New Owner: in or out during next winter?

Well I had a great 4 years with my sealine 255 sports cruiser. I learnt how to reverse and moor a light sterndrive boat in nasty wind, I managed to sleep in it for a week on many occasions, devising simple recipes to cook on my two burner hob.

Granted it was not the ideal boat for the upper Thames, but I learnt a lot and throughly enjoyed it.

It also made me appreciate a 40' twin shaft 15 ton boat perhaps more than if I had started in one.
 
Nope.

It's quite simply a case of Horses for Courses.

If I was on the coast, and needed a high speed planing boat to get places fast, I wouldn't have the 'Caravan' as you so pathetically put it.

Lets be fair, in Estuaries and coasts, A to B ability is of primary importance, as you aren't going to sleep once you have left the Marina!

However, on the Upper Thames, with a 5mph limit, one needs something that can waft along with virtually no wake at all, steer straight while you make a cup of tea, offers comfortable and spacious accommodation for ones guests, and offers the ability to stay aboard on a self sufficient basis for a week or two, without refuelling, or worrying about electric power, or water/ waste tanks.

In other words, not better, nor worse, just different.

It is a wonderful indication of sport Cruiser owners level of intelligence that they all seem to jump to the wrong conclusion when this matter is being discussed, which is why so many fools try and use these things between Oxford and Windsor.

I could understand having one at Penton Hook, with the Tidal River being so close, and all that entails, but Reading?

As I said people, Training shoe at a Garden party....No, No and No.

Feel free to ignore me or argue, but I have been there, and realised how foolish the whole thing was. In fairness, I had plans to take the Rio around to the coast, but failed to realise how far it was, and what it entailed!

Tea? Whats all that about?

Im not sure what sports boat you owned, but we have the ability to be self sufficient for a week or two (how else would we holiday aboard), dont need to refuel very often, dont worry about electricity or the waste tank. The only slight issue we have is that the water tank needs refilling after three days but it is hardly difficult to find a tap.

As you say horses for courses, but some of us prefer racehourses to donkey's:D
 
Incredible isn't it?

New guy comes along asking for all kinds of advice, and yet nobody seems to want to suggest the boat could have been better chosen?

And only the other Sportcruiser owners seem to attack the idea, which is one of sound advice.

When his wonderful days out are marred by people shouting 'WAAKE' and he's tired of trying to keep the thing in a straight line for hour after hour, with little hope of doing much Tidal work because he's at the wrong end of the River, will he realise there is an option?

Nobody else gives a hoot!

As I said, I bought an almost identical boat from the very same place, and moored at the same Marina. Wished I hadn't chosen the Boat...

Wake is not only produced by small sports boats. By far and away the biggest wakes we encountered on the Trent the other week were from large, semi displacement cruisers whos owners were so busy extracting their heads from their arses to realise boats were moored up.
 
. The only slight issue we have is that the water tank needs refilling after three days but it is hardly difficult to find a tap.

Yea ...but some of us wash more than once a week.:):):)
 
Apollo

I want to apologise to you for calling you a knob last week. It was clearly caused by the effects of alcohol and the excitement of the Royal Wedding.

After reading this thread, you in no way qualify for that title as it's just about to be offered to someone who believes that semi-displacement owners travel with their heads up their bottoms! I don't know why they would, because I'm sure that would reduce visibility and would be against col regs. Perhaps she could enlighten us.

So Appolo, you've lost your title to you know who.

Kind regards

PhillR
 
Apollo

I want to apologise to you for calling you a knob last week. It was clearly caused by the effects of alcohol and the excitement of the Royal Wedding.

After reading this thread, you in no way qualify for that title as it's just about to be offered to someone who believes that semi-displacement owners travel with their heads up their bottoms! I don't know why they would, because I'm sure that would reduce visibility and would be against col regs. Perhaps she could enlighten us.

So Appolo, you've lost your title to you know who.

Kind regards

PhillR

Cheers, much appreciated - even thick skinned peeps feel wounded sometimes...
 
Apollo

I want to apologise to you for calling you a knob last week. It was clearly caused by the effects of alcohol and the excitement of the Royal Wedding.

After reading this thread, you in no way qualify for that title as it's just about to be offered to someone who believes that semi-displacement owners travel with their heads up their bottoms! I don't know why they would, because I'm sure that would reduce visibility and would be against col regs. Perhaps she could enlighten us.

So Appolo, you've lost your title to you know who.

Kind regards

PhillR

If you would care to read the post again it doesnt imply that ALL owners of semi displacement hulls are like that at all. The point was that far from the typical stereotype that all sports boats create tsunamis behind that the worst wakes were from semi displacement boats whos owners were seemingly oblivios to the fact that they were steaming past moored boats far too fast. Not the usual scape goat sports boats.
 
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