Newbie after help and advice.

I

Ian.S

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Hi,
This is my first post,so apologies if it's in the wrong section.

Firstly let me introduce myself, my name is Ian and I live in Cheshire U.K. I have absolutely no boating experience whatsoever but intend to rectify this in the near future.

My wife and I have a plan for retirement and have had for some time, this plan is to buy a boat and live on it for 3-4 months of the year. We intend to berth the boat at a marina in Lanzarote and go out there for 3- 4 months over the winter period. I have family in lanzarote and also the climate over our winter period makes it a no brainer!

My main question is this, with a budget of around £135k what boat fits the bill? We intend to do a bit of cruising around the area so need something that's both big enough to live on but handles/cruises well.

We have just come back from lanzarote and have been enquiring into the relevant courses required so are intending to return in May 18 to begin the process.

Does anybody have any knowledge of berthing or cruising in lanzarote?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
We intend to spend the majority of the time moored safely in a marina so I'm hoping seasickness won't be an issue.

I am going on a few courses prior to buying,starting in May next year. Why not spend that sort of money if the intention is to live on her 3-4 months of the year? It's going to be mainly a holiday home.
 
I'd go for a flybridge boat. You should get something quite nice for £135k. However, the Canary islands are pretty remote so choice will be limited or you have the challenge of getting the boat there.

Also, seas are rough over the winter and local cruising in Lanzarote is very limited.

I'd save my money and get a long term let on an apartment.
 
Ian.S said:
We intend to spend the majority of the time moored safely in a marina so I'm hoping seasickness won't be an issue.

I am going on a few courses prior to buying,starting in May next year. Why not spend that sort of money if the intention is to live on her 3-4 months of the year? It's going to be mainly a holiday home.
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boats used like that make lousy holiday homes. They need constant maintenance\ and use (as boats) otherwise they deteriorate very quickly and lose value.

This does not mean that people do not live part time on boats, but as suggested most stick to the Med where there are many more places to actually use the boat, and to be honest most choose sailing boats rather than high powered motor boats as they are more adaptable and much cheaper to run.
 
petem said:
I'd go for a flybridge boat. You should get something quite nice for £135k. However, the Canary islands are pretty remote so choice will be limited or you have the challenge of getting the boat there.

Also, seas are rough over the winter and local cruising in Lanzarote is very limited.

I'd save my money and get a long term let on an apartment.
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Is it really that bad out there? I’ve personally got no idea. I have heard it’s very windy so I guess that’s going to limit things. Perhaps more of a sailing ground than a MOBO place...
 
I've just got back from Puerto Calero Lanzarote and it was a bit breezy but there were also a lot of days of very calm waters especially in the mornings..
Correct me if I'm wrong but is the Med warm enough to spend our winter months over there living on a boat?

Any suggestions for suitable boats would be great.
 
I don't think there are hard and fast numbers..and others might disagree..but maybe 10 pct a year mooring running repair costs and another 10 pct depreciation. Now I am not saying these numbers are right but are you ok with 25k a year on this year in year out as a basic? You need to be able to afford this or it is a nasty millstone..
Not at all saying whether you can or not but purchase price is the least of the concerns.��
 
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It's not that long a trip from the Canaries to the Med, should the OP get bored/find the canaries unsuited to his needs. It only took me three days to make the trip from Gib in a sail boat at an average of about 5knots, so coast hopping up the Moroccan coast shouldn't take much longer, even if sticking to daylight sailing.
Med winter weather? It's a bit of a mix, mainly a good deal warmer than UK but the weather itself can be wetter and windier. Much depends on whereabouts you are. We had a winter in Barcelona which for much of the time was pretty spring like but then you'd get a week or so of wet, cold overcast weather. Corfu was warmer and wetter but the rain tended to arrive in buckets for a day or so followed by long periods of reasonably setteled warmer weather. Crete was drier but strangely cooler than Corfu: perhaps the mountains have an effect. Perhaps the best illustration of the weather was Messilonghi (northern shore of the Gulf of Patras): we held a BBQ every Sunday through the winter. It was only cancelled twice because of the weather.
Can't help with boat choices I'm afraid as I sail one of those slow boats with flappy things. Whatever you do decide, hope you enjoy yourself.
 
I had figured for around the 10% running costs with the marina fees coming in at 6000 euros for the year. Plus the servicing and anti fouling etc. The figure to buy the boat does not include a retirement fund for any major issues!

I was chatting with a guy in the marina who said a lot travel around the other Canary Islands and over to Cape Verde plus the med so there does seem a few options if that's what we wanted to do.

I've stayed in Moraira in January and the weather wasn't great to be honest,not boat weather anyway.
It's the winter temps of the Canaries that is making me think here rather than the Med.
 
Ian.S said:
I've just got back from Puerto Calero Lanzarote and it was a bit breezy but there were also a lot of days of very calm waters especially in the mornings..
Correct me if I'm wrong but is the Med warm enough to spend our winter months over there living on a boat?

Any suggestions for suitable boats would be great.
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AS it's something you will primarily live on first, and cruise on later bigger is better.
I would be looking at a flybridge or aftcabin boat of at least 40ft.

I use my biatvlike a holiday apartment and lounging space is really important. We are just k er 50ft and for the four of us it's just about right. Even then, lounging space can still be at a premium.

£135k is a good budget and you'd get a suitable boat for that, if you shopped well maybe even half that.
 
Thanks for the info, that's our plan but there will only be two of us with just the occasional visitors!
Any pics of your boat?

I was thinking a 40ft as a minimum but then prices seem to rocket if you go much over this. An azimut seems a nice place to lounge!
 
petem said:
You can buy a very nice Azimut 39 for £135k. That's where my money might go.
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+ lots, but you know I am a bit biased.

Lanzarotte is very windy, great for windsurfing and kite surfing. If you want a floating apartment, then that is ok, but if you want to use the boat regularly, then there are better locations. If a floating appt is the plan, go for as large as you can afford.
 
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