Purchase advice - Maxum 2100 SC or similar - Christchurch bay

[LeeB]

Hi all - I'm new to the forum and whilst I had the use of a family boat for a season (Seadoo bombardier, wasn't a great experience) I'm looking to make my first purchase and would appreciate your advice.

I live in Christchurch, Dorset and my plan is to take a river mooring and use the boat for fairly local day/overnight trips to the Solent, IoW, Swanage etc. I've seen that the Maxum 2100 SC seems to fit the bill (something like this http://www.brightonboatsales.co.uk/boats-for-sale/maxum-2100-sc/ ) and wonder if you have any thoughts on:

a) the suitability of this type of craft for the use I'm planning
b) what maintenance I would expect and annual spend, especially given I would rely on all work being carried out by a professional as I'm not skilled in this area
c) the suitability of the engine (5.0 MPI mercruiser) and it's reliability / maintenance / running costs
d) whether I'm bonkers and should be looking at a different make, engine etc

I have a budget of £12-15k and am ideally looking for a boat built in 2006-2008. I've completed my PB2 and day skipper although a little rusty and would plan to have some additional tuition.

Thanks in advance - all advice welcome.
Lee

 

[Seastoke]

Hi all - I'm new to the forum and whilst I had the use of a family boat for a season (Seadoo bombardier, wasn't a great experience) I'm looking to make my first purchase and would appreciate your advice.

I live in Christchurch, Dorset and my plan is to take a river mooring and use the boat for fairly local day/overnight trips to the Solent, IoW, Swanage etc. I've seen that the Maxum 2100 SC seems to fit the bill (something like this http://www.brightonboatsales.co.uk/boats-for-sale/maxum-2100-sc/ ) and wonder if you have any thoughts on:

a) the suitability of this type of craft for the use I'm planning
b) what maintenance I would expect and annual spend, especially given I would rely on all work being carried out by a professional as I'm not skilled in this area
c) the suitability of the engine (5.0 MPI mercruiser) and it's reliability / maintenance / running costs
d) whether I'm bonkers and should be looking at a different make, engine etc

I have a budget of £12-15k and am ideally looking for a boat built in 2006-2008. I've completed my PB2 and day skipper although a little rusty and would plan to have some additional tuition.

Thanks in advance - all advice welcome.
Lee

hi lee welcome we had a mooring on the river a few years ago I cant remember a petro; pump on the river

 

[East Cardinal]

An owner of a similar boat would be able to give you specific advice. But in general terms:

(a) This is a planing hulled boat and is suited to calm waters. Not the nicest in anything above choppy. The Solent conditions could be uncomfortable for you unless very flat.
Mooring, I assume you mean a swinging mooring in the river. You need to think how you will get onboard. Tender?

(b) Maintenance, is relatively straight forward. I would hazard a guess as to hundreds of pounds rather than thousands per annum. All depends on the purchase condition.

(C) Big petrol engines are pretty basic and reliable. You can expect a highish fuel consumption.

(d) These type of boats are a compromise on so many levels. I looked at a Bayliner 26ft but didn’t really get what they were for! Not brilliant sea boats, a lot of mucking about to sort beds, small galley, small wc, and the access to the bow through the windscreen were all off putting.
I bought a RIB instead,. More seaworthy and safer for kids. Access to the boat is easy from shore or water. We decided that any overnighters would be in a B&B rather than bobbing around at sea.

Having said that if you like the boat and it suits you, and plenty of folks have them. They may be just the thing you want. I would certainly take one on the water for an extended test to see if it suits your purposes.

 

[rich2925]

Hello

I have had a boat moored in Christchurch for 5 years until December 2017, mine was in a marina so I cannot comment on the swinging mooring (as mentioned above), There are 2 Maxums in the marina although they are the 2400's

Mine were both similar size Bayliner 642 and Regal 2250,

With regards to suitability on a good day both will get you to the locations you mention although the Regal did make it easier to go further and in more comfort. It really depends on what conditions you and others on board are comfortable with, this would be the same with overnighting which I found not very comfortable at 6'3".

Mercruiser Maintenance is straightforward and can be done on their Christchurch should you choose, cost of annual service and a few drive repairs are all we had, The drive repairs were mainly due to catching the bottom as the tides can be quite tricky. There is no petrol available on the river so it was either 5/6 jerry cans (tricky maybe on swinging mooring) , or take advantage of filling up when at Leamington / Yarmouth

The double tides can make it quite difficult to find the right conditions to go much further allowing time to get back

Having said all of this we really enjoyed all of our many trips and so did all visitors, If we get a boat here again I think it will most likely be a rib Though.

 

[dpb]

We ran a similar 21ft cuddy doing what you describe for five years out of Poole.
Had a great time. Its what that kind of boat is built for.
£750 should cover annual service of motor and drives, though you may have lift out and yard storage to add in if you dont have a trailer.
Merc 5.0 will be as good as any and will certainly be powerfull enough.
The reservations i do have with your plans are:
Access in, out and around Christchurch Harbour is very restricted compared to Poole Harbour just a few miles away, and as far as I know there is no petrol in Christchurch. Both likely to be come a bug bear. So many places to go in Poole also if too windy to go out to sea with the trip to Swanage protected from the South Westerlies that prevail.
Personally I would not be too enthusiastic about keeping a boat like that in the water on a swing mooring all year, (we kept ours on a trailer), as you cant flush the engine through with fresh water, and generally looking after it and keeping it in good condition is harder. But then again you might be happy to keep it for a few years and take a hit when you sell it as it deteriorates and buy another.

 

[mlines]

We run a similar boat (Regal 2250) in the area.

We are having a great time and thoroughly enjoying it.

it is perhaps limited a bit by sea conditions, but still plenty of days to get out. However Christchurch access is limited so when you combine tide access with weather access you are further cutting down the days you can get out. We have been both out of Poole and currently Hamble, both of which give options for when choppier further out. You could perhaps consider Lymington.

 

[LeeB]

Thanks East Cardinal, I expect that we will generally want to try and be out [quite a bit, evenings/weekends] in calmer weather but your advice regarding the hull is most helpful for me to follow up. From what you suggest, in terms of maintenance, if it's a "good boat" then I'm generally looking at servicing, anti fouling etc, unless something big goes wrong, and it's the 'big' that i'm trying to get my head around. My girlfriend and I plus our dog would be the only ones to stay on it, and as we don't want the investment in a bigger boat my gut feel is a cuddy will be a good all rounder for some water sports, having a play around and occasionally somewhere to put our heads down overnight. Thanks again. Lee

 

[LeeB]

Hello mlines, we live very close to Tuckton bridge so it's super handy to be able to walk to the mooring in 5 mins. It's a river mooring so I don't see the tide affecting us, and from spending the last five years doing a lot of jet skiing in the area I was hoping that the tides wouldn't affect such a small boat through Mudeford Quay but i'll check the depth and tides as part of my prep so thanks for your input and the link. Lee

 

[LeeB]

Hi DPB, good point I'll want to look at storage as wouldn't want to leave in the water all year round. I'd want to keep in mint condition but would rely on a professional to do so. I totally understand your comments on Christchurch but as it's a 5 min walk from home it's a bit of a no brainer in terms of easy to use after work and so on. Thanks, Lee

 

[mlines]

A small boat generally draws 70cm to 100cm, it certainly gets this shallow on occasions, the lowest charted shows 10cm to 40cm (ok so this is not every day)

 

[QBhoy]

Hi
Although a tidy looking boat, you would need to go with caution, as with any American boat of this type. Remember they simply aren’t built or intended for uk coastal waters. Take care and weather planning would be a must. Those particular boats are not comfortable in any chop.
Secondly and perhaps better news...the Merc 5.0 mpi is a fantastic engine. Really powerful and more economical than any similar power diesel. That’s a fact. Diesel is of course cheaper though. My 5.0 mpi will see my boat cruise at 27mph at only 2400 rpm and using 19 litres per hour. That about or less than £1 per mile. Fantastic.
Servicing is simple. Not quite as the normal Merc v6 and v8s, but not far off.
Apart from the usual oil, filter and fuel filter annual change, you need to really keep an eye on the delicate electrical side. The Idle air control valve, throttle position sensor and distributor cap are known weak points and will let you down at some point. The plugs are iridium variants and although expensive, don’t need changed every year.
Another great advantage is that these can be used with the smart craft or vessel view mobile or tablet app to show you engine diagnostics and loads of running details.
Main thing is how economical they are thoigh and the power they give compared to older carb models and diesels.

 

[Gilbo]

Hi Lee

I've been running a Maxum 2100 in the Solent for the past 4 years as our first boat and had a great time with it.

We looked at loads of boats before buying the Maxum and as others will tell you on here every boat is a compromise. The Maxum isn't great in a chop but my question to you is simple. Are you likely to be out playing if the weather isn't ideal ? As our first boat this was all about selling boating to the family. We choose our days carefully (looking for days when the sea state is either calm or slight) and have had a blast. The family are totally bitten and my challenge now is keeping them off the boat, and yes that includes my wife !

My annual maintence bill is normally about £300 / £400 and sensible use of the throttles gives me circa 15lph. I've had 42 knots showing on the gps from the 5.0mpi and the silly grin to prove it.

My family particularly likes the cuddie cabin as a place to get changed after swimming, getting out of the sun, or somewhere to put all the gear that you always seem to have whilst boating. However, it's small and we have never overnighted in it. Using the loo can be a bit of a challenge !

In summary I'd say to you just go for it. You can analyse things to death and will ALWAYS find someone who can tell you why your choice of boat is not ideal. Remember, the chances are that if you enjoy it you will want a bigger boat within a short period of time. I do. Boats always shrink when you add water ....