Research into living aboard

[waynes world]

Hi all

I think it is time for me to research into boats and living aboard, mainly for Tracey`s benefit as i know what i want but T needs to see what the boats i am planning for us are like for space and know more details.

First off does anyone know of any good blogs on boats between 50` - 65`, that being for mooring coast, in the range middle ideal. Type either GRP or wood ( yes i know the stories of wooden boats and i am prepared for that. i like to tinker and have a life long project to be proud of. And above all i love wooden boats.

I have seen many around what i would be spending around the £12k mark, so yes a project but i can do the work with confidence in doing so, lots to learn but as said, i think i can do it and like to take on a challenge.

A few examples that would of been spot on for me.

This being my ideal boat, i did find one very similar in GRP fo a similar price but cant find it now a sit sold and cant remember the make/model

www.findafishingboat.com/motor-fifie-live-aboard/ad-96412

http://www.dickies.co.uk/brokerage/brokerage-boat-details/?BoatID=6623617

Plan is to get one on budget and spend around 12 month prepping it for being livable.

I am trying to contact a few dealers to see if they mind me going over to look around to get the feel of them but no interest in purchasing them. Only sent a few emails out at the minute so i will see if i get any offers.

I so do like the Grand Banks style and can always make/covert a boat with a large deck saloon to the style, even build a new deck saloon to the size we want.

We live in Manchester and the best place for us to moor is around Goole area so still close to family for Tracey. I keep looking on Alan Pease web site but nothing as yet, in fact off to look again now as not been on for a few months.

Cheers

Wayne

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Hi all

I think it is time for me to research into boats and living aboard, mainly for Tracey`s benefit as i know what i want but T needs to see what the boats i am planning for us are like for space and know more details.

First off does anyone know of any good blogs on boats between 50` - 65`, that being for mooring coast, in the range middle ideal. Type either GRP or wood ( yes i know the stories of wooden boats and i am prepared for that. i like to tinker and have a life long project to be proud of. And above all i love wooden boats.

I have seen many around what i would be spending around the £12k mark, so yes a project but i can do the work with confidence in doing so, lots to learn but as said, i think i can do it and like to take on a challenge.

A few examples that would of been spot on for me.

This being my ideal boat, i did find one very similar in GRP fo a similar price but cant find it now a sit sold and cant remember the make/model

www.findafishingboat.com/motor-fifie-live-aboard/ad-96412

http://www.dickies.co.uk/brokerage/brokerage-boat-details/?BoatID=6623617

Plan is to get one on budget and spend around 12 month prepping it for being livable.

I am trying to contact a few dealers to see if they mind me going over to look around to get the feel of them but no interest in purchasing them. Only sent a few emails out at the minute so i will see if i get any offers.

I so do like the Grand Banks style and can always make/covert a boat with a large deck saloon to the style, even build a new deck saloon to the size we want.

We live in Manchester and the best place for us to moor is around Goole area so still close to family for Tracey. I keep looking on Alan Pease web site but nothing as yet, in fact off to look again now as not been on for a few months.

Cheers

Wayne

I used to know a dive boat and skipper that took his boat up to Northwich during the winters at one time very similar boat to your picture. Perfectly doable but continuous maintenance and would have been very comfortable for two and accommodated up to 12 divers at times. It eventually sold for not a lot of money so should be possible I am sure there are quite a few out there.

 

[Tranona]

Get the negatives out of the way first. Such things are complete money pits, particularly if you only pay £12k. ebay is full of these waiting for the next dreamer to have his couple of year's agony before he relists it at half what he paid for it after spending as much as he paid again on mooring/storage and trying to lift the boat out of the floating (or non floating) wreck category.

Unless you have something special that allows you to break this cycle, keep well away!

 

[vyv_cox]

I can only echo what Tranona says. For £12k you could buy a decent grp yacht around 26 ft but not a lot of living space. My motorsailer, also 26 ft, is worth about that but I would not like to live on it full time. A wooden yacht for that price would be a total waste of money. I see stories in the press of yachts bought for £1 that cost half a million to refit. The work is endless and highly skilled. You might well spend as much again just on the tools!

 

[charles_reed]

Not a good idea. If you were a competent shipwright looking for a 3-year labour of love, it would have some chance of flight. Your price point being far too low, especially for a wooden boat.

I suspect that for two, permanaent liveaboards, the smallest boat length would be 32 - 35' and for your price you could expect to spend about the same amount in upgrading.

 

[Yngmar]

I can contribute some advice on how to read between the lines of boat adverts. For example your first one:

* Work circumstances have prevented me from finishing the work = They had to go work full time just to pay for the boatyard fees. Of course then they didn't have the time/energy left to actually work on the boat.
* unfortunately health reasons force me to sell the boat = Fed up with this project or it lingered so long they got too old to deal with it.
* No reasonable offer will be refused as this boat needs a new owner = Desperate to get rid of the thing as it still eats all their money while sitting in the boatyard and not many buyers around foolish enough to inherit this misery.
* requires the accommodation to be finished and there are no interior photos on the listing = The insides are torn apart and chucked in a pile somewhere. Good luck sorting out that mess.

Or the second one:

* After decommissioning she worked out of Dublin carrying granite and finally was converted to a fishing trawler out of Ark low = Boat had a hard life and got abused a lot.
* Zoom in on the waterline: http://imt.boatwizard.com/images/1/36/17/6623617_20180307032508746_1_XLARGE.jpg
* The interior photos show it's been cheaply converted into a houseboat with fittings designed for houses. None of this is the least bit seaworthy, so only good for keeping afloat in a marina, as in the slightest swell/wash on a mooring all the doors will fly open and cupboard contents fall out.
* Deck & Wheelhouse Fiberglas sheathed = It was rotten and leaking everywhere, so we just covered it in fibreglass instead of fixing it. It'll still be rotten underneath though.

Also do look up the costs for lifting out and keeping a boat that size on the hard for a year in your chosen boatyard. If you're very optimistic, also look up in the water mooring costs.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Ok this is where I going to get my head chopped off.
I few hot sunny weeks in the UK seen to be bring out all the dreamers

 

[Tranona]

Just to add another sobering thought.

Commercial boats such as fishing boats are intentionally built for a short life. The timbers may be large in size but that is because they need to be to take the abuse, but does not mean they are actually durable of well connected to each other. 20-30 years life is good. Those that do survive longer do so because they are constantly maintained which for a boat that size is a full time job. Equally steel construction does not focus on long life, but on cheapness, inherent strength and simple construction. Again requires constant maintenance to stop it rusting away.

 

[waynes world]

I just knew this would be the first replies i got when i mentioned wooden boats lol.

As said i know of the details on wooden boats and still looking into them, i am thinking on seeing if there is a local person restoring a wooden boat and see if i can spend a few days just watching and maybe helping them so i learn more on the repairs and upkeep etc etc etc.

No replies to the GRP types i mentioned!

I would more likely go with a GRP if i can find what to look for in make/model as i am even more capable of the whole repairs and upkeep and rebuilding if eve need be of one.

I do appreciate being a `dreamer` and your concerns of me owning a large wooden boat.


So the main question was to look out for blogs on living on a 50`-65` boat of this style, ????



Thanks

Wayne

 

[Tranona]

I just knew this would be the first replies i got when i mentioned wooden boats lol.

As said i know of the details on wooden boats and still looking into them, i am thinking on seeing if there is a local person restoring a wooden boat and see if i can spend a few days just watching and maybe helping them so i learn more on the repairs and upkeep etc etc etc.

No replies to the GRP types i mentioned!

I would more likely go with a GRP if i can find what to look for in make/model as i am even more capable of the whole repairs and upkeep and rebuilding if eve need be of one.

I do appreciate being a `dreamer` and your concerns of me owning a large wooden boat.


So the main question was to look out for blogs on living on a 50`-65` boat of this style, ????



Thanks

Wayne

The focus on wooden boats is because that is all you will get in this size for the kind of money you are talking about, although you might find steel. Little chance of finding a viable boat of that size in GRP.

Unless you want to live in a scrap heap and spend all your time trying to fix it you won't find anything good at that price level. Even with a budget 5 or 6 times that for a boat that size will not get you much apart from abandoned dreams and most likely bodges.

This is not being negative but realistic. Suggest you actually go and look at a few that are for sale and make up your own mind. Remember though that most will not be mobile and you will be stuck with where they have come to rest, so find out all the costs related to just keeping it.

 

[waynes world]

The focus on wooden boats is because that is all you will get in this size for the kind of money you are talking about, although you might find steel. Little chance of finding a viable boat of that size in GRP.

Unless you want to live in a scrap heap and spend all your time trying to fix it you won't find anything good at that price level. Even with a budget 5 or 6 times that for a boat that size will not get you much apart from abandoned dreams and most likely bodges.

This is not being negative but realistic. Suggest you actually go and look at a few that are for sale and make up your own mind. Remember though that most will not be mobile and you will be stuck with where they have come to rest, so find out all the costs related to just keeping it.

Yes i am doing all the above.

I am do not intend on walking into a boat yard with cash in pocket and just buy the first boat i fancy, as said i am researching into all this first.

Also as said i will be working on the boat until it is liveable. a few years if need be. I am not wanting all posh and the best of the best and know to do things on the cheap.


This Clipper is very similar to the one i found for sale last year in France for £14k think it sold for £12.5k, obviously not a clipper for tat price, a shell would cost that kind of money.

 

[Tranona]

Yes i am doing all the above.

I am do not intend on walking into a boat yard with cash in pocket and just buy the first boat i fancy, as said i am researching into all this first.

Also as said i will be working on the boat until it is liveable. a few years if need be. I am not wanting all posh and the best of the best and know to do things on the cheap.


This Clipper is very similar to the one i found for sale last year in France for £14k think it sold for £12.5k, obviously not a clipper for tat price, a shell would cost that kind of money.

So, why do you think it was only worth £12.5k?

Suggest it was for all the reasons quoted above. It is a money pit. Despite its GRP shell it is getting near the end of its life. A similar boat in tip top condition might be worth £20k so no incentive to spend any money on it. Remember a new boat like that cost upwards of half a million, so everything you need to keep it running is related to that, not to the price you paid.

This sort of boat is a rich man's toy, no matter what its age if you want to use it as a boat. If you just want a houseboat then rip out all the mechanicals (which are bits that cost to keep running) and use it as a stationary home - if you can find a residential mooring.

 

[Yngmar]

As for ex fishing boat liveaboard blogs, here's one I recall: https://web.archive.org/web/20180323221847/http://elizmor.co.uk/ (website now dead, but archived).

Like you, the owner started very enthusiastically, but gave up in the end as it probably was all a bit much. Last I saw, the boat was still around Brighton, with a new owner, who just lived on it, without the slightest hint of a clue about boats at all. I did help sort out the rather hazardous electrical installation after it had failed completely, and whilst at it, pointed out the dead bilge pump, dead batteries and chaotic charging arrangement as well as the rather large quantity of water in the bilge.

It may well be available for very cheap by now

 

[jordanbasset]

Yes i am doing all the above.

I am do not intend on walking into a boat yard with cash in pocket and just buy the first boat i fancy, as said i am researching into all this first.

Also as said i will be working on the boat until it is liveable. a few years if need be. I am not wanting all posh and the best of the best and know to do things on the cheap.


This Clipper is very similar to the one i found for sale last year in France for £14k think it sold for £12.5k, obviously not a clipper for tat price, a shell would cost that kind of money.

If you found one similar for the price of £14k I would buy it, meanwhile the actual boat is here
http://www.andrewmooremarine.com.au/clipper-40-heritage-2/
2006 model, yours for only $359 000

 

[waynes world]

Think i mite as well go back to square one then and either build my own boat or get a hull/shell and build from there. That way it will be in better condition. All i see is these boats as a shell you see and anything else a bonus, just thought it would be better to start with a shell and go from there.

 

[capnsensible]

Think i mite as well go back to square one then and either build my own boat or get a hull/shell and build from there. That way it will be in better condition. All i see is these boats as a shell you see and anything else a bonus, just thought it would be better to start with a shell and go from there.

Never give in. Long time friends of ours bought an old Baltic Trader for buttons something like 20 years ago. Took them probably ten or more to get her sailing. They are singing their way round the Caribbean now. :encouragement:

If you use facebook, try pax nostrum sailing to the Caribbean. Inspirational!

 

[GHA]

Never give in. Long time friends of ours bought an old Baltic Trader for buttons something like 20 years ago. Took them probably ten or more to get her sailing. They are singing their way round the Caribbean now. :encouragement:

If you use facebook, try pax nostrum sailing to the Caribbean. Inspirational!

Yay , they made it across!

Good example that a cruising boat is a verb, not a noun.

You don't 'have' a liveaboard cruising boat, you 'do' a cruising boat , more like a farm or a garden

 

[capnsensible]

Yay , they made it across!

Good example that a cruising boat is a verb, not a noun.

You don't 'have' a liveaboard cruising boat, you 'do' a cruising boat , more like a farm or a garden

Was great to see them when they pit stopped in Rubicon! Got an invite to go see them next year, trying to convince them Panama is the best RV. Meanwhile they have found their voices again and have been performing a bit in Grenada. Brill.

 

[TQA]

Something to add to your thoughts. An increasing number of boatyards with travel lifts will not lift out and store wooden boats , especially large old wooden boats.

If I was looking for a boat as a marina based liveaboard with no intent to go cruising I would look for a motorboat with knackered engines or possibly worn out petrol guzzling V8s. GRP of course definitely not wooden. In Florida such things have negative equity. People will pay you to take them away.

Fit an outboard motor and wait for calm weather if you need to move it to it's new home. Sell outboard on arrival.

 

[Tranona]

Think i mite as well go back to square one then and either build my own boat or get a hull/shell and build from there. That way it will be in better condition. All i see is these boats as a shell you see and anything else a bonus, just thought it would be better to start with a shell and go from there.

Think you will find that is an equally tortuous path, which is perhaps why virtually nobody does it these days. Gone are the days when you could build from a hull and deck for less than the cost of a new boat. Killed by the excessive time it takes to do it, lack of "cheap" places to do it, lack of bare hulls to start with (killed off by the RCD). A boat of the size of the Clipper will take a well organised experienced yard 6000+ man hours to complete and an amateur could double that easily.

There are no short cuts and taking on anything this substantial, even if you find something suitable will absorb years of your time and every penny you have or can earn. That is why the small ads are full of uncompleted boats and abandoned dreams.

While it is a romantic idea to start almost from scratch, complete functioning boats are available for a fraction of what it would cost to build and better off starting with an 80% there boat and spending what will still be a fair sum on bringing it up to 100%. The trick is identifying boats where the 80% is all good and the extra is within your competence to complete.