Southwold pontoon berth going cheap

Tradewinds

Tradewinds

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www.laurelberrystudio.com
Followed a link on another forum and spotted this:

http://www.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=440777


£35k !!
affraid.gif


( they were 15-20k when I berthed there in 2004)
 
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They are all leasehold.
99 years or so.
Have to pay a reduced rate of council tax each year also. £400 ish pa
Specific pontoons have limits in what length boat they can take.
Obviously 40' pontoons are a lot more than 25' ones.
The Southwold side moorings have a lot better access than the Walberswick ones.
The one mentioned is Southwold side, however its the 2nd on the right as you come in.
Yes close to the entrance but that can mean it can get a little bouncy in a big Easterly.
Good parking though.

Worth £35k ??
Not for me.
20k in my book, but somebody will buy it and love it for 30k.
 
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It's not too bad a deal at 35K. If you have a 40' boat in a marina it's going to be 5.5K a year plus. So if you keep your boat on the staging for six years, it has cost you no more than being in a marina and you still have an appreciating asset at the end of it whereas if you give your money to a marina you sail away with nothing when you move on.

Plus Southwold's nicer that a lot of marinas.
 
oldvarnish said:
It's not too bad a deal at 35K. If you have a 40' boat in a marina it's going to be 5.5K a year plus. So if you keep your boat on the staging for six years, it has cost you no more than being in a marina and you still have an appreciating asset at the end of it whereas if you give your money to a marina you sail away with nothing when you move on.

Plus Southwold's nicer that a lot of marinas.
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I see your logic but the upfront payment would be too much for me!

Besides, it's a bit of a commitment to one location but if you were local, a committed boater and had the spare why not. Despite my initial
affraid.gif
, these berths only ever seem to increase in value in the harbour and are a great improvement on the old stagings.
 
oldvarnish said:
It's not too bad a deal at 35K. If you have a 40' boat in a marina it's going to be 5.5K a year plus. So if you keep your boat on the staging for six years, it has cost you no more than being in a marina and you still have an appreciating asset at the end of it whereas if you give your money to a marina you sail away with nothing when you move on.

Plus Southwold's nicer that a lot of marinas.
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You forget this is the East Coast, so a 12m marina berth would be £4150 max, so timing is out somewhat. Southwold may be nice but it is a long way from anywhere else.
 
Stork_III said:
You forget this is the East Coast, so a 12m marina berth would be £4150 max, so timing is out somewhat. Southwold may be nice but it is a long way from anywhere else.
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I think you may have been spoiled by the Essex/Suffolk rivers if you think Southwold is isolated. Lowestoft is only 10M, the Deben is 17M, not big distances.
 
stuey_two said:
I think you may have been spoiled by the Essex/Suffolk rivers if you think Southwold is isolated. Lowestoft is only 10M, the Deben is 17M, not big distances.
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24nm+ to the Deben.

Who wants to go to Lowestoft? Don't even like going there by car :p

I live locally (within 8 miles). Was based on an old staging on the Walberswick side for 3years. Handy for Ijmuiden.

Despite the economics, I prefer being based on the Orwell and having Southwold as a destination.

But, hey-ho, each to their own.
 
Agreed its not on the face of it as easy as being on the Orwell.
However, Harwich is easily done on a tide unless its a beat in which case it could drag to 7 hours.
In fact we did Southwold to Bradwell in a day this summer and Walton on the Naze last year on a tide.
The Deben is obviously easier and easier still is the Ald given you haven't got a silly keel like mine.
Going North, well yes Lowestoft is not exactly the most glamorous of locations but the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club is well worth a visit.
Yarmouth is just a place on the map, never stopped there, never will, unless passing through it to get to the broards.
Wells is really nice if you're a shallow draft and can be done on a tide.

Day Sailing off Southwold is much, much nicer than off the Orwell.
The scenery is fab and there aren't any huge monstrosities trying to run you down.
Plus deepish water right into sole bay and the long golden beach which on a summers day is great to anchor off.

Failing that its a much nicer angle to cross the pond to visit the cloggies.
Breskens is 90nm from Southwold entrance and its almost straight to get you across the tss.
And obviously better for Ijmuiden.

Cons are there's no racing locally.
The entrance is a pain in a f5 NE to SE but I guess the same can be said for most East coast entrances.
If you draw 6' you need to be out 3 to 4 hours after HW and coming in is 4 1/2 hours before, though again this is no worse than the Deben or Ald.
 
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Wow. 35k. Even I sucked in my breath at that.
Ypu are all assuming a 40ft boat, not actually that many of those hang around East Coast in reality, so lets say somewhere between 30-36ft average. That makes the sums hardly add up especially as the local council has their trotters in the trough to tthe tune of another 400 quid a year.
 
oldvarnish said:
It's not too bad a deal at 35K. If you have a 40' boat in a marina it's going to be 5.5K a year plus. So if you keep your boat on the staging for six years, it has cost you no more than being in a marina and you still have an appreciating asset at the end of it whereas if you give your money to a marina you sail away with nothing when you move on.

Plus Southwold's nicer that a lot of marinas.
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Financially, I'm sure your better off owning your own pontoon berth than renting from a marina, but this assessment is a bit starry eyed. There's the council tax Javelin referred to, you will have to insure the pontoon against third party risks and carry out maintenance every few years. those boards will need cleaning and refastening, ultimately replacing and tubular piles for pontoons wear at the pontoon guides so have to be replaced or have sleeves welded on every 20 years at the most. Galvanising doesn't last for ever - what will be the cost of craning out that frame and shipping it to Witham for it to be blasted and dipped every 12 years or so? Although some years will be cheap, the odd ne will be pricier than a marina berth. I bet the costs won't average much less than £1500 a year.

Bit like the difference between owning and renting a house. You don't have to put a new roof on every year, but when you do, there's not much choice and it hurts the beer token store. Still, overall ownership is cheaper in the long run, but an owner spends more of his time caring for the house than a renter.

Perhaps it's time to move to Walberswick!
 
PeterWright said:
The only decent bit I ever found is the Yacht Club.
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Thread drift but I got dragged around Lowestoft by a Dutch / German couple one time we were there in search of a pub she'd been to years ago where there was live music

We found it and given the number of instruments nailed to the walls I fear for the musicians!

Not an experience I I'd be in a hurry to repeat, I was genuinely glad to get back on board in one piece :o
 
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