Sea or river question.

[HONEYMOMMY]

We are just about to buy our first boat. Currently looking at a sunseeker martinique 39.

At first we were looking for a boat to keep on the Thames, but with concerns we would get bored quickly with the distance and speed restrictions we changed to looking for a boat we can keep at the coast thinking we would have more fun.
With the research we have done so far I now wonder if we are making the right decision. Many posts talk about bad weather restricting use at sea.

So.. Looking for opinions. Which is best.

Also.. what if we buy the 39' on the coast then decide the Thames is better, is that boat rather large for the Thames, we don't want to stick out, so to speak.

As you can tell by my post, we are complete newbies, but very excited and ready to learn.

 

[carlton]

Welcome to the forum.

Speaking for myself, my first boat was a 30' 20 knot cruiser purchased and initially kept on the inland waterways. Keeping to the 4 knot speed limit drove me crazy, so it wasn't long before I moved the boat to the coast. Much, much better.

Bad weather will always restrict your boating at sea. The alternative is not recommended... You just have to pick your days and have the courage to not go out when it is/is forecast to be a bit rough.

I understand the Martinique to have a sound hull providing a good ride at sea. I know it's very much a question of individual preferences, but I think a boat like that would be wasted on the Thames - specially if you mean the non-tidal/speed-limited bits. As regards 'not wanting to stick out' - sod 'em. Choose the boat you want - not what someone else thinks is right.

Perhaps a sea trial of the Martinique in a bit of rough stuff would help you decide one way or t'other?

Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[BGW]

We are just about to buy our first boat. Currently looking at a sunseeker martinique 39.

At first we were looking for a boat to keep on the Thames, but with concerns we would get bored quickly with the distance and speed restrictions we changed to looking for a boat we can keep at the coast thinking we would have more fun.
With the research we have done so far I now wonder if we are making the right decision. Many posts talk about bad weather restricting use at sea.

So.. Looking for opinions. Which is best.

Also.. what if we buy the 39' on the coast then decide the Thames is better, is that boat rather large for the Thames, we don't want to stick out, so to speak.

As you can tell by my post, we are complete newbies, but very excited and ready to learn.

Can you keep the boat in Ireland and travel with cheap flights? - The Shannon navigation gives the best of both worlds.
No speed limits, free harbours to visit (you still need a paid for private mooring for storage) big open lakes plus a couple of hundred miles of navigable rivers in-between.

 

[Richard Shead]

We are just about to buy our first boat. Currently looking at a sunseeker martinique 39.

At first we were looking for a boat to keep on the Thames, but with concerns we would get bored quickly with the distance and speed restrictions we changed to looking for a boat we can keep at the coast thinking we would have more fun.
With the research we have done so far I now wonder if we are making the right decision. Many posts talk about bad weather restricting use at sea.

So.. Looking for opinions. Which is best.

Also.. what if we buy the 39' on the coast then decide the Thames is better, is that boat rather large for the Thames, we don't want to stick out, so to speak.

As you can tell by my post, we are complete newbies, but very excited and ready to learn.

I am not going to offer any advice you will get plenty from here BUT if you live near Heathrow why not start your boating life in and around the Teddington area that way you are not too far from the coast and can enjoy the river on a quiet Sunday afternoon if need be. As your experiences grows you can then choose your cruising ground with more confidence.

A 40ft Sunseeker will not look out of place on the lower (non tidal) Thames. Just look right as you drive over Hampton Court Bridge (out of town)

 

[CX54WEK]

We havea 25ft 30 knot cruiser that we keep inland (currently on the Fossdyke/Witham) but we do have easy access to open water, estuaries and the sea from where we moor. Our location gives us the best of both worlds, quiet, sedate river cruising for lazy weekends and a days cruising to get to the sea. As much as we enjoy coastal cruising we wouldnt want to keep our boat on the coast. We like to just nip out as and when we choose not when the tide and weather decide we can. The weather isnt such a great deal when boating inland.

As for will a 40ft Sunseeker look out of place on the Thames. Not at all. Take a look around the local boating hotspots, you will see some large cruisers around.

 

[Moody]

Sea for me

Like a lot of people I started out on the rivers, it was a good learning ground and I absolutely loved it - until I discovered the freedom that the sea brought, and I would now never go back to the rivers.

Agreed that you will probably get a bit more use inland but for me miles for smiles is far greater when coastal.

As others have said the Sunseeker would not look out of place, but what you do need to bear in mind is that bumbling along at tickover will not do a pair of large turbocharged diesels (presumably) any good at all.

Also I assume that the Thames would require you to have a Boat Safety Certificate, which in my experience caused extra cost and hassle to ownership on the river.

At the end of the day it will be what you feel comfortable with, and neither choice will be wrong, but be warned once bitten you will be itching to throw those throttles forward, and unless you have relatively easy access to unrestricted waters you will feel frustrated.

Finally welcome and good luck.

Neil

 

[epervier]

Putting a Martinique on a river is like keeping a racehorse in your back garden,(unless of course you live in Longleat House) it has pedigree, probably take more sea than you.
Quality boat, but I'm not bias toward the marque.................much!

 

[Richard Shead]

Putting a Martinique on a river is like keeping a racehorse in your back garden,(unless of course you live in Longleat House) it has pedigree, probably take more sea than you.
Quality boat, but I'm not bias toward the marque.................much!

There are many racehorses on the Thames...........but you have to learn to ride the thing first...

 

[TrueBlue]

Methinks you need to ask yourself some questions:-

1. What do you want to do with the boat
2. How much time do you want to spend on each trip and how often
3. Do you mind travelling for two hours or more just to get to the boat
4. Are you prepared to plan your trip in reasonable detail

If the answers are
1. Flash at high speed from one bit of sea to another
2. More than a weekend
3. No
4. Yes
Then you might get a lot fun (and expense) by going to sea

If the answers are:-
1. Moving a bit more sedately from one pub to another / watch the scenery changing more quickly
2. pop out for a day or less, but at most weekends (in the summer at least)
3. Yes
4. No

Then the River Thames would suit you better.
If you want a slight mix of sea and river, then keep the boat on the river near where they pull the plug out - say Shepperton.

I see so many boats idle for most of the year because
it's the wrong size (owners afraid to venture forth to brave the locks)
or in the wrong place relative to where they live,
or they don't have the time to go for more than a potter.

and if you take Richard's comment literally, then perhaps you should start with a dobbin and perhaps move up to a racehorse next year or the year therafter.....

 

[HONEYMOMMY]

Brilliant thanks. Well here's an update. We didn't like the idea of a price war with the Martinique as there ended up with three buyers, so left after upping our bid once. We have talked about it and are going to look closer to home, buy a less expensive boat for the Thames, then after familiarising ourselves with maintenance and handling, see where we want to be next. Hubby is the one wanting the speed and fishing. There is always the choice early on to charter a boat to see how it is. If we love it, then we can trade in and get the big bugger with the go faster stripes for him to get his adrenaline fix. Plan sorted. Plans can change quickly in our house though, so who knows. Lol. Back to boat hunting for now. Thanks for all your opinion and advice.

 

[oldgit]

"We are just....At first we .."

Me being a bit of a Sherlock Holmes have deduced there are probably more than one peeps involved here.
If your intent is to carry on boating for any length of time it will become apparent that boating is a very social activity to be enjoyed most with family and friends.
Translated this means your wife/girlfriend (or both) had better enjoy it or else.
Now he may have James Bond visions of you lot thundering along past a beach(fuel about £150.00 per hour mind ) on the coast crowded with bikini clad girls admiring you in Raybans and Rolex,this will get very tiresome for your significant other when she is clutching the handrail enduring 3 boring hours of bang crash splash thud in a light drizzle,the most likely scenerio.

She on the other hand is dreaming about a slow cruise up to Henley,past the back gardens of all those rich/famous people,a walk round the shops.a little light lunch and back to boat to greet friends ariving for an evening drink to watch the sun go down and the world drift past.
A Sunseeker,like the Ferrari is everyones dream machine and about as much use as a chocolate tea pot for 99% of everyday uses.

Which is it to be.

 

[Chill]

The Sunseeker will be a bit of a challenge on the non tidal Thames, Access to the side decks means trampling over the seats also same goes when moored up getting on and off the boat. You dont see many SS but as it hapens there is one visiting Windsor marina it looks great but not practical. Look at a Sealine S38 / S37 a much better Thames boat.

Chill

 

[CX54WEK]

Brilliant thanks. Well here's an update. We didn't like the idea of a price war with the Martinique as there ended up with three buyers, so left after upping our bid once. We have talked about it and are going to look closer to home, buy a less expensive boat for the Thames, then after familiarising ourselves with maintenance and handling, see where we want to be next. Hubby is the one wanting the speed and fishing. There is always the choice early on to charter a boat to see how it is. If we love it, then we can trade in and get the big bugger with the go faster stripes for him to get his adrenaline fix. Plan sorted. Plans can change quickly in our house though, so who knows. Lol. Back to boat hunting for now. Thanks for all your opinion and advice.

Most people dont keep their first boat for very long so buy somthing that is a popular brand and model that way when you do decide to sell it will hopefully be a quick and painless experience.

 

[bumpy_the_dog]

Methinks you need to ask yourself some questions:-
I see so many boats idle for most of the year because
it's the wrong size (owners afraid to venture forth to brave the locks)

Handling the locks is an interesting one. There's an argument that says a bigger boat (or at least a boat with a bit more freeboard on the foredeck) is actually easier to take upstream through a lock than a smaller/lower boat. The reason is that the crew in the smaller boat has to throw their mooring lines maybe five or six feet up into the air to lasoo the bollard.

Eventually the lockeeper will probably take pity and take their lines, but we've all seen a lot of desperate fending off in the meantime! The crew of a bigger boat has a much easier time of this, they just reach across and plonk their mooring lines on the bollard, no wild west ropework needed.

Going downstream it's easy for everyone, we're all just dropping the mooring lines "downhill" onto a mooring bollard that's several feet below, so gravity replaces skill!

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

We started off with a Searay planing boat on the Thames (moored at Windsor Racecourse) and that was as unsuitable for river cruising as the Martinique will be. Its not that the Martinique wont be able to cruise the Thames but that its a complete waste of its offshore capabilities. We got bored on the Thames after just one season and moved down to the Solent a year later ourselves.
If you do keep your boat in a relatively sheltered cruising area like the Solent, there won't be many days that you can't cruise somewhere wth a boat as big as the Martinique even if the weather is inclement. Even if you want to try Thames cruising, the Martinique will do it but as I say, it would be a waste.
Btw, make sure the boat you're buying has a bow thruster

 

[OAF]

I boater on the inland waterways for many years, the Thames is a beautiful river and has laots of cruising possibilities, even some of the canals in the right sort of boat BUT the coast is a playground without bounderies ( except the weather, skill and time) I think that limiting yourself to the Thames might be a short lived experience, buy a boat that will do the rivers and the sea, as others have said, your first boat won't be the last! What ever you decide welcome to the world of boats and boating,where a friendlier bunch is hard to find

 

[ian38_39]

There are a few areas not so far from the Thames that can give you alternatives.

Have you thought of The Orwell? Loads of sheltered cruising around into lots of different rivers and straight forward access to the sea.

A bit further away or the Norfolk Broads. 120 miles of rivers and Broads plus 2 accesses to the sea at Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. The Broads are a bit short of places close enough to visit in a short hop though, Southwold is the only close one and from there you are going to start burning lots of fuel.

A lot not only depends on choice but also your boating budget. Dont forget most motor boats over 35' are going to cost you £100 plus an hour at sea but about £10 an hour inland, there are also big differences in the cost of boating in different areas.
Our boat cost £1500 a year to moor on the Broads an hour from the sea, move our boat to salterns marina in poole and you are looking £12k a year.
Other costs multiply as you go south too, A lift will cost 5 times as much on the south coast as on the Norfolk Broads.

Do your homework, make lists and then choose your boat.

 

[oldgit]

" I think that limiting yourself to the Thames might be a short lived experience, "

Many who "escape " to the dubious pleasures of the "seaside" nevertheless return to retire to the more relaxed type of boating enjoyed back on the Thames.

 

[rafiki_]

Rafiki is a coastal cruiser, that is very happy on the river Severn. We can escape to the Bristol Channel and beyond.

There are several locks on the Severn, and initially we found these a bit of a challenge, but now take them in our stride.

She has 2 small diesels, that consume nothing much on the river, and 6-8 gph on the sea at 25 knots.

She is nowhere near as quick as an SS, but having watched my neighbour in the marina having to tinker with his motors every week on his SS, we actually enjoy our boating far more than him.

 

[oldgit]

Being able to enjoy both types of boating is ideal.The ability to go up to sheltered waters when things are manky or outside when conditions allow is ideal.
Often wonder why people deliberately limit themselves to one sort of boating by the type of boat or area they choose to boat in.
Mind you,when I am on one side of the tidal lock I always seem to want to be on the other side ASAP.