Please help - I'm brand new

[ijackson18]

Please help - I\'m brand new

Hi all,

I'd be grateful for a little help. I am brand new to boating but I know I would like to get a motor cruiser at some point with the ability to cross the channel, and to hopefully cruise around Northern Europe etc. I also like the idea of day trips along the South Coast of England etc.

I just have no idea where to start, what qualifications I may need and what sort of boat may be best for me.

I'd be very grateful for any pointers. If it helps at all I'm in West London.

Thanks.
Ian.

 

[sailorman]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

welcome Ian ( from a Raggie )
u will get all the advise / info from my learned colleagues in this mobo section
enjoy your new found hobby, it could turn-out to be an obsession /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
roger

 

[powerskipper]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

Best thing mite be to do a course say an ICC, or day skipper, this would give you an idea of what is involved. you can do it as a family or on your own, but it is well worth doing.anyway enjoy the finding out about it as much as the doing.

 

[jimg]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

As powerskipper says it is worth doing a basic course, then you have to choose what sort of boat you want and where to moor it. You will find ituseful to take a trip to the South Coast and get the brokers to show you around a few boats that are in your budget.

 

[duncan]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

I suggest that you are ahead of yourself...........
first thing, unless already done?, is to take a trip with your full family, in the type of boat you are looking at, where you thing you will base yourself.
then when it all seems 'right' start arranging trips on prospective purchases.
then, after ordering new boat, start the enjoyable learning experience of an ICC or PB L2 with a reputable company in the area you plan to be based.

 

[Micky]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

One of the first things i would recommend, is to make sure you have a mooring, coz a boats no use without somewhere to keep it.

 

[Magnum]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

A Princess P42 would be ideal, if you can afford it. It was our first boat last year and we did our Day Skipper theory prior to delivery. Then had a few days on-board tuition. The rest is all down to experience.

I know where there's a super one for sale, with a berth /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[ijackson18]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

That's a nice offer ta magnum, but I think £285k is a bit steep before I've had any training. Thanks for all your ideas, I think a day skipper and maybe a level 1 and 2 pb course which they seem to run up the road from here could be the way to go, please keep those ideas coming in though /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

 

[Mister_Smee]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

A bit more info on where you are in the UK and how much you want to spend might bring a few more responses.
I have had my boat since last september and its great.
Hope this helps

 

[ijackson18]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

I live in Southall, West London but I don't suppose getting a mooring here is terribly easy. We are pretty well located by car, on the M25 and M4 so going West is easy and nowhere else is that hard. I honestly don't know how much to spend, can a decent boat be got for £30k?

 

[hlb]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

Errm. Not realy if you want to cruise about as you suggest, also if starting from scratch, I'd go for day skipper at least. Having said that, I've hardly any qualifications and just learned as I went on.. Think about 70 grand might be minimum for cruising about the chanel. Mabe a P35, built like a brick [oh really!] house!!

 

[ijackson18]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

Thats great, its a long term ambition really, I'm happy to start smaller and build up to that. What about for less ambitious cruising, up and down the thames and so on?

 

[Mister_Smee]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

Boats can be a lot of money, depending on what your looking for. There are some good condition older boats around but I would go and have a look at a few yards to look araound a few. It will give you some idea of what you get for your £'s.
I have a Monterey 250, its 8.5m long so its not big by any standards but it will sleep 4 ok. handles well in moderate sea's etc. As a newbie like me you will need to get a bit of experience to build your confidence up its a bit like driving a car when you first start. Nearly everyone I have met in the boating world have been very helpful with information etc.
Its also worth bearing in mind that berthing costs can be quite expensive depending upon the size of the boat and where you are. These are usually charged by the boats length per m.
Boating is a great hobby and can empty your wallet in no time!!!!
Best of luck though.

 

[hlb]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

Bloody hell, you've altered your sights some what!! Erm on the other hand folk have swam across the channel at zerro cost before now!! Best advice I can give is buy second hand, as big as you can afford, diesel. Dont worry if it's 10 or more years old. But looked after.

 

[ijackson18]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

Well, as I said, I'm new, I'm a touch confused as to what I want, I have nothing but an aspiration at the moment, and if I need to alter it then thats fine. I'm not as worried about the running costs of a boat (presuming it doesn't need major work) and Im sure as with everything else, the more you can afford the less likely you are to have a problem.

 

[hlb]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

Reacon on a 10th of the boat cost for running expences, per year. Gulp!!

 

[Solitaire]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

[ QUOTE ]
I think a day skipper and maybe a level 1 and 2 Pb course which they seem to run up the road from here could be the way to go, please keep those ideas coming in though /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

[/ QUOTE ]

I see from your earlier post that you live in West London. Just a note, that if you do a Level 2 course "inland" it will not be endorsed as a coastal qualification.

The answer to your question is, to be honest, a very complicated one. While some with the available funds may well go off and buy "the boat of their" dreams, most mere mortals start somewhat more humbly and build up their experience over time.

You have really two initial choices - a Level 2 Powerboat course which is an introduction to powerboating and is over 2 days - this will also give you an ICC up to 10 metres, there is also available a helmsman's course which will give an introduction to how to handle larger boats - normally twin engines. Then there is the Day Skipper practical course which is over a minimum of 5 days.

I suggest you visit the RYA website site and look under "Training" you will see the options available to you in more detail.

Good luck in your search. I turned my hobby into a full time job. I'll be in the "office" tomorrow /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[tcm]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

hiya newbie, and welcome.

Divide the price of a boat by 10-15 to see how good/crap it is car-wise. So, 30k means you'll get the luxury and realtive space etc of a 2-3 grand car, so it shouldn't exactly smell of wee, but you wd be cautious of intercontinental trips. Being in west london doesn't help at all boatwise, unfortunately.

 

[Dave_Snelson]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

All down to budget and experience!! You can cross the channel in a speedboat on the right day, given the right conditions. Or you can make the same mistakes as I did, in buying an expensive boat that needed lots doing to it (OK, I love it now).

What's your'e budget, and whats your modus operandi?

 

[Elza_Skip]

Re: Please help - I\'m brand new

Hi

We got our first boat last year. We went for a second hand 6.6M boat that we could trailer so that we have more choice on destinations, lower running costs and somewhere to keep it if we could not get a mooring.

If we get on really well we can move up in a year or two knowing much better what we need

You can make an expensive mistake so I suggest you start modest an work up!