c_j
Member
Weymouth Sea front that is.
My daughter sent me this and I replied but really I am in the dark but there are plenty of you guys who know the real answers.
To: 'dad@stone.uk.com'
Subject: Boats!!
Morning Dad,
A friend at work, Hilary, is interested in buying a small motor boat and
when I said that you had one she wondered if you might be able to give her
some advice.
She lives in Weymouth, knows nothing about boats but fancies something big
enough to pootle out in to the bay in & maybe go as far as Lulworth. Her &
her partner have 2 young children aged 3 & 5 so it would need to be suitable
for them and she would like it to have a kitchen & toilet.
Apart from advice about the sort of boat to get, she would also need
somewhere to moor it & would like to do some kind of basic training just to
familiarise herself with steering/driving the thing & basic map-reading etc.
If you have any helpful comments for her she would be really grateful, even
if it's just advice about where to go to find out about the above.
Thanks,
Have a good day, any plans to go out on yours today?!
Liv xx
My reply:
Hi Liv,
Boats eh.........
First of all I subscribe to an internet forum at www.mby.com and if Hilary joined the motor boat chat forum and posed this question then the answers would come flooding in from people who have done exactly what she intends. In fact I may well post the question myself so as she will be able to see the answers without the bother of signing up (its free)
sorry if the answers seem a bit back to front but she will understand why when they get their boat.
Size of boat:
This depends on budget and age of boat. Really they are looking at boats of 23 foot or more to have the Galley (kitchen) and Heads (toilet). Just showing off really with the words cause Sandra insists on calling them toilets and kitchen. I do baulk a bit at sitting room (saloon) and back bedroom (aft cabin) but what the heck.
Start looking at boats of about 18 foot because you always buy a boat about 10 foot longer than you intended.
A boat of 22 foot could accommodate two adults two kids, but take a look around as I am not up to speed with this
Where to keep it.
If I lived in Weymouth there is no doubt I would keep the boat in the marina in Weymouth. but there are two other options.
Trailer
and you tow it around, you save on mooring fees and anti-fouling the hull. The other advantage is that you can take the boat to further destinations by road. but the launching and recovery can be fraught with difficulties.
Dry storage.
Not sure if this facility is available in Weymouth but it almost certainly is, where the boat is kept ashore for you and you phone half an hour before you want it and they launch it of you. less cost than Marina mooring but you don't get to enjoy the boat so much IMHO (in my humble opinion)
The engine options are important. A boat of 22 foot is most likely to have a single petrol engine but diesel engine options are more expensive to buy but are far less costly to run as boats use tax free diesel (red) as used by the construction industry and farmers and this works out at around 25-30 pence per litre as opposed to 80-90 pence for petrol.
Obviously there are loads of boats to choose from and I would suggest they look at a few in the Poole area, I say Poole because I know of the amount of dealers here. Show them how to get to Salterns and get them to visit Cranchi and Bayliner and the other dealers there. Don't plump for the first one you see, There are subtle differences in build quality and this is often reflected in the cost and ultimately resale value.
Why do I mention resale value, well either they will love it and want a bigger one or hate it and they will want to sell it anyway!!!
Training,
Get some. New boats and the dealers will organise boat familiarisation, but the RYA have training places all over and getting the right training will be fun and will set them up.
If I were them I would start looking now for a VHF radio course. Its a 1 day job I think and they will need it to operate VHF radio on board boat
Buy some magazines and get some information. Start looking at boats. New boats suffer greater depreciation in the first year but new owners my get loads of comfort from the engine and boat guarantee.
If you buy new then a 10% discount would be normal and negotiate life jackets, fenders, and extra bits and pieces like smart jackets with boat logo on in the deal.
Finally if they would like to come up to Poole when I am in the Marina I would be pleased to talk to them, and show them what happens when you go completely loopy on boats!!!
Love Dadxxxxxxxx
<hr width=100% size=1>CJ
chris@stone.uk.com
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.stone.uk.com>http://www.stone.uk.com</A>
My daughter sent me this and I replied but really I am in the dark but there are plenty of you guys who know the real answers.
To: 'dad@stone.uk.com'
Subject: Boats!!
Morning Dad,
A friend at work, Hilary, is interested in buying a small motor boat and
when I said that you had one she wondered if you might be able to give her
some advice.
She lives in Weymouth, knows nothing about boats but fancies something big
enough to pootle out in to the bay in & maybe go as far as Lulworth. Her &
her partner have 2 young children aged 3 & 5 so it would need to be suitable
for them and she would like it to have a kitchen & toilet.
Apart from advice about the sort of boat to get, she would also need
somewhere to moor it & would like to do some kind of basic training just to
familiarise herself with steering/driving the thing & basic map-reading etc.
If you have any helpful comments for her she would be really grateful, even
if it's just advice about where to go to find out about the above.
Thanks,
Have a good day, any plans to go out on yours today?!
Liv xx
My reply:
Hi Liv,
Boats eh.........
First of all I subscribe to an internet forum at www.mby.com and if Hilary joined the motor boat chat forum and posed this question then the answers would come flooding in from people who have done exactly what she intends. In fact I may well post the question myself so as she will be able to see the answers without the bother of signing up (its free)
sorry if the answers seem a bit back to front but she will understand why when they get their boat.
Size of boat:
This depends on budget and age of boat. Really they are looking at boats of 23 foot or more to have the Galley (kitchen) and Heads (toilet). Just showing off really with the words cause Sandra insists on calling them toilets and kitchen. I do baulk a bit at sitting room (saloon) and back bedroom (aft cabin) but what the heck.
Start looking at boats of about 18 foot because you always buy a boat about 10 foot longer than you intended.
A boat of 22 foot could accommodate two adults two kids, but take a look around as I am not up to speed with this
Where to keep it.
If I lived in Weymouth there is no doubt I would keep the boat in the marina in Weymouth. but there are two other options.
Trailer
and you tow it around, you save on mooring fees and anti-fouling the hull. The other advantage is that you can take the boat to further destinations by road. but the launching and recovery can be fraught with difficulties.
Dry storage.
Not sure if this facility is available in Weymouth but it almost certainly is, where the boat is kept ashore for you and you phone half an hour before you want it and they launch it of you. less cost than Marina mooring but you don't get to enjoy the boat so much IMHO (in my humble opinion)
The engine options are important. A boat of 22 foot is most likely to have a single petrol engine but diesel engine options are more expensive to buy but are far less costly to run as boats use tax free diesel (red) as used by the construction industry and farmers and this works out at around 25-30 pence per litre as opposed to 80-90 pence for petrol.
Obviously there are loads of boats to choose from and I would suggest they look at a few in the Poole area, I say Poole because I know of the amount of dealers here. Show them how to get to Salterns and get them to visit Cranchi and Bayliner and the other dealers there. Don't plump for the first one you see, There are subtle differences in build quality and this is often reflected in the cost and ultimately resale value.
Why do I mention resale value, well either they will love it and want a bigger one or hate it and they will want to sell it anyway!!!
Training,
Get some. New boats and the dealers will organise boat familiarisation, but the RYA have training places all over and getting the right training will be fun and will set them up.
If I were them I would start looking now for a VHF radio course. Its a 1 day job I think and they will need it to operate VHF radio on board boat
Buy some magazines and get some information. Start looking at boats. New boats suffer greater depreciation in the first year but new owners my get loads of comfort from the engine and boat guarantee.
If you buy new then a 10% discount would be normal and negotiate life jackets, fenders, and extra bits and pieces like smart jackets with boat logo on in the deal.
Finally if they would like to come up to Poole when I am in the Marina I would be pleased to talk to them, and show them what happens when you go completely loopy on boats!!!
Love Dadxxxxxxxx
<hr width=100% size=1>CJ
chris@stone.uk.com
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.stone.uk.com>http://www.stone.uk.com</A>
