Goldie
Well-Known Member
If sailing around the U.K. the ability to take the ground or use the shallower harbours and anchorages would be really useful, so maybe a look at something like a Southerly 105?
Retired and fit - looking for a boat. Advice?
- Thread starter neptis
- Start date
If sailing around the U.K. the ability to take the ground or use the shallower harbours and anchorages would be really useful, so maybe a look at something like a Southerly 105?
neptis
Active Member
I'm certainly not limiting myself to UK type boats, rather boats that are appropriate and enjoyable for the varied conditions around the UK.
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Captain Crisp
Well-Known Member
Buy something beautiful!
You want your heart to skip a beat. Plenty of lovely old yachts out there. And if you have to spend a bit of time dealing with the odd 'issue' you'll learn loads and be the better for it!
You want your heart to skip a beat. Plenty of lovely old yachts out there. And if you have to spend a bit of time dealing with the odd 'issue' you'll learn loads and be the better for it!
Tranona
Well-Known Member
Like beautiful old cars most are best owned by others and admired from afar. The OPs plan is to sail around Britain, so function is likely to come first - and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
neptis
Active Member
I assure you, I'm entirely genuine. I have crewed or chartered a few Jeanneau or Beneteau in the south of England and the Med and very much appreciate the comfort of more recent boats. Looking more specifically a boat well suited to short-handed coastal sailing in UK waters - shallow and muddy on the right, wet, with interesting sea conditions at the top and left. Hence my starter of a Westerly Centaur, shallow draught, bilge keel; or an LM28 with an inside helm and canoe stern.
neptis
Active Member
I do value aesthetic appeal but not vintage for vintage sake.
kalanka
Well-Known Member
I bought my first boat, a Sadler 34, 12 years ago. I am now 72 and still have the boat - which is in better shape than me. She has been an excellent choice and took me from my first nervous local sails to an Atlantic circuit, much of it singlehanded.
Personally, I have enjoyed getting to know the boat and her quirks and am still learning. For this reason I would tend to disagree with the advice to buy one and then trade-up.
I agree with getting the best boat you can afford and also to avoid boats that need large amounts of upgrade or maintenance - unless it is a project you are seeking. I ended up doing a deal of ocean sailing and it would have made my life simpler to buy a boat that was already blue-water ready. So buy the best boat you can that has been set up for the type of sailing that is likely to interest you in the future.
I can easily see myself sailing at 82 but it is maintenance and lifting tenders, batteries and outboards that becomes more difficult as I get older. An electric windlass is essential. unless you are always going to have muscular crew. Davits would be nice.
You can of course pay someone to do awkward stuff like antifouling but sometimes it is necessary underway to do maintenance/limbo dancing to get at awkward bits of engine, plumbing or electrics and that does not get any easier - but a well designed boat helps.
Good luck!
Personally, I have enjoyed getting to know the boat and her quirks and am still learning. For this reason I would tend to disagree with the advice to buy one and then trade-up.
I agree with getting the best boat you can afford and also to avoid boats that need large amounts of upgrade or maintenance - unless it is a project you are seeking. I ended up doing a deal of ocean sailing and it would have made my life simpler to buy a boat that was already blue-water ready. So buy the best boat you can that has been set up for the type of sailing that is likely to interest you in the future.
I can easily see myself sailing at 82 but it is maintenance and lifting tenders, batteries and outboards that becomes more difficult as I get older. An electric windlass is essential. unless you are always going to have muscular crew. Davits would be nice.
You can of course pay someone to do awkward stuff like antifouling but sometimes it is necessary underway to do maintenance/limbo dancing to get at awkward bits of engine, plumbing or electrics and that does not get any easier - but a well designed boat helps.
Good luck!
doug748
Well-Known Member
Goldie
Well-Known Member
Rappey
Well-Known Member
Two of my friends recently bought boats for under 50k.
One is a moody 35 bilge keel . A very nice boat and lots of room for its size. Was impressed how well it sailed.
The other bought a rustler 36, a boat that claimed the top 3 places in the golden globe race. What a boat! Incredible sea kindly motion and as the weather worsens the rustler just gets better and leaves others in its wake .
Do you want a boat that has a huge comfy interior and great for lounging around but not the best at sailing or a superb all weather sailing boat at the cost of interior space ?
One is a moody 35 bilge keel . A very nice boat and lots of room for its size. Was impressed how well it sailed.
The other bought a rustler 36, a boat that claimed the top 3 places in the golden globe race. What a boat! Incredible sea kindly motion and as the weather worsens the rustler just gets better and leaves others in its wake .
Do you want a boat that has a huge comfy interior and great for lounging around but not the best at sailing or a superb all weather sailing boat at the cost of interior space ?
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
If he is retired he has probably only got 20 years so he would not get right round in one of those
Fr J Hackett
Well-Known Member
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
For £50K you should be looking at a 2005 -2008 Beneteau, jeneau, bavaria, hanse in the 31-35 ft range. With little to worry about a big spend for a couple of years or so. Excellent performance. Fin keel. As for taking to the ground, I have been round UK twice & never once found a fin a disadvantage. In fact i found it an advantage when I had to make progress upwind. 6 kts + average speed is normal which is far better than 5nts when one has a 100 + mile leg to cover, or just a tidal gate to catch
As for taking to the ground- Once you have been up one muddy creek you have been up them all & there are plenty you can find with enough water for a couple of nights at anchor . I sail on the east coast & apart from having to wait to get onto the creek to my marina now & then I have never found it a problem. Shallow draft needed for across sand banks is a myth because most sailors end up with a metre below the keel anyway.
31ft on a modern AWB is so much more comfortable than some of the older designs. My 31 ft boat has a decent heads, shower fridge, berths, cooker, work space water storage, engine range etc & the wife & I can spend weeks away perfectly comfortably. It is also great for single handing. 35 ft would be even better. but probably much harder to find in the current climate.
That being said, if you fancied a sail back from Italy & the VAT hassle this looks really good
1985 Grand Soleil 35, Campania Italy - boats.com
As for taking to the ground- Once you have been up one muddy creek you have been up them all & there are plenty you can find with enough water for a couple of nights at anchor . I sail on the east coast & apart from having to wait to get onto the creek to my marina now & then I have never found it a problem. Shallow draft needed for across sand banks is a myth because most sailors end up with a metre below the keel anyway.
31ft on a modern AWB is so much more comfortable than some of the older designs. My 31 ft boat has a decent heads, shower fridge, berths, cooker, work space water storage, engine range etc & the wife & I can spend weeks away perfectly comfortably. It is also great for single handing. 35 ft would be even better. but probably much harder to find in the current climate.
That being said, if you fancied a sail back from Italy & the VAT hassle this looks really good
1985 Grand Soleil 35, Campania Italy - boats.com
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Tranona
Well-Known Member
Taking advantage of shallow draft to nose up creeks sounds very seductive, particularly if you have watched a lot of Dylan Winter, but like everything in life that means compromises. as already suggested if you really want that capability then look at Southerly 115 or the last bilge keel Moodys, or the lift keel Feelings, Jeanneaus and Beneteaus of which there are quite a few in your budget. The Sadler 34 bilge keel is a possibility and you could (almost) buy 2 of them for your budget.
Longer term cruising is often referred to as fixing things in warm places as many peoples' ambitions are going south and beyond. Going round Britain or any northern waters is more like fixing things in cold and wet places. Better you think of the boat as a means to an end rather than an end in itself. Having been through this process with a starting preference for an older boat I thankfully came to the conclusion that the boat was transport and went for an AWB. For your budget you really can get a modern boat of the right size that will be largely trouble free, have all the mod cons for living on for weeks at a time and allow you to enjoy your retirement rather than worrying about what next is going to need fixing.
Kukri
Well-Known Member
The concept of a boat aboard which nothing needs fixing is alien to me. The boat that I have now is the first boat I have ever owned that is younger than me. What do people do all day if they have nothing to repair/fix/tinker with?
I strongly suspect, thinking of a couple of friends who have gone from owning rather “trad” boats to boats with “his” and “hers” wheels, etc., that the owner doesn’t spend any less; he or she just fritters more of it on “nice to have” presents for the boat.
I strongly suspect, thinking of a couple of friends who have gone from owning rather “trad” boats to boats with “his” and “hers” wheels, etc., that the owner doesn’t spend any less; he or she just fritters more of it on “nice to have” presents for the boat.
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neptis
Active Member
Not one I know. Thanks.
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
But surely, sailing a boat on which one can have complete confidence, on which all the gadgets work perfectly, which can be handled easily because every sheet, halyard & rope runs perfectly with minimal friction. having a boat that one can just get in & go sailing. Having a boat that performs well. Needs minimal ongoing maintenance.
That must be better than spending weeks repairing bits on some elderly craft, never being sure that something is not going to break, go wrong, or simply let one down. A boat that drips water over the bunks, has bits of mastic round the windows, peeling paint because that is one more job that needs doing. has baggy sails that nver reef just right or do not set really well. the list goes on & we can all see them everywhere. Is that what you prefer. & do not tell me that owner's repairs are better, because I have seen some right lash ups. ( that is not a reflection on you by the way, just a comment about some " fettlers")
richardbrennan
Well-Known Member
Unfortunately you have just missed my Westerly Ocean 33, which sold in less than a day and might well have been of interest.
I would take Concerto up on his offer, the Fulmar is a really fine boat if you can find one in good condition, not to say that some of the other suggestions are not fine boats too.
The one tip I would give you about any secondhand Westerly is to have a very close look at the headlining, which is famous for drooping after more than ten years or so. You can replace this yourself and get kits, but it's a hell of a job, and to get it done professionally is not cheap.
PS
You can get a bilge keel Fulmar.
I would take Concerto up on his offer, the Fulmar is a really fine boat if you can find one in good condition, not to say that some of the other suggestions are not fine boats too.
The one tip I would give you about any secondhand Westerly is to have a very close look at the headlining, which is famous for drooping after more than ten years or so. You can replace this yourself and get kits, but it's a hell of a job, and to get it done professionally is not cheap.
PS
You can get a bilge keel Fulmar.
neptis
Active Member
Not entirely Spartan so happy to look at Rustler / Vancouver but don’t want to take on too much to start with. Compared to you guys I’m quite inexperienced.
neptis
Active Member
Yes. I have looked at a few saggy interiors