Sub 5K Weekend Motor Cruiser

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WeB

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Anyone got any suggestions for a sub 5K cruiser which (ranked by priority):
  1. is safe and proven to be reliable
  2. would be suitable for the solent and coastal crawling
  3. is relatively fast (don't want to spend a full day getting out of the harbour)
  4. is economical
  5. is trailerable (very short distances, as I live within walking distance of a slipway)
  6. sleeps 2
  7. is ideally driven by an outboard
 
one of the tried, tested and trusted Shetland models instantly springs to mind.
498, family four, 535 etc.
I'm sure you could get yourself a nice early 90's family four with a decent 60-90hp 2 stroke for <5k. Great boats. May even find one with a 4stroke, but be vigilant of what size it is. The max hp rating in those days were considered at the weight of a 2 Stroke. Not 4. Transom damage may be a result. Nothing wrong with a decent 2 stroke anyway.
Good luck.
 
Fairline Holiday?

ETA: Will be an inboard but that will gove you some benefits over an outboard such as greater battery charging capacity and the ability to heat the hot water from the engine.
 
I like the fair line holiday, but reliability might be an issue with an old boat like this. Especially with the horrid 4cylinder Volvo engine, some of them had.
Although perfectly legal to tow (just). They are fairly big things (at about 23/24 ft) and I wouldn't want to be launching and retrieving one every weekend.
Just my thoughts.
 
The trouble with a Holiday is that it will need a big 4x4 to tow it. If the OP has a normal car then the suggestion of something like a Shetland Family four would be ideal, and meets all criteria if he gets one with a nice modern four stroke. The only caveat I would give is that a decent modern outboard and a road legal trailer may push the price beyond £5k.
 
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CLB said:
The trouble with a Holiday is that it will need a big 4x4 to tow it. If the OP has a normal car then the suggestion of something like a Shetland Family four would be ideal, and meets all criteria if he gets one with a nice modern four stroke. The only caveat I would give is that a decent modern outboard and a road legal trailer may push the price beyond £5k.
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From the info I can quickly gather online the Holiday weighs in at 1800kg.

Not the heaviest boat by a long stretch. Our similar sized Sealine S23 is 2400kg for example and is trailable.
 
The Fairline Holiday might be a little large for me, as I don't own a 4x4.

How seaworthy are the Shetland's mentioned above? As they seem to mostly be canal/estuary boats. I intend to use it on the Solent, possibly venturing a bit further at times (and I would need to be able to get back even if the weather started to turn).

Anyone got any experience with fuel consumption, be it 2-stroke or 4-stroke, on either one of these Shetland's?
 
CX54WEK said:
From the info I can quickly gather online the Holiday weighs in at 1800kg.

Not the heaviest boat by a long stretch. Our similar sized Sealine S23 is 2400kg for example and is trailable.
Click to expand...

Add trailer, fuel and a bit of gear and you are up at around 2500kg minimum. Still gonna need a decent 4x4 for that.

CX54WEK said:
This Sealine 190 should come under budget as well.

http://sealine.apolloduck.co.uk/boats.phtml?id=16376

Comes in at 1200kg

http://www.britboat.com/boats/190-attache/details
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195/190 is a great boat but not outboard. It is also going to be the best part of 2000kg all up on a trailer. The problem is that a decent trailer for this size boat is worth £2k second hand, so getting the boat and trailer for £5k is pushing it a bit. Might get lucky if they can find a fire sale.

The one you posted is good value, but far from under budget. The trailer is also US spec and not road legal. Might be able to make it road legal, but I think this boat is going to end up well over £6k if you want it in a road legal trailer, even if they take an offer on the asking price.
 
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CX54WEK said:
This Sealine 190 should come under budget as well.
http://sealine.apolloduck.co.uk/boats.phtml?id=16376
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I like the look of it, but that looks like one thirsty engine. Not to mention an inboard, which for some reason scares me. If the roadworthiness of the trailer is unsure, then possibly it is also out of my budget.

CX54WEK said:
A few other options:
https://www.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=479755
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See I love the look of those. I've been on one before and they seem very well built and I'd be quite happy with one. Except for one big important factor: speed. I'm still quite young and time is at a premium. So as much as I'd prefer a sailing boat, the girlfriend would not be happy spending all weekend getting there and back. She wants to spend some time in a new place too.
 
Careful with Sealine 190 or 195. I used to have one, great very towable boat but there was a thread recently with the AQ171 ignition modules being impossible to get anymore and they do fail.
Do a search on Sealine 190. It's sitting on page 5 at the moment
Best of luck
David
 
Agreed the Sealine is a great boat. I had a 218. The 195 is still a heavy wee lump and most have that terrible 4cyl Volvo I referred to earlier. Should never have been put in a boat !
The wee hardy motor sailer is a great wee boat too, but having also spent a bit of time in one of these, I can tell you they are a wee bit rolly-polly and actually put one of my friends off going near a boat for some time. They also have an inboard outboard well, meaning it's noisy and fumey too.
Honestly can't think of anything better than a Shetland family four. There are loads of them still about for good reason. Even dating back to the 70's.
Like I say, find a decent one from the late 80's or 90's with a decent Merc, mariner or Yamaha (latter preferred), disconnect the oil injection (if it's new enough), mix the fuel yourself at 50:1 and you won't go wrong.
These also usually have a small aux outboard bracket which you can stick a small 4-6hp on for piece of mind.
Economy will be decent in boat terms, with an average day out costing no more than £30-60 all day cruising, with a 60hp as an example.
Good luck.
 
That Sealine 195 looks like a good buy considering it's been re engined with a 3.0 GL so engine should be fine, I would you would get similar economy to a boat of similar size with a large 2 stroke fitted. Looks a bargain as you don't get much for that price.
 
WeB said:
I like the look of it, but that looks like one thirsty engine. Not to mention an inboard, which for some reason scares me. If the roadworthiness of the trailer is unsure, then possibly it is also out of my budget.


See I love the look of those. I've been on one before and they seem very well built and I'd be quite happy with one. Except for one big important factor: speed. I'm still quite young and time is at a premium. So as much as I'd prefer a sailing boat, the girlfriend would not be happy spending all weekend getting there and back. She wants to spend some time in a new place too.
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I don't think what you are looking for exists!
 
I like the Family Four. Will keep an eye out for one with a decent 4-stroke engine. Or one without an engine, so I can add one of my choosing.
 
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