Looking for somewhere cheap to work on boat up north

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joshbru

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Hi, I'm looking at buying a 40ft sailboat that needs lots of work but all the mariners want 400 a month!

I live in the Scottish borders so either east or West is fine. 2 hours from jedburgh. Ideally hard standing but can be somewhere it's sits on bottom when tide goes out (bilge keel) as long as I can park close ish. Does anyone know of anywhere?
 
Try Clyde Boatyard at Rothesay Dock. It’s not a marina but caters for slipping and boat work. Lots of yachts in various stages of repair.

Home

Also Annan Harbour, on the Solway, might take boats, but less sure about this.

Annan Harbour in the upper Solway
Firth reopens

Standpoint Marina, Dumbarton has hard standing for yacht repairs, not really a marina.

WELCOME TO SANDPOINT MARINA ON LINE

Bowling Basin at the start of the Forth and Clyde Canal, plus the other side has boats tied up. Not sure who to contact. Try Scottish Canals.
 
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RunAgroundHard said:
Try Clyde Boatyard at Rothesay Dock. It’s not a marina but caters for slipping and boat work. Lots of yachts in various stages of repair.

Home

Also Annan Harbour, on the Solway, might take boats, but less sure about this.

Annan Harbour in the upper Solway
Firth reopens

Standpoint Marina, Dumbarton has hard standing for yacht repairs, not really a marina.

WELCOME TO SANDPOINT MARINA ON LINE

Bowling Basin at the start of the Forth and Clyde Canal, plus the other side has boats tied up. Not sure who to contact. Try Scottish Canals.
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Thanks, all of these are a no go!

Thought about getting it transported on a lorry to a farm but the company wanted 4500!

I thought it would be easier to find somewhere lol
 
joshbru said:
Thanks, all of these are a no go!

Thought about getting it transported on a lorry to a farm but the company wanted 4500!

I thought it would be easier to find somewhere lol
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40ft boats are expensive to store / maintain! Is the mast up/down, do you (or your insurers) need it down. I assume you need someone with a hoist to get it out the water? And some sort of cradle / shores etc?

You might try inchinnan cruising club or upper forth boat club as both so lift fairly large boats but I think they are very much run as clubs where people are expected to help each other and be in it for the long term rather than a home for a few months.
 
Welcome to the challenges of fixing up (big) old boats. Anything to do with moving and storage is expensive and out of proportion to the purchase cost and the eventual value of the boat. Think very carefully before you commit to such a project as most end in tears as owners encounter the reality of the amount of work and money involved - never mind a 2 hour drive each time. BTW £400 a month is not unreasonable
 
where in the country is the boat now? If west, then RB marine based in Rosneath used to be pretty good value. Looks like 6months hard standing will be iro £1500 and that would almost certainly be the cheapest option in the Clyde.

On the east, looks like Port Edgar do 6 months ashore for around the similar price, but you will have to factor in perhaps another £600 for lift in / out and mast up/down.

sailing isn’t free my friend, and cheap project boats are an even more expensive way of going about (not)sailing!!
 
I own an old 41’ boat that I have had fully refurbished. Part of the refurbishment was in the corner of a local firm’s yard, in-laws acquaintance so not exactly a cold call, the cost was peanuts. You could try asking around local farms, businesses if they would let you store the boat. I bought a generator to power tools. Eventually, after 2 years, I had to remove the boat, so there is that risk.

Crane wise, I used a HIAB to lift on and off the boat transporter. The HIAB could lift 10 tons at maximum reach and was just tractor unit with driver, again localish company.

You don’t have to go to a marine place, think outside the box. I easily spent the cost of my boat, plus more on the refurbishment using a mix of DIY and professional trades. I had the cash, so it wasn’t a financial burden. It took me 3 years on the hard (marina and my yard) plus another 2 years on the water in a marina.

If money is tight, do not undertake a boat refurbishment. They are money pits and if you have to bail out part way through you will find it very difficult to sell for not a lot of money. No one will be interested in how much you have spent. It is guaranteed that you will never recoup the cost, even when finished. Second hand, in commission boats can be bought for not a lot these days.

Apologies if you have the money, it’s crass to assume you don’t.
 
Seventy years ago I knew of quite a few owners who did what you wanted to an found sheltered places in rivers or lochs and ran their boats aground for repair and maintenance. Sometimes for long periods, years in some cases. Sadly times have changed and every foot of shoreline is owned by someone who wants payment from anyone using it. A forty foot vessel is a big job to maintain or repair BTW. However I do wonder whether there could be any bits of the enclosed water inside Lindisfarne or the Tweed estuary. A lot depends on the current location of the boat. Earlier suggestions included Bowling Basin, where I kept a boat over the winters in the 60s for very little money, but as I said, such places are now hard to find.

I don't want to put you off, but the advice often given in these fora is to get the smallest boat that you can tolerate and the largest you can afford. The costs of running a boat increase by more than proportionately with length, more like the square of length, or even with the displacement.
 
Bodach na mara said:
Seventy years ago I knew of quite a few owners who did what you wanted to, and found sheltered places in rivers or lochs to run their boats aground for repair and maintenance. Sometimes for long periods, years in some cases. Sadly times have changed and every foot of shoreline is owned by someone who wants payment from anyone using it. A forty foot vessel is a big job to maintain or repair BTW. However I do wonder whether there could be any bits of the enclosed water inside Lindisfarne or the Tweed estuary. A lot depends on the current location of the boat. Earlier suggestions included Bowling Basin, where I kept a boat over the winters in the 60s for very little money, but as I said, such places are now hard to find.

I don't want to put you off, but the advice often given in these fora is to get the smallest boat that you can tolerate and the largest you can afford. The costs of running a boat increase by more than proportionately with length, more like the square of length, or even with the displacement.
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If you can’t afford £400 a month, you probably won’t like the £4000 for a s/h engine or repairs or £10000 for the rig, soars and sails, and £50k of packets of shiny screws, bolts, cables, hoses, pumps, brackets, batteries, paint, brushes and sandpaper and take aways!
Etc 😳
Go in Eyes Wide Open and good luck in your search but there are cheaper ways to own a 40ft thing
 
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