Second Hand Boat Buying Advice

Hi engmpoll

Petrol is scarce up here in North Wales and expensive. Conwy and Pwllheli only unless you are prepared to cart about your own bowser. I'd stick with diesel for no other reason. Also the majority of the time the small chop here wont really allow for a comfortable +30 knt cruise and you'll burn fuel like no tomorrow while loosening your fillings. The good news is you've chosen a great place for family boating with many great beaches and hideaways only really accessible by boat. Perfect for those weekend away trips. Even better you've stuck with Conwy rather than join those pirates skulking about in the Menai. This proves you are a gentleman and it would be great to make your acquaintance once you are down and settled. We can raid Roy's funbox of it's booze after the launching ceremony, I know where he hides the keys when he's not onboard.
 
rafiki_ said:
I there are several on here with some serious experience and expertise, inc Kawasaki! You could do worse than strike up a conversation with him.
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Hiya Raf ows it going M8? Thanks for that 'commendation', I think!
Anyway I will PM our new friend
I remember back in day how confusing the first boat purchase Path was!
 
Kawasaki said:
Hiya Raf ows it going M8? Thanks for that 'commendation', I think!
Anyway I will PM our new friend
I remember back in day how confusing the first boat purchase Path was!
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Don't listen to Kwackers, he'll put you in a rubber inflatable with humongous outboard and teach you how to say Arrrrgh with authenticity while raiding passing cruisers for tea and biccy. He may also try and rob you of your front teeth.
 
Great banter! I find the comment about petrol availability intriguing! I enquirer at the marina about this as I was getting a Jeanneau sales pitch, they had me believe it was readily available and cost comparative! Another lesson learnt!
 
engmpoll said:
Great banter! I find the comment about petrol availability intriguing! I enquirer at the marina about this as I was getting a Jeanneau sales pitch, they had me believe it was readily available and cost comparative! Another lesson learnt!
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Lesson 2, if qwackers or bruce,tell you it is raining bring your factor 30 i am t total so my funbox is full of cherryade ,bruce will invite you on his boat knowing you will take a bottle with you .if you listen to me you will be ok ,qwackers used my boat for an office till he got a grant ,off the welsh government,because with him being a scouser they thought he was talking in welsh ,pm if you need to talk to sailor ,Roy
 
engmpoll said:
..... I find the comment about petrol availability intriguing! I enquirer at the marina about this as I was getting a Jeanneau sales pitch, they had me believe it was readily available and cost comparative! Another lesson learnt!
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The marina isn't completely out of order. There are a lot of discussions here if you search over the annual costs of running petrol or diesel all told and the jury is out as to which is cheaper especially with outboard verses inboard diesel. My bias is more towards convenience / availability here. Especially once you want to start doing a little cruising, which you inevitably will, you may find you cant without a lot of fuss and forward planning.
 
engmpoll said:
Great banter! I find the comment about petrol availability intriguing! I enquirer at the marina about this as I was getting a Jeanneau sales pitch, they had me believe it was readily available and cost comparative! Another lesson learnt!
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A friend of ours has a petrol Chaparral and getting petrol is a ball-ache. They have berthed in Penarth and Swansea and it has meant lugging jerry cans back and forth from the petrol station. Also, don't underestimate the value of diesel heating (Webasto, etc). Their boat is now sitting on a trailer on their drive....
 
If heating is desired there are as many petrol driven as diesel driven options.

To me (don't ask) the safety of non explosive diesel completely rules petrol inboards out.
 
Last thing I want to be doing is lugging Jerry cans to and from the marina, cuts down on impromptu boat trips when taking advantage of good weather. Diesel it is I think.
 
Guys
You surely know that you don't need a diesel boat to have a diesel fired webasto or Eberspacher heater....?
You just need a small 12l outboard tank (even has a gauge on it) with a small hole drilled in top of the feed outlet pipe for the fuel pick up pipe. Simple as that. That's for a proper job.
Even simpler is a 5l plastic jerry can with a hole drilled in the cap for the pick up pipe.
I've had this set up in a few of my boats and most of the guys at my marina have the same.
 
QBhoy said:
Guys
You surely know that you don't need a diesel boat to have a diesel fired webasto or Eberspacher heater....?
You just need a small 12l outboard tank (even has a gauge on it) with a small hole drilled in top of the feed outlet pipe for the fuel pick up pipe. Simple as that. That's for a proper job.
Even simpler is a 5l plastic jerry can with a hole drilled in the cap for the pick up pipe.
I've had this set up in a few of my boats and most of the guys at my marina have the same.
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If you are doing that consider using kerosene (AKA paraffin). It burns cleaner and the exhaust smells sweeter than with diesel. A chap on a stand selling Eberspacher at a SIBS one year told me using kerosene for short periods can effectively decoke the burner. Don't know how true that is, but I ran my D4 on my last boat for two seasons on Kerosene from a 5lt petrol container and it never missed a beat. Very economic too.
 
QBhoy said:
Guys
You surely know that you don't need a diesel boat to have a diesel fired webasto or Eberspacher heater....?
You just need a small 12l outboard tank (even has a gauge on it) with a small hole drilled in top of the feed outlet pipe for the fuel pick up pipe. Simple as that. That's for a proper job.
Even simpler is a 5l plastic jerry can with a hole drilled in the cap for the pick up pipe.
I've had this set up in a few of my boats and most of the guys at my marina have the same.
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Fair enough but who needs yet another job on the list, besides, it doesn't get around the fact that it is a ball-ache to fill up with petrol.
 
I filled at the pontoon. Was the same as the forecourts. Pretty sure your fuel costs will be dwarfed by the berthing fees at Conwy, Deganwy even more so. Before I bought my first boat I was very concerned about fuel usage and associated cost. Berthing fees, maintenance, insurance, upgrades soon make you realise your fuel spend is one of the smaller costs relatively. Hope I'm not putting you off!
 
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Danfarry said:
I filled at the pontoon. Was the same as the forecourts. Pretty sure your fuel costs will be dwarfed by the berthing fees at Conwy, Deganwy even more so. Before I bought my first boat I was very concerned about fuel usage and associated cost. Berthing fees, maintenance, insurance, upgrades soon make you realise your fuel spend is one of the smaller costs relatively. Hope I'm not putting you off!
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I'm fully expecting it to be a money pit! Diesel or petrol I'm going to be paying! Berthing fees were a bit of a bitter pill to swallow, but only comparable with some caravan sites in North Wales. Mooring in the estuary is pretty cheap, but I can see out of the water maintenance becoming the standard then. Saw a trailer with boat, slip it's tow hitch a few months back and end up back in the river, don't fancy that!
 
Its pretty simple. Single engine cruiser up to 28 feet, petrol just fine.
Big v8 GM mercruiser unit, low service cost, 300hp, and overall as many have said, fuel is not the major cost.
Over 28 feet, twin engine, you will then be diesel, and fuel consumption will be less per engine, but you will have greater service costs, and injectors and turbos to look after. Diesel at this size is the only route, below 28 feet it is immaterial, with the diesel case overrated.
BUT, in either case it is a matter of horses for courses, a single mercruiser 300hp petrol is definitely a viable unit in up to 28ft, and I speak from experience.
In the med, petrol is readily available on the dock, loads of petrol speedboats jet skis etc, albeit I do not know about North Wales, but when I was in Ireland, cans were just fine, I just kept it regularly topped up, 300 litre tank, means impromptu runs out not an issue:cool:
 
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