Newbie needs boat buying advice

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robertt

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Hi and thanks for taking time to view my question
I want to get into boating hopefully at the start of the next "season" and would really appreciate advice from knowledgeable boaters as I am a complete novice.
I have been reading Motor Boats Monthly for around a year and have looked at boats online and in brokers in my local area, but am not really sure what to go for. I live in Glasgow. I would like a motorcruiser that has accomodation for my family and would allow island hopping around the West Coast of Scotland. I would like at least 4 berths but ideally 5.
As my interests lie in offshore use is there a minimum size of boat that I should be looking at for safe cruising at sea? Also would it be advisable (or essential) to go for twin engines in case of engine failure?
My budget is £20 - £25K.
Any advice gratefully accepted

Robert
 
Hi Robert and welcome.

If you are in Glasgow, why not pop into Prosser Marine. They have a range of boats, new amd used, to fit all pockets. Talk to them about your needs, and see what they have to say.

There are also several forumites in the Scottish west coast region. One of them may be happy to "show you theirs.......". We are genarally a friendly lot, even if we don't always agree.

Please consider that boats are a bit like houses, you can never quite afford what you really want. You also need to be clear on your own capabilities, both as helm/crew and maintenance. If you can do a fair bit of work yourself, you will reduce your annual costs. You will benefit from a PB course, and doing this will help you to understand what sort of boat you are looking for.

It sounds to me like you are looking for a 30-35 ft boat for your accom needs. These will usually have twin engines, and you will need diesels due to fuel costs. To buy one with your budget means an older boat that will require refurb/maintenance. In any case start with Prossers, and go from there.
 
Thanks very much for advice. I have been looking at the Prosser Marine website and have popped in to their showroom but did not get into any serious discussions as of yet. I like their wide range of boats and would be most likely to buy something there I think. I had kinda hoped to get something in the 25 to 30 foot range, and I thought diesel engines would be outwith my budget. Would twin petrol be a reasonable aspiration? Would you recommend a bigger boat for offshore use or is it just because I wanted 5 berths? Is island hopping a bit too ambitious for someone just starting out? We travel to Ireland by ferry each year as we have a little house in Donegal and would like to think that at some stage I could cross the Irish Sea but perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself!

Thanks
 
IMHO.............

"Any advice gratefully accepted"


Hi, Robert and welcome to the forum.You will find all the advice on here you will ever need and more probably far more than you actually want.
A wander round any boatyard will quickly give you an idea of the real world.
Your ideal boat as per your wish list, to do the all the things you want,is not going to leave you much change out of £50-60K and thats going to be something 20-30 or so years old and not in the prime of life.
As for petrol forget it,unless of course Tescos builds a lot of petrol stations along the coast of Scotland.Petrols are just no good for long distance cruising and the fuel is a real pain to find outside a few marinas.Just to rub it in,my local marina down here in civilization is charging £1.60 a litre and any decent sized petrol engine could be using 45 litres an hour,and you want TWO !!!
So something has to give,my suggestion is going to be all those berths.
You may be able to find something smaller with a diesel and two berths to get you half way to your desires.
Have a wander around a few boat yards and not just the places full of shiney shiney plastic with adverts for marine finance on the brokerage walls.
Many a bargain is to be found in boatyards as opposed to marinas.
Most of us here were lucky enough not to be burdened with large amounts of cash and have had the pleasure and the superior boating experience that can only come by starting with a small boat and working your up the food chain :)
Good luck,it is definately worth the effort,even if you will be skint for the rest of your life.
 
Brilliant, thanks. I really appreciate no nonsense real world advice.
Sounds like a single diesel engine might be best but does that mean concern about engine failure leaving me floundering? And I suppose manoeuvrability will be compromised esp in windy situations. I see a lot of adverts for 25 foot Bayliners with 4 berths but all seem to have single petrol engines. Are these really just for short distance pleasure boating?
 
robertt said:
Thanks very much for advice. I have been looking at the Prosser Marine website and have popped in to their showroom but did not get into any serious discussions as of yet. I like their wide range of boats and would be most likely to buy something there I think. I had kinda hoped to get something in the 25 to 30 foot range, and I thought diesel engines would be outwith my budget. Would twin petrol be a reasonable aspiration? Would you recommend a bigger boat for offshore use or is it just because I wanted 5 berths? Is island hopping a bit too ambitious for someone just starting out? We travel to Ireland by ferry each year as we have a little house in Donegal and would like to think that at some stage I could cross the Irish Sea but perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself!

Thanks
Click to expand...

In pretty much any sports type cruiser under 30 foot, there will be 4 berths, a convertible dinette (2) and a mid berth (2). In a river cruiser, you might pack-in 6 berths under 30ft, but you will not be safe at sea. There are some 1980's coastal/inland cruisers with twin diesels under £30k, but again, I don't think these will get you to Ireland, unless you are very lucky with the weather. These are likely to be a labour of love too. My boat is a Sunline 31. She has twin diesels, and sleeps up to 6 (with a squeeze). She is very economical, and roomy above and below decks. You will do well to find one much below £55k.
 
Sorry to butt in on this thread, I'm a raggie. But why dont you consider a sailboat, you could get a very good sea worthy yacht like say a westerly konsort for £25k with 6 berths, a good galley, heads etc with a diesel engine that uses max 1.5 liters per hour. Just a thought
 
nickd said:
Sorry to butt in on this thread, I'm a raggie. But why dont you consider a sailboat, you could get a very good sea worthy yacht like say a westerly konsort for £25k with 6 berths, a good galley, heads etc with a diesel engine that uses max 1.5 liters per hour. Just a thought
Click to expand...

Nice thought Nick, but he did ask the question on the Mobo forum, and therefore IMHO looking for Mobo feedback.

Personally I love sailing, and if I want sailing/raggie advice I know where to go. I assume Robert does too.
 
robertt said:
Hi and thanks for taking time to view my question
I want to get into boating hopefully at the start of the next "season" and would really appreciate advice from knowledgeable boaters as I am a complete novice.
I have been reading Motor Boats Monthly for around a year and have looked at boats online and in brokers in my local area, but am not really sure what to go for. I live in Glasgow. I would like a motorcruiser that has accomodation for my family and would allow island hopping around the West Coast of Scotland. I would like at least 4 berths but ideally 5.
As my interests lie in offshore use is there a minimum size of boat that I should be looking at for safe cruising at sea? Also would it be advisable (or essential) to go for twin engines in case of engine failure?
My budget is £20 - £25K.
Any advice gratefully accepted

Robert
Click to expand...

You are so close to Balloch where you can buy a single petrol engined 24-28 footer with a large aft bed suitable for 3 at a push and a front double bed.

The family will love loch lomond and once confident with the boat you can trail to holiday in the Sea locks and out to sea as your confidence grows.

My post assumes young family who enjoy speed, if you are over 50 then ignore my post and think about an old mans boat like a sailing boat already suggested (but Balloch has a low bridge, so you might need to start swinging , best ask for full details on the raggie forum :eek:).
 
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rafiki_ said:
Nice thought Nick, but he did ask the question on the Mobo forum, and therefore IMHO looking for Mobo feedback.

Personally I love sailing, and if I want sailing/raggie advice I know where to go. I assume Robert does too.
Click to expand...

PMSL, That was a bit harsh don't you think? :D
 
It's interesting that you suggested this because I was starting to think about this myself. The main problem is I have absolutely no knowledge of sailing and would have to start from scratch whereas I have a little experience of motorboating (only in the form of a diver's boat handling course on a RIB and 4 days on the Caledonian Canal!) I would also at times hope to go boating with my 2 sons, the oldest of whom is 11, my wife is not very keen on boating and although he could assist me with berthing in the way of tying warps I imagine for a sailboat I would need more assistance in sailing the vessel? I am making the assumption that with a motorcruiser I could handle the boat on my own out on the water. It certainly sounds like a sailboat would be more economical but what happens when the wind is not favourable? You will have to excuse my obvious ignorance on these matters!

Thanks
 
DAKA said:
You are so close to Balloch where you can buy a single petrol engined 24-28 footer with a large aft bed suitable for 3 at a push and a front double bed.

The family will love loch lomond and once confident with the boat you can trail to holiday in the Sea locks and out to sea as your confidence grows.

My post assumes young family who enjoy speed, if you are over 50 then ignore my post and think about an old mans boat like a sailing boat already suggested (but Balloch has a low bridge, so you might need to start swinging , best ask for full details on the raggie forum :eek:).
Click to expand...
Thanks for suggestion. I love Loch Lomond and it certainly is handy but I thought being moored there would be too restrictive (although it is a very large body of water so maybe I would never get bored with it). I would like to go to some of the Islands though, I have a friend who lives on Islay and would love to go to Arran and Mull as well.
It's all a bit of a pipe dream at the moment!
 
robertt said:
Thanks for suggestion. I love Loch Lomond and it certainly is handy but I thought being moored there would be too restrictive (although it is a very large body of water so maybe I would never get bored with it). I would like to go to some of the Islands though, I have a friend who lives on Islay and would love to go to Arran and Mull as well.
It's all a bit of a pipe dream at the moment!
Click to expand...

Its a great dream and achievable but in order to get your family hooked you need to start on calm waters, you will all get bored after a year or two there, when it will be time to move but only after holiday samples of the sea.

Calm waters are difficult to find but a small boat is easily transported for the summer school holidays during which time you should find suitable weather to take them to sea.

Taking them straight out to sea each weekend will most likely just scare them and you will sell the dream within a year.
 
robertt said:
It's interesting that you suggested this because I was starting to think about this myself. The main problem is I have absolutely no knowledge of sailing and would have to start from scratch whereas I have a little experience of motorboating (only in the form of a diver's boat handling course on a RIB and 4 days on the Caledonian Canal!) I would also at times hope to go boating with my 2 sons, the oldest of whom is 11, my wife is not very keen on boating and although he could assist me with berthing in the way of tying warps I imagine for a sailboat I would need more assistance in sailing the vessel? I am making the assumption that with a motorcruiser I could handle the boat on my own out on the water. It certainly sounds like a sailboat would be more economical but what happens when the wind is not favourable? You will have to excuse my obvious ignorance on these matters!

Thanks
Click to expand...

Its worth considering because you will get a lot more boat for your money and a boat better suited to the highlands and islands, think you will find that actualy most raggies are really mobos and when actualy going somewhere are under engine with the sails up for show:D
 
If you get a largish boat to meet your accommodation requirements make sure you can cope with the fuel consumption particularly with a planing hull.
 
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