Looking for a new boat, but feeling stuck..

Some of that listed above is pretty old gear but if it all works it's more than enough to get you going. Eberspachers often need work & can be very expensive to fix (spares are comedy prices). Yes you can use your iPad for navigation, look up Boating UK in app store, very cost effective compared to dedicated chart plotters. The only other thing might be a hand held vhf radio, especially if you plan to single hand. You can get them with DSC now as well. Maybe also consider a PLB (personal locator beacon). Both not cheap but are portable kit that you'll keep for the next boat...
 
V1701 said:
Some of that listed above is pretty old gear but if it all works it's more than enough to get you going. Eberspachers often need work & can be very expensive to fix (spares are comedy prices). Yes you can use your iPad for navigation, look up Boating UK in app store, very cost effective compared to dedicated chart plotters. The only other thing might be a hand held vhf radio, especially if you plan to single hand. You can get them with DSC now as well. Maybe also consider a PLB (personal locator beacon). Both not cheap but are portable kit that you'll keep for the next boat...
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. I will look into the other bits you suggested. I just found the same boat for sale on another website too and it says that it is 'Fin Keel'. When he told me what figure he had in mind, he said that 'another bilge keel sold for £23K', which to me, implied that this one was a bilge keel. I'm pretty sure that Bilge Keels are worth more than Fin - atleast from what I have seen with the Sadler 32 models. Isn't this a bit like if I was selling a Ford Focus and said to a buyer 'But a Ford Focus RS sold for 10K more?" haha.

I dont know, I guess I'll find out tomorrow what kind of condition it is all in. I'm generally expecting it to be in good condition, but pretty dated.

Other stuff included;
Equipped with hot water, radar, avon tender etc.
Isotherm 3200 ASU fridge
Lewmar two-speed genoa sheet and halyard winches
Lewmar single-speed spinnaker sheet and halyard winch
Lewmar single speed main halyard winch
Rotostay genoa roller-reefing
Flavel Vanessa LP gas cooker with leak detector and auto cut-off
Honda 2 hp 4 stroke outboard
Beta Marine 28hp Diesel engine (2002) - fully refurbished a couple of years ago
Solar battery charger
Two blade folding propeller

I dont mind spending on on bits that I can take onto the next boat.

If the heater goes and it really is that expensive to fix, I'll probably just get a mini electric one :-)
 
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Nasa (Clipper) equipment was never top-spec and over the years there have been many heart-felt pleas here regarding, in particular their wind indicator gizmo self-destructing. However if it's working you've got an effective low-rent electronics suite. A chart-plotter is not essential if you can do trad-nav (easier with a good GPS receiver like that Garmin). If you load Navionics onto an iPad, you've got decent stand-alone plotting, but you ought to budget for a waterproof iPad case and find an onboard solution to keeping it charged.

Rather than worrying about the heater, I'd be much more concerned in finding out what state the sails are in.
 
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Twister_Ken said:
Nasa (Clipper) equipment was never top-spec and over the years there have been many heart-felt pleas here regarding, in particular their wind indicator gizmo self-destructing. However if it's working you've got an effective low-rent electronics suite. A chart-plotter is not essential if you can do trad-nav (easier with a good GPS receiver like that Garmin). If you load Navionics onto an iPad, you've got decent stand-alone plotting, but you ought to budget for a waterproof iPad case and find an onboard solution to keeping it charged.

Rather than worrying about the heater, I'd be much more concerned in finding out what state the sails are in.
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I am presuming the sails to be in good/excellent condition, as he hasn't mentioned anything about them at all.

I guess for the budget that I've allocated for this, I'm not going to find something that ticks every single box, right?

If the general condition of the boat is okay and there is no water damage/leaks/cracks, the sails are good quality, rigging is in good condition, the engine turns over nicely and no funny coloured smoke and the rudder seems solid - then I guess it's probably about as good as I'm going to get for the price?

RE: Ipad charging. I thought most boats had electric sockets, atleast the ones I have seen so far do, and they run off the generator?
 
Just seen that a lot of people with out similar sized boats seem to be using a converter/adapter, which plugs into the cigarette lighter (didnt think about boats having those?) and they can charge phones/laptops/ipads off from that.
 
Can't advise on the price/value.

Re charging, on smaller boats when at sea electrical power is usually 12 volt and comes from batteries (also a biggish expense - you should take a view on how good they are) which are recharged by the engine, when it's running. Some boats might also have wind generators or solar panels to help keep the batteries charged. Some 12v can be made available via cigar-lighter style sockets for portable electronics.

If the boat also has 'shore power' then it needs to be plugged into a mains supply when on a pontoon. This allows the batteries to be recharged via a battery charger and will power a few 240v bits of kit like an electrical kettle or a TV. Boats of the sort you are looking at are unlikely to have a dedicated generator capable of supplying mains voltage electricity under way.
 
JollyRodgers said:
Just seen that a lot of people with out similar sized boats seem to be using a converter/adapter, which plugs into the cigarette lighter (didnt think about boats having those?) and they can charge phones/laptops/ipads off from that.
Click to expand...

You can get USB chargers that connect to the 12V system pretty cheaply on the internet. Easiest is one that plugs into a cigarette lighetr socket, but you can get ones you can surface mount and wire into the DC circuits. I'm currently fitting one in each cabin because the one I fitted at the chart table proved too popular.
 
Twister_Ken said:
Can't advise on the price/value.

Re charging, on smaller boats when at sea electrical power is usually 12 volt and comes from batteries (also a biggish expense - you should take a view on how good they are) which are recharged by the engine, when it's running. Some boats might also have wind generators or solar panels to help keep the batteries charged. Some 12v can be made available via cigar-lighter style sockets for portable electronics.

If the boat also has 'shore power' then it needs to be plugged into a mains supply when on a pontoon. This allows the batteries to be recharged via a battery charger and will power a few 240v bits of kit like an electrical kettle or a TV. Boats of the sort you are looking at are unlikely to have a dedicated generator capable of supplying mains voltage electricity under way.
Click to expand...

Hmm. I dont think Solar Panels would be much use in the UK haha. Will definitely look into both though. Alternatively for phones, I could probably just buy a couple separate batteries and keep them fully charged and just swap them out when one dies. Still doesn't fix the ipad/laptop issue unless it is in fact possible to charge up via the lighter socket.

I'm already looking forward to the luxuries of my 2nd boat - is that bad? haha
 
lpdsn said:
You can get USB chargers that connect to the 12V system pretty cheaply on the internet. Easiest is one that plugs into a cigarette lighetr socket, but you can get ones you can surface mount and wire into the DC circuits. I'm currently fitting one in each cabin because the one I fitted at the chart table proved too popular.
Click to expand...

haha, that's funny. Are they easy to fit into cabins? That's what I was thinking of getting if it has a cigarette socket (I presume that it would be the sounds of things?). You can pick them up for 99p off ebay.

Maybe a stupid question, so forgive me, but roughly how long are the batteries good to charge electrical equipment like phones,ipads etc from full charge? So if I used shore power to fill it up to 100%, how long would it last me if I wasnt using the engine out at sea? Do the batteries slowly die down if they havent been charged for a bit? For example, if I charge them up full and then dont touch them for 3 days, would I be able to still charge things or would the charge die? (I presume it wouldnt because car batteries dont die that quickly, not sure if theyre the same size though?). How long roughly of constant charge without starting up the motor - like 3-6 hours?

Also, does anyone know how long it takes to charge up the battery if you're just using the engine to do so?

Many thanks,

Alex
 
JollyRodgers said:
haha, that's funny. Are they easy to fit into cabins? That's what I was thinking of getting if it has a cigarette socket (I presume that it would be the sounds of things?). You can pick them up for 99p off ebay.

Maybe a stupid question, so forgive me, but roughly how long are the batteries good to charge electrical equipment like phones,ipads etc from full charge? So if I used shore power to fill it up to 100%, how long would it last me if I wasnt using the engine out at sea? Do the batteries slowly die down if they havent been charged for a bit? For example, if I charge them up full and then dont touch them for 3 days, would I be able to still charge things or would the charge die? (I presume it wouldnt because car batteries dont die that quickly, not sure if theyre the same size though?). How long roughly of constant charge without starting up the motor - like 3-6 hours?

Also, does anyone know how long it takes to charge up the battery if you're just using the engine to do so?

Many thanks,

Alex
Click to expand...

The answer definitely comes into 'how long is a piece of string' category.

First, how big are the batteries (in terms of amp hours).
Second, how many of them are there?
Third, are they in tip-top condition, on their last legs, or somewhere between the two extremes.
Fourth, how much power are you taking out of them to run instruments, fridge, autohelm, lighting, heater, glitter ball, etc.
Fifth, how powerful is the engine driven alternator that recharges them when the engine is running.
Sixth, is there any form of smart charge controller in the circuit.

In any case, even if the batteries are old, small and heavily knackered, they'll charge up an iphone or an ipad for a good long while.

There's more to this sailing lark that just untying the ropes and setting off!

Incidentally solar panels do a good job of keeping the batteries up to snuff between trips, even in the UK.
 
Although I have had 6 boats in 40 years the one I wish I had now was the Moody 30 which I bought new in 1978. Have a look at one before you make your mind up.
 
Twister_Ken said:
Tee-hee!
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I fell for a similar one. Mainsail was taken off the boat so I couldn't hoist it, but could inspect it. Good quality sail cloth in good condition, but an abominable shape when hoisted. I've had to live with that for a few years and will have to do so for a couple more before I can get around to replacing it.
 
Apologies to the OP for taking his thread off course.

By way of amends, we do have a Sadler 32 ourselves and can probably offer some comment if there's anything particular arising from his weekend viewings.
 
I've a 30' GibSea 90 which is reasonably typical of mid-80's French boats (bought earlier this year for less than £15k) - You're more than welcome to have a snoop around her sometime if that would help.
 
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