New to boating

[agi]

Hello

Apart from a few days with a pontoon in a US lake many years ago, I am a new to boating.

My wife isn't sure if she wants to be involved and my son is also a bit meh about it. The boat that has caught my eye is a Sealine F34.

So, I guess the first question is - is that an insane boat for someone new to boating? Should I be aiming for something smaller given I may be single handed?

I'm in the process of booking RYA courses, but a boat with the engines and spec I want is on sale now. It'd be madness to buy it and bring her home (Torquay to Bristol Channel) without having done those courses right? Or am I being overcautious?

Thanks

 

[BruceK]

Not madness if you have a competent skipper with you. Madness if you do it solo. Put the word out and I'm sure you will find some volunteers if you dont want to pay a professional skipper. However it may still be cheaper by road than in fuel and with unknown mechanicals may be the safer bet.

 

[Momac]

Have the boat delivered by road transport.
Or keep it where it is now and build experience.
Or better still buy a smaller boat and build experience on that.

 

[GaryJeffery]

All boats have their own characteristics, smaller may be easier and cheaper, but not necessarily better. My First boat was/is a Princess 30 DS, I have no formal qualifications as yet (3 years on). I paid for an instructor to accompany me on the day of the 3hr journey back to her new home port. We stopped at various points for him to teach me different manoeuvres and have approach and docking practice at different types of moorings. Plus he taught me the basics of navigation on the way. That was a great grounding, there is a plethora of good advice and tutorial videos on YouTube and the wider internet. Prepare with lots of research and then practice only when the conditions are right, ideally with a second person (or two) aboard to help with fenders/fending off and lines. You will soon find that the skills come and your confidence will grow. Take it slowly and get further instruction as you feel you need it, it is a lot more cost effective initially than a full day skipper course, plus the one to one tuition is invaluable I feel.
Travelling between ports or places whilst staying safe and afloat is probably the easiest part, navigation you can learn from books, internet and electronics, there is a great free app from Coracle online to help you learn the “rules of the road” collision regs and a lot more besides. If you want to, you can also sign up for the theory part of the RYA Day Skipper course online, costs about £250 ish at the moment. It basically teaches the same nav/rules stuff I previously mentioned with a test and cert at the end.
Just to reiterate, take your time, practice and pick your wind, weather and tides carefully for the best conditions. I think I was happy to go solo after around 10 practice sessions (3-6 hrs or so each) that were actually repetitive docking/leaving the berth, picking up mooring balls, careful manoeuvres around marina, other boats n bouy’s etc. Then as you get to know your boat better you can begin to take on slightly windier conditions and/or slightly stronger currents.
No course can really give you the time on your own boat that builds into knowing how it handles in a variety of conditions. That said, I’d like to get the Day Skipper qualification in time, but it’s only really necessary if you intend to charter a boat abroad or take your own boat abroad.

 

[Eyore]

Buying a boat like that based on a hunch seems like a recipe for dissapointment. Marinas are full of shattered dreams and un used boats.
Do some RYA courses,get some sea miles under your belt,start with an easily managed smaller boat to get some experience ,then base your decisions on more than a whim.

 

[Aardee]

The most worrying part for me is the lack of family enthusiasm.

 

[bowler]

Marinas are full of shattered dreams and un used boats.
Do some RYA courses,get some sea miles under your belt,start with an easily managed smaller boat to get some experience ,then base your decisions on more than a whim.

#

The most worrying part for me is the lack of family enthusiasm.

I agree with both points above. Without the other half 'on board' you will rarely be on board. Having (and more importantly using) a boat requires all parties to be interested. In order to get anywhere near value for money you need to think of it as more of a way of life, especially a big boat like that Sealine. Unless of course the wife will not mind you being away frequently and spending lots of cash (after purchase price) on something she never uses.

Try your best to get those enthusiasm levels up - especially the wife. There is no substitute for having a partner that is as keen as you are to head to the boat, plus, that boat is on the large side to be using single handed. When there is plenty of wind and tide you will be glad of some crew - believe me.

However, get those things right and you will never look back.

Good luck,

D.

 

[agi]

Thanks everyone - appreciate the advice.

My son has done an about turn and now appears quite excited at the prospect. My wife loves the idea in principle, but suffers motion sickness on aircraft though it appears to have improved over the decades. She hasn't had a turn in over 10 years now. That's where the uncertainty lies - if she knew she wouldn't get sick, she'd be all over it.

We're all taking a 2 day RYA Helmsman course - so we'll see how she fares on that and go from there. Thanks again!

 

[Bouba]

Personally I think that you should go for it, experience is easily gained, it just takes time. At first it might feel the scariest thing in the world when your new pride and joy doesn’t behave like your car despite the controls looking so familiar and those parked boats in the marina are approaching at a speed faster than you can think (even though in the real world you are only going three miles an hour). But it’s only a matter of time before it all makes sense.
Starting out in a small boat and working your way up can take a long time. You could lose money on every sale as well as take forever to sell them, your family may enjoy small boats even less.
But, new to boating is new to the cost of boating. Obviously we have no idea of your finances but boating adds up real fast to real expensive. Get a realistic idea of what your annual budget will be on top of the purchase price as well as the one off costs for the unexpected.
However I agree with everyone else about the wife. I think the only boaters who are content with going out without their wives are fishermen. You need to get her on board (literally). Go for, it’s a lot of fun, being out on a perfect day on the flat calm sea is like nothing else!

 

[ST840]

Always feed the Mrs ginger buscuits and get her to wear a seasickness band. Even if she doesn’t need it. At least til she’s confident. A lot of seasickness or motion sickness is induced by fear. If you can physiologically settle her down before she gets on the boat then you’ll be fine . And always remember , slow is pro !
Until confidence is built anyway.

 

[Bouba]

Always feed the Mrs ginger buscuits and get her to wear a seasickness band. Even if she doesn’t need it. At least til she’s confident. A lot of seasickness or motion sickness is induced by fear. If you can physiologically settle her down before she gets on the boat then you’ll be fine . And always remember , slow is pro !
Until confidence is built anyway.

We are the opposite, my misses who is a reluctant boater, wouldn’t get motion sickness in a hurricane. Me, on the other hand, i have to work on my sealegs on every trip

 

[Whippersnapper]

If you are unsure of how your wife might go you could always charter something to try it out before you commit to purchasing

 

[Seejay]

All boats have their own characteristics, smaller may be easier and cheaper, but not necessarily better. My First boat was/is a Princess 30 DS, I have no formal qualifications as yet (3 years on). I paid for an instructor to accompany me on the day of the 3hr journey back to her new home port. We stopped at various points for him to teach me different manoeuvres and have approach and docking practice at different types of moorings. Plus he taught me the basics of navigation on the way. That was a great grounding, there is a plethora of good advice and tutorial videos on YouTube and the wider internet. Prepare with lots of research and then practice only when the conditions are right, ideally with a second person (or two) aboard to help with fenders/fending off and lines. You will soon find that the skills come and your confidence will grow. Take it slowly and get further instruction as you feel you need it, it is a lot more cost effective initially than a full day skipper course, plus the one to one tuition is invaluable I feel.
Travelling between ports or places whilst staying safe and afloat is probably the easiest part, navigation you can learn from books, internet and electronics, there is a great free app from Coracle online to help you learn the “rules of the road” collision regs and a lot more besides. If you want to, you can also sign up for the theory part of the RYA Day Skipper course online, costs about £250 ish at the moment. It basically teaches the same nav/rules stuff I previously mentioned with a test and cert at the end.
Just to reiterate, take your time, practice and pick your wind, weather and tides carefully for the best conditions. I think I was happy to go solo after around 10 practice sessions (3-6 hrs or so each) that were actually repetitive docking/leaving the berth, picking up mooring balls, careful manoeuvres around marina, other boats n bouy’s etc. Then as you get to know your boat better you can begin to take on slightly windier conditions and/or slightly stronger currents.
No course can really give you the time on your own boat that builds into knowing how it handles in a variety of conditions. That said, I’d like to get the Day Skipper qualification in time, but it’s only really necessary if you intend to charter a boat abroad or take your own boat abroad.

Just jumping in here - why do you say you need a Day Skipper qualification to take your boat abroad? I owned a 37 foot motor boat 15 years ago, put her on SSR, moored in Italy and then France for years and for £15 even got a declaration from the British Consulate confirming I didnt need any quals for a sub 24m boat on a British flag (as Italian law enforcers are never always sure of the laws they need to enforce). Just curious if things have changed as looking to buy again soon....