Selling up

[SnaxMuppet]

I have been asked to explain why my Merry Fisher 625 is for sale so I will...

Our holiday this summer made us realise that this boat is far too small for what we want to do with it. It is a super boat but it really isn't designed for living on for any period of time. We knew it wasn't of course when we bought it but we were hoping/expecting that we would be satisfied putting up with the lack of room on the occasional times that we went away on it. We aren't.

I then had the accident injuring my foot and the forced rest has allowed us to reassess our feelings about upgrading to something bigger. We decided that the minimum we would be happy with was 10m and when we considered the costs involved in that neither of us were happy. In fact, it bacame clear that although we both love boating we don't feel that it is worth the costs especially when we considered what else we could do with the money.

So we have decided to sell up. We aren't stopping all marine entertainment though. Once we have sold we are going to get a 3 person hovercraft. They aren't expensive (£7k new) and they are a great alternative to a rib or jetski. It means that we still get out on the water from time to time but this time it is at minimum cost and maximum fun.

 

[nyx2k]

im looking at a small hovercraft as well. being on the thames estuary I'll get more use from a hovercraft on the mudflats than i will the boat.
maybe in a year or two you'll feel differently. good luck

 

[goochie]

Good luck to you. It's true that boating (moboing anyway) can never really be justified on a cost benefit analysis, it's just a sort of mad thing we do! We love our boating, but fully accept there may be a time when we can no longer justify it's expense - so we're making the most of it in the meantime /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Have fun with whatever you do in life.

 

[Haven't-a-Clue]

Aw hell, I guess that'll just leave me on the forum with a 2007 MF625. I hope that the hovercraft gives you your fun quotient. Best of luck, don't stop posting, though!

 

[mikesyam]

My pals selling a great 3 seater hovercraft, any trial and well worth a look here.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HOV-POD-ACX52-HOVE...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Seadee]

What a shame - posted for you some time ago when I saw your ad. I had a MF625 (one of the first ones) and all it made me want was a bigger one !! Now got a MF805. Understand what you mean about the money though. I was reminded only the other day that our boating cost £(I'm ignoring it again) per trip. It's all forgotten when I return home with a boat load of skate last Saturday - at least temporarily.

Good luck

CD

 

[ricky_s]

[ QUOTE ]
Aw hell, I guess that'll just leave me on the forum with a 2007 MF625.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, I get my new MF625 Legende on Saturday so not quite on your own

 

[SnaxMuppet]

Thanks for that but Hovpods are simply too expensive.

I will probably get a Flying Fish Marlin or a Vortex 2. The Flying Fish is similar to the Hovpod in size and performance but is under half the price when new!

Ta anyway

 

[rr_123]

[--word removed--] - which forum would a hovercraft belong on; burning fossil fuels to be driven by wind ...

 

[gjgm]

very much our thoughts too. We are just toying with going up again, and of course it makes no financial sense at all. The only thing that might make sense is that today we can afford it, so we are fortunate, fully realising that at some point we will doubtless be going down again ! Of course, I could stick it in a pension and watch it halve in value, but that doesnt seem as entertaining.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Bloody hell you must be the only person I've ever come across with 2 boats for sale!!

Why should owning a 10 meter boat be more expensive than your 6.25 if you keep it on a mooring somewhere, and there's plenty of choice in Plymouth, rather than in an expensive marina?

That's what I would look at doing. As for a hovercraft, do you really think you're going to want to use it after the novelty value has worn off? Bit like a jet ski, quick whiz around and then what?

 

[Nautorius]

LJS,

I have two for sale. The Aquador and a Sun Odysea 24.2 (Saily Boat)!

Two boats and half the time I used to have to use them! Both to be sold replaced by one shared with Landlocked Pirate. Oh, his is also for sale (2000 Fletcher 19 sportscruiser) if anyone wants one!

Cheers

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Haven't-a-Clue]

Hooray!

 

[ricky_s]

Off topic a bit. But how have you found your 625's handle in the Solent?

 

[SnaxMuppet]

[ QUOTE ]
Why should owning a 10 meter boat be more expensive than your 6.25 if you keep it on a mooring somewhere, and there's plenty of choice in Plymouth, rather than in an expensive marina?

[/ QUOTE ]Sure, we do keep our boat in a marina. We kept the yacht on a mooring at Saltash last summer... it was cheap... very cheap... but we had to take the dinghy every time in the car, pump it up each time (until we got a roofrack for the car but them we had to put on the roofrack and fix on the dinghy - it wasn't much better), load the dinghy from the car without a trolley, often brave the tide and waves for the 10 mins trip to the mooring then get everyone/thing onboard. Then do the whole lot in reverse when we get back... all for a couple of hours on the water. It was actually taking us longer off the water than on it.

If you don't use the boat much then the hassle of a mooring would be fine but we were using our boat several times a week quite often and it simply bacame too much.

Aside from that... are you really saying that running costs for a 10m boat are not much more than a 6.25m? Just taking fuel alone... I do about 200hrs a year, the 6.25 has a 115hp outboard that does about 20 l/h. If I had a 10m it would have 2 engines (I would not want a single given what I would want to do with her) and they would probably be at least 200hp. Assuming that they have the same consumption that doubles the price (I am assuming that red deisel has gone in this calc). Then there is double the servicing, double the antifouling, double the cost each time I have her lifted out etc etc. Sure, the mooring fees would be much the same but the actual cost of ownership if not double is significantly more. Add to that the fact that we would keep it in a marina and it becomes one hellava lot more.

[ QUOTE ]
As for a hovercraft, do you really think you're going to want to use it after the novelty value has worn off? Bit like a jet ski, quick whiz around and then what?

[/ QUOTE ]It is a valid question and one we have asked ourselves too.

If we were planning on just using it like a jetski then I would say that the novelty wouldn't last long. However, we have joined the Hovercraft Club of GB and they have a program of events, races and cruises, about twice a month in the season, where we can travel about the country to different locations, meet up and have organised fun. It is the sort of thing we were hoping to do with the boat but people tend to do their own thing with their boat and it isn't very social.

We would be doing it for much more than just the hovercrafting. There is the travel... it is a good excuse for driving around the country and going to different locations. There is the social side... there are regional branches of the club that meet monthly for an evening meal/drink and to organise events more local. There is the camping. At each event most people camp. We love camping but haven't done much recently and as we already have the gear it ties in nicely with hovercraft ownership. Finally there is the technical side... when I raced karts it was great fun maintaining and repairing the kart and engines myself. My wife is an engineer and so we thouroughly enjoyed that side. A hovercraft is a very simple machine.... an engine turns a fan which pushes some air out the back for thrust and ducts some down under the craft where a skirt around the hull stops it escaping thereby increasing the pressure underneath and lifting the craft into the air. Simple, easy to understand and easy & cheap to work on. Not like motor boating at all. With that everything is expensive, tucked away and difficult to get at and overall I find it very frustrating. I raced karts twice a month for 2 years and never got bored or tired of it. Hovercraft are much the same in many respects.

As I say... on the surface you wouldn't think that a hovercraft could be much more than a quick blast and a few twirls but you couldn't be further from the truth IMO.

Financially we would still be spending quite a bit on fuel for the car (the hovercraft does less that 5 lts/hour at about 20kts so not really a big factor) but we would be getting so much more value.

I can't wait /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[SnaxMuppet]

[ QUOTE ]
[--word removed--] - which forum would a hovercraft belong on; burning fossil fuels to be driven by wind ...

[/ QUOTE ] /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I had the same thought!

This forum is a great place to "hang out" if you are interested in boats and I have thoroughly enjoyed being a member and taking about and discussing motor boat issues. Then there is always the occasional... how shall I say it... "friendly debate" over the issues close to one's heart /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif . I really don't want to leave the community.

But which forum as a hovercraft owner?

I can't see hovercraft ownership becoming so big that it warrants its own forum and although you lot are, on the whole, a very tolerant and openminded bunch ( /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif ), I can't see many people on this forum being all that interested in hovercraft issues. Likewise with any of the other YBW forums.

I shall still hang around this and the other forums and "pipe up" when I believe I have something to contribute but it will probably be less than recently.

 

[SnaxMuppet]

For those that really wonder what sort of hovercraft I am talking about... here are some pics and a video...

Pics...
Pics of Hovercraft Club of Great Britain meeting last weekend

Video...
Video of Hovercraft Club of Great Britain meeting last weekend