Liveaboard Sail Boat for £10k?

[V1701]

Our leccy has gone up from 18p/unit to 42p/unit, using mains fridge, microwave, kettle, toaster, elec blanket, dessicant dehumidifier & 1 x 1500w radiator in that very cold week we had last year I spent about £40 on leccy, last few weeks about £25/week. There are 6 or 7 months of the year though where it'll be a fiver per week. That's on a well insulated Colvic Watson 34, working from home 2 days a week so if WFH all the time would be a bit more...

 

[V1701]

This boat has everything that you need - galley with a bit of prep space, somewhere to work, somewhere to lounge, not on original engine, hot water, heating, decent instruments, 240v installed, etc. From a liveaboard and a sailing point of view I think you'd do well to beat that and it's not a million miles away from Milford, sure you could get somebody to help you sail her round. In your position I'd be there like a shot...

 

[Mino]

How about one of these.., Colvic Sailer 26 for sale UK, Colvic boats for sale, Colvic used boat sales, Colvic Sailing Yachts For Sale 1985 Colvic Sailer 26 - Apollo Duck

Had originally passed due to the reasons expressed by Tranona, but now reconsidering, thanks?

 

[Mino]

Electricity is going to be expensive. Take a look at Sleeping Cab heaters, they run on diesel and very cheap to run.

Yeah, that’s a concern of mine. I've been thinking about an Eberspacher diesel heater.

 

[Mino]

Good example of a less well known design that offers better value than popular brands like Westerlys. Most were home completed but this one looks well set up for liveaboard.

It looks like the owner has lived on it for a while and yes, lots of kit.

 

[Mino]

Our leccy has gone up from 18p/unit to 42p/unit, using mains fridge, microwave, kettle, toaster, elec blanket, dessicant dehumidifier & 1 x 1500w radiator in that very cold week we had last year I spent about £40 on leccy, last few weeks about £25/week. There are 6 or 7 months of the year though where it'll be a fiver per week. That's on a well insulated Colvic Watson 34, working from home 2 days a week so if WFH all the time would be a bit more...

It's mad, isn’t it. Freakin' Putin ... Much less than a house though.

 

[V1701]

Yeah, that’s a concern of mine. I've been thinking about an Eberspacher diesel heater.

They aren't a panacea though, mine (Mikuni MY30) uses best case scenario 1/4 litre of diesel per hour, that's about the same as running my oil filled 1.5kw radiator. Before the cost of leccy went up it was cheaper to use the oil filled rad. In my experience the blown air heaters don't like being run on low over weeks and months, they coke up and require dismantling and cleaning. So oil filled rad is my preference. I may eventually fit a drip feed diesel heater (Refleks). However you heat wherever you live it's gonna cost...

 

[Mino]

This boat has everything that you need - galley with a bit of prep space, somewhere to work, somewhere to lounge, not on original engine, hot water, heating, decent instruments, 240v installed, etc. From a liveaboard and a sailing point of view I think you'd do well to beat that and it's not a million miles away from Milford, sure you could get somebody to help you sail her round. In your position I'd be there like a shot...

I'd originally shied away from boats of this age, but she appears to have aged very well - at least from what I can tell from the videos - and she's very pretty and as you said, appears to be ticking the boxes and has jumped to the top of my list, especially at that price. Could be a bargain if a survey was favourable. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Mino]

They aren't a panacea though, mine (Mikuni MY30) uses best case scenario 1/4 litre of diesel per hour, that's about the same as running my oil filled 1.5kw radiator. Before the cost of leccy went up it was cheaper to use the oil filled rad. In my experience the blown air heaters don't like being run on low over weeks and months, they coke up and require dismantling and cleaning. So oil filled rad is my preference. I may eventually fit a drip feed diesel heater (Refleks). However you heat wherever you live it's gonna cost...

Good point. I've been thinking about installing or using portable solar panels, but in our climate and spending most of my time in a marina, at least for the next few years, I wonder how long it would take for them to pay for themselves.

 

[V1701]

I'd originally shied away from boats of this age, but she appears to have aged very well - at least from what I can tell from the videos - and she's very pretty and as you said, appears to be ticking the boxes and has jumped to the top of my list, especially at that price. Could be a bargain if a survey was favourable. Thanks for sharing!

This book includes a section on inspecting an older boat and is good. So you could do your own survey and take 3rd party insurance for about £100. Do you know anyone who could go along & have a look with you? If you have a survey it might get something knocked off the asking price but I think most people would do their own survey on an older boat...

FWIW I had a 1969 Bowman 26, it was in great condition nothing whatsoever wrong with it...

Best of luck whatever you decide...

 

[Mino]

This book includes a section on inspecting an older boat and is good. So you could do your own survey and take 3rd party insurance for about £100. Do you know anyone who could go along & have a look with you? If you have a survey it might get something knocked off the asking price but I think most people would do their own survey on an older boat...

FWIW I had a 1969 Bowman 26, it was in great condition nothing whatsoever wrong with it...

Best of luck whatever you decide...

Thanks for the tip re. the book. I'll probably get that.

At that age I expect an insurer won't touch it without a survey and I'd rather shell out for one for piece of mind, after a thorough look myself.

Yes, I do have someone in mind.

These shots of the bow of that Snapper don't instill confidence.

 

[Clancy Moped]

Thanks for the tip re. the book. I'll probably get that.

At that age I expect an insurer won't touch it without a survey and I'd rather shell out for one for piece of mind, after a thorough look myself.

Yes, I do have someone in mind.

These shots of the bow of that Snapper don't instill confidence.

Has the above been caused by anchor retrieval?

 

[Mino]

Has the above been caused by anchor retrieval?

No idea. Haven't seen the boat or spoken to the dealer yet. These were from the advert.

 

[V1701]

Has the above been caused by anchor retrieval?

More than likely I'd have thought and easy enough to repair with gelcoat filler, not so easy to get an exact colour match. Not many boats of that age with no battle scars. Might even be a little hole there by the looks of it, with that you'd countersink inside & outside & fill, ending up with a plug that cannot fall out due to it's shape - this will be in the book. Don't let that put you off...

 

[Trident]

If you want a place to live then I'd ignore the condition of sails, rigging etc and look for a dry and roomy hull - then direct your budget at chinese diesel heater; good electrics, safe gas for cooking or a microwave and induction hob (but bear in mind marinas have power cuts too) and make the space warm, dry and comfortable. I'd pay to drop the mast the day you arrive as it will spare you a ton of noise and worry until you decide you want to go sailing. I may be wrong but it sounds like accommodation is 90% of the remit here so you can save up for good sails, instruments etc over time - first and foremost you need to be warm and comfortable with safe useable electrics and gas and things like blinds (privacy and keeping your lights in) and good lighting (don't underestimate how miserable bad light or over bright light will be in a small space over months of winter)

 

[Yngmar]

These shots of the bow of that Snapper don't instill confidence.

It's fine. Bitten into the pontoon a couple times and not fixed too well - pretty common. You can watch a few youtube clips and then do a better job yourself (around the 3rd attempt you start to get good at it). The rest is because the boat has been repainted (normal for old boats where the gelcoat wears through eventually) and the paint is peeling off in spots. Look if it's the entire boat or just a few spots and price your offer accordingly. With your budget you can't expect a immaculate showboat and it doesn't matter for living aboard. More important it's not leaking inside and has a diesel heater and working batteries (the shorepower does go out occasionally).

 

[Mino]

If you want a place to live then I'd ignore the condition of sails, rigging etc and look for a dry and roomy hull - then direct your budget at chinese diesel heater; good electrics, safe gas for cooking or a microwave and induction hob (but bear in mind marinas have power cuts too) and make the space warm, dry and comfortable. I'd pay to drop the mast the day you arrive as it will spare you a ton of noise and worry until you decide you want to go sailing. I may be wrong but it sounds like accommodation is 90% of the remit here so you can save up for good sails, instruments etc over time - first and foremost you need to be warm and comfortable with safe useable electrics and gas and things like blinds (privacy and keeping your lights in) and good lighting (don't underestimate how miserable bad light or over bright light will be in a small space over months of winter)

You pretty much nailed it and was actually thinking about dropping the mast literally minutes before I read your reply!

 

[KevinV]

You pretty much nailed it and was actually thinking about dropping the mast literally minutes before I read your reply!

I wouldn't, unless you're going to lob the keel off as well. They're a balanced system - if you remove the mast the boat rights too fast, which is uncomfortable.

 

[Tranona]

Agree. Waste of money - £100+ each way to remove the mast . Remove the sails, although that gives you a storage problem, although if you are going to have them checked over and laundered then some sailmakers will store them for the winter for free.

 

[Trident]

Agree. Waste of money - £100+ each way to remove the mast . Remove the sails, although that gives you a storage problem, although if you are going to have them checked over and laundered then some sailmakers will store them for the winter for free.

My comment was that as a liveaboard boat in a marina, dropping the mast will make things a lot quieter, it will be more comfortable, if the boat has dodgy rigging it can be put off til the OP has had a chance to save up etc - in context its a very sensible idea if he wants to buy a boat as a house boat for now and thus can ignore things like rig in favour of a dry boat with good space...

Also, will save a fortune in ear plugs if he's not used to the rigging noise in wind when living aboard