Novice Motorboat Cruiser

[gordonmckenzie1]

Hi, having been a motorhome owner for several years and recently sold up a friend and I are thinking of taking to the water after having much discussion. We are based on the west coast of Scotland and want to cruise that area.We have made various initial enquiries about costs involved but don`t know about the practicalities. Our budget is about £25k and a boat that has caught our eye is the Maxum 2400scr and as it is a petrol engine what is the availability of fuel at some of the more remote moorings? I see that on the Welcome 2009 Moorings guide it shows that fuel is available by can, does that usually mean a walk to the local garage? if so how do you transport enough? Any advice at all about choice of boat,mooring,anchoring,things to look out for etc. would be most welcome,thank you, Gordon

 

[AndieMac]

Hello Gordon

Good luck with the purchase of what ever you decide to buy, and no doubt the local folk can advise on most of the other issues.
As far as moving fuel to the boat is concerned, buy a cheap hand truck/trolley ($20 ?) and maybe even modify the base to fit on two 25 litre drums at a time (maybe more?).
A wide diameter 'jiggle syphon' with the copper and glass ball fitting, as opposed to the plastic one, will deliver/transfer the fuel quickly and (heaven forbid) safely with no mess, to the boat.

 

[ian38_39]

Petrol availability is a problem due to the need for underground tanks and the restrictions on that within a certain distance of water.

I have used my girlfriends wheel chair to fetch 80 litres at a time but if you intend to cruise mostly at sea you may be better with a diesel boat.

Petrols are great for fast sports boats and on boats upto about 35' for mainly river use with occasional sea stuff.
they are lighter quiter and faster but for sea use they have a thirst for fuel which will cost more per mile but can be offset against purchase cost, unfortunately and importantly for you if you are using the boat for sea cruising, it will limit your range.

Think carefully about how you intend to use the boat before deciding on the boat, be realistic about your intended milage, most people buying a boat for the first time have images of cruising to the channel islands or the south of France but unless you are going to put it on a lorry the chances of you doing it from Scotland are very remote.

Petrol boats are great for River, short hops or water sports, more serious cruising means the extra cost of a diesel wil be quickly offset.

Ian

 

[hlb]

Hi, having been a motorhome owner for several years and recently sold up a friend and I are thinking of taking to the water after having much discussion. We are based on the west coast of Scotland and want to cruise that area.We have made various initial enquiries about costs involved but don`t know about the practicalities. Our budget is about £25k and a boat that has caught our eye is the Maxum 2400scr and as it is a petrol engine what is the availability of fuel at some of the more remote moorings? I see that on the Welcome 2009 Moorings guide it shows that fuel is available by can, does that usually mean a walk to the local garage? if so how do you transport enough? Any advice at all about choice of boat,mooring,anchoring,things to look out for etc. would be most welcome,thank you, Gordon

mostly it's difficult to cruise Scotland, without at least a 30ft boat and diesel. I've done it. Also with petrol. With petrol you will need a taxi each stop. If you can find one that will cart petrol about.

Most boats on diesel do about one or two miles to the gallon, on petrol it's about half that. But you cant buy petrol anyway. Petrol boats seem to have smaller tanks any way.

Ok you can bum arond a bit, around your local fuel pump. But you can not actually go any where.

 

[NorthUp]

fuel

As the others have said, petrol will be a problem to source.
On one occasion, a half dozen RIBs manged to drain the the tanks dry in a village filling station, resulting in an afternoons wait for a road tanker to arrive! (Edit- we didn't manage to drink the hotel dry while waiting, though!)
The next problem will be filling 'approved' cans- attitudes to jerry cans vary depending on how much hassle the local trading standards give the filling station owners.


I no longer burn petrol,(saw the light and became a raggie!) but the only place I ever found petrol alongside was at Puffin Divers in Oban, and it cost...

I hav't been to many marinas around the Clyde, so cannot comment on the problems there.
Buy a diesel.

 

[oldsaltoz]

I imagine cruising open water in a 24 foot power boat would not be a lot of fun unless you are ready to sit in ports waiting for the right conditions.

Foe that sort of money you can pick up a 30 footer or more with proper diesel engine and fit out for offshore work.

Look away from the luxury lines and toward commercial type vessels.

You should be looking for something with a wheelhouse and lots of deck behind it, this can be enclosed with a canvas top and drop sides for more space a lot more comfort. Not to mention less fuel that you can get right out of the pump nozzle.

The bow section contains the bunks, toilet and galley leaving the whole deck area for whatever you like, fishing, sleeping on deck, shower, lift up swim platform aft and all at a fraction of the fuel cost and very sea kindly.

Make a list of what uses you will be wanting and see how many boxes you can tick off. also include a list of things you don't want and consider how easy any choice is to clean and maintain.

Avagoodweekend......Good luck.

.

 

[AndieMac]

If range is an issue, you can always add an auxillary tank or two, depending how much room you have.
I have seen examples where tankage has been increased by 100% from the standard capacity in a similar sized boat to the one you are thinking of.
As long as the boat engine has the power to cope, you can have a couple of smaller permanently fitted tanks around the midship area (under seat or locker), with side deck fills and vents, and supply lines running back to a small brass, custom made manifold.
There are plenty of options, regardless of your choice of fuel. You are allowed to think outside the square.....

 

[nonitoo]

I cruised the west coast of Scotland for most of the sixties and would suggest that you should not consider a planing type hull.

The weather will hold you back and you may well end up very frustrated at your inability to cruise where you like.

For my money the best sort of cruiser for the west coast of Scotland would be a diesel powered displacement craft of at least 30 feet. The swell type mostly found often mitigates against shorter boats (over the first, over the second and through the third and stop !!).

Even then you will be weatherbound on many occasions (I was once stuck in Tobermory for 10 days - my kidneys have barely recovered !!).

Good luck with your purchase but don't forget the running/berthing costs involved.

Don't let your heart rule your head. Talk to as many people as you can before buying. What looks huge in a boatyard becomes very small out on the water away from land.

Tom

 

[Kawasaki]

We are based on the west coast of Scotland and want to cruise that area.Gordon

Think.
Diesel
Roof
Shaft.

Hello Gordon and welcome to the Forum.
What a Great Area to cruise in!

Yep, petrol will be a nuisance to source and fill up.
Same in North Wales.

A sports boat like a Maxum looks the bis.

But consider how you can use the boat.
Sometimes this type of boat is a bit akward to move about on.
OK, nice and luxorious looking in the cockpit.
When moving forward on the vessel it can be tricky with narrow or no side decks
Should you want to anchor.
You may have to go through the windscreen and on to a slopy deck to deploy the anchor or pick up a mooring.
Sometimes a bit tricky if there is a bit of a slop!

Look at boats where you can move around easily.

Back to fuel.
Nearly every harbour/marina in th UK has diesel and or the facility to pump it into the boat.

Roof!
I reckon where you are it rains a bit, like here
Saves faffing about with canvass all the time.
Bit like yer motorhome verses a trailer tent etc!

Shaft.
OK, some will argue about this one.
I like shaft drive.
Outdrives do give more 'performance' but do require more maintenace, imho.

nonitoo mentioned 'planing' and 'displacement'.

Dunno if You know what that means.
Anyway.
Planing.
Fast/ skimming type boat which sits kinda on top of the water and goes quick!
Semi Displacement.
25/30 footer typically cruises at 14 to 16 kts ish.
Displacement.
Limited to about 8 kts until you get to summat quite big.

Good luck

 

[Doghousekeeper]

Welcome.

I agree with all those who have recommended diesel - finding a petrol supply is a nightmare. My personal view is as Nonitoo, a displacement (or semi-displacement) boat will suit the prevailing conditions on the west coast better than a planing hull.

My further recommendation would be to get some training

And enjoy your boating!

 

[MapisM]

Hi, having been a motorhome owner for several years...

First of all, welcome!
I have no experience of your cruising area, but I'd second the recommendation for diesel anyway. There's a number of good reasons why diesels are much better than petrol engines on any kind of boat, with the only exception of very fast ones, possibly.
Re. the type and size of boat, unless you already have some boating experience (the motorhome years do not count!... ), you might want to hire some different types of boats and see what they feel like, before jumping into the purchase. There are indeed radical differences between the boats mentioned in previous replies.
All the best anyway for your new adventure. If you like the sea, there's nothing like a boat (ANY boat, for that matter) to really enjoy it.

 

[gordonmckenzie1]

Thank you for all your helpful replies. Yes diesel was our preference but as first time buyers the initial cost made us think about a smaller petrol boat to see if we would enjoy an expensive "hobby" and make good use of it. We will have a rethink about budget, diesel, and size of boat, any recommendations suitable for where we want to cruise? Thanks again, Gordon

 

[nonitoo]

If you have little experience why not take a holiday on the Caledonian Canal and see how it works out.

Hiring is a cheap way of finding out your likes and dislikes without actually buying a boat.

Do undertake some training also (have a look at the RYA Website).

Good luck.

Tom

 

[hlb]

Thank you for all your helpful replies. Yes diesel was our preference but as first time buyers the initial cost made us think about a smaller petrol boat to see if we would enjoy an expensive "hobby" and make good use of it. We will have a rethink about budget, diesel, and size of boat, any recommendations suitable for where we want to cruise? Thanks again, Gordon

I've cruised the Clyde in a 22ft petrol boat and a 33ft twin diesel. With the petrol boat,we had cans in every orifice. Four of us did sleep on it quite a few times, but it's very basic. Cruising is a bit of an exaggeration, you can sort of go and come back.

Now with the 33ft Princess, we set off from North Wales and cruised up to Tobermory and back to Troon. It got sold there by a sort of accident.

My view. Small sports boats look nice, but as Kawasaki says, not very useable. Ok in a marina and just out for a few hours skiing. If you dont ski you'll soon get fed up.

 

[gordonmckenzie1]

Hello again, been looking around the net at semi displacement diesel boats and would welcome opinions on Hardy 27, Nimbus 27, or Jeanneau Merry Fisher 805.These type of fisher/cruiser looks more suitable for the Scottish weather !!! Any other recommendations warmly welcomed, thanks again, Gordon

 

[gordmac]

I have kind of been through the same excersise as you but with a lot less budget! If you want to trailer your boat to places and then use it for the day then the petrol sports boat would be ok. If you want to go anywhere and stay on the boat it won't do.
It is quite far from anywhere to anywhetre else on the west coast, unless you have a lot of time to spare travelling at displacement speed is not ideal so a diesel semi displacement would be the best option although a diesel planing hull may also do. I would recommend something with shafts unless you are happy to work on outdrives yourself or know someone who will work on them for you, you may struggle on the west to find someone.
I had kind of decided that a Seaward 23 with 150hp diesel would tick the boxes or maybe a Channel Island 22 but I didn't really want to spend that sort of money and ended up with an old 28ft planing boat with twin Fords needing a little tlc. Does me fine though!
Something else to consider is that often when looking for your first boat you don't really know what you want or enough about boating in general and it can take a few tries to get what suits. Would it be worth spending a season with a smaller boat on a trailer to get a feel for what you want or even if you enjoy it?

 

[Doghousekeeper]

I've driven a Hardy 27 out to Tiree and it performed very well. Was also impressed by a Seaward 25 in Scapa Flow a couple of years ago. All good boats.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Hello again, been looking around the net at semi displacement diesel boats and would welcome opinions on Hardy 27, Nimbus 27, or Jeanneau Merry Fisher 805.These type of fisher/cruiser looks more suitable for the Scottish weather !!! Any other recommendations warmly welcomed, thanks again, Gordon

All 3 good boats, Nimbus likely to be the oldest, then probably the Hardy and newest likely to be the Jeaneau. Choose the one that suits you best.

 

[Kawasaki]

Hello again, been looking around the net at semi displacement diesel boats and would welcome opinions on Hardy 27, Nimbus 27, or Jeanneau Merry Fisher 805.These type of fisher/cruiser looks more suitable for the Scottish weather !!! Any other recommendations warmly welcomed, thanks again, Gordon

I know of a Nimbus 27 that will be for sale shortly
Well within Your budgett, nudge nudge say no more!

 

[enterprise]

Hardy Seawings 254

Bang on budget, diesel cruiser with style.

http://poole.boatshed.com/hardy_seawings_254-boat-70334.html