Motor boat Choices 32-44 ft

Avalon said:
Why do people forget that flybridge boats have TWO helming positions? When your friends adjourn downstairs you can do the same and helm your boat from a warm, comfortable position inside. On a sportsboat you're either exposed to the elements or cowering under a sort of glorified pram hood.

I actually drive my flybridge boat from inside most of the time - and am always surprised to see how many people always drive theirs from on top even when it is obviously cold and uncomfortable to do so.

After spending most of my life helming sailing boats totally exposed to the elements, the merits of an inside helming position are very apparent to me, particularly in the UK.
Click to expand...

So swap sitting on top being blasted by the elements all on your own for sitting indoors all on your own? :)

Far rather be on a sportscruiser out in the fresh air but behind a decent screen, everyone together nice and social. Much more fun.

As for canopies, let's not pretend that there are none on a fly bridge boat. Usually a whacking great tonneau on top which is a pain to drag on and off plus yet another at the back!

Easier to berth a sportscruiser too as you're outside where you can see what is going on and you're on the right level to get involved. Much better than being stuck up on top or trying to peer out from inside.

Faster, better looking, less to clean.

If you want a floating apartment then flybridge is the way to go. If you want a boat - sportscruiser. :)
 
I tried to stay out of this but what the heck.....the thinking man will always choose a trawler. Lower helm, great visibility and a side door that will take you straight onto a very wide and very safe side deck. Remember, if this is your family's first big boat they are going to need you to help moor her up and the side door is a life saver. Also there is usually a door that goes straight onto the pontoon, you'll be able to take old people with you! On a sb there is nowhere to go, you think that there is a huge forward sunbathing area, truth is it is at such a precipitous angle you feel like you can roll off into the sea. A trawler has a large flat coach roof up front, its just a great place to relax and be sociable. And no matter what people here have, sb or fly, they are back here on this forum moaning that they have no where to put a tender. It's either in the lazaret and needs dragging out and blowing up or it blocks the whole back of the boat. A trawler will have a boat deck, a boat deck is like a fly bridge except it's huge. The cockpit will have a roof to give you that indoor/outdoor feeling, and inside the boat is huge with head room! Imagine, no more smashing your head.
All you sacrifice is a bit of speed.
 
Freeloader said:
To the OP -

I was in a very similar position a few years ago, when I owned a 22' cuddy and had two teenage children. It was great in so far as I could use it regularly for water skiing on a local lake, yet trailer it up to Scotland or down to the South Coast for holidays. However, 22' is clearly not something that can be used for accommodation for a week or two - particularly for 4!

At first we moved up to a Sessa C30 which initially seemed hugely roomy but, as we used it as much for holiday accommodation as we did for boating, it soon seemed a bit short of space for 4 (although quite comfortable for just the wife and I). The particular snag was having to convert the saloon table into a bed at night and vice versa in the morning. If you want to regularly accommodate 4, then get something with two separate cabins, plus a saloon!

We then looked to move up to something bigger... Boats around 34' offered the twin cabins but the extra 4' is not enough for a cabin, so space has to be robbed out of the saloon. Basically, to get back to the saloon space that we already had, we needed to move up to around 38' and so that is where we started looking. That decided, the next choice is whether to go for a sports cruiser or flybridge boat. As you will have read above, there are plenty of people who will tell you that one or the other is the 'best' - however, 'best' is only best if it suits your boating lifestyle. Fortunately, we are all different and have different priorities and, as a consequence, there is a vast choice of designs and layouts to choose from. Just remember, if any one choice was the 'best', then everyone would have exactly the same model. Try to identify how you will use your boat and buy something that will suit your lifestyle, not someone eles's. I would say, though, that it is probably better to go bigger than you think you need as you may otherwise grow out of your new boat too quickly.

My preference was for a sports cruiser, rather than a flybridge (not the 'wrong' choice because a sports cruiser suits me...) We considered lots of styles and brands and looked at quite a few before buying. It never ceases to amaze me how much people will spend on boats and then not look after them properly - but that is another topic! Eventually we found a Sealine S42, which pretty much ticked all my boxes - there is more room in the cabin than in anything else on the market (generous forward cabin, a huge mid-cabin, two en-suite heads, a separate shower compartment and a very roomy saloon & galley), the cockpit is simply enormous (have had 11 on board with room to spare), the semi-hard top is for me the perfect compromise (can just press a button to open / close the sunroof and / or take out the aft or fore canvas in no time - open boat and hard top in one), the side decks are wide, decent bathing platform, great engine bay access / room, etc etc. It would not be everyone's choice and some will knock Sealine but, for me, it's great!

Give it plenty of thought and choose carefully what suits you!
Click to expand...

+ 1 Sealine S42
 
Bouba said:
I tried to stay out of this but what the heck.....the thinking man will always choose a trawler. Lower helm, great visibility and a side door that will take you straight onto a very wide and very safe side deck. Remember, if this is your family's first big boat they are going to need you to help moor her up and the side door is a life saver. Also there is usually a door that goes straight onto the pontoon, you'll be able to take old people with you! On a sb there is nowhere to go, you think that there is a huge forward sunbathing area, truth is it is at such a precipitous angle you feel like you can roll off into the sea. A trawler has a large flat coach roof up front, its just a great place to relax and be sociable. And no matter what people here have, sb or fly, they are back here on this forum moaning that they have no where to put a tender. It's either in the lazaret and needs dragging out and blowing up or it blocks the whole back of the boat. A trawler will have a boat deck, a boat deck is like a fly bridge except it's huge. The cockpit will have a roof to give you that indoor/outdoor feeling, and inside the boat is huge with head room! Imagine, no more smashing your head.
All you sacrifice is a bit of speed.
Click to expand...
From a convert to the mini trawler - you can have all this, just 32' so cheaper to berth, plus a heavy metal double rail fence right around the boat, wide flat walk around decks (also ideal for dogs), a full double bed, en suite, separate wide beds for the kids in their own private cabin, with their own loo, a poop deck for entertaining, and, oh yes with your budget the 330HP versions will plane and reach 28 knots. Oh and it also has a fly bridge.

Corvette 320
 
The Departure.

Remember first trip out of a chums much desired Targa 43.
Remember spending an hour removing and stowing most of the canvas/chrome poles under the seats in the lockers.Mental note to fix nackered zips and pulled out lift the dot clips later on.
Remember replacing all seating.
Remember watching folks on the rear sunpad clinging on for dear life as they slid towards the stern of the boat as it accelerated.
Remember other passengers attempting to hang on the daft circular seating while underway.
Remember removing guests from rear sunpad and unclipping sunpad to allow back door thingy to be raised to access dinghy.
Remember owner going 10 rounds with semi deflated dinghy in order to extract it from slightly too small garage .
Then pumping up dinghy.
Part 11. The Return Nightmare.............probably at some point in the near future.
First deflate your dinghy....but not to much, crawl inside garage to retrieve winch hook and then fun begins..

Tent boats dontcha luv em. :):):)
 
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Re: The Departure.

I can remember the feeling of insecurity standing on a flybridge with only about 2ft of raised coamings
I remember battling the flybridge tonneau cover in the wind. It was like a huge sail
I remember being cold, despite it actually being a reasonably decent day
I remember a chum buying a Bimini for his flybridge to keep the sun off
I remember the hassle of erecting it when needed which involved canvas and poles
I remember almost killing myself when I slipped on the vertical ladder
I remember trying to dig a deflated dinghy out if the lazarette, having first emptied it of all the other crap, then pumping it up from scratch
I remember trying to fold it back up small enough to fit back in the bag afterwards and then emptying the lazarette again
I remember having to dismantle the saloon furniture to gain proper access to the engines
I remember the cost of having to buy two of everything, electronics and helm related
I remember trying to drive from below and seeing very little forwards and zero behind
I remember trying to squeeze under bridges by removing bits of the boat
I remember a chum with a P35 who lost a whole season and had to remove both engines to gain access to the fuel tanks as the mild steel was rotten and they started leaking

Ah fond memories. Floating apartments, don't you just love em :D:D
 
Bouba said:
Lower helm, great visibility and a side door that will take you straight onto a very wide and very safe side deck. Remember, if this is your family's first big boat they are going to need you to help moor her up and the side door is a life saver.
Click to expand...

Except that no one new to a big boat ever even enters harbour from the inside helm position let alone attempts to berth. So they're back on top, forlornly yelling instructions.
 
Re: The Departure.

oldgit said:
Remember first trip out of a chums much desired Targa 43.
Remember spending an hour removing and stowing most of the canvas/chrome poles under the seats in the lockers.Mental note to fix nackered zips and pulled out lift the dot clips later on.
Remember replacing all seating.
Remember watching folks on the rear sunpad clinging on for dear life as they slid towards the stern of the boat as it accelerated.
Remember other passengers attempting to hang on the daft circular seating while underway.
Remember removing guests from rear sunpad and unclipping sunpad to allow back door thingy to be raised to access dinghy.
Remember owner going 10 rounds with semi deflated dinghy in order to extract it from slightly too small garage .
Then pumping up dinghy.
Part 11. The Return Nightmare.............probably at some point in the near future.
First deflate your dinghy....but not to much, crawl inside garage to retrieve winch hook and then fun begins..

Tent boats dontcha luv em. :):):)
Click to expand...

Aaaahhh, this post explains a lot!

Try going boating on a 'tent boat' with someone competent.

Then it won't take an hour to take the top off, it'll take 15 mins (about the same as wrestling the tonneau off a flybridge and removing the marquee off the back). There won't be knackered fastenings because poppers will be given a smear of Vaseline every six months and Lift The Dots will be used properly (the clue is in the name). And they might even choose a dinghy that actually fits the garage!

As to 'replacing all the seating', err, why..?

And 'passengers attempting to hang on to daft circular seating while underway - again, why..?

No wonder you were put off, it all sounds terribly traumatic! :D
 
oldgit said:
Remember first trip out of a chums much desired Targa 43.
Remember spending an hour removing and stowing most of the canvas/chrome poles under the seats in the lockers.Mental note to fix nackered zips and pulled out lift the dot clips later on.
Remember replacing all seating.
Remember watching folks on the rear sunpad clinging on for dear life as they slid towards the stern of the boat as it accelerated.
Remember other passengers attempting to hang on the daft circular seating while underway.
Remember removing guests from rear sunpad and unclipping sunpad to allow back door thingy to be raised to access dinghy.
Remember owner going 10 rounds with semi deflated dinghy in order to extract it from slightly too small garage .
Then pumping up dinghy.
Part 11. The Return Nightmare.............probably at some point in the near future.
First deflate your dinghy....but not to much, crawl inside garage to retrieve winch hook and then fun begins..

Tent boats dontcha luv em. :):):)
Click to expand...

There's truth in the above it CAN be like that.
I ve had one .
If only the designer thought it through ?
Take "Flexicovers" had em on a SS -total rubish -probably reponsable for OG,s lifelike description .
Cushions and lockers hatches not lined up etc .

Hoods and covers can be so simple and easy .Italians use a clever pop cum stud which you can adjust the tension .No stretching or # fingernails etc .

As some one said it all depends how YOU use it .

I have zero opinion on the FB vs open ---- even Vs large sail boat over 60 ft .
Eg if I was off on a 6 month jolly in the Med ( Greek Islands ) the a 60 ft + yacht. Rag n sticks but with air con Geny ,tender garage etc would be my choise .
That's not the debate here I realise that ,just reinforces there's no perfect boat ,one size fits all .
You chose the compromises .
Thing is inexperienced "newbys " don,t Allways know what the compromises are ?

For me FB start to attract @60 ft and above .
Opens start to detract from 80 ft and above .
Currently my boat "x " as Jez says --is v simple in all ways and suits us at the mo , but it s clearly a 100% Med only boat ---and seasonal at that .
Once the "tent " easily comes off May time it stays off until end of Oct --boat hibernates .
 
volvopaul said:
Pi55ing myself at these comments, why do you bother going boating .
You want to try earning a living working on some of these boats .
Click to expand...

Difference is we are not getting paid for our time onboard .
We are the gravey train ,the punter , burning disposable descretionary ££ /€€ .
Little details add up and end up mattering .

Reminds me of "he who pays the piper calls the tune "
 
Thanks for all this, really helpful,

I think I do probably have a shortlist which as some have said maybe on looks, I think I prefer SB's rather that FB's but there seem to be pro and cons to all.

I think we need to spend a lot more time looking and actually getting on the boats to see what space we need.

We will need to make our own decision but it was interesting to see what Brands were suggested and some that were not.

We do need to sell our boat or Part exchange which may make it more limiting as I do not want to sell ours and then not be able to find a replacement,

I will certainly update on any developments but really appreciate the comments

Richard
 
Hello

Well my search goes on without much or any success but I notice a lot of boats have changed from Volvo D6-310 to D4-300, does anybody have any experience or advice on both options as we seem to be looking at boats with both with only a few years difference in them. Were the D6's too heavy or too inefficient?

Thanks
 
With that size of family, I would definitely take a look at a Sealine F43, excellent sea keeping boat, easy to handle and masses of space for its size in the saloon, not to mention great separation between fore and aft cabins! You can get some nice condition boats in your price range - how do I know, I just sold one.......
 
I would give some thought to the age of the children and your "lifestyle".
Of course if they are aged 3, then you have them with you for some time, and maybe space and safety is more a priority with regard to longer cruises. However, if they are 15 or so and pretty independent then you might find they are not coming along that often any more as they have plenty of other things they want to do rather than sit around the Solent in the drizzle ;)
 
Oooo loverly a resurrected old thread

As to 'replacing all the seating', err, why..?

And 'passengers attempting to hang on to daft circular seating while underway - again, why..?


For a start ARI........


Poo is that the time ........ got to go, my dirty bilges await :)......
 
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I will recommend a Windy 37.... it is great for a family of 4. Nice lay-out and a really great social area in the back... Many other boats in same size or even bigger boats have less seating space. Windy is known for the best handling in rough sea. Strongly build (all 37 made in Arendal, Norway before they moved to Vastervik, Sweden) and the interior all over is really high class... no plastic but real wood with excellent finish. The 37 I think is still looking great even this model stopped in production 2012. I have one with 2 x KAD 300 on DPG drives and it is good for 40 knots. Fuel consumption I find reasonable .... You can go slow at 7 knots and consume abt. 10 L/H or run 30 knots and consume abt. 50 L/H. Average I run 15 L/H through the season. These boats are available with KAD 44 on DPE legs too at less money but I believe almost same fun. You need to try one to understand what a Windy is. Really great boats.
 

Hi,
If you want really seaworthy and comfortable facilities to the boat, do not skip this NT 37, the price is really low vs the US market, these Nordic tug is built exceptionally well in any way.

From the picture, the boat is Well kept, and the Cummins use hours tell the boat did more than live at the pier. This Cummins qsb is great diesel this boat, echomnomical and power full.

NBs

Link http://uk.boats.com/power-boats/2007-nordic-tugs-37-flybridge-6385596/#.WhQNH5VrzIU
 
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