Steve101 - what did you make of the show?

[JeremyF]

Steve,

I'm on tenterhooks to see how this soap opera continues. What did you make of the show? Did you manage to keep your chequebook dry? What about the Swedish builders - worth more than the middle-of-the-road Moody ( that sounds very sarcastic, but its from an owner of a bottom-of-the-line Bav)

<font color=blue>Jeremy Flynn/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif
Dawn Chorus</font color=blue>

 

[Steve101]

Blimey, I\'m a subject!

One line sort of sums it all up; "I was like a kid in a candy shop, but whoaaaaah there horsey!"

Got in and headed straight for the Moody stand (No surprises there then!) Had to queue with the poor people (Joke, joke, joke! Honest even though it's the second time I've used it today. JOKE ok!) I was asked if I'd like to take a look at the 54 so I did, BIG mistake (I ordered it there and then with a shit load of extras......JOKE, joke, joke!!!!) It was awesome, Ange loved it, but twee as it may seem we are in love with the '38 and quickly forgot about the '54 when we got aboard our boat. We knew we'd made the right decision as soon as we saw around it, just as we did with our home and just as we did with our children (They're like one of the family now! (The kids not the boat/house! OK no more jokes!)

Five minutes later our little sailing world caved in; "We stop making them in January!" After a few minutes of trying to convince Bruce Hastie he should build at least one more next year with a boat load of extras (The super Moody38 Gti turbo nutter.) we gave in and trauled around what, one after one seemed a disappointment after our virgin meeting with our beloved little Moody '38. Except ONE a Benetaue 44cc. (Waiting for the sniggers, tcm it's your fault!) Why not!

Anyway we did the HR's, the Oysters and loads of others which I have a theory about the country of origin of each, if you want I'll share it with you.

Got all the glossy brochures for all the extras, right down to a snazzy retro brass flushing toilet! Then with the bit between my teeth shook off my depression and headed back to the Moody stand with (A GUN! Ok last joke honest!) the intention of trying to convince them of stopping their Multi-million pound production line and make me my precious little boat.........it didn't work! I relented, I'm gonna try and order now and I'm speaking to Bruce Hastie in the morning about all the extras I want, funny he didn't laugh once when I reeled off my christmas list. I think it must have been hard to laugh as the dollar/euro signs rolled past his eyes and the faint sound of " Chhh ching" could be heard in the background.

I'm probably a mug and fallen for the oldest trick in the book. I use it myself "Sorry I'm nearly out of them and when they're gone I can't get anymore! Chhh ching!"

Anyway half an hour later Ang and I are walking on air down the steps of the stand barely noticing the Manhatten 105 parked right next door. "Careless Whisper's coming home to daddy and Momma needs love!" (Deep south of America accent!)

Can you tell I'm in a good mood (Make that a bloody fantastic mood!)

Now the hardwork begins!!!

 

[Jeremy_W]

The only difference between men and buoys...

... is the price of their toys! So, how will you cope through the winter months from January to Spring? Will you park the M38 by the house so you can go out and stroke it daily? Or will you leave it lonely in Torquay?

PS. Are you now Steve201 following the massive response to your post?

 

[Steve101]

Re: The only difference between men and buoys...

Jeremy I haven't even begun to look at the logistics of all this. I'm on an 18 month waiting list for Torquay! When I checked my bank balance on friday their wasn't enough to buy a second hand sinclair C5 in there and I can't sail, I can't navigate, I can't even use a VHF radio....oh and I want radar and I don't know how to use that either!

Good job I want auto-pilot. It'll do it all for me right....., right, it will wont it??????

Talk about being at the bottom of a bloody steep learning curve. It feels like it's just gone vertical and I need a turbo lift!

SO (Breathing deeply in and then out!) why do I feel so optomistic?

 

[Gunfleet]

Re: The only difference between men and buoys...

<<<When I checked my bank balance on friday their wasn't enough to buy a second hand sinclair C5 in there and I can't sail, I can't navigate, I can't even use a VHF radio....oh and I want radar and I don't know how to use that either! >>>
I'm beginning to warm to you. ;-)

 

[tcm]

Re: Queue-jumping and other ideas

1. There's a long waiting list at most marinas. But there are short-cuts: make your purchase dependent upon having "somewhere to put the boat" i.e. they have to find you a berth. I bet the waiting list will evaporate!

2. Very strange that they announced that they would curtail production - why show the boat if they don't want orders? Does this raise the concern of buying a boat that is immediately obsolete? Praps not for a well-liked model....

3 Despite me being very button-prone myself, it is honestly not worth having aircon or genny on an M38 unless you are loaded. If you are loaded, have a bigger boat. Airco is not like needing airco in a car - it's windy anyway and unlike a car, the engine is teeny in a sailboat (so no big hot engine 3 feet away and the whole hull is water-cooled - it simply won't ever be hot enuf in torquay or UK to need airco, I promise.

4 But DO have eberspacher heating and any radar, cheap is fine these days. These work by pressing the buttons, yes that one there that says "PWR". Also ask for sprung matresses if they aren't std, much comfier than crap foam.

5. Not sure if they will or won't accept your order? And when does it turn up? Or would the beneteau be even sooner? okay, what about the beneteau 50 yes that one there with a blue hull OUCH!...

6. I'll help with navigation and all that. It's easy peasy!

Bear in mind that those people who have vast experience of getting out of the shit must be quite reliable at getting into the shit too, eh?

 

[Jeremy_W]

Just a suggestion

Why not bring the love of your life to Liverpool (Angie can come too, if she wants). It's just an hour (ish) by car from you, so if the weather is lousy when you get, simply divert to Trafford Park for retail therapy. You can practise handling Careless Whisper under power followed by a short sail every weekend - you don't need navigation on a river that well buoyed; plenty of experienced crew available on Saturdays [Sunday is race day - NO don't even think about it]. You'll need a VHF licence, but that's about it. Then do the early-Summer delivery trip to Torquay with an instructor as skipper and you can earn your CC certificates on passage.

 

[JeremyF]

Re: The only difference between men and buoys...

Oh well, Steve, the order is in and the die is cast. At least that's one less decision to make.

What JeremyW states is spot on; make finding a mooring a condition of sale. In the meanwhile get to know the marinas you wouln't mind being in. No point nagging them yet, they wont really know what space they have until January/February.

If you are going to be based in the Solent, I'd dismiss Chichester and Port Solent because of the distance from the sea (except as a back stop). The Hamble is very expensive, and IHMO, rather full of aggressively sailed racers. Lymington is expensive but nice, Portsmouth Harbour (Haslar and Campers) is cheaper, and benefits from being in the quieter end of the Solent once you get through the harbour entrance.

Watch the choice of berth; Ideally you want an open berth (where you can see the end of your berth when turning into the entrance channel) pointing into the prevailing wind, and tide never from behind. Actually, given this, perhaps a locked marina like Chi, PS, or Hyde makes sense to start with.

Steve, now you've got the order in, can we persuade you not to go wild with the extra's?

<font color=blue>Jeremy Flynn/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif
Dawn Chorus</font color=blue>

 

[Steve101]

Re: The only difference between men and buoys...

Nope! ;-)

 

[Steve101]

If I can just clarify somthing.

The order hasn't gone in yet! It's all dependent on the price Moody comes up with for the boat (with extras.) Also, and this harks back to a post I made about a month ago. Does anyone know anything about French Government Finance packages? From what I've been told if the FG help you finance the boat you can save a large portion of the VAT.

 

[tcm]

Re: List please!!

go on, what goodies are being planned?

If you're having a generator, it's not a bad idea to have a second one as you will easily become dependent upon it. The same applies to airco units. Flat-screen LCD television units take up small amounts of space and can be very neatly fitted at this stage and all wired back to a central DVD/VCR. Note that a "PS2 " also plays DVD's normally. There are some very neat freezer units that can be sunk into the cabin sole. For cold nights it's great to have carpeting at least in the main cabins.

***NB*** Also, if you get a set of sails you could do some sailing but these are dead expensive so praps leave these for the moment an see if you really need them eh? tee hee.

 

[Steve101]

Re: List please!!

Sails? One of my extras are two bloody big Mercury's for the back!!

Provisional list.

Teak deck
In mast furling
Blue Hull
Electric winlass
Electric winches
9ft dinghy with centre console and snap davits
Auto-pilot
Radar/GPS plotter Receiver at helm
Wife wants blue cockpit upholstery (I've told her to sod off!)(Joke dear! Honest!)
Cockpit table
2 Pushpit seats and 1 pulpit
Hot and cold transom shower
Hide covered wheel


Below Decks

15" TFT screen linked to 10 cd/dvd stacker and PS2, six speakers below, 2 above.(Funnily enough I have some of those!)
4.5 Kw Whisper generator
Aircon Aft and forward birth
Central heating
Water maker
Microwave
Extra galley console
Radar/GPS Plotter Nav system (Hopefully with fish finder!)
Few extra 12v sockets
VHF Radio
Toilet to discharge to holding tank/overboard
Locking box


Cuddly toy
Small Phillipino boy (Oh God what have I said. I'm only joking!)

 

[tcm]

Re: If I can just clarify somthing.

Yes, I've done this. You use a leasing company with a french office - they "own the boat" and you "rent" the boat for the period of finance. The rates and amounts are fixed and payable in Euros.

The saving arises from the french govt "doing a deal" on the Vat payable, and consider the boat "vat paid" if only a proportion of the vat is paid. Essentially, they categorise boats as 1, 2,3 4 5 ,6, these being rated for being 1=without limit from a harbou,r 2 upto 200 miles, 3 =60 miles, 4=20 miles, 5= up to 5 miles, 6 = up to 2 nmiles. And of course since these the boats will spend time outside tyerritorial waters, very reasonable to pay 1=50% of vat (at 19.6%) 2=60% of it, 3 = 85 % of it and 4=90% of it, therafter 100%.

You can only get these vat-reduced amounts for a french-regisrered boat - and for that you must be french. You aren't frenchare you? If not, you need to use a leasing compnay. They'll "get inside" the vat saving by buying the boat and renting to you, selling it to you at the last payment. But they will effectivly let you have a boat for actually NEGATIVE credit - in other words you pay 100% of vat+boat in cash now - or you pay 98.ish % of the entire vat-inc amount over three years with the vat-saving lease scam er scheme.

This is worth it for larger boats . But the boat is french so there's luxury tax and french aggro, and note that the saving is only against the near-20% french rate -effectively 0% finance on the uk 17.5 %. Also subject to currencies fluctuations and our great leaders are very keen to start world war three in time for the elections...

After three years, you re-register in the UK.

 

[tcm]

Re: but what about

If you have the right nav system, you can have the TV/PS on the radar as well! Jolly fab! Furuno, 10" screens. Need a speaker near it too for voice.

 

[Steve101]

Re: but what about

tcm, you are the guy I'm going shopping with when I'm looking for extras! Has anyone had so many it's effected the boats performance?
I'm gonna e-mail my accountant with the details you've sent me and see if he understands it better than I do!

 

[Guest]

Re: Just a suggestion

Just don't eat there

 

[JeremyF]

Re: List please!!

Looks like £40k - £45k of extras.

With all that extra weight, you might like to get an engine upgrade. The 38 starts life at 8.3t. Its going to be at least 10t by the time you have finished.

Still don't get this aircon/genny stuff. Presumably you only need the genny for the aircon. Even if you go to the med one season, are you really going to need full aircon, rather than wind-scoops and fans. Drop the aircon, and pick up a whisper-quiet 1kw Honda generator for when you are away from a marina for more than 3 nights. Buy an extra domestic battery, and a smart altenator regulator, and you'll have lots of domestic power. A cheap Honda will provide enough 230v for any AC kit, and quieter than starting the main engine for just for charging.

Helped my marina stinkie neighbour remove his genny yesterday, as he said the weight slowed him down too much. And he's got 2 big engines!

<font color=blue>Jeremy Flynn/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif
Dawn Chorus</font color=blue>

 

[tcm]

Re: but what about

of course not - and how would they know?

Is there still time to have a water softener? Also, how much chain is standard cos 50 metres ain't enough. Finally, with a decent generator you could also have nice safe "no-gas" installation in the galley, gaggenau is decent stuff, a saltwater dishwasher and best of all a washer dryer so no more laundrettes, but it'll have to be the condensing kind.

 

[tcm]

Re: oh and get the extras list for the 64

this will of course give you all the info about what extras they can do when they really put their minds to it.

 

[zefender]

Re: List please!!

At the risk of being deeply boring, your list is a bit strong on toys (which are of course luverly) and a bit weak on essential safety items.

You might want to think about the following (not all boring safety thingies):

Horseshoe lifebuoy (or 2)
Man overboard system
Liferaft
Danbuoy
EPIRB
Cockpit speakers
Lifejackets and harnesses (doh)
Jackstays and harness pints (may not be standard)
Showers in heads (may also not be std)
Additional 240v sockets
Tri-light
Radar reflector
In-hull windows
Navtex
Weatherfax
Kedge anchor
Sprayhood
Bimini
Additional bilge pumps
Additional battery capacity
Handheld VHF
2nd Forestay (those trade winds)

Larger sized fenders (makes life a lot calmer in the early months of ownership, and cheaper than a bow thruster!)

No matter how large your budget, everyone has a limit. I found it surprising just how much it costs to get a boat ready for sailing, before creature comforts and toys are thrown in. I just didn't expect to spend over £300 on rope (sorry warps)

...agree about the Eberspacher heating. It makes family sailing outside peak summer months bearable fun.

Best of luck.


PS My very first boat was (and still is) a Bav40. So your plan isn't reckless, unless you are!