Chae_73
Well-Known Member
After two years of mostly not sailing, we have decided to put our boat up for sale and contemplate other forms of boaty activity.
The two year ownership of our 1987 Westerly will be at the higher end of "£ per minute spent sailing", but it was an itch that needed scratching so I don't regret it. So why has this episode come to a somewhat premature end?
The main reason is that neither my father or I really looked at the practicalities of where and when we would use the boat and the amount of time it would take up, It sounds obvious; I'll say it anyway, having a boat doesn't create any more time so inevitably there is less time for other things, or if other things can only give a little, less time for sailing than you might have imagined.
Another reason, and perhaps an odd sounding one; I found the boat a little intimidating. The last boat I sailed extensively was a 29' long keeler, and that was 30 years ago. I clocked up a few thousand sea miles on that boat, and was very confident in handling it. I think I could have eventually got that level of confidence with the 33" Westerly, but it would have taken more time, and as I found out, I had less time than I thought. This lead to a kind of vicious circle as the thought of handling the boat is a little bit scary, so you decide not to go out this weekend and wait for a better time. Then you don't get the experience that would make the weekend outing more enjoyable.
The third reason, and one which I thought I had fully understood, is that a 30 plus year old boat is a big project. I had looked into this aspect, and fully anticipated a lot of the costs, but even then it still costs more and takes longer to improve an old boat than initially anticipated.
I haven't completely given up, but I have realised that this particular project has run its course. If I do have another go, there are a few things I would do differently (most or all of which are regularly advised on this forum, so I can't say no-one told me!)
All the best, and thank you to all those who have provided valuable advice along the way.
The two year ownership of our 1987 Westerly will be at the higher end of "£ per minute spent sailing", but it was an itch that needed scratching so I don't regret it. So why has this episode come to a somewhat premature end?
The main reason is that neither my father or I really looked at the practicalities of where and when we would use the boat and the amount of time it would take up, It sounds obvious; I'll say it anyway, having a boat doesn't create any more time so inevitably there is less time for other things, or if other things can only give a little, less time for sailing than you might have imagined.
Another reason, and perhaps an odd sounding one; I found the boat a little intimidating. The last boat I sailed extensively was a 29' long keeler, and that was 30 years ago. I clocked up a few thousand sea miles on that boat, and was very confident in handling it. I think I could have eventually got that level of confidence with the 33" Westerly, but it would have taken more time, and as I found out, I had less time than I thought. This lead to a kind of vicious circle as the thought of handling the boat is a little bit scary, so you decide not to go out this weekend and wait for a better time. Then you don't get the experience that would make the weekend outing more enjoyable.
The third reason, and one which I thought I had fully understood, is that a 30 plus year old boat is a big project. I had looked into this aspect, and fully anticipated a lot of the costs, but even then it still costs more and takes longer to improve an old boat than initially anticipated.
I haven't completely given up, but I have realised that this particular project has run its course. If I do have another go, there are a few things I would do differently (most or all of which are regularly advised on this forum, so I can't say no-one told me!)
- Get some recent experience *before* buying a boat (as I had a lot of experience, but it was a long time ago, I gave myself a pass on this - mistake!)
- Buy a boat that doesn't need a lot of work, unless you really like working on boats (I don't!). I'd look at spending more up front to get a newer boat if I do it again.
- Be realistic about how much time you can / want to spend on the boat and be equally realistic about whether your family will want to join you. If the realistic scenario is a week's summer cruise and a few weekends, is it worth the considerable hassle, admin, work and expense of owning a boat for this?
- Whilst bigger boats are attractive in terms of comfort, passage-making and sea keeping, they are more work to get going, loads on everything are higher, everything costs more. Sometimes small is beautiful, especially if you anticipate being single or short handed much of the time, and you are doing coastal hops rather than long passages.
All the best, and thank you to all those who have provided valuable advice along the way.
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