Storebro, Nimbus or Skilso?

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Been without a boat for about 5 years so having now retired am looking to resume the hobby. Tempted by a 1989 Storebro 31 Biscay or a Numbus 310 or a 1995 Skilso 975 with twin shaft Volvos. Mainly inshore cruising south coast. All three seem to be sound and safe boats with practical layouts. Running costs and are quite critical. Am drawn to the Skilso but have read reviews that they are hard to resell. Any first hand experiences or comments would be welcome please. Denis, Waterlooville, Hants.:confused:
 
I just bought a Scand 32: OK it has osmotic blistering, but what a lovely lovely thing!

The Storebro's I have seen are attractive, easy to handle and spacious enough, if not as adventurous as the Scand internally. Nimbus also interesting designs, good use of space etc.
 
Hi. I am biased as I bought a Nimbus 310 because of their reputation for high quality and good resale values. Ours has twin Yanmars on shafts so spares etc are more reasonable than Volvo. There is a 310 with the same economical 125hp Yanmars for sale at Plymouth Yacht haven (not mine!). T there is an active and friendly Owners Club and the boat has been reliable, easy to handle, and easy to get bits for.
 
Bear in mind that no used boat is better than the care it has received - regardless of make and model. Resale is never really easy and IMO has more to do with general financial states that make/model. Crisis kills everything.

Storebro/Nimbus (same manufacturer for the last many years) are now closed and rumors are that the quality went down. They struggled with costs for years and widely used single engine intallations (claimed that modern diesels are so reliable that nothing was gained by having two). Norwegian manufacturers since long have had labour costs going through the roof, but actually made high quality boats. All Scandinavian boats are aimed at nordic conditions, even the Finnish.
Approaching bankruptcy many many moulds were taken over by other (like Wikingboat 28 that has since it's first death come out in several rebranded shapes).

I'd suggest you do the obvious (view thoroughly and have a survey) and compare actual size/space. Model names like 28 or 280 may have little to do with actual size and some deliver significantly less than seemingly comparable competitors.

Since Norway is not EU getting a boat from there will cause customs/VAT, but the still stronger £ against the still weaker Swedish Krone may make it worth checking places like
http://www.blocket.se/hela_sverige/batar/motorbat?ca=5&cg=1060&c=1061&s=1&w=3

or Norwegian (known for great photos so may help re. info)
http://www.finn.no/finn/boat/used/browse1

An example:
http://finncdn.no/mmo/2013/1/vertical-4/29/6/395/559/46_269145056.jpg
 
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GBP/SEK spiked higher in May last year, but otherwise GBP is alot weaker, though much of that fall is recent. In Norway, they have a tax on power rating , so it isnt usually cost effecting to buy out of Norway as the prices tend to be too high.
Personally, I think I would look at Nimbus;usually plenty of boats about and a good market, so lots of knowledge about them. If the OP is looking at 10-15 year old boats, I dont think he needs to worry about Nimbus going bankrupt last summer- though they were then bought out again.
 
spannerman said:
Nimbus are not closed, they were taken over by an investor, see recent MBY article, poss Nov or Dec 2012
Click to expand...

Sorry, my bad.

I rightfully should have stated that R12 Capital Fund purchased the former Nimbus Group's operations in Gothenburg, Mariestad and Storebro and brands Nimbus Boats and Yachts from Paragon Group's bankruptcy estate.

The old Nimbus Group will continue as three separate parts where Ryd and Storebro will not be operated by R12 Holdng Group.



I still dare say that quality went down. What happens after the new ownership remains to be seen.
 
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