Looking for a bigger boat and advice

[chrislaw1968]

Hi all , I purchased a beneteau flyer 550 last year and did my pb2 and although it was great fun we would like something bigger that we can stay on in comfort for a few days or a week , preferably I'd like a 34 ish foot boat and will have 70 to 90 k to spend .
However would I have to do day skipper course if I buy a boat that is in-between 10 and 11m for insurance purposes as pb2 is up to 10m .
Also I have seen some of the cruiser yatchs come with v drives , one a 330 with D4 260 and a 320 express with yanmar 240hp and a 300 express with d3 160 which I think would be underpowered, will there be much of a performance trade off with v drives and which would be the engine of choice .
I'd love a fairline but can't stretch my budget to a targa 34 unfortunately.

 

[Boathook]

In the UK there is no legal requirement for a licence to own and operate a boat for private use that I'm aware off. The insurers might have another view and you would need to approach them and ask for a quote.
There is an exception to licences such as wanting to charter your boat out with you as skipper etc.

 

[Parabolica]

Having gotten into boating only recently and now last week doing my dayskipper course over four days, I cannot recommend doing this highly enough.

also cannot imagine why anyone with a motorboat wouldn’t want to do this for their own peace of mind in knowing that they are best prepared for themselves and more importantly, those they will have the responsibilities of when on they are on board with you too.

You’ be glad that you did.

 

[oldgit]

Are we talking V drives or outdrives ?

Losses on a conventional reverse gearbox and V drive would be very similar.

 

[chrislaw1968]

Sorry what I was asking was if you had same boats with same engines but one had v drives in prop tunnels and the other had out drives would there be much of a performance drop on the v drive option .

 

[kashurst]

Sorry what I was asking was if you had same boats with same engines but one had v drives in prop tunnels and the other had out drives would there be much of a performance drop on the v drive option .

In short yes. Shaft drive props tend to use about 20 - 25% more fuel. Outdrive boats also tend to be faster. However outdrives cost more to service - and they must be serviced correctly. Obviously every boat is diferent and the actual difference will depend on many things. I used to have a spread sheet that showed the point at which it was worth having the added costs and complexity of outdrives on a 40' planing boat. Which was about 500 planing speed sea miles.
However a lot has changed recently so its worth you getting some current prices and doing the sums again to see what is best for your use/application.

 

[Aardee]

Hi. Having gone through a similar process last year with similar needs and budget, the best advice I can give is don't get too specific on a particular make or model. We had a list of must-haves and would-be-nice-to-haves and approached the market with an open mind. We ended up with a Viking Marin 34 Aft Cabin (no, we'd never heard of one either) and haven't regretted our choice for a moment. Enjoy the process.

 

[Farmer Piles]

We did pretty much the same as Aardee. We bought our boat last winter, we upgraded from a Yamarin 59HT - in broad terms a very similar type of boat to your 550. If you are interested I wrote an article about our upgrade in the current MBY magazine.
But in summary: we had the same budget and similar size requirement. Bear in mind these were our requirements and I'm not suggesting they should be yours:
We wanted shaft drive as it is so much simpler and cheaper to maintain - much less to go wrong.
Semi-displacement as they tend to be better sea boats.
Sunroofs rather than flybridge - partly due to boat size.
Single engine - partly cost to run and maintain, but also because often the twins are shoehorned into the hull and are very hard to get at.
Walk around decks - for safety really and because we do not get more nimble as we age.
Side doors as well as a big back door.
Galley in the saloon so that the cook can see out properly and not end up feeling too sick to eat the food that they have cooked below deck.
Off the back of that, our short list was:
Nimbus 310/320
ACM 31 Elite
Saga
Viking 32
Skilso Arctic
Aquador 32 C
Merry Fisher
Beneteau 9 or 9.8

We do prefer the look and the quality of the Scandi boats and in the end we bought an Aquador 32C. We are delighted with it . We are Falmouth based and we did a number of nights near home to find our feet with her and then a trip to Fowey and one to the Isles of Scilly. She is currently sitting in my grainstore where I am doing winter maintenance.

Good hunting.

 

[chrislaw1968]

We did pretty much the same as Aardee. We bought our boat last winter, we upgraded from a Yamarin 59HT - in broad terms a very similar type of boat to your 550. If you are interested I wrote an article about our upgrade in the current MBY magazine.
But in summary: we had the same budget and similar size requirement. Bear in mind these were our requirements and I'm not suggesting they should be yours:
We wanted shaft drive as it is so much simpler and cheaper to maintain - much less to go wrong.
Semi-displacement as they tend to be better sea boats.
Sunroofs rather than flybridge - partly due to boat size.
Single engine - partly cost to run and maintain, but also because often the twins are shoehorned into the hull and are very hard to get at.
Walk around decks - for safety really and because we do not get more nimble as we age.
Side doors as well as a big back door.
Galley in the saloon so that the cook can see out properly and not end up feeling too sick to eat the food that they have cooked below deck.
Off the back of that, our short list was:
Nimbus 310/320
ACM 31 Elite
Saga
Viking 32
Skilso Arctic
Aquador 32 C
Merry Fisher
Beneteau 9 or 9.8

We do prefer the look and the quality of the Scandi boats and in the end we bought an Aquador 32C. We are delighted with it . We are Falmouth based and we did a number of nights near home to find our feet with her and then a trip to Fowey and one to the Isles of Scilly. She is currently sitting in my grainstore where I am doing winter maintenance.

Good hunting.

Thanks for that , I'll have a look at your article if I can .
We looked at an aquadoor 27 ht at the weekend and a couple of 30/34ft express cruisers and much prefer the latter to be honest .
If possible I'd like one with the mid seating area too .

 

[LBRodders]

Zephyr - Ancasta

 

[petem]

Hi all , I purchased a beneteau flyer 550 last year and did my pb2 and although it was great fun we would like something bigger that we can stay on in comfort for a few days or a week , preferably I'd like a 34 ish foot boat and will have 70 to 90 k to spend .
However would I have to do day skipper course if I buy a boat that is in-between 10 and 11m for insurance purposes as pb2 is up to 10m .
Also I have seen some of the cruiser yatchs come with v drives , one a 330 with D4 260 and a 320 express with yanmar 240hp and a 300 express with d3 160 which I think would be underpowered, will there be much of a performance trade off with v drives and which would be the engine of choice .
I'd love a fairline but can't stretch my budget to a targa 34 unfortunately.

How about a Sealine S34? It's a very similar package to the Targa 34 and has lots of fans.

 

[chrislaw1968]

How about a Sealine S34? It's a very similar package to the Targa 34 and has lots of fans.

I do like the sealine s34 but mostly they have the kad 32 engine and from what I read they are a little underpowered for a 34ft boat .

 

[PaulRainbow]

I do like the sealine s34 but mostly they have the kad 32 engine and from what I read they are a little underpowered for a 34ft boat .

How about a Princess ?

Princess Riviera 366 | 11m | 1992 - Hampshire | Boats and Outboards

or bigger engines Princess 36 Riviera | boats for sale | Morgan Marine

There are Targas in budget too, if you don't try and go to new Fairline Targa 34 | 10m | 1992 - North Yorkshire | Boats and Outboards

 

[chrislaw1968]

How about a Princess ?

Princess Riviera 366 | 11m | 1992 - Hampshire | Boats and Outboards

or bigger engines Princess 36 Riviera | boats for sale | Morgan Marine

There are Targas in budget too, if you don't try and go to new Fairline Targa 34 | 10m | 1992 - North Yorkshire | Boats and Outboards

Thanks for that , I'd like something a little newer than those, which likely means I'll end up with an American boat .

 

[oldgit]

Those outdrive "savings" on fuel, very much depend on your boat use.
Went from a Princess 33 with a pair 125HP 40B Volvo Pentas and 280T outdrives to a 37 ft Transocean (Broom hull by Aquafibre) ,powered by a pair of M135 HP Perkins Sabre on shafts. Combined use of both boats about 2500 hours.
Very similar use of both boats , mainly displacement 6-10 knots with the occasional struggle up to 12-15 knots.
Fuel consumption between the two boats was virtually identical.

 

[DavidJ]

I do like the sealine s34 but mostly they have the kad 32 engine and from what I read they are a little underpowered for a 34ft boat .

S34 is an excellent spacious boat and they are around with KAD43’s which are the last VP engines without electrowizzadry. My S37 with these units will do 32 knots so on a S34 will surely fly.

 

[Greg2]

I do like the sealine s34 but mostly they have the kad 32 engine and from what I read they are a little underpowered for a 34ft boat .

We had an S34 with the KAD32s and whilst it wasn’t making 30 knots it was absolutely fine as a cruising boat. In fact in a review in either MBM or MBY they commented to that effect, saying it was more cruiser than sports but a good one at that.

I think the best speed we saw was around 27 knots and we cruised at around 20-22 knots.

We loved it and the extra space you get due to them only being 4 cylinder makes the engine bay positively huge! If I am honest I don’t think I would have traded that for a bit more power but that is just my view and others may think differently.

They are super boats and whilst one with larger engines might be a preference the reality is that those with the 32’s are still a good boat and writing them off on the basis of someones opinion removes a good option IMHO ?
.

 

[chrislaw1968]

We had an S34 with the KAD32s and whilst it wasn’t making 30 knots it was absolutely fine as a cruising boat. In fact in a review in either MBM or MBY they commented to that effect, saying it was more cruiser than sports but a good one at that.

I think the best speed we saw was around 27 knots and we cruised at around 20-22 knots.

We loved it and the extra space you get due to them only being 4 cylinder makes the engine bay positively huge! If I am honest I don’t think I would have traded that for a bit more power but that is just my view and others may think differently.

They are super boats and whilst one with larger engines might be a preference the reality is that those with the 32’s are still a good boat and writing them off on the basis of someones opinion removes a good option IMHO ?
.

I haven't wrote them off , we will try to have a look at one , we are going to see a cruiser yachts today on v drives and D4 260 engines .

 

[dankilb]

However would I have to do day skipper course if I buy a boat that is in-between 10 and 11m for insurance purposes as pb2 is up to 10m .

Oops. GJW give me a small discount (£25, IIRC - I asked them if it was worth putting it down) for having PB2 - and that’s on our 12.5m sailing yacht!!!

 

[chrislaw1968]

Oops. GJW give me a small discount (£25, IIRC - I asked them if it was worth putting it down) for having PB2 - and that’s on our 12.5m sailing yacht!!!

I just paid for day skipper practical so will skip though that before I get a boat , then hopefully do practical part on a boat that I buy .