Newbie could do with some advice

[richrich123]

Hello,

I’m brand new here, just registered and really hoping some of you guys may be able to give me a few pointers. I am looking at buying my first boat. We used to have a hardy 17 with a 40hp outboard when I was young to go out fishing in (off the IOW) This is my only knowledge of boats. I am sorry if I do not know too much of the lingo but sure I will pick it up as I go along.

I am also like many others - sadly not made of money, and I am very aware how expensive it can become. That’s why I am looking for some advice before I go jumping in and make a mistake.

I am looking for something for my wife and I. Generally for weekend use. During the summer months to have seats that go back or a small bow sunbathing area. The means to climb in/out of the water for swimming and for a few afternoons out for some fresh air during the colder months. If it could pull a rubber ring and similar that would also be good for a bit of extra fun. From what I have seen so far, a Bowrider seems to fit the bill. Cost wise, I do have an area of drive that could take a boat up to 20 feet so I could save mooring costs here by trailering

We are in West Sussex, near Chichester and have family on the Isle of Wight so hoping for something that would be OK to cross the Solent from Chichester to Ryde / Cowes on a nice day.

Having had a look around my local yard, they seem to specialise in Larson and Bayline in particular. I am looking at spending about £10,000. I have seen a nice looking Larson 180 sei for around this amount as well as a Monterey 180 Edge

I am not set on any particular boat and have no knowledge of any. I intend to speand plenty more time visiting yards and learning more but if anyone has any advice / suggestions then I would really appreciate it.

My other consideration is the running costs. The 17 – 20 feet bowriders I have seen appear to generally have a 3L Mercruiser 130hp inboard. I have done a few searches on this and found a few bits of info. From what I can see, these boats hold about 85 gallons of fuel and at 20mph do about 3.5 mpg.

To my calculations, it is currently approx £4.00 per gallon of unleaded so would cost £347.00 to fill it up and at 3.5 mpg would give a range of about 300 miles on a full tank which overall is about £1.00 per mile. As a car driver, that’s seems hugely expensive. Have I got it wrong, am I just looking at a very expensive boat / engine to run or is that a good idea of an average cost to run a boat.

I do not want or need anything that goes like a rocket, just enough to put a nice breeze on your face and have enough power to go from Chichester to IOW safely (as well as just moseying along the Sussex coast.

Very lastly, what kind of car would you need to tow an average 17 – 20 foot bowrider ? I currently have a 130 BHP VW Passat TDI. Would that surfice to pull it from the marina to my house which is about 6 miles, all flat ground.
Many thanks for any help or advice anyone can offer to get me started. I am going to go to the S’ton boat show in Sept so will hopefully get some more inspiration there too.

 

[Kawasaki]

Welcome richrich123
1 (Well you started it!)
How about a Hardy 20?
2 With a four stroke 75/ 90 on the back?
3 Being as You have some experience of the brand.
4 (just to show I can count!)
The modern 4 strokes are really quite economical.
Your Passat is quite a good Tow Car by the way.
OK if You want to get launched down slippy slipways a 4x4 is better for grip, but the Passat will tow quite well.
Not going into towing weights, nose weights and all the bit that goes into towing right now.
That's a Thread on it's own!
My Theory(others will differ) for the UK small boat owner, the following is good advice.
A roof (as opposed to canvass, although I have canvass!, that again is another storey!) Shaft and Diesel.
Caveat, 4 stroke outboards Do suit some boats like the Hardy 20. and are relatively cheap to run and service.
Look at the "Merry Fisher" type of boats made by Beneteau and Jeanneau too.
£10,000 budget is difficult but not impossible.
My other thoughts tend towards a RIB.
Rigid Inflatable Boat.
You know, looks like an Inshore Life Boat.
Safe, can tow skiers etc.
Good for moseying, as You put it.
OK for Chi to Rye in the right conditions.
Need to wear proper clothing for the "colder Months" that's for sure.
But very trailable.
Useable and relatively cheap to run with a 4 stroke outboard as power.
As the title of Your first post says.
"Newbie could do with some advice"
Book a Power Boat Level 2 Course with Your Local RYA Centre/Training place.
Unless You already have!
Most probably a RIB will be used on the Course.
Plus talking to other Pupils and the Instructor will give You good ideas as to what You need.

 

[KCook]

I would say the advice from Kawasaki is quite practical. Those 18' bowriders are extremely popular over here in the US. But we run them on lakes, not the sea so much! Bigger bowriders, 22' and up, do find their way along our shores. But those need a V8 petrol motor. And I don't think you're going to be thrilled with the fuel bill for that.

Kelly Cook

 

[Channel Ribs]

Darn it, I agree with him too! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

If you want shelter and economy the Merry Fisher types are great, if you want easy to tow and cheap then a RIB is a good option.

If I were going to try and sell you something then I would point you toward a 5.3m Quicksilver with a jockey console, trailer, electronics package and 40HP motor - all within your budget. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I am off now to fins a thread where I can disagree with Kawa. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[blueglass]

[ QUOTE ]
As a car driver, that’s seems hugely expensive. Have I got it wrong, am I just looking at a very expensive boat / engine to run or is that a good idea of an average cost to run a boat.


[/ QUOTE ]
Sadly I think your calculations are probably not far out. Try very hard not to compare boat and car fuel consumption mile for mile - it is just too painful!

 

[Major Catastrophe]

[ QUOTE ]

Try very hard not to compare boat and car fuel consumption mile for mile - it is just too painful!

[/ QUOTE ]

You could try Sim Boating. Drive car to where you want to start the cruise, stand in sea and get a bit wet. Get back into car and drive to where you were going to cruise to. Stand in sea and get wet again. Drive back to start position again, whilst trying to eat damp sandwiches and at the same time toss £10 notes out of the window. Once back at the start, stand in the sea and get wet one final time. A lot cheaper than the real thing, but just as enjoyable.

Welcome to the forum and Kawasaki is just about spot on, which is unusual.

 

[lovezoo]

Can't help thinking you should get something like this:

Advert here: Boatsandoutboards

Its within your budget, your car would tow it, the seats fold flat for sun bathing and its got a cuddy to put all the junk you want to take out with you. The cuddy also doubles as an en-suite wc if you take a bucket with you. Only downside is it has a Force outboard.

IMHO ribs don't offer the same level of comfort for lazing about on and the enclosed wheelhouse type fishers like the Merry Fisher just aren't as much fun when the sun is shining, but are an awful lot more practical if you plan on going out in all weathers.

For fuel usage, I use around £25 for a day out on my 19ft boat, with around an hour of engine use, but you can easily use a lot more than that. When you consider how many times you are likely to use the boat in a season, the cost of petrol is not that bad.

I would also check out the slipways you are planning to use - you will have problems on a steep slippery one with your car, but will be fine on a longer one with a gentle slope.

 

[Chas25]

Hi Rich, and again welcome!

I used to have a Searay 180BR with the 3.0l petrol so can comment on the suitability of that style, I am also on my second Monterey so can comment on the brand/quality/dealer etc

Firstly your figures are a bit out I think!

The Monterey 180 I think has fuel capacity of ~100litres so (assuming your towing) will cost around £100 in fuel. using your figure of around 3.5mpg (not far off the mark) you'll have around 6 hours of use and a range of 150ish miles depending on conditions.

an 18ft BR will be fine for Solent/Coastal trips On a nice day I took mine round the IoW with no problems, it won't be the driest boat ever but great for some fun and with the back to back seating which folds flat great for a couple to lounge around and soak up some rays!

As for towing a small off roader would be make recommendation, ours weighed in on the trailer at 1350kg I'm sure this would be within the Passats ability but you may struggle on all but the best of slipways, and as its usually recovery thats the problem it can ruin what may have been a great day!

From a brand and customer service perspective I would struggle to say a bad thing about Monterey and the importer Southwater marine, in my experience they are extremely well made and have all taken anything I've thrown at them!

 

[gjgm]

B/R is ok for bay hoping and a nip accross to IOW in ok weather, but you might often-and I mean often- find it rather more relaxing safe in Chichester harbour. 3.0l petrol will be 5 galls an hour, but average use is 50 hours (engine hours) and alot of that might be pottering about in the harbour. £1000 a year in fuel would give you some pleasant boating.
Not sure of price but have a look at beneteau flyers.. good practical boats with a bit of sunbathing area.
Smaller b/riders have their limitations;sometimes not popular bcz of that, but if you are happy to match the boating to the conditions, they are ideal for some watersports, lunching at anchor,swimming off the beach etc.Good slip at Northney, by the way.
PM me if you feel like it; we ran a couple of b/r out of chichester for many years.

 

[landlockedpirate]

I tend to agree with all of the above comments. Bowriders are great on a sunny day in a flat calm sea, but smaller ones can ship a lot of water over the bow. I think a small cuddy like the one above should fit or a fisher type cuddy (budget would be the main issue with this type-and they have an enclosed cabin).

Dont compare running costs with a car, they dont equate in any way. Your figures are pretty accurate (Apart from the size of tank), but look at costs per day.

I think your car can tow about 1800kg (Its a guess, and I cant be bothered with the VW site on the Blackberry !!), so it will be fine for all but the heaviest sub 20ft cuddies. Recovery can be an issue, but there are some decent slips round your area so you should be OK.

Have a look at a few makes and see what takes your fancy, remember an outboard powered model will be cheaper to buy and run and lighter to tow. Some suggested makes Maxum, Bayliner, Fletcher, Glastron.

Good luck

 

[richrich123]

Lovezoo, thanks for your post, I really like your suggestion - Bayliner 1702 LS Capri Cuddy. It looks to be just right. I have looked at the other suggestions and they are really helpful.

I have decided against a rib as although they are light, cheap and easier to run and maintain, they do not offer much in the way of comfort.

With regards to the merry fisher / Hardy cabin type boats, again, they are good but not really enough space at the back to layout and relax so don't think i'll go for them.

The bowrider still seems like the best option. It will be fine for bimbling arounf Chichester harbour and areas as well as fine for going along the Sussex Coast and for the odd trip from Chicheter over to the Isle of Wight on a nice sunny calm day.

Lovezoo made mention to the above bayliner and said "Only downside is it has a Force outboard" Why is this a downside ?

I have been at my local boat yard today looking at some options and need to decide if I should be looking at an inboard (most seem to be 3L / 130hp Mercruiser or an outboard.

I have seen a couple with single outboards between 75 - 120 hp on the average 16 - 18 foot bowrider. Can anyone offer any opinions / suggestions with regards to the inboard or outboard.

From what I have seen so far, it seems the outboard option is cheaper to run and maintain. Can anyone advise me what kind of cost a service is for say a 120 hp outboard like above and 3L / 130hp mercruiser inboard and how many hours use it should be between service.

Many thanks for all your help, much appreciated.

I think i am now starting to know exactly what I want / need but am still not too sure about the engine.

 

[richrich123]

these posts do not seem to go back to the top after a new post is made ??

 

[lovezoo]

[ QUOTE ]

Lovezoo made mention to the above bayliner and said "Only downside is it has a Force outboard" Why is this a downside ?


[/ QUOTE ]

Force outboards were basically cheaper versions of the same Mariner/Mercury engines and I don't think they make them anymore. Better brands are Mercury, Yamaha, Honda etc.

Some info on Force here Force

I also wouldn't worry too much about whether to get an inboard or outboard motor (although my preference would be inboard for various reasons) as they both have pros and cons. Just find the boat that you like within your budget.

And the reason the latest posts don't come up at the top of the forum is because you have to manually set this option in your "User Options" - its a bit rubbish, although for some reason some people like it the way it is...