New Boat or Secondhand

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A friend who sailed with me last season has got the bug and wants to buy a boat, he can point the boat but does not have much experience. He is hoping to interest his wife in sailing, she has never sailed before aged 50+ (I think we know where that will end!)

He is preparing to spend 70K on a brand new boat - I say he is mad (trying to find marine psychiatrist for him) - not sour grapes !!

Any opinions ??

Thanks
 
He is mad.

Tell him to charter something nice and take his wife on a gentle cruise first. At least if he charters a few different boats he might have some idea of what he wants, and whether or not his wife is ever going to take to it.

He will get a better quality or bigger or better equipped (or if very lucky all three) three to five year old boat compared with buying new.

- Nick
 
Problem with charter approach is that charter boat probably will be bigger and more comfy than the boat he will buy in the end (if he is not rich like a troll). Thus he will get wifey used to more comfy boat that what she'll get in the end.
I found it easier going the other way. Make wifey used to crap boat then buy one that does not leak. Everybody happy. :-)
 
Let him buy it - someone has to supply the secondhand boats for us to buy them.

Seriously - if he wants to interest his wife in sailing - spend this year chartering (somewhere warm to start with) and get her involved in the choice of boat to buy. If he wants to sail wiht his mates then buy and be dammed (by the wife). /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
strongly agree with webcraft , shows a lack of understanding of whats involved and exspensive implications of getting it wrong .My wife has sailed for years -but only in Med and is just about happy with boat heeling over a fair bit after years of getting used to it .Its a very tricky thing getting a woman on -side with the sailing aspect and has to be taken very slowly .Both need to spend time on diffrent boats as above to get better idea of likes and dislikes and indeed if wife likes it at all !!
 
[ QUOTE ]
A friend who sailed with me last season has got the bug and wants to buy a boat, he can point the boat but does not have much experience. He is hoping to interest his wife in sailing, she has never sailed before aged 50+ (I think we know where that will end!)

He is preparing to spend 70K on a brand new boat - I say he is mad (trying to find marine psychiatrist for him) - not sour grapes !!

Any opinions ??

Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]
Why is he mad? It all depends on his personality. If he is the type of person who can turn his hand to most things, I say go for it?
 
agree with above - charter first. I once took a girlfriend out on an charter, in a far off land, in a new 36 footer which I thought was very spacious and well equipped. She took one look at it and said "you don't expect me to sleep in there do you? It's like a garden shed".

Those words will amuse me for years to come! Needless to say, I got a new g/f before buying a boat!
 
Dead right.

If this sailing lark is all his idea, it may be asking a bit much to expect her to tag along and enjoy it because he tells her to. If she's fully involved in the decisions from the start, then it could become a shared hobby.

Suggest he goes on a flotilla charter somewhere warm and easy, like Greece. If he's going to do Day Skipper or something, do it somewhere warm, and get her to do it at the same time - for the confidence-building, rather than for the bit of paper.

Then buy the boat together - by that time they'll have some idea of what they want.

I hope it works out for him (and her).

Ali
 
Get him to join a local sailing club if possible. Many members would be pleased to show off their pride and joy in a 'real' environment and will know his problem. They love to feel experienced and understanding - like all Scuttlebutters. Have him Shanghai'd rather than buy new. As others say, unless SWMBO is reasonably happy the enterprise is doomed.
 
Let him buy it! My partner hadn't been sailing before so I took her on a learn to sail holiday in Greece. We came back, she ordered new sailing boat and paid for it as well. How good is that! It's all in the way you appraoch it.
 
Me ? 2nd-hand .... and very specific reasons why.

A good example is someone I know.

He spent 94K on a new 36ft boat. Then another xK fitting it out with all the bits he wanted. All in all he probably spent about 105K - gettiing it somewhere near to what he wanted.

Before he bought - I gave him contact for a 36ft 2001 boat. He looked it over ... fully equipped .. heating, radar, GPS plotter etc. etc. etc. Total job - ready to go of into the blue. Excellent boat ... clean and presented well. Asking price was 78K. I told him to offer 70K. Guy said give me 72K - and you can have it.

Just over 1.5 yrs later - he tells me I was right. That he should have gone for the 2001 job. His new boat has lost that much money for re-sale to get another - he's crying in his Bank-book.

So for me ... it's got to be the 2nd hand route ... and for that money 70K .... there are some nice boats out there. But I would be concerned that wifey may not like it and he may end up with an expensive toy unused in a marina ... ??
 
Just show him the sort of 2nd hand boat he could get for £70k if you want to change his mind.
But I agree with the posters who say that getting the wife "on board" is the most important part. I had a boat before I had a wife, so I was able to introduce potential candidates to the boat to see if the boat liked her .... Obviously no sane person could not like sailing .... /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
most wives who have never been in sailing boats, get quite upset the first time they heel over. The more you are enjoying it, the less they like it.

Avoid this problem and buy a catamaran!
 
Also,

Is he aware how much extra he will need to spend once he's got his new boat?

tenders, outboard, flares, liferaft, engine spares, motoring cones, GPS, etc etc etc..... that often come included with a 2nd hand one....

We looked at new, and reckoned on adding about £15k to the buying price...

Furthermore,

Speak to anyone who has bought a new boat, and they will tell you tales of hassle getting snagging lists dealt with under warranty.....

Makes second hand look a whole load more attractive to me...
 
Beauty of secondhand is that they are often well equipped already - which can save on thousands spent in the swindlery.

Also most of the gremlins will probably have been sorted - unless vessel is getting much older & starting to need refettling.
 
I would suggest they try chartering first (as they seem to have the budget to allow this)......certainly start off somewhere hot, but before buying in the UK, suggest you do a Charter (or even a day trip!) here as well!

It may (???!!) be that SWMBO will love sailing, but also it may turn out that even if he spent 1/2 million on a Boat and could guarantee 24/7 sunshine he would still be p#ssing into the wind no matter what he buys. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

However, if she does love sailing (or at least is willing to give it a go) then it gives them BOTH a chance to try and work out in practice what is important for THEM before they buy. whether this be a brand new Beneteau or a MAB /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.......or somewhere in between.

Else if she does hate all boats, he then gets to decide whether to proceed on his own (this may be a viable option?!), in which case his choice of boat may well differ from that he would have chosen to help accomadate SWMBO.

Hell, they may even decide THEY like sitting in the Sun on a boat for a few weeks a year, and letting someone else worry about all the boring maintanence stuff. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
Everything every one has said makes sense but as has already been pointed out, every second hand boat out there was someones new one once and there's nothing quite like the feel of having something that no one else has used if you can afford it. (Which I can't but if you read my previuos post, you'll see where I'm coming from!) /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Story I heard from the guy ....

New is new and no-one used before.

He still cried into his wallet after it all "sank-in" what differences there were.

It's simple for the friend of the guy who's going to buy in the original post. All he has to do is take him and his wife round a few yards and dealers looking at 2nd-hand and new boats. Make comparison of what you are getting.

Example :
Who wants to buy a new medium large boat at £135K when I can get a beaut of a 2nd-hand HR42 at that price ? Kitted out with all the gear you could want ..... having been set up for ARC / Long-distance cruising in comfort.

Another :
Legend 36 in sail-away approx. £100K vs Jeanneau 36 fully kitted out with all the bits and bobs ~ 5yrs old ... for 75K

No contest I reckon .....
 
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