vodzurk
Well-Known Member
DazzyWoo above has hit it spot on.
My background so far is that we're just entering our second year of mobo ownership. The first year has had it's ups and downs.
I'll not re-iterate anything DazzyWoo says above, as it's all golden... but here's some thoughts from our experience...
1 - Firstly, time is a killer. I think they call it "Boat Time" or something. Everything goes at a MUCH SLOWER rate... want a bit of work doing... get it scheduled. Want some training... get it scheduled. From buying a "Good to go" boat in November 2016, the thing wasn't ACTUALLY ready to go until April. Half a year can pass very quickly. VHF and PB2 can be done fast, so get on with it asap!
2 - Don't assume you'll be hopping on and taking your friends out and loving it from day one. There's a LOT of learning and confidence to be gained when out coastal. See our first video on the signature link below... we utterly Sh*t The Bed on our first trip out. Now we know what was going on, and can laugh at it in hindsight. I'd highly recommend you+partner take the boat out a good few times without guests first... and then "preview" any trips before taking guests, so you know it beforehand.
3 - I get the impression that it takes years as a hobbiest to be "competent". We've had many STB moments... like sudden unexpected shallows (our Portishead to Weston Video, the tide should have had 7m+, but grounds can shift)... sudden unexpected winds in the lock just as the wife is about to hop off (she almost broke her foot tripping on a cleat with the sudden movement)... changing winds when trying to berth (keep aborting and retrying, even if it takes 10 times to get right)... undocking, moving off, engine cuts out (being investigated next week)... wife getting sick about always telling her to close the cuddy/bow hatch, so not doing it one time, then punching through a wave that submerged the bow, drenched the cuddy, whereby she blames me for not reminding her to close it... it never ends. Our friends have mostly been disappointed by lack of opportunities to go out with us during our first/learning year. Entering our second year, we hope we can pick up a bit.
4 - Take backups. We have navionics tablet + phone install. We've DSC radio + handheld DSC (bit pricey, but if I'm overboard, I want RNLI asap, just in case wife panics!). We've even got a bloody auxiliary engine for emergencies (if I had to buy again, I'd buy twin engine). All that said though, its up to you to figure out what your plan is for fire/engine failure/overboard. Our situation might be different to yours though, Bristol Channel is notoriously unforgiving (15mph currents, 10m+ tide), so maybe join a local club for advice?
5 - Our plan seems to be working for us so far... to start small. We could have budgeted for an S28 straight away. But went for a £6000 Sealine 195. The money being chucked at it gets a bit silly. Thankfully, because of this, I'll now know a lot of the hidden costs and queries for Boat #2. That said, as DazzyWoo says, keeping the wife happy is critical. Our boat has no heating... so she's not overly keen if its a very cold day... plus the accommodation wouldn't be too great for more than a few nights.
6 - Prices change in winter. Very soon prices will start going up again. Then you'll have a month at least preparing it and learning about it... so you're running out of 2018 already if you don't get plans in motion.
Either way, welcome to the mobo club, it's a great and massively rewarding way to spend your free time.
My background so far is that we're just entering our second year of mobo ownership. The first year has had it's ups and downs.
I'll not re-iterate anything DazzyWoo says above, as it's all golden... but here's some thoughts from our experience...
1 - Firstly, time is a killer. I think they call it "Boat Time" or something. Everything goes at a MUCH SLOWER rate... want a bit of work doing... get it scheduled. Want some training... get it scheduled. From buying a "Good to go" boat in November 2016, the thing wasn't ACTUALLY ready to go until April. Half a year can pass very quickly. VHF and PB2 can be done fast, so get on with it asap!
2 - Don't assume you'll be hopping on and taking your friends out and loving it from day one. There's a LOT of learning and confidence to be gained when out coastal. See our first video on the signature link below... we utterly Sh*t The Bed on our first trip out. Now we know what was going on, and can laugh at it in hindsight. I'd highly recommend you+partner take the boat out a good few times without guests first... and then "preview" any trips before taking guests, so you know it beforehand.
3 - I get the impression that it takes years as a hobbiest to be "competent". We've had many STB moments... like sudden unexpected shallows (our Portishead to Weston Video, the tide should have had 7m+, but grounds can shift)... sudden unexpected winds in the lock just as the wife is about to hop off (she almost broke her foot tripping on a cleat with the sudden movement)... changing winds when trying to berth (keep aborting and retrying, even if it takes 10 times to get right)... undocking, moving off, engine cuts out (being investigated next week)... wife getting sick about always telling her to close the cuddy/bow hatch, so not doing it one time, then punching through a wave that submerged the bow, drenched the cuddy, whereby she blames me for not reminding her to close it... it never ends. Our friends have mostly been disappointed by lack of opportunities to go out with us during our first/learning year. Entering our second year, we hope we can pick up a bit.
4 - Take backups. We have navionics tablet + phone install. We've DSC radio + handheld DSC (bit pricey, but if I'm overboard, I want RNLI asap, just in case wife panics!). We've even got a bloody auxiliary engine for emergencies (if I had to buy again, I'd buy twin engine). All that said though, its up to you to figure out what your plan is for fire/engine failure/overboard. Our situation might be different to yours though, Bristol Channel is notoriously unforgiving (15mph currents, 10m+ tide), so maybe join a local club for advice?
5 - Our plan seems to be working for us so far... to start small. We could have budgeted for an S28 straight away. But went for a £6000 Sealine 195. The money being chucked at it gets a bit silly. Thankfully, because of this, I'll now know a lot of the hidden costs and queries for Boat #2. That said, as DazzyWoo says, keeping the wife happy is critical. Our boat has no heating... so she's not overly keen if its a very cold day... plus the accommodation wouldn't be too great for more than a few nights.
6 - Prices change in winter. Very soon prices will start going up again. Then you'll have a month at least preparing it and learning about it... so you're running out of 2018 already if you don't get plans in motion
.Either way, welcome to the mobo club, it's a great and massively rewarding way to spend your free time
.
