit of the knowledge and experience gained and do your own delivery as required.

 

[BigVtwin]

Halcyon can supply combined delivery skipper and training. You can do theory courses online.

That's a great idea

 

[Graham376]

With our first boat and only a Comp Crew course for experience, I hired an instructor for own boat tuition and did my Day Skipper practical on the sail from Hamble to Conwy, just the two of us.

 

[BigVtwin]

With our first boat and only a Comp Crew course for experience, I hired an instructor for own boat tuition and did my Day Skipper practical on the sail from Hamble to Conwy, just the two of us.

Graham - can i ask who you used please, as your home town is isnt too far from me. Was it Plas menai???

i think that this is a good way of gaining invaluable experience on your won boat as well as showing the required level of competency to pass. We have been discussing doing our Theory quickly anyway

 

[AntarcticPilot]

The simplest way is to buy a boat where you mean to sail, or sail where you buy. In general, that means you'll get a boat suitable for the waters it's sailing in, and no hassles in getting it to where you sail. If there aren't many boats where you want to sail, it's best to ask why not!

 

[jwilson]

In general I agree with AntarcticPilot: if you are inexperienced it is so much easier to buy a boat locally. Road transport delivery is moderately expensive, and you have also cranage fees at each end. But at least for a known cost the boat ends up where you want it.

Delivery by sea by a paid skipper/crew is often a a blank cheque - they can hit a series of storms on the way and time clocks up while you pay the crew to wait in harbour. A few delivery companies will offer fixed cost prices, but it's not the norm.

A delivery skipper with you as crew might sound a good idea, but a competent skipper will often want to head off and sail in weather that might terrify you. When working as a delivery skipper as I did for while I would not ever rely on an unknown person - even the new owner - as crew - too many become useless by seasickness. Unknown quantities ( ie you ) welcome to come, but I'd want crew I knew as well.

On the other hand a skipper giving tuition as you go can and might work out very well. Throw the dice on weather and your own attitude/seasickness-proofness.

 

[[159032]]

If you are thinking of buying a boat, wait a bit. The crisis and it's repercussions will lead to many yachties feeling the pinch and deciding to sell. The economic climate may not allow many to continue with their hobby.
The net result will be an oversupply of boats on the market and people eventually realising they need to accept a lower price if they have any hope of selling.

So, don't jump in too quick. There will be bargains to be had.

 

[RupertW]

If you are thinking of buying a boat, wait a bit. The crisis and it's repercussions will lead to many yachties feeling the pinch and deciding to sell. The economic climate may not allow many to continue with their hobby.
The net result will be an oversupply of boats on the market and people eventually realising they need to accept a lower price if they have any hope of selling.

So, don't jump in too quick. There will be bargains to be had.

Good points. And do remember most boats under 30 feet (maybe even 35 feet now) are essentially valueless after 10 years. It’s just a few hobbyists swapping great example between each other for more than they are worth - with the rest getting mouldy in a marina and near impossible to sell.

So pay little and do the boat up as you learn unless your pockets are deep.

 

[KompetentKrew]

Join a yacht co-op type club like www.phoenixyachtclub.co.uk - this gets you experience at about £50 a day., plus nearly free RYA qualifications.

I know there are others similar clubs / syndicates about.

I did this for a year, plus some other trips I managed to blag / volunteer / pay for, before buying my own boat.

 

[Refueler]

What happened to good old camaraderie where a guy wanted to get a boat ... and people would rally round and offer to help sail it ? Help to get it to desired location .. owner joins Club ... gets all the help he needs from club ...

I'm not a delivery skipper - I was offered chance by a well known boat builder but money was crap !! - but anyway I've assisted quite a few new people with their boats ...

No-one on forums now that help others ?? If I was still living in UK - I'd be offering to help.

Is it all down to 'cheque books' now ?

 

[Graham376]

Graham - can i ask who you used please, as your home town is isnt too far from me. Was it Plas menai???

No, I got an instructor from Hamble School of Yachting . It was many years ago and has changed hands since then but still has a very good reputation. If you want a ticket at the end of a course, have to hire instructor from an approved RYA school.

 

[Refueler]

I also find it interesting how things have moved on .. I know its been discussed many times as well by others.

Years ago ... it was usual to start with something small maybe up to 14 - 19ft or so ... then move up to dizzy size of 25ft or so ...

Then it moved so starter boats were in the 20 - 25ft ...

Moved again .. so starters were in the 30ft class ...

 

[Graham376]

A delivery skipper with you as crew might sound a good idea, but a competent skipper will often want to head off and sail in weather that might terrify you. When working as a delivery skipper as I did for while I would not ever rely on an unknown person - even the new owner - as crew - too many become useless by seasickness. Unknown quantities ( ie you ) welcome to come, but I'd want crew I knew as well.

On the other hand a skipper giving tuition as you go can and might work out very well. Throw the dice on weather and your own attitude/seasickness-proofness.

It actually worked well for me, I spent some time down in Hamble checking the boat out and did a couple of weekends with John, he was also the skipper on my Comp Crew course so knew my limitations and I trusted him. We did the trip in January, with just one stop at Falmouth but the weather was kind to us.

 

[jbweston]

Another advantage of buying a boat where you want to sail is that you can join a local club first before buying the boat, and friends you make there will help you in many ways. They may know the boat your are interested in, be willing to spend an hour looking her over with you before you buy or taking her for a test sail, etc., and they will know reliable local repairers and maintenance people. If you buy away from your club then that hour becomes an hour plus round trip travel which is more to ask and you lose the local knowledge, as well as having to get the boat from where you buy her to her new home port.

Also joining a club and sailing where the boat is (if suitable) can be a good option as again you will tap into local knowledge.

Conventional and good advice is not to buy a boat until you have had some experience as you will avoid buying something you want to change soon, either because it was a mistake or you find that you like a different type of sailing from what you expected - for example racing, or just local days out, or longer trips.

All of us offering advice here have made mistakes and we were all beginners once, even if in some cases that was in the very dim past.