Med liveaboard boat

[Guest]

My wife and I are planning to live on a boat in the Med for a number of months as a minimum, maybe for ever.

I am interested in the "right" boat. I cannot decide whether a semi displacement would be right or a displacement. Ideally I would like to cruise at 15 kts but I also want the space and solidity of possibly steel.

I have been looking for a 42ftish semi but they are hard to find within a limited budget.

Anyone got any ideas?

 

[Guest]

I saw loads of Grand Banks's for sale in Frejus. They'd be big enough as a 42. But not steel. I understand the worry but at 15+ knots you might be sinking anyway if you hit a container. Main issue is large number of floating trees etc washed down from countryside in Med, which will cause prop problems whether steel or plastic. Most Med boats are plastic, so maintenance and resale would point that way.

 

[Guest]

Our plans are similar to yours - Med liveaboard.

However, we don't want a houseboat: we want to travel as well so our choice is for a planing boat. Style and looks are important to us as well as space and facilities. Our choice is for a Fairline Phantom 43 which is the nearest compromise to our long list of 'needs' in a boat.

I'd suggest that, for a liveaboard, you don't want a targa but a flybridge for the extra space. Also, consider not having an aft cabin as there's no lazarette to store things - we want a couple of (fold-up?) bikes on board. We think we may choose an inflatable and electric pump rather than a RIB so that we can store the tender in the lazarette rather than risk it being stolen.

We will probably buy in the UK, enjoy cruising home waters first and then experience the journey to the Med around the Iberian peninsular.

What's special about 15 knts cruise speed?

 

[Guest]

Re: Sell up and squeeze up!

A chap who moved from a 27foot sailing boat to a 40 foot fairline phantom said he couldn't get everything from the old boat to the new - it wouldn't fit. I wdn't have thought it possible to long-term liveaboard in any Fairline other than perhaps a 65, but with that option one might need at least one of the cabins stacked full of cash to pay for fuel.

For the med, you'll want to anchor off to keep cool at nights, and to save on vast harbour expense, and it's more secluded/interesting. It'll need to be very calm indeed for a smallish planing flybridge to anchor off. I'd have a saily boat for long distances, and to avoid going ashore in Portugal, and a decent RIB to zip about in when we get there, but dismantle it for the long trips, tow it for the shorter ones.

Not that it would be exactly horrid long-term in a Phantom of course. But there isn't much space for er well more than a few charts, or ten books, or an actual real wardrobe of clothes.

 

[Guest]

Re: Sell up and squeeze up!

Apparently they don't make a 65 Phantom, Matt! So we'll have to make do with a smaller one. Save having to work until we're 95 to pay for it as well.

From what we've seen of sailing boats, they're a lot smaller than power boats. Can't understand how anyone would have the problem you described. Perhaps he was trying to stow his spare sails and a spare mast aboard his 40' power boat?

What's the problem with going ashore in Portugal, Matt?

 

[Guest]

Hi folks hope you get it all together ~had some years on fishing trawlers ~they make nice conversations~I know someone who has a 50ft whitby crabber based in monastir/Tunisia best wishes & fair winds

 

[Guest]

Having similar plans for the future I am considering a Princess 45 or Trader 47. You really need that shelter from the sun in the Med (Trader !).

Any quality or riding probems with Traders ?

 

[peteringreece]

My wife and I are planning to live on a boat in the Med for a number of months as a minimum, maybe for ever.

I am interested in the "right" boat. I cannot decide whether a semi displacement would be right or a displacement. Ideally I would like to cruise at 15 kts but I also want the space and solidity of possibly steel.

I have been looking for a 42ftish semi but they are hard to find within a limited budget.

Anyone got any ideas?

yesssss. I have lived down in the Med since 2002 in my 38ft steel boat, it is the first boat I have ever purchased. A 42ft er is too big for 2 people I believe, I was told before I came down here that 30ft is the minimum which I totally agree with. When you get to 40ft here the charges for mooring/ berthing shoots up. I can understand your basic wish for a faster than normal speed around here, my boat is happy at 5 to 6 knots and with some of the greater distance I am encountering now, Im moving the boat from Turkey to the French canals, slowly slowly I too would prefer maybe 10 knots as a reasonable speed.
I would say think long term of being down here to live on the boat, there are good yards and Marinas to winter over, the best for me was Turkey.
I wish you well.

 

[Paragon]

How about this!

http://dartmouth.boatshed.com/marine_trader_europa_40-boat-155363.html

This might be of interest.

 

[Nick_H]

yesssss. I have lived down in the Med since 2002 in my 38ft steel boat, it is the first boat I have ever purchased. A 42ft er is too big for 2 people I believe, I was told before I came down here that 30ft is the minimum which I totally agree with. When you get to 40ft here the charges for mooring/ berthing shoots up. I can understand your basic wish for a faster than normal speed around here, my boat is happy at 5 to 6 knots and with some of the greater distance I am encountering now, Im moving the boat from Turkey to the French canals, slowly slowly I too would prefer maybe 10 knots as a reasonable speed.
I would say think long term of being down here to live on the boat, there are good yards and Marinas to winter over, the best for me was Turkey.
I wish you well.

The OP may well be a salty old sea dog by now, as he asked the question almost 13 years ago!

 

[blueglass]

The OP may well be a salty old sea dog by now, as he asked the question almost 13 years ago!

Oh not another resurrection. I wish the start dates were flagged up more.

 

[lanerboy]

The OP may well be a salty old sea dog by now, as he asked the question almost 13 years ago!

Well spotted Nick nearly spat my cuppa all over the laptop lol