Is boating in a death spiral?

RunAgroundHard said:
Except that is not happening. Most are buying ordinary, modern or new build houses in nice areas. A new housing estate in my home town, south of Glasgow, has quite a high number of folks that have moved up from down south, I think that is fairly representative.
Click to expand...
I'll admit that my experience (I've lived in the Outer Hebrides and then Skye for over twenty years) may not be representative of the rest of Scotland.
 
Supertramp said:
Imagine a world where everyone had a large house and a boat moored on the sea at the bottom of the garden - oh, that'll be Florida. No thanks!
Click to expand...
To be fair it seems like that's the entire east coast of the US. Some parts of it are very nice. But they do seem to spend a lot of time mowing the lawn- or at least their Honduran gardeners do.
 
Sea Change said:
The idea of retiring and selling your expensive house down south to go and buy a few acres and a miniature mansion in the Highlands sounds great, until you realise there's nobody around to do low paid work (like looking after old people!) because there's nowhere left for them to live.

It's not sustainable to have a housing market that isn't representative of local earning potential.
Click to expand...
But that is NOT the case. As I already said, my daughter is preparing to buy her own house, perfectly affordable here on not much above minimum wage job. There is no way on or slightly above min wage that would be even remotely possible down south.

I look at headlines about "housing crisis" in the Highlands and shake my head in disbelief. If you think there is a problem here, go and look elsewhere, then you will come back here and realise how easy it is.
 
RunAgroundHard said:
…..

The RYA are failing to promote cruising in yachts to any degree, which as an active member, is obvious to me and disappointing. Racing is such a bore, dancing to someone else’s tune, compared to cruising but the RYA can’t see that and are stuck in the racing rut. Cruising has so many benefits for physical and mental health and fits well with engaging with the natural world and distancing from societies stresses, broadens the mind, improves experiences.

….
Click to expand...
The RYA represent all forms of water sports, and as far as I can see they do promote cruising along with other forms of boating.
If you think this could be done better I am sure you would be welcome to contribute through volunteering to join their Cruising & General Purposes Committee. Good experience and hard work is always welcomed (and more effective than grumbles).
 
ProDave said:
But that is NOT the case. As I already said, my daughter is preparing to buy her own house, perfectly affordable here on not much above minimum wage job. There is no way on or slightly above min wage that would be even remotely possible down south.

I look at headlines about "housing crisis" in the Highlands and shake my head in disbelief. If you think there is a problem here, go and look elsewhere, then you will come back here and realise how easy it is.
Click to expand...

A quick glance at HSPC shows a few properties around or even under £100k not far from you. That's great news for your daughter. But I think the problem here is that Highland is a huge area. In my part of it, there's no way that a low earner can buy any sort of property. The cheapest property currently listed here on HSPC is asking £265k.*

I know your neck of the woods fairly well and it's very different. Higher density of jobs and housing, far better transport connections, and access to a more diverse range of housing, including lower priced options. I can see why you like it there. But the sailing is much better on the west coast :D

* I checked other sites after writing this, and found a house at £165k. It's 45mins from town on a mostly single track road. Almost zero prospect of any jobs closer than that. Would probably make a nice holiday let though...
 
Bouba said:
Ok...think of it this way...you are a mad keen soccer player....but the school has sold off the playing fields for a new housing estate....and the council has done the same thing with the public playing fields. All I’m saying is one day the rivers and estuary of your town, no matter where, will be home to another housing estate...and you will be crowed out of your hobby
Click to expand...
Aye, but that has nowt to do with liveaboards.
 
dunedin said:
The RYA represent all forms of water sports, and as far as I can see they do promote cruising along with other forms of boating.
If you think this could be done better I am sure you would be welcome to contribute through volunteering to join their Cruising & General Purposes Committee. Good experience and hard work is always welcomed (and more effective than grumbles).
Click to expand...
As a RYA member, I tend to agree little seems to be done for cruising members, but the encouragement to get people on the water for the first time, and develop their skills with recognised qualifications is healthy for boating in general. Without this support sailing would definitely become a shrinking sport. For this reason I continue to be a member, not what does the RYA do for me.
 
xyachtdave said:
Sounds wonderful!
Click to expand...
I suspect that 45 minutes on a single track is for two weeks early summer before the tourists clog the road with caravans....but just after the tractors have finished ploughing....but before they return for the harvest....and certainly not in the driving rain of autumn and the snows of winter
 
oldharry said:
Sailing is both cash intensive and time intensive - two commdoties which are increasingly under pressure in modern life, so that young families are increasingly excluded from the sport.

Older boats in the sub £10k market are increasingly financially non-viable to refit against equivalent boats in good nick. A 25 footer in good shape which can be picked up 'ready to go' has a cash value often significantly less than the the same boat 'needing a bit of tlc' qv major refit. Yes you may be able to pick up a neglected example for next to nothing, but refitting may be 6 moths or a years work with a final cost well in excess of the market price for a good one. It doesnt take long for an older boat to decay into this category.

Further, the cost of disposing of old hulls is not insignificant, frequently running in to 4 figures even after selling off anything re-usable, when you include the cost of moving the the derelict to a boat disposal faciltiy. I was quoted £300 to collect and dispose of a damaged 10ft grp dinghy three years ago to a facility just 12 miles away. Probably nearer £500 now.

Damaged 10ft dnghy free to anyone who wants it, needs a lot of work! EBay is not an answer as it will just go and sit in someone elses garden....
Click to expand...
I completely agree on the fixing up old boats. The most staggering cost I found is replacing engines, I cannot comprehend that those tiny little diesel engines (all ubiquitous used in industrial and farming equipment worldwide base engines) cost about 10 to 15k to get them in a boat. Somehow when a engine is "marinised" I feel it's mostly the price that is marinised. Outboards are much better priced for that matter and is one of the reasons I went for a boat that has an outboard engine.
 
Bouba said:
I suspect that 45 minutes on a single track is for two weeks early summer before the tourists clog the road with caravans....but just after the tractors have finished ploughing....but before they return for the harvest....and certainly not in the driving rain of autumn and the snows of winter
Click to expand...
I'm not sure how much rural Scottish driving you've done but I don't really recognise this description. Scotland's rural single track roads have issues but in most places caravans and tractors aren't fundamentally the pain points. Tourists can be an issue, but then they can also bring jobs which mean you might not need to commute to a town.
 
I don't know that I necessarily agree with the idea that boating is in a death spiral.

I think that probably how people choose to go boating is changing. And I can see that some people might look at horror at how people are now going sailing, with 36 feet really being the smallest size considered practical as a family boat...
But things move on.
 
dgadee said:
So the real problem is housing costs? We had years of the BBC news announcing property inflation as a good thing - "see how much your house is now worth!" - and little thought of the social problems that would arise from it. Councils spending a fortune on temporary accommodation whilst planners still give permission for AirBnBs in city centres. Madness.
Click to expand...
Never understood myself why house prices rising was portrayed as good.
 
shanemax said:
Never understood myself why house prices rising was portrayed as good.
Click to expand...
People feel richer..even if it’s not spendable cash…but it does encourage them to spend more on credit.
So a happy population keeps the government in office and spending on credit keeps the economy going.
So yes you are right…it’s not a good thing
 
Should anyone with a desire for cheaper housing and being near to the sea be reading this thread they need to be looking at the South Island. Cheap moorings to be had in the medina and a 2 bed house sub £200k or a flat for even less. Rental likewise sub £1k a month for a small house which when compared even with the bright lights of Pompey looks cheap. Loads of new houses being built(1000 pa I think the government told the IWCc) so plenty of houses and school places aplenty (they are closing primary schools due to pupil shortage) cheap fuel -no one drives much above 30mph -and plenty of green spaces /fresh produce/garlic farm type businesses . The only downside is don’t get ill or want to return to mainland. I’m sure other places in Hampshire are as cheap-Gosport say but it’s not quite the same ambience maybe
 
Stemar said:
Or have family living on the mainland who might want to visit. When I retired and moved from London, we looked at the IoW, and it would have been great, apart from the ferry prices.
Click to expand...
I thought the NI to Scotland ferry was the most expensive per mile in the UK, but you win.
 
Ah well, the boffins have thought about this pricing-per-mile monopoly..

if you put a continuous loop of non floaty rope between a pulley wheel at Keyhaven and one on Alum bay beach, you could save a few bob on sending parcels across.

Wouldn’t work for the mothers in law, I suppose, but you can’t have everything.

You would have Popeye arms though I guess
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top