Small yacht ownership

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TimBob1989

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Hi folks,

In order to celebrate the passing of my youth into being a 'grown-up' next summer, I am hoping to pursue some sort of adventure involving boats. I rather fancy a trip around the UK or to somewhere in Europe, but obviously require a capable boat. I'm thinking Coribbee or Hurley 22 etc. I can handle the cost of purchase and moorings (if I'm not too fussy about drying out) but have absolutely no idea about other costs of upkeep for such boats -insurance, fuel, repair budgets etc. I figure the best thing to do is ask! So, if anyone owns or has owned such a boat, perhaps they could give me a realistic idea of how much it costs them?

I'm sure many have dreamed about such a trip, but my intention has lately become a lot more serious as my sister has been dignosed with Lupus, and I would really like to use the trip to generate some sponsorship for 'Lupus UK' and raise awareness of a disease that I myself had never heard of.

If anyone can offer some advice re the practicalities, it would be greatly welcomed!

Cheers,

Robin
 
I suggest you to speak to nathan of these parts who not only has a corribee for sale (that he used in a partial UK circumnavigation last year) but has a wealth of experience of living on said boat. I will point him in the directionm of your post.
Alan
 
have sent nathan a message on facebook - he should be along shortly. Regarding the rest of your questions, there is a fair degree of "how long is a piece of string"" but I might relate my expeience to you.

I used to own a 26ft Centaur which cost about £2500pa in a partial tide marina berth on the East coast, and about £250 to insure. I did tons of work on her, very little of which I would describe as maintenance, but would guess perhaps £200-£400pa on true maintenance and a pot as big as you have got for upgrades, refurbs and toys. You dont need a lot, however to do a UK circumnavigation, you will need to sort the boat whichis why I pointed you towards nathan, as his has been. www.onkudu.com is where his tails are told.

Good lick with the venture !
 
Thanks for your reply - I have been following Nathan's adventures on his website and having been eyeing up Kudu on apolloduck for a while now.

I understand what you mean about 'how long is a piece of string'... noone knows the answer, but I expect it to be rather expensive string ;-) I'm not looking for a basket case, as I'd rather be sailing, but I'm not afraid of a bit of graft - God knows I've spent several months of my life varnishing etc!
 
TimBob1989 said:
Thanks for your reply - I have been following Nathan's adventures on his website and having been eyeing up Kudu on apolloduck
Click to expand...

Eyes off sunshine, she's mine! :p

Firstly, you won't regret this decision for a moment. It's the best thing I've ever done, and as I've said before; it has its hard bits, but the overall package is priceless. I don't know many (any) livaboards that would go back to land life through choice.


Insurance is going to be about £100-£130. Don't go for the cheapest, go for the best. The point of being insured is to be assured you're protected. IMO.

Other costs are pretty minimal to be honest.
I don't know if you've seen this short article I've started, but it'll give you some of the basics.
http://onkudu.com/2010/05/13/living-on-a-small-boat/

Kudu has now been officially withdrawn from sale. I couldn't sell her despite dropping the price, and that meant I couldn't move on with other projects, and that meant I couldn't go sailing. As such, I've just spent a small fortune on her.

A couple of quick pointers I've learned through experience:

You don't need a bog on a small boat. Little boats are too unstable at sea to use the loo,
and take up far too much precious room.

Food shopping is hard work. If you can make yourself a fridge, you'll save a mint since you can take advantage of 2 for 1 offers.

You need to be in a marina by September.

Insulate your boat. It'll drastically cut down on the cost of heating the pontoon.

Any questions, just ask, and if you want to come and have a chat and see the boat then feel free (although I appreciate I'm a fair distance away)

All the best,

Nathan
 
nathanlee said:
You don't need a bog on a small boat. Little boats are too unstable at sea to use the loo,
and take up far too much precious room.
Click to expand...

Some good info, but I disagree on this bit. My 23ft Snapdragon has what you could call a doored off 'tunnel' to the toilet at the bow so it's pretty much designed around its purpose.
Also with the 'tunnel effect' you are pretty much wedged in when sitting on the throne. :)

To sum up, i'd rather have my sea toilet than not.
 
Fire99 said:
Some good info, but I disagree on this bit. My 23ft Snapdragon has what you could call a doored off 'tunnel' to the toilet at the bow so it's pretty much designed around its purpose.
Also with the 'tunnel effect' you are pretty much wedged in when sitting on the throne. :)

To sum up, i'd rather have my sea toilet than not.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I am inclined to agree, but a 23footer is MASSIVE in comparison to a Corribee. Basically, I have a choice between a sea toilet, or a fridge. Besides, if you just need a pee, there's the sink.... erghhh. I don't do that, girls, honest. :p
 
£2,500 for a half tide marina berth or £100 for a halftide mooring.

You pays your money and you takes your choice.

All in all expences on my boat (29 foot) are about £1000 pa, including insurance, maintainance, one 'big thing' a year (second hand cooker and gas system overhaul this year) yacht club fees, haul in and out, winter storage ashore, mooring rent and mooring maintainance.

The down side is I'm three hours up river from the sea.
 
nathanlee said:
Yeah, I am inclined to agree, but a 23footer is MASSIVE in comparison to a Corribee. Basically, I have a choice between a sea toilet, or a fridge. Besides, if you just need a pee, there's the sink.... erghhh. I don't do that, girls, honest. :p
Click to expand...

:D Good point. I'm just remembering how 'compact' the Corribee I looked at was inside. If it's transport for the lads, then the fridge wins every time. (Unless there has been the odd under-cooked mackerel moment going on!!)
 
CPD said:
have sent nathan a message on facebook - he should be along shortly. Regarding the rest of your questions, there is a fair degree of "how long is a piece of string"" but I might relate my expeience to you.

I used to own a 26ft Centaur which cost about £2500pa in a partial tide marina berth on the East coast, and about £250 to insure. I did tons of work on her, very little of which I would describe as maintenance, but would guess perhaps £200-£400pa on true maintenance and a pot as big as you have got for upgrades, refurbs and toys. You dont need a lot, however to do a UK circumnavigation, you will need to sort the boat whichis why I pointed you towards nathan, as his has been. www.onkudu.com is where his tails are told.

Good lick with the venture !
Click to expand...

Beyond Reason, 25 ft Gib Sea, costs a little over £2000 for a pontoon berth at SYH. £120 to insure including racing cover. A couple of hundred for crane out, but £18 for the scrubbing post, or £70 lift and scrub. Another couple of hundred quid for antifoul and associated annual maintenance stuff. So you wouldn't get away with much less than £3K a year if you went for a pontoon berth.

But, if you are going to be constantly on the move, you won't need the marina berth. Visiting a marina costs circa £20 a night, a swinging mooring costs less, sometimes nothing. Anchoring off the East Coast usually free, but you can get charged other places.

Diesel costs trivial if you have a sailing boat, but expect to have to buy something for the boat every year. Sometimes this might be because you fancy an upgrade of some sort, but more likely it is to replace something that is worn or broken. I know you come from a dinghy racing background so you will be thinking about replacement sails, but take it from me, if you are on a tight budget, new sails will be well down your list of priorities. I manage perfectly well with my wardrobe of tatty old rags as do many others.

As most people on this forum know, I have replaced most items on my boat, but the sails are still the ones that were on her when I bought her. I bought her for £6000 and have spent the same again, and more, getting her to the way she is now. The main expense was the engine and stern gear (she was driven by an outboard before) but she's also had osmosis treatment, repainted topsides, renewed standing rigging, rebuilt rudder, new tiller, new instruments, new toilet, new windows, new floorboards, new upholstery, new headlinings, new canvas items. Plus I've bought safety stuff such as tiller pilot, jackstays, lifesling, boarding ladder that folds right down into the water, etc.

But now she is all sorted, the annual costs are more controllable. It might sound a bit obvious, but you either buy a bit of a wreck, as I did, and spend loads getting her to how you want her, then reaping the benefits, or spend more on a boat that looks to be perfect and hope that she is.
 
Just wrote a long post, realised I wasn't logged in and lost it. Annoyed with myself, so this is the short version...

Thanks for everyone's responses.

Bernie - my dinghy hasn't seen a brand new sail since 1990, although I have invested in a slightly better 2nd hand one. It still goes like stink and beats newer boats with a brand new sail. She is now (IMO) one of the best looking Europes on the circuit, but was rather rough when I got her - not afraid of the hard work!

Nathan - I don't expect to be living on the boat apart from on long trips - I don't think my girlfriend would like the idea somehow... For this reason I wouldn't be needing a marina berth, which is good as I can't afford one!

A sailing chum and I discussed a joint venture on such a yacht last year whilst idling away low tide during a regatta week. It is possible he would want to share the boat and therefore share certain costs, which could make things more realistic. There is a good chance I will be moving to South Wales within the next couple of years, possibly with a year in Exeter inbetween, so I would have to decide whether to take the boat round with me or leave it on the East Coast as a base for weekends away etc. If it stays here then my mate and my family will no doubt make as much use of it as I would. Again, its a case of seeing how things pan out!

As far as boat choice is concerned, does anyone have any suggestions other than the Corribee and Hurley? (Not you Nathan - you must be biased!) My max budget is 4 or 5k, but the boat must be pretty sorted at this top end. Would be prepared to do some work on a cheaper boat...

PS - when/what is this pirate weekend? Sounds intersting!
 
TimBob1989 said:
My max budget is 4 or 5k, but the boat must be pretty sorted at this top end. Would be prepared to do some work on a cheaper boat...
Click to expand...

My Cutlass 27 wasn't much more than your budget. For that I got a very seaworthy boat with quite old but usable sails, aged electronics and a shed load of other stuff as the guy was giving up sailing - OK some of it was old but most was servicable. OK I have done her up and spent a bit (as far as SWMBO knows ;)) but she was usable without.

Older boats in general seem to be out of fashion with new buyers going for AWB. To me they have character!

So keep your eyes out for someone packing it all in who may take an offer.
 
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