Small is …..errr cheaper

Bouba

Bouba

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justanothersailboat said:
Well I do manage all those things, but I like a wide range of weather, use a mooring buoy rather than a marina, and am unreasonably handy (and quite enjoy that bit). If I didn't also enjoy the tangentially related hobby of boatmending I'd need to be much richer. I don't know how Wansworth feels about that but like most people, he'd probably be best off with something simple that doesn't need much doing to it. Hard to tell from the ad, but the boat at the start of this thread might well be just that.
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For Wansy it would have to be something simple and in good condition....his DIY skills are appalling 😳
 
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Wansworth

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justanothersailboat said:
Well I do manage all those things, but I like a wide range of weather, use a mooring buoy rather than a marina, and am unreasonably handy (and quite enjoy that bit). If I didn't also enjoy the tangentially related hobby of boatmending I'd need to be much richer. I don't know how Wansworth feels about that but like most people, he'd probably be best off with something simple that doesn't need much doing to it. Hard to tell from the ad, but the boat at the start of this thread might well be just that.
Click to expand...
Yes had my share of fixing old boats although mainly pleasantworkIreally don’t want too much fixing now these new dangled plastic boats hardly have any work so I can sit back an do a bit of scraping and Splicing between cups of tea.The only definite item called for by the crew is a porta pottie……and not narrow side decks😂
 
srm

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If we are honest it is very difficult to justify the private ownership of a boat in material or financial terms. The true reasons are all intangible and emotional. That also applied to the boat I used as an RYA cruising school and skippered charter yacht. At the end of nine years the financial balance sheet was well in to the red even though I did all the maintenance work etc myself. However, I would be so much poorer in other ways without that experience, little things like walking on a beach in full sunlight at midnight, anchoring at the head of a fjord within sight of a glacier, sailing accompanied by dolphins or finding the boat surrounded by whales. And so many more intangible experiences including being at anchor with winds between 60 and 85 knots, and umpteen calm sunsets.
I have been fortunate in being able to use my boats more than most, and also keep them in places near where I lived (usually max 15 minutes away by car) and not expensive. My last boat at 35ft had fixed costs of around 1000 euros/year. That's marina fees, local boat taxes and third party insurance.
I bought that boat in 2009 and aware of advancing years spent a month working on it before launching. The hull was blast cleaned for me, the rest I did myself including replacing all standing rigging, epoxy coat below waterline and apply Coppercoat. I find a certain satisfaction in such boat work as I then know its condition when at sea. Also, an example of working on the boat initially to reduce future effort. The boat was pressure washed between tides until 2014, then not having drying out places lifted ashore in 2016, 2019 and 2023. Not the annual scrape etc. that have been mentioned above.
Unfortunately, health issues caught up with me and I lacked the energy and motivation to use the boat properly for the last few years. A new owner came on the scene last month. I was down at the marina yesterday to give him some spares and sort out a couple of queries. It was good to see the boat being cared for again and looking as she used to. I also enjoyed sitting in the cockpit in the sun for a while. many happy memories with that boat, and indeed all the other boats that I owned for a while.
Its only my personal experience. But that is why we choose to own boats, its a very personal thing. Only Wansy can decide if he wants to own a boat again, with all that entails or continue to dream.
 
dancrane

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doug748 said:
If you are fit, have the time and can afford a boat, not sailing means you are not interested enough.
Click to expand...

That's near the truth, although 'interest' isn't so much lacking, as beaten into retreat by unanswerable discouragements.

Golden aspects of ownership keep floating into the sunlight but they're awash in ugly downsides, fuelled by all the cash I don't have to watch disappearing.

The appeal would be on top after a terrific summer with plenty of sailing but between work and weather, that's a hell of a longshot.

Wansworth's two-minds approach can only be because the downsides are as clear to him as the rewards, although with his free time and the weather down there, I think I'd be an owner again, myself.
.
 
Bouba

Bouba

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srm said:
If we are honest it is very difficult to justify the private ownership of a boat in material or financial terms. The true reasons are all intangible and emotional. That also applied to the boat I used as an RYA cruising school and skippered charter yacht. At the end of nine years the financial balance sheet was well in to the red even though I did all the maintenance work etc myself. However, I would be so much poorer in other ways without that experience, little things like walking on a beach in full sunlight at midnight, anchoring at the head of a fjord within sight of a glacier, sailing accompanied by dolphins or finding the boat surrounded by whales. And so many more intangible experiences including being at anchor with winds between 60 and 85 knots, and umpteen calm sunsets.
I have been fortunate in being able to use my boats more than most, and also keep them in places near where I lived (usually max 15 minutes away by car) and not expensive. My last boat at 35ft had fixed costs of around 1000 euros/year. That's marina fees, local boat taxes and third party insurance.
I bought that boat in 2009 and aware of advancing years spent a month working on it before launching. The hull was blast cleaned for me, the rest I did myself including replacing all standing rigging, epoxy coat below waterline and apply Coppercoat. I find a certain satisfaction in such boat work as I then know its condition when at sea. Also, an example of working on the boat initially to reduce future effort. The boat was pressure washed between tides until 2014, then not having drying out places lifted ashore in 2016, 2019 and 2023. Not the annual scrape etc. that have been mentioned above.
Unfortunately, health issues caught up with me and I lacked the energy and motivation to use the boat properly for the last few years. A new owner came on the scene last month. I was down at the marina yesterday to give him some spares and sort out a couple of queries. It was good to see the boat being cared for again and looking as she used to. I also enjoyed sitting in the cockpit in the sun for a while. many happy memories with that boat, and indeed all the other boats that I owned for a while.
Its only my personal experience. But that is why we choose to own boats, its a very personal thing. Only Wansy can decide if he wants to own a boat again, with all that entails or continue to dream.
Click to expand...
That’s a very nice post👍
It also gave me an idea....probably worthy of a separate thread....how many creatures have you seen while on your own boat...I’ve seen whales...but only on a whale watching boat....so this is my list off the top of my head;
dolphins
tunas
barracudas
sharks
crocodiles
manatees
hippos
baboons
cobras and assorted snakes
but my greatest sighting, which I’d give up the others to see again, on a French lake...a boatload of topless women 😍
 
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