Is this a good idea?

[DMW]

Unfortunately I'm not yet in the same position as Steve101 and able to buy a brand new boat. I hope to be in a few years time, but until them am seriously considering acquiring a small, old, cheap yacht to practise my sailing and learn all about how to look after a yacht properly. My budget is modest and my aims high. Ideally I'd like something suitable for coastal and (fine weather) cross-channel with character and enough space for four to sleep, with cooker/heads etc. I have seen a number of interesting older 26 - 30ft yachts on the YBW boat shop pages within the £6000 - £8000 range.
Am I at risk of being a sailing Mr Blanding and getting into mountains of costs and work for something this price?
Also, what are the realistic limitations for such craft: I know people have sailed dinghies across the channel but at what point does one draw the line?

 

[dickh]

You can certainly buy older 60's/early 70's boats for your budget and most will be quite capable of cross channel or North Sea trips up to F8. Most of the grp boats of this age were built like brick s**t houses and you will have to look carefully at what you get for your money and see and compare as many as you can. A good place to compare is at sh boat sales - not sure where you are based but in East Anglia we have the Suffolk Harbour boat sale and Tollesbury Marina boat sale, both coming up soon, but not sure of the exact date except they are on consecutive weekends. Look in the boating mags or ring them up - Clarke & Carter for SH sale and Tollesbury (Woodrolfe?)Marina for the other. Always a good day out and you can look over as many boats as you like, both ashore and afloat. Both venues you can get good meals on site. Try Macwesters, early Westerlys, Jaguar 27's, early Leisures etc etc. Also several wooden boats available.
Goood Luck

dickh
I'd rather be sailing...

 

[vyv_cox]

It's more than a good idea, it's the right idea. The limits of a 26 - 30 ft boat are the crew. If they are prepared to put up with enough hardship they can go wherever they want. Perhaps you saw the recent programme on TV about the Norwegian guy who sailed to the Antarctic with two inexperienced crew members he picked up in Tierra del Fuego? The boat was something like 28 ft, looked as if it cost a lot less than your budget, no working engine, very poorly equipped. Yet they got to Antarctica, cruised for some months, had a great time and got back. Much too spartan for my tastes, but you get the point?

My first boat was 27 ft, very lightly built and low cost. Previous owner sailed all over the Irish Sea, Cornwall to Scillies, for ten years. He then sailed direct to Gibraltar, spent a year in the Med and returned. I owned the boat for 3-4 years, also cruising Scotland and Irish Sea extensively. I sold to two young guys whose pockets were bulging with redundancy money and they almost immediately sailed her back to the Med for a year.

I learned a great deal about sailing and maintenance by having a boat like this. You need to be careful with the survey, but there is plenty of scope for serious cruising in a cheap boat. Don't be put off by minor faults, you won't find perfection at that price. Fixing defects is half the fun anyway. Good luck.

 

[jamesjermain]

What you are suggesting makes a lot of sense; there are a number of boats around in your price range but you must go into it with your eyes open.

At the 26ft level you will find sound, reasonably well preserved models which are quite capable of cross-Channel cruising. Names like the Contessa 26, Invicta, Folkdanger, Kingfisher 26, Macwester 26, Leisure 27 and Sabre 27 pring to mind. However, you must accept that cosmetically some of these boats will be pretty ropey and you may have to accept that some of the non-essential equipment might not be working. How much this matters to you and how much you are prepared to spend on remedial work is down to you.

At you get to the top end of your range, you will still find the odd boat for under £8,000, but you will need another £2,000 to £4,000 to have any reasonable choice. Even at that level you will have to accept that the boat will need a fair amount of work, some of which will be essential safety work. Cosmetically you will be faced with a big task which is often beyond the reach, in terms of both time and money, of many people.

In view of your plan to gain experience for a couple of years before moving on I would recommend starting small, but better. YOur sailing will be more enjoyable and you will spend less time in the builders yard or bottom-up in the engine bay.

What ever you do you will be dealing with 'boats of a certain age' so do get a qualified surveyor to look over her.

JJ

 

[Guest]

If you can get a tidy Westerly Centaur it will easily see you cross channel and look after you in a blow. Good starter boats that have, at the risk of upsetting AC-B, becomming a classic. Go for it, I moved up from dinghys to a 28ft cruising boat and enjoyed the experience..

Pete

 

[Johnjo]

Agree with Dickh, Would also mention the Sabre 27 an excellant boat from the late sixties , Last one built by Marcon 1984 I believe, Excellant sea going quality's, With good performance,Possibly find a early or neglected one in your price range,If refurbishment is only cosmetic,Can be very satisfying doing the work yourself,saving a fortune and ending up with a better boat,Good luck with
your search,Several for sale on the Sabre owners website www.sabre27.org.uk
Mike

 

[Mirelle]

Far from it!

but I wonder if you will get a Centaur at the price?

I would respectfully suggest a Pageant, which is effectively a slightly smaller Centaur, with the same good qualities, but which sells for quite a bit less.

 

[Twister_Ken]

One fly in the ointment is ...

...mooring costs.

If you buy anything bigger than a kayak most of those who own, lease or otherwise manage bits of southern English sea bed will see you as a way funding their very comfortable retirement plan.

So before taking the plunge into ownership think carefully about where you'd want to keep it, and ask around to see how much it will cost. For that reason it often makes sense to choose a boat that can sit on a drying or half-tide mooring, or which you can take home on a trailer.

Otherwise your plan has all the hallmarks of extreme sensiblenessity

 

[Chris_Robb]

Also look at Folkoat and related - Contessa 26 Invicta etc. Much smaller internally than centaur type, but a delight to sail, and will go anywhere - well within reason.