If you had to choose a <£30k yacht from the market right now, which would it be?

[Tranona]

Unfortunately with these cheaper boats, it makes the delivery and survey form a significant portion of the purchase price. I think to get the Sadler 34 from Kent to Largs, we'd be looking at about £2k. Add £1k for a survey and it's adding circa 15% to the price. Looks like it needs a new sprayhood, stack pack and a bunch of updating.

It might be that if a suitable smaller boat comes up in the west of Scotland and we can use it to learn on, we may be swayed towards ownership.

It's a nice choice to have I suppose, but a tough one.

Does not make sense to buy a boat down south. You are right - transport is £3k+ with lifts and mast handling. Survey £600 tops for this size boat. Plus the driving backwards and forwards, over night stops. My 2 trips from Poole to Neyland when buying my boat cost £200 in fuel and £70 overnight stop. If that Sadler is the one I think it is, I would not cross the road to look at it!

You are right - buy a boat locally, preferably one in the water and working. OK so you pay the lift for the survey which does bring it up to £1k, but this will be the best £1k you spend. As I said before, choose a good surveyor like Ian Nicholson (there are others in the area but he has a good reputation) and go with him so that he can explain everything as he goes along. You will need the survey to get insurance anyway so maximise the value by using his expertise.

 

[salad]

Does not make sense to buy a boat down south. You are right - transport is £3k+ with lifts and mast handling. Survey £600 tops for this size boat. Plus the driving backwards and forwards, over night stops. My 2 trips from Poole to Neyland when buying my boat cost £200 in fuel and £70 overnight stop. If that Sadler is the one I think it is, I would not cross the road to look at it!

You are right - buy a boat locally, preferably one in the water and working. OK so you pay the lift for the survey which does bring it up to £1k, but this will be the best £1k you spend. As I said before, choose a good surveyor like Ian Nicholson (there are others in the area but he has a good reputation) and go with him so that he can explain everything as he goes along. You will need the survey to get insurance anyway so maximise the value by using his expertise.

The Sadler I saw this morning is this one: Sadler 34 for sale UK, Sadler boats for sale, Sadler used boat sales, Sadler Sailing Yachts For Sale 1986 Sadler Yachts 34 - Apollo Duck

Edit: I completely misread what you typed. Corrected now!

 

[KevinV]

Don't know if of any interest, but I saw a boat for sale opposite Glencoe Boat Club a few weeks ago - looked a bit like a Trapper 300, which is why it caught my eye. Didn't look closer as I'm not in the market,so it could be a shed or a lost diamond.
A bit smaller than you've talked about, but probably a lot cheaper too, and not too far from where you want to be.

 

[salad]

Don't know if of any interest, but I saw a boat for sale opposite Glencoe Boat Club a few weeks ago - looked a bit like a Trapper 300, which is why it caught my eye. Didn't look closer as I'm not in the market,so it could be a shed or a lost diamond.
A bit smaller than you've talked about, but probably a lot cheaper too, and not too far from where you want to be.

Thats very kind of you to post. I think a 26 is going to be too small for our family to stay on unfortunately.

 

[ylop]

The rental scheme seems great and is, if you just want to go and cruise, but we're probably going to need to sit around and learn stuff just by being aboard, which would be a waste of allocated days.

I'm not sure what stuff you will learn being aboard? What would be a frustration is booking it when the forecast said F3 and sunny and you get there and its F5 gusting 6 with drizzle and the family aren't so keen to go out. Either you drag them because you are paying or you "waste allocated days". I think that is the reality of family sailing - even if it wasn't through a "rental scheme" you'll be planning ahead around other stuff, you'll have a long drive, and sods law it will be someone's ruby wedding anniversary dinner or some other hell on all the nice weekends! some people who own part shares think they use it more because the prior commitment forces them to go when the weather is mediocre rather than waiting to see if next weekend is better.

Plus everything you'll need, you have to take with you, which is a major pain when kids are involved. The amount of stuff is ungodly even just for a day at the beach.

This is undoubtedly a major draw back. Even just knowing that the galley will have certain tins/packets in it would be really convenient, before you put kids in the mix. On the other hand when they leave something behind on the boat because you don't have to empty it each time - you will have a long drive to retrieve it!

Everything is taken care of berthing and maintenance wise under these schemes, but not sure if thats a good thing if we want to own our own boat in the short term, as we're not going to learn anything about maintenance.

You may still find you get to do some emergency fixes - when you are stuck on an anchorage and the windlass stops working or the roller furler stops winding etc. I think that's a friendly intro to fixing stuff rather than "oh shit, a new furler is going to cost £1500 and we've never sailed without one so the boat is 'useless' till we do".

Unfortunately with these cheaper boats, it makes the delivery and survey form a significant portion of the purchase price. I think to get the Sadler 34 from Kent to Largs, we'd be looking at about £2k. Add £1k for a survey and it's adding circa 15% to the price. Looks like it needs a new sprayhood, stack pack and a bunch of updating.

You've got survey costs wherever it is. Prices seem random to me - I've not seen an obvious differential between South Coast and Clyde. There are more boats but more buyers in the south. One problem you have is it is 5hrs each way just to go look at a boat.

 

[Stemar]

On the other hand when they leave something behind on the boat because you don't have to empty it each time - you will have a long drive to retrieve it!

No, they do without until the next trip. You'll only have to do that a couple of times before they get the point. How good are you at ignoring or otherwise overcoming temper tantrums?

You may still find you get to do some emergency fixes - when you are stuck on an anchorage and the windlass stops working or the roller furler stops winding etc. I think that's a friendly intro to fixing stuff rather than "oh shit, a new furler is going to cost £1500 and we've never sailed without one so the boat is 'useless' till we do".

Stuff does fail without warning, but far more often, it gives a bit of warning. The friendly fix is realising that something isn't quite right and fixing it at your convenience before it becomes a £1500 issue, which is something you'll be better able to do on your own boat.

I agree that buying a "cheap" boat 100s of miles away isn't smart, nor is it cheap, but I'm still firmly of the opinion that an adequate boat now gets you sailing - and learning now. It also allows you all the days on board you want, when you want.

 

[Tranona]

The Sadler I saw this morning is this one: Sadler 34 for sale UK, Sadler boats for sale, Sadler used boat sales, Sadler Sailing Yachts For Sale 1986 Sadler Yachts 34 - Apollo Duck

Edit: I completely misread what you typed. Corrected now!

That is a different boat to the one I was thinking of and looks quite reasonable. It is a bit odd with the wheel steering. Don't think many were built with that, but apart from restricting movement in the cockpit not necessarily a bad thing. They seem a bit confused about the engine saying it is a "32hp 3 cylinder Beta" when the photos clearly show it is a 4 cylinder. Don'y yhink they ever made a 32 so suspect it is a 35 and arguably too bog for the boat.

I was maybe a bit hasty in saying don't buy down south. The only thing that really matters is establishing a price that gets the boat to where you want it in the condition you want. it does not matter too much how that price is arrived at and the actual purchase cost is only the entry ticket. There really is no fixed price for the boat as there are so many variables. The warning about buying a boat a long way away is that the "extra" costs can mount rapidly, but may not be important if you get what you want.

 

[lustyd]

from Kent to Largs

If you're in Largs this may be of interest. Sails like a dinghy but it's comfy for cruising following some changes by the current owner. It's based in Portavadie but he'd probably deliver it with you.

Boats for sale UK, boats for sale, used boat sales, Sailing Yachts For Sale One Tonner Juno - Apollo Duck

 

[Salt'n'shaken]

The Friday at the Southampton boat show is association day. There will be models of various older manufacturers there to have a look at, plus you can pick the brains of the association members (mine have been worth their weight in gold and are incredibly helpful). That way you're ready to pounce if the right boat comes up, as you know what particular idiosyncrasies to look for before you have to get a surveyor involved, as it's still a seller's market currently

 

[xyachtdave]

If you're in Largs this may be of interest. Sails like a dinghy but it's comfy for cruising following some changes by the current owner. It's based in Portavadie but he'd probably deliver it with you.

Boats for sale UK, boats for sale, used boat sales, Sailing Yachts For Sale One Tonner Juno - Apollo Duck

I like that!

 

[Tranona]

If you're in Largs this may be of interest. Sails like a dinghy but it's comfy for cruising following some changes by the current owner. It's based in Portavadie but he'd probably deliver it with you.

Boats for sale UK, boats for sale, used boat sales, Sailing Yachts For Sale One Tonner Juno - Apollo Duck

I had to check the calendar (old retirees lose track of time) that it was not April the First!

Could not imagine a more unsuitable boat for somebody with no experience looking for a family cruiser.

 

[38mess]

How about a westerly longbow? I know of a pretty good one for sale at £10k. It has the old MD2B engine tho.

 

[xyachtdave]

I had to check the calendar (old retirees lose track of time) that it was not April the First!

Could not imagine a more unsuitable boat for somebody with no experience looking for a family cruiser.

I think you’re probably underselling Salad’s ability to hit the ground with his feet running and learn on the job!

 

[ridgy]

I think you’re probably underselling Salad’s ability to hit the ground with his feet running and learn on the job!

Running backstays = No
If that's your thing there is a first class Europe in Plymouth for 10k. Shows the real value of this type of boat.

 

[xyachtdave]

Running backstays = No
If that's your thing there is a first class Europe in Plymouth for 10k. Shows the real value of this type of boat.

Was just a joke suggesting Salad could grow into it!

Runners don’t mean £10k though!

 

[lustyd]

Running backstays = No
If that's your thing there is a first class Europe in Plymouth for 10k. Shows the real value of this type of boat.

The running backstays are only necessary with full main up as the boom was shortened. It's actually very easy to sail, I've done several trips on her. Family cruiser can mean many things, and I think there's a bunch of unique stuff in this one that make it perfect to have kids on board

 

[salad]

How about a westerly longbow? I know of a pretty good one for sale at £10k. It has the old MD2B engine tho.

Could I ask how old it is? I've pretty much discounted 70's and 80's boats due to likelihood of stuff failing. Obviously things can fail at any age, I just figured it was more likely on an older hull and/or original engines.

 

[salad]

I think you’re probably underselling Salad’s ability to hit the ground with his feet running and learn on the job!

Anything is controllable with the jib only half unfurled. I am prepared to look silly for a while.

Carbon masts...shiny!

 

[xyachtdave]

Anything is controllable with the jib only half unfurled. I am prepared to look silly for a while.

Carbon masts...shiny!

Hey, it comes with a spare mast if you get it wrong!

I note the lack of photos of the interior on the advert, brace yourself for what looks the inside of an empty polystyrene cup.

If you’re lucky there’s some bungee netting where you’d usually find a saloon

And a big pile of sails on the floor.

But you’ll certainly be going faster than most!

 

[lustyd]

I note the lack of photos of the interior on the advert, brace yourself for what looks the inside of an empty polystyrene cup.

Haha yes I've no idea why he didn't include more pictures. The inside is actually rather nice and includes an oak kitchen top, among other niceties which are obviously not original, along with a built in spirit bar to keep the booze safe on passage! He even replaced the ladder with some steps ?

I'm not trying to sell it btw, I mentioned it just because it's very local and a good boat