Ivory Gem

[Alpha22]

Everything you say is very sensible and valid. BUT it's still £13K for that boat. How many people that have thousands to spend on boating will choose to spend it on a 40 year old river caravan?

Err..... ME! I have a Freeman 32 that is slightly older than Ivory Gem and she does sterling service as a river cruiser and is taken out to sea a few times a year to stretch her legs. An extremely comfortable boat and happy at sea as long as the wind is under force 5. (limited freeboard once you get aft of the cockpit)
PS. I'm not retired and do not have a beard!!!!

 

[Actionmat]

I have a 45 year old boat and like you, I am not retired and do not have a beard. But I am partial to real ale and boring anyone who's willing to talk boats on the towpath, so perhaps my boat is more suitable than I thought

 

[oldgit]

But I am partial to real ale

Is it only the English gent who will spend 30 odd years forcing themselves to drink this abnoxious evil brew which tastes of boiled nappy, looks like last nights dishwater with added lumps and is then fully prepared to announce to an incredulous world he actually enjoys drinking the concoction
The breweries who produce this stuff complete with the carefully crafted hype probably cannot believe their luck while running to the bank

 

[Mirror Painter]

Is it only the English gent who will spend 30 odd years forcing themselves to drink this abnoxious evil brew which tastes of boiled nappy, looks like last nights dishwater with added lumps and is then fully prepared to announce to an incredulous world he actually enjoys drinking the concoction
The breweries who produce this stuff complete with the carefully crafted hype probably cannot believe their luck while running to the bank

I thought I was good at winding up the forum. Cheers!

 

[Mirror Painter]

Err..... ME! I have a Freeman 32 that is slightly older than Ivory Gem and she does sterling service as a river cruiser and is taken out to sea a few times a year to stretch her legs. An extremely comfortable boat and happy at sea as long as the wind is under force 5. (limited freeboard once you get aft of the cockpit)
PS. I'm not retired and do not have a beard!!!!

Sorry. I posted that when tired and didn't express myself properly. When I had a tiny cabin cruiser on the Thames it was of a similar age and cost a lot less. It was more fun than the £ related to. I loved the boat and everything about it.

What I meant to say was this:

13K is a lot of anyone's money and beyond that 'investment' are all the other costs. I doubt anyone new to boating would rush to spend that on such an old boat, with acknowledged osmosis trouble. Which is why it's'only' £13K.

I loved my time on the river but when the outboard was stolen it was ruined for ever. I had an end of field mooring - perhaps it's safer in marinas but there aren't any this far up river.

What's all this talk of beards?

 

[Mirror Painter]

^ there is a 'marina' - I concede. But it's not like the marinas you Oxfordshire and Berkshire people know.

 

[prof pat pending]

Lechlade? no, not quite the same.

TBH I'd have a Freeman over a binliner any day of the week.
I am quite partial to a real ale or six though

 

[Actionmat]

Is it only the English gent who will spend 30 odd years forcing themselves to drink this abnoxious evil brew which tastes of boiled nappy, looks like last nights dishwater with added lumps and is then fully prepared to announce to an incredulous world he actually enjoys drinking the concoction
The breweries who produce this stuff complete with the carefully crafted hype probably cannot believe their luck while running to the bank

Put it in a Soda Stream then chuck it in the fridge overnight and what have you got? Lager.

 

[mlines]

I had a good look inside a new Bayliner Ciera at the Boat show today, it was beautifully made (In Poland!) and trimmed.

£80k with two fridges, Hobs and 4 decent berths, I can't see anything more worthwhile at the price, or anywhere close to it to be honest.

We took a look over it today. Its certainly a lot of boat for the money. I realise its built to a budget and, having been a happy Bayliner owner, I know that they sometimes choose functionality over the asthetics. However I felt the switch gear (retro style toggle switches) and the switch panel lettering could have been made to look more upmarket than it did. I cannot see that a row of nicely illuminated Carling switches would have added to much to the cost and the panel and lettering looked only just a step up from Dymo labelling. As the switch panels screwed on I think I would have them customised to something more up market straight away. The show model did not have the radar arch and it looked strange because of that, however the salesman said that every sale so far has included the optional arch.

 

[No Regrets]

I'm not disagreeing with the switches, although I feel the toggles added a little charm in a 'Race car' way, and sort of suited the sporty pretensions.

Strangely enough, I was also looking at updating my own switches to those lovely Carling ones, but I have 18 of them. Thats about the same cost as a new engine....LOL