Looking for first (in a long time!) boat. Advice please. :)

You can do Weymouth to IOW , its just all about conditions. At the same time most passengers will be a little bored and fed up cruising for that long in a sub 12m boat. With a diesel its incredibly noisy compared to a petrol and often slower as the smaller diesels are underpowered and heavy compared to the petrol equivalent. There is a reason petrols work nicely in boats of this size, the weight, noise and cost of servicing. Which is even worse if you end up needing twin diesels to match a single petrol on power. Once you get bigger then diesel is the way to go.

If you are lucky enough to be using the boat where the fuel cost is a problem vs the servicing and mooring fees then thats a good place to be. Probably time for something bigger on diesels at that point.

We have a Cranchi Ellipse 21 with a 5.7 V8, which I have done chichester to portland non stop where it did 3.4mpg at 27 knots (around 3000rpm). Its our first boat and we love it so much we are repowering with a modern Volvo V6. Yes it doesn't make sense financially, but we love the boat!

Friends have a 10m with twin diesels we use quite often, thats also great on fuel for its size. Problem for us is that we want to be able to just pull it out of thew water and store it cheaply if we need to. Not an easy option on the 10m boat.

Just have a look at some boats and see what you like. My advice would be go older thats been loved and cared for, ideally with rebuilt engines etc or much newer. In the middle can be where the problems lie, like us you may be in for a larger an expected bill.
 
Skiffy49 said:
You can do Weymouth to IOW , its just all about conditions. At the same time most passengers will be a little bored and fed up cruising for that long in a sub 12m boat. With a diesel its incredibly noisy compared to a petrol and often slower as the smaller diesels are underpowered and heavy compared to the petrol equivalent. There is a reason petrols work nicely in boats of this size, the weight, noise and cost of servicing. Which is even worse if you end up needing twin diesels to match a single petrol on power. Once you get bigger then diesel is the way to go.

If you are lucky enough to be using the boat where the fuel cost is a problem vs the servicing and mooring fees then thats a good place to be. Probably time for something bigger on diesels at that point.

We have a Cranchi Ellipse 21 with a 5.7 V8, which I have done chichester to portland non stop where it did 3.4mpg at 27 knots (around 3000rpm). Its our first boat and we love it so much we are repowering with a modern Volvo V6. Yes it doesn't make sense financially, but we love the boat!

Friends have a 10m with twin diesels we use quite often, thats also great on fuel for its size. Problem for us is that we want to be able to just pull it out of thew water and store it cheaply if we need to. Not an easy option on the 10m boat.

Just have a look at some boats and see what you like. My advice would be go older thats been loved and cared for, ideally with rebuilt engines etc or much newer. In the middle can be where the problems lie, like us you may be in for a larger an expected bill.
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Now someone has thrown Noise into the equation. Just to confuse you further. I have been in many boats and I would not say that noise in a diesel boat is much different that in a petrol boat.

On you cost to the isle of white.

I would say if you worked out petrol to be £350 Diesel would be about £200
 
Bigplumbs said:
Now someone has thrown Noise into the equation. Just to confuse you further. I have been in many boats and I would not say that noise in a diesel boat is much different that in a petrol boat.

On you cost to the isle of white.

I would say if you worked out petrol to be £350 Diesel would be about £200
Click to expand...

And to confuse things even further, I'd suggest that a modern outboard (like a Mercury Verado) would be the quietest of them all.

I genuinely have to look at the instruments to tell if the engine is idling or not when stood less than 4m away from it.

For what it's worth no way on earth would I buy an inboard petrol boat. Outboards are just a million times better to own.
I just bought a virtually brand new (sub 100 hour) Verado 250 to replace a 15 year old one for less than 10k, and it'll take me an afternoon to swap over.

With an inboard petrol you get all the downsides of an inboard (nightmare to service / repair / replace), with none of the benefits of diesel (cheaper fuel).
 
The reality is, you probably will find after a year or 2 that you will want to change your boat anyway. Once you have purchased one and gained a season or 2 aboard her, you will find the things that you like and dislike . You will see many folks on this forum, myself included, who have been working their way up or down sizes of boats for a number of years. All for many different but personal reasons. So my advice is to find something that will be close to what you think you need, but keep in mind that it's highly likely, you will find some new requirements over time.
 
Skiffy49 said:
You can do Weymouth to IOW , its just all about conditions. At the same time most passengers will be a little bored and fed up cruising for that long in a sub 12m boat. With a diesel its incredibly noisy compared to a petrol and often slower as the smaller diesels are underpowered and heavy compared to the petrol equivalent. There is a reason petrols work nicely in boats of this size, the weight, noise and cost of servicing. Which is even worse if you end up needing twin diesels to match a single petrol on power. Once you get bigger then diesel is the way to go.

If you are lucky enough to be using the boat where the fuel cost is a problem vs the servicing and mooring fees then thats a good place to be. Probably time for something bigger on diesels at that point.

We have a Cranchi Ellipse 21 with a 5.7 V8, which I have done chichester to portland non stop where it did 3.4mpg at 27 knots (around 3000rpm). Its our first boat and we love it so much we are repowering with a modern Volvo V6. Yes it doesn't make sense financially, but we love the boat!

Friends have a 10m with twin diesels we use quite often, thats also great on fuel for its size. Problem for us is that we want to be able to just pull it out of thew water and store it cheaply if we need to. Not an easy option on the 10m boat.

Just have a look at some boats and see what you like. My advice would be go older thats been loved and cared for, ideally with rebuilt engines etc or much newer. In the middle can be where the problems lie, like us you may be in for a larger an expected bill.
Click to expand...
Hi Skiffy49. Thanks for your input. Regarding your advice, there is one boat I’m beginning to favour more and more that matches that criteria exactly. Older boat, new engine/outdrive. I fear it may no longer be available when I’m ready to buy however, but fingers crossed!
 
jakew009 said:
And to confuse things even further, I'd suggest that a modern outboard (like a Mercury Verado) would be the quietest of them all.

I genuinely have to look at the instruments to tell if the engine is idling or not when stood less than 4m away from it.

For what it's worth no way on earth would I buy an inboard petrol boat. Outboards are just a million times better to own.
I just bought a virtually brand new (sub 100 hour) Verado 250 to replace a 15 year old one for less than 10k, and it'll take me an afternoon to swap over.

With an inboard petrol you get all the downsides of an inboard (nightmare to service / repair / replace), with none of the benefits of diesel (cheaper fuel).
Click to expand...
Thanks ……and thank god I haven’t come across a big enough/in budget boat with an outboard for sale. I don’t think I could cope with another variable in the equation! I’ve not ruled out a boat with an outboard, just yet to see one for sale!
 
LBRodders said:
Whilst that is a strategy, there is more to take into account than just being a few hundred metres offshore.

A 100-120mile round trip is not a day out affair, particularly in this category. There are some big tides that sweep in and out of the Solent so careful route planning will be required that will also take into account weather / wind etc.

I doubt many boats regularly make this trip to/from Weymouth. I am pretty confident no 7m boats make this trip, unless they are high performance RIBs and then it'd be white knuckle territory.

I have done some Solent time based out of Gosport, but years ago. Hopefully a Solent/Weymouth based forumite will be along to chip in.

All good adventurous fun though! ?
Click to expand...
I find our berth to Ibiza (70 miles) in a 34ft boat with twin engines and an autopilot to be quite arduous!

Doing it in a 23ft boat wouldn't be my idea of fun at all.
 
jakew009 said:
And to confuse things even further, I'd suggest that a modern outboard (like a Mercury Verado) would be the quietest of them all.

I genuinely have to look at the instruments to tell if the engine is idling or not when stood less than 4m away from it.

For what it's worth no way on earth would I buy an inboard petrol boat. Outboards are just a million times better to own.
I just bought a virtually brand new (sub 100 hour) Verado 250 to replace a 15 year old one for less than 10k, and it'll take me an afternoon to swap over.

With an inboard petrol you get all the downsides of an inboard (nightmare to service / repair / replace), with none of the benefits of diesel (cheaper fuel).
Click to expand...

So to add to the confusion. I own about 10 Outboards from 2.5 hp to 200 hp (The 200 hp is a 2 stroke) 8 are 2 strokes and 2 are 4 strokes. I would never swap out a 2 stroke in favour of a 4 stroke. Going into limp mode and wondering why is never fun.

I agree that an outboard boat is far better than an inboard but you aint gonna get one of those at 24 ft long for £25K at the moment
 
petem said:
I find our berth to Ibiza (70 miles) in a 34ft boat with twin engines and an autopilot to be quite arduous!

Doing it in a 23ft boat wouldn't be my idea of fun at all.
Click to expand...

And you are in the Med where the water and sky is blue and all the women are beautiful
 
Bigplumbs said:
So to add to the confusion. I own about 10 Outboards from 2.5 hp to 200 hp (The 200 hp is a 2 stroke) 8 are 2 strokes and 2 are 4 strokes. I would never swap out a 2 stroke in favour of a 4 stroke. Going into limp mode and wondering why is never fun. There was a reason that originally almost all outboards were 2 strokes until the save the planet brigade forced the change. I wonder why 2 strokes are still available to buy commercially
Click to expand...

I agree that an outboard boat is far better than an inboard but you aint gonna get one of those at 24 ft long for £25K at the moment.

Unless Nick sells his cheap :eek:
 
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petem said:
You've not met my wife :)!

I've only done it in calm conditions (no tide) with the sun shining.

A lumpy channel in the rain would be truly miserable.
Click to expand...

True Brits like the wind, Rain, Drizzle and dull days ....... Thats why we are no longer European :confused:
 
Bigplumbs said:
I agree that an outboard boat is far better than an inboard but you aint gonna get one of those at 24 ft long for £25K at the moment.

Unless Nick sells his cheap :eek:
Click to expand...

Agree, but if you end up needing to replace the engine in your inboard boat, you can wave goodbye to another 25k quite easily...
 
You can replace an inboard petrol for less than 10k. If you want the latest engine, transom shield and drive it will cost 25k but thats the same price as a new outboard of similar power.

Its all swings and roundabouts. Just make sure whatever you are keen on buying you get a survey done.
 
chillee said:
Southampton Waters have had a Sealine 270s up for a little while now. If it's any good might be worth a cheeky offer towards your budget.
Don't forget, if there are things that need doing to the boat, these all help with the price negotiation.
Boats for sale | southamptonwaters
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Thats not a bad shout. Great economy with the single diesel. Slightly larger than 25ft so more seaworthy, simple engine for DIY maintenance and known to be reliable. If I didn't already have too many boats, I could be tempted myself :-0
 
Skiffy49 said:
You can replace an inboard petrol for less than 10k. If you want the latest engine, transom shield and drive it will cost 25k but thats the same price as a new outboard of similar power.

Its all swings and roundabouts. Just make sure whatever you are keen on buying you get a survey done.
Click to expand...

Survey Done. Where have you been recently..... Boats are selling so fast that someone else would have bought it before you had time to call a Surveyor. We are talking about £25K here. Besides which Surveys are not generally worth the paper they are written on
 
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