I bought a new boat :)

[TopDonkey]

I'm getting really excited now!, i've owned a norman 20 and a princess 32 before but had to give them up due to family commitments in the past and have been without a boat for 7 years, but finally, at last, i am back !!!!

This is what i just won and i cant wait to get stuck into rebuilding it

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....934423&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_500wt_1156

 

[TopDonkey]

I forgot to add, that i am going through a divorce, dont have anywhere to live (i stay with friends and family at random at the moment) so i want to liveaboard my boat and will be trying to get it up to scratch asap so that i can move in !

I expect to be a long term liveaboard, so will start by fully insulating the boat and making it waterproof and fitting decent heating and ventilation systems

 

[Forbsie]

The listing has been removed so, come on, what is it?

 

[TopDonkey]

Dont know what happend to the link, it was working yesterday !

heres a new link to it, but its a Python 27 boat

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....934423&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_500wt_1156


I havent been able to find out much about them at all really, they were made by toughs boat yard in the seventies, and thats about all i can find

 

[Forbsie]

If it's a Tough's boat, ask Teddington Lock in the Thames Forum as he may be able to find some info.

Where are you going to keep her/do her up?

 

[nimbusgb]

A very very brave man!

 

[sarabande]

I think you are on to a winner, with a bit of elbow grease. Best of luck in sorting out somewhere to live, and for the future use of the boat.

You couldn't pick a better time of year to do it anyway ! All the spring sunshine to come...

 

[Vern]

Good luck, sounds like a plan!

 

[TopDonkey]

I bought my previous princess 32 as a wreck and spent 2 years rebuilding her, I bought her for £4000 and sold her in the end for £13,000 so my standards are high !

I'm going to keep her in reading for at least a few months to get started on the refurb and get her liveable and running, but ultimately, i want to be based on the south coast somewhere around Bournemouth/Southampton sort of area really, all my family live in Chard in Somerset, so i'm prefering somewhere towards that sort of area if possible as thats where i am living at the moment !

The boat looks a lot worse that in really is in the pictures to be honest, the facing panels have all been removed internally, so you are looking at the backing of everything which is always in an unsightly condition on any old boat, all the fabrics and cushions will get thrown away and replaced (using the old as templates where necessary) and i'll just gradually go through it doing everything as needed

 

[Zanziba]

I am starting to think that we should have a "Divorcee" thread Ha Ha !

Good luck, I like your plan.

 

[TopDonkey]

I am starting to think that we should have a "Divorcee" thread Ha Ha !

Good luck, I like your plan.

Are there other divorcees with the same idea as me then ?, I suppose if you are a boating fan, then its the logical way to go really, renting a flat to live with bills is a minimum of about £400, my mortgage on my 3 bed semi was only £480 a month !!!, so boat living seems a nice way to give myself a permanent holiday along with somewhere to live

 

[Zanziba]

I am one (my thread is "Ticking clock" one) but I have a couple of years to go until I am afloat. I have read of least another 2 or 3 of us!

I am guessing that not only did we have an interest in sailing whilst married but our significant others did not so it's not just about accommodation and living a different lifestyle but also pursuing a hobby that has been denied us?

I look forward to seeing your thread develop as you post photo's of the work you do on the boat and get her up to scratch. I don't possess the skills to buy a boat that needs a lot of refurbishments!

 

[blueglass]

who dares eh? obviously you do OP and good luck to you with the project. Actually looks a lot of boat for that money.

 

[wazza]

Well Top donkey you do have alot of work in front of you that's true, but.... SOOOOO much fun doing it I'm sure
But you seem to have a time press on you as you said you are living here n there, was just wondering when will you get time to do the work and what will you start with???

I do love the idea..

 

[TopDonkey]

Zanziba, yes your right, my significant other wasnt at all interested in boats !, 10 years ago i had a princess 32 moored in windsor and i was out on it almost every weekend, so i'm glad to be back !, us divorcees will need our own section on this forum !

Thanks Bluegrass, i will enjoy it !

Wazza, Yes i do have lots to do, but i am self employed printer engineer and only work when one of my customers emails me saying they have a printer problem, i am going down to see my new boat tomorrow and take loads of pictures of it and pay for it at 11am, so i will be posting pictures tomorrow evening hopefully, i have a printer to fix onsite at a customers in brighton tomorrow afternoon too

I have a van that i have part converted into a stealth campervan so can do a few nights in the back of it in reading whilst i put in the hours to sort the boat out, i only work 2-3 days a week, so should have lots of time to put into working on it, my whole family are looking forward to day trips out on it later this summer, and they are providing financial and my brothers will provide help with working on it where needed, so i think that it should be ready to sail within 2 months time, and ready to live in within 4 weeks.

I will start with the looks on the outside, i think the boatyard are fed up with it looking neglected and abandoned on the outside, so i will start by cleaning and polishing it and possibly scraping the antifouling off and reapplying it to smarten it up, then i will sort out the back bedroom, then the bathroom (i want a loo with a holding tank) then the kitchen area and lastly the seating area and v berth at the front, i will be insulating the whole boat as i go along with closed cell foam mat glued to the back of all linings to try and keep it warm and keep condensation at bay

 

[goosewing]

Congrats, you sound excited, lots of work i see but you're obviously looking forward to getting stuck in. The name says it all.

 

[TopDonkey]

Heres the link to the pictures that i took yesterday when i went down to see it for the first time and pay for the boat, i'm now officially a boat owner again and very happy

http://s1124.photobucket.com/albums/l569/topdonkey/