Retired and fit - looking for a boat. Advice?

[Skylark]

Yawn, yawn, yawn.

Descended into the predictable MAB vs AWB drivel.

But it makes for a good read on an otherwise dull day. Perhaps, if Her Majesty was a contributor to these threads she would comment that "some recollections may vary"

When on the water, it's always gratifying to see others waving enthusiastically at passing boats, regardless of make, age, length, beam, transom, sail plan or keel configuration.

 

[neptis]

Forgive me for not reading the 195 posts. I am not familiar with UK boat models. I just want to say that you (OP) most difficult decision is whether to actually buy a boat.
" there are lies, damned lies and STATISTICS" So when I look at my mooring area and all the boats I know never move. Plus I meet and consider new members to our club who buy a dream and never really get obsessed (ie use their boat) I reckon statistically OP has got a perhaps 5% chance of the whole idea being a good idea. ie statistically buy a camper van or caravan or just leave your money in the bank.
This will be shock horror to all the participants of this forum who love their boats. I love my little boat too. I have had it for 40 years and sail it every weekend. It has given me much pleasure and introduced me to the local yacht club so many good friends. On the other hand being a boat lover I am always shocked at the boats (90%) I see that are neglected. (despite ongoing costs for moorings)
So I can only beg the OP to make sure he is realistic about using the boat and loving it. Any boat by comparison will do. ol'will

Yes - that's good advice. I am I think realistic. The shift in lifestyle is rather more significant to me than the selection of craft.

 

[doug748]

Yawn, yawn, yawn.

Descended into the predictable MAB vs AWB drivel.

☺

You have to say it always seems to come from the same pundits:

PVB and his handmaiden, Tranona plus a few hangers on.

Never much to say except: buy a new boat, like me.



I think they are in training to bore for England at the next Olympics.



.

 

[neptis]

>>> Ticks everything.
Only if one tick box says - "All guests on board will be very small and require no privacy."

Haway man and look at a Sadler 34. One of the greatest sea boats of all time that will get you through a F10 and, more importantly, allow your guest take a dump with a degree of privacy while you sit on deck in a decent sized cockpit.

Okidoke, that's on the list.

 

[doug748]

Okidoke, that's on the list.

I do like the Sadler 34, as well.
One of your key problems is buying in the present market, basic examples of these boats were down around 20k but that will have gone up a notch.
I am winding myself up for further advice so stand by. : -)

.

 

[neptis]

Confess I have not read complete thread but note you say Retired and Fit. You also say you have funds - boats can be expensive and a money sink.

Retired , Fit and Wealthy is better

I like sailing in warm waters and if you have time/circumstance for extended stays I would consider buying a boat in Greece/ Croatia or even Portugal unless having it local to enjoy the pleasure of working on it is more important!

I have sailed in the Med and enjoy the warmth and history but in season find the scrum rather irritating. What's more there is plenty of choice for charter.

My interest is discovering the UK, I'm really only familiar with the south coast of England, some of the west of Scotland, but never experienced the rest, nor Ireland or Wales. I'm also quite keen to have the range for Sweden and the archipelago's around the gulf of Finland, where its quite difficult to charter.

 

[Kukri]

I have sailed in the Med and enjoy the warmth and history but in season find the scrum rather irritating. What's more there is plenty of choice for charter.

My interest is discovering the UK, I'm really only familiar with the south coast of England, some of the west of Scotland, but never experienced Ireland, Wales. I'm also quite keen to have the range for Sweden and the archipelago's around the gulf of Finland, where its quite difficult to charter.

“Snap!”

 

[matt1]

☺

You have to say it always seems to come from the same pundits:

PVB and his handmaiden, Tranona plus a few hangers on.

Never much to say except: buy a new boat, like me.



I think they are in training to bore for England at the next Olympics.



.

You seem to have only listed the protagonists on the "new" side of the argument. If you look at it by volume of text written you will find there is someone else who writes far more in defence of a particular model of a particular UK brand from yesteryear ;-)

Struggling for positives as the thread descends into the usual "my boat better than yours" is that it must mean everyone is happy with their choice of boat and fiercely proud of their particular brand. I'd imagine the car industry would love such brand loyalty

 

[Manosk]

Not when you are laying in bed looking at your toes, whilst waiting for the angel Gabriel thinking, " I wish i had bought that 40fter"
I suppose it could be worse,
if you found that you daughter in law was going to snort your years of hard earned wealth up her nose

Quite right Being retired means you are of certain age so you have a certain amount of time to do things
So dont spend most of it searching for a boat as Pardeys used to say Go small Go simple but Go now

 

[ashtead]

One factor you might also want to consider is the position re transferring any mooring the vessel is attached to and how that works unless you have already sussed out a location. If for example the yacht has a cheap mooring on its own pontoon on say the Medina what’s the position on taking on that mooring. The market for moorings changes but I recall when we first obtained our classic AWB (a lovely low maintenance Bavaria) we could only find moorings at Wicor up at Fareham but far cheaper than a Gosport marina .
We had looked at a number of aged MAB and having grown up sailing a Centaur I was aware of at least that Westerly and did look at some Moody S31 as mentioned above. I think there is always a strong market in mainstream brands but to narrow down choice maybe list criteria eg wheel or tiller,number of stern cabins, hot shower with shore power, ability to reverse etc. Does it have a bowthruster . Then compare what’s out there with your criteria
Some seem to enjoy the challenge of manovering an island packet or bilge Keelerbut are the upsides worth the hassle ?
how much storage and fuel can you carry compared to destinations intended.
Clearly it’s easier to find a berth and push around a shorter boat when you arrive but if you want for example 2 stern cabins and a wheel this might rule out many choices.
I would be very tempted by lifting keel for sailing around the Solent area which is the one reason I would move to say a Southerly but the price for that convenience is high but if you see yourself parked up on the sand somewhere clearly a greater consideration if you also want a vessel which sails well to windward.

 

[Daydream believer]

I went to my boat & was pleased to find the interior dry clean & everything fine. It is 17 years old. One thing about my AWB is the interior laquer finish.
it is perfect ; apart from a scratch on the door, which I have covered with an adhesive label, reminding me to turn the gas off before retiring.

My first boat which I had from new in 1968, I sold in 1978, had a varnished interior with some painted panels on the cabin ceiling. It certainly needed re varnishing & the white panels had been touched up a couple of times.
Looking at pictures of second hand pre 2000 boats a lot show very tired surface finishes. If one is happy with that, then fair enough. I know that i would not be. That in itself would involve hours of awkward muscle straining work.. When looking at pictures of second hand boats, one should really study the woodwork. Some show some really bad staining beneath the finish coats.

 

[Concerto]

You seem to have only listed the protagonists on the "new" side of the argument. If you look at it by volume of text written you will find there is someone else who writes far more in defence of a particular model of a particular UK brand from yesteryear ;-)

Struggling for positives as the thread descends into the usual "my boat better than yours" is that it must mean everyone is happy with their choice of boat and fiercely proud of their particular brand. I'd imagine the car industry would love such brand loyalty

I do no deny defending Westerly boats, for in their time they were considered to be better constructed than most of the other boats on the market. They generally still command a premium over similar age boats, because of it.

However if you read all of my posts you will also find I have not made any comment neptis should buy a Fulmar or a Westerly. I even commented that many of the more modern boats offer good value for money. Just because I do not have an opinion that "modern boats are far better than old boats", it is wise to educate those new to the sport from those who always spout "buy a new boat like me" (not my words but doug748). With yachts on the secondhand market stretching back over 50 years, it seems that to restrict a newcomer's choice to only boats made in the last decade or so, seems rather restrictive.

I feel sure that neptis never thought his question would result in such a wide ranging discusion and hopefully has learnt a lot about potential answers to the many questions he has not asked but has received answers to increase his confidence in making the important decision of what yacht to buy. He needs to decide the approximate length of boat, the general type of boat e.g. fast cruiser, traditional cruiser, wheelhouse, etc., the general age range and finally exactly how much he wants to spend on buying and how much for post purchase work. Another big decision he has not mentioned is where he plans to keep his boat. The South Coast has plenty of expensive places to berth. As he is based in N London, he should consider the East Coast. Generally marina berths are half the cost of the South Coast. The Orwell has plenty of choice and I love the Medway. The only sound advice that everyone has given is to avoid a fixer upper and to buy a boat that is in top condition as it will save money in the long term

 

[Mudisox]

I suspect that many of us posters would be more than happy to have you onboard for a day sail, this season as our destinations are likely to be restricted. Take your partner and have some fun, in a variety of UK destinations. If you are swayed by the glowing recommendations posted, try sending a PM to them asking for daysail. I am sure that you will be rewarded. You have the time now and also incentive to view/compare the market.com. You may also make some new friends.

 

[claymore]

211 post from a very innocent start. Have we explored the full spectrum yet? - I see we have been through the willie waving stage

 

[Concerto]

I suspect that many of us posters would be more than happy to have you onboard for a day sail, this season as our destinations are likely to be restricted. Take your partner and have some fun, in a variety of UK destinations. If you are swayed by the glowing recommendations posted, try sending a PM to them asking for daysail. I am sure that you will be rewarded. You have the time now and also incentive to view/compare the market.com. You may also make some new friends.

Funny you should say that, I made that offer in post #39. So far no one else has made a similar comment.

 

[Kukri]

The true test of a boat’s living spaces is what they look like as you arrive at your destination.

 

[Mudisox]

QUOTE="Concerto, post: 7596352, member: 147919"]
Funny you should say that, I made that offer in post #39. So far no one else has made a similar comment.
[/QUOTE]
But the video rather made me feel sick with all that rolling around, and the gimballed cooker!!!!!!!! ?

 

[matt1]

The true test of a boat’s living spaces is what they look like as you arrive at your destination.

Oh, you mean like this

(To be fair, I was only moving the boat in the river but it was blowing old boots so I decided to go for a sail Shame on me that I got carried away and forgot to stowe stuff before I left the river!!)

 

[Juan Twothree]

You seem to have only listed the protagonists on the "new" side of the argument. If you look at it by volume of text written you will find there is someone else who writes far more in defence of a particular model of a particular UK brand from yesteryear ;-)

But to be fair, the gentleman you refer to knows absolutely everything there is to know about Westerly yachts in general, and Fulmars in particular.

He's also very active, and extremely helpful, on the WOA forum, and I've been very grateful for his advice.

 

[neptis]

One factor you might also want to consider is the position re transferring any mooring the vessel is attached to and how that works unless you have already sussed out a location. If for example the yacht has a cheap mooring on its own pontoon on say the Medina what’s the position on taking on that mooring. The market for moorings changes but I recall when we first obtained our classic AWB (a lovely low maintenance Bavaria) we could only find moorings at Wicor up at Fareham but far cheaper than a Gosport marina .
We had looked at a number of aged MAB and having grown up sailing a Centaur I was aware of at least that Westerly and did look at some Moody S31 as mentioned above. I think there is always a strong market in mainstream brands but to narrow down choice maybe list criteria eg wheel or tiller,number of stern cabins, hot shower with shore power, ability to reverse etc. Does it have a bowthruster . Then compare what’s out there with your criteria
Some seem to enjoy the challenge of manovering an island packet or bilge Keelerbut are the upsides worth the hassle ?
how much storage and fuel can you carry compared to destinations intended.
Clearly it’s easier to find a berth and push around a shorter boat when you arrive but if you want for example 2 stern cabins and a wheel this might rule out many choices.
I would be very tempted by lifting keel for sailing around the Solent area which is the one reason I would move to say a Southerly but the price for that convenience is high but if you see yourself parked up on the sand somewhere clearly a greater consideration if you also want a vessel which sails well to windward.

Great advice and many thanks. One of the big variables is where to have a mooring. I'm likely moving out of London so it could be anywhere, not made my mind up. Am agnostic about wheel / tiller and will have to balance convenience versus having another thing to go wrong.