River lake boat

[kashurst]

Dont want to spend huge amounts, don't want new-ish ( £20K - £ 40K budget) and fancy a bit of a project - I have come over all creative and would like to do my own upholstery and woodwork to update the interior. I got a gold star for a toy dog when I was 12 so I am obviously well qualified.
Needs to be able to go through shallow water, so considering the devils egg whisks as they can lift, and needs to tolerate steel boats and barges bouncing off/moored alongside. Older boats seem to be more heavily built. I am not going to take it out to sea, so as long as it floats it will probably be OK.
Length around 30 feet - don't need bigger as I live nearish intended waterways. The smaller outboard driven boats are a bit small and narrow. Not going into canal, looking for more of a picnic, sunny days thing with a wider beam for stability. Looked at Princess 30 DS, Fairline Corniche 31. Dont really want a flybridge as we have dogs who will no doubt be dragged along at some point. Targa style boats have a lot of canvas and are overpowered for what I need. Not averse to petrols as we won't be going far, but concerned about age/safety. Any other suggestions or thoughts?

 

[stelican]

Fairline did build a few Corniches without flybridges.

 

[Ferris]

I would rather a protected single shaft drive over an outdrive for inland work. Prop not as exposed and will track better at low speed. What about broads type boats? Anything made by broom, aquafibre or Haines with an aft cockpit. They mostly don’t draw more than 2.5ft so shallow enough.

This is cheap and looks like a good basis for a project. Very beamy for an inland waterways boat nice opening roof over the helm and loads of forward facing seats so the skipper isn’t isolated. A friend has one of these and loves it. Bounty Buccaneer - Wombie - Waterside Marine Sales

Another one to consider is a profile 33, maybe a bit old fashioned but solid built boats.

You mentioned prinny 30ds? Some yards (brinks/rosebank) fitted these out with single diesel shaft drive as inland boats.

 

[Portofino]

Something like this a Seamaster 30 with a Perkins .
This one needs a interior refit , a bringing up to date project ,

Seamaster 30 for sale UK, Seamaster boats for sale, Seamaster used boat sales, Seamaster Motor Boats For Sale Seamaster 30 - Nattajack - Apollo Duck

Work well @ Naburn ?

 

[Ferris]

Something like this a Seamaster 30 with a Perkins .
This one needs a interior refit , a bringing up to date project ,

Seamaster 30 for sale UK, Seamaster boats for sale, Seamaster used boat sales, Seamaster Motor Boats For Sale Seamaster 30 - Nattajack - Apollo Duck

Work well @ Naburn ?

My Dad had one of these many years ago which I have great memories of. Great accommodation for a 30 footer. Extremely easy to drive and berth as all the weight is in the middle. Ours was beautifully fitted out in mahogany inside. But the grp work / hull moldings aren't great. Foredecks soak up water and the helm hardtops crack in the middle and sag. Cabintops are too lightly laid up and creak and crack underfoot. Leaky windows can affect plywood bulkheads too which his the type of work I personally would like to stay away from. Also the sidedecks are very narrow at the corners of the superstructure, something I always hated

I liked our one for nostalgic reasons but I would never go there now. Trick with refurb boats I feel is to ensure good quality GRP thats not to far gone and a dry boat if possible. For a refurb project that allows you to concentrate on refitting the interior to a good standard based on solid foundations. I worry less about engines etc. as I would focus on inboard diesels and in this space they don't represent a huge proportion of the overall value of the boat. Engines are often common enough workhorses that can be fixed by anyone and replaced easily.

I know this from experience unfortunately with the current Broom 37 - wished we'd started out with something better. dealing with leaky windows, rotten bulkheads and osmosis is not fun. Expensive too!

 

[QBhoy]

Have a look at the Shetland 27. Made for the job in every way. Outboard or inboard. Not terribly cheap being sought after..but probably get one in that budget. Made up to very recently, perhaps still made even. I’d have an outboard one, if I was you.