The Med and other options?

[Octopussy]

Hi Folks

I'm looking for opinions in the med please.

We, swmbo and self are looking at long term rental apartments in the Med. I prefer an older something like a princess 55 that can be moved around but swmbo says they are too old and will cost a fortune to keep running. I'm just wondering how reliable older boats are? We are just looking for a holiday base in the med but with the option of visiting different places. I expect anything between 38' to older 55' would be suitable.

I'm not totally new to boating as we used to own a targa 34 but back then it was only a year old when we bought it and then it came with a warranty!

Our budget is around 100k euros. So, how safe are older boats and how reliable are they?

Appreciate opinions especially on 1980s to 1990s boats.

Thanks
O

 

[oldgit]

IMHO.Suggest the first thing you do is to research just how much keeping 55ft boat is going to cost you to moor. In anywhere half decent its 12-15k euros,lots more somewhere posh and not much cheaper in some mosquito haven out in the sticks,miles from any airport or worse still,underneath the end of a runway and next door to the marina disco.
38ft is going to be a livaboard squeeze and your budget is not going to buy much of decent 55ft that moves or floats.As for running and mantaince about 10% of your purchase budget should do nicely.
Your SWMBO is bang on regards the costs.

 

[Octopussy]

Thanks, but why are swmbo's always right? My heart says boat though!

We have looked to buy but decided that being fixed to a place is not for us. I was thinking that marina fees or rentals would be similar in money terms and both allow us to move to different areas.

I will explore some marina costs, but I was hoping they would be less than 7000euro.

 

[petem]

I think you'd be surprised how cheap long term lets can be, especially in Spain.

I think you'd be equally surprised by the cost of a major engine issue on a 38-55ft boat (think 5 figures).

 

[DavidJ]

I will explore some marina costs, but I was hoping they would be less than 7000euro.

I have a 37ft Sealine in Empuriabrava, Costa Brava
5584 euros per year incl parking, elec, water, loos and showers with excellent security.
I am due to pay this month and was lucky enough to top up my Fairfx euro card at 1.4 so that's £3988 pa

 

[Octopussy]

I have a 37ft Sealine in Empuriabrava, Costa Brava
5584 euros per year incl parking, elec, water, loos and showers with excellent security.
I am due to pay this month and was lucky enough to top up my Fairfx euro card at 1.4 so that's £3988 pa

There are only 2 of us so a 55' is a bit ambitious but older ones come cheap! I think we would be happy with fairline / sealine 34 /37 which would be plenty big enough for the 2 of us.
Under £4000 marina fee puts it into favourable possibility.

 

[PlanB]

I speak from experience of living aboard a Princess 435. If you are spending extended periods on board, you really do need enough space, both for storage and for a bit of personal space.
When we were originally looking to buy, and were looking at 38 ft flybridges, someone said "I´ve done what you are going to do, and you need a bigger boat" We think they were right and have never regretted our choice.
As well as mooring fees, you need to factor in fuel costs and, as someone above mentioned, engine repairs can quickly mount up. Having said that, we see people with much newer boats than ours with bills almost as big!
You also need to consider winter weather - it is usually good but does have cold wet windy spells, and some parts of Spain are better than others. You may also find you prefer being places where there are at least some Brits to talk to.

 

[Octopussy]

On your Princess 435, what is the cruising range like per litre? Our Targa on a full tank would do a 110nm trip with about quarter tank left. To fill up would be around 380l, but that was belting along at 30knots.

I guess the 435 cruise at 15k? Please let me know the fuel consumption to expect from your type of boat.

It all helps with the budgeting!

Thanks

 

[Medskipper]

Hi, I've been boating 30 or so years. I've also bought older boats as my budget would not run to a new boat.
IMHO most boat owners look after their boats like babies! Particularly larger boats, engines usually get serviced regularly and boats are cleaned and polish on a regular basis. Of course this is a generalisation and there is always the exception but that is where you come in! Look for a boat in very good condition.
I purchased a Princess 435 last year, (44') it's 24 years old and in superb condition. Very spacious and you will find one for 100k. Well worth considering as they are spacious and the aft cabin is large with full head space, far larger than more modern boats!
Whichever boat you consider view as many as possible, look for the best and cleanest which includes the engine bay and then get it surveyed by a good marine surveyor. Also I would recommend that you have the engines surveyed as well by a competent engineer, also get the engine oil tested as this can show up defects.
Then if you are feeling confident make an offer!
Buy a boat, far more exciting than a building!
Good Luck.

 

[brian435]

[
For choice, we cruise at 10-12 knots, about 55 ltrs ph. At 15 -18 knots about 75 ltrs ph. Over 20 knots, 100 ltrs ph. Living aboard means more weight on board and if yiu afe keeping full tanks of fuel and water, that adds weight. 1300 ltrs fuel capa ity, 400 ltrs water.

QUOTE=Octopussy;5429824]On your Princess 435, what is the cruising range like per litre? Our Targa on a full tank would do a 110nm trip with about quarter tank left. To fill up would be around 380l, but that was belting along at 30knots.

I guess the 435 cruise at 15k? Please let me know the fuel consumption to expect from your type of boat.

It all helps with the budgeting!

Thanks[/QUOTE]

 

[Nick_H]

[
For choice, we cruise at 10-12 knots, about 55 ltrs ph. At 15 -18 knots about 75 ltrs ph. Over 20 knots, 100 ltrs ph. Living aboard means more weight on board and if yiu afe keeping full tanks of fuel and water, that adds weight. 1300 ltrs fuel capa ity

55 lph at 11 kts, 75 lph at 15 kts, and 100 lph at 20 kts are all the same miles per litre, so cruising at 10-12 knots isn't saving you any fuel. I find to really cut fuel costs per mile it's useful to look at your wake, because it's a good measure of how much work the engines are doing. On a 57' boat I need to stay below 8 kts to get good fuel efficiency, as above that i'm pushing quite a big bow wave. 10-12 kts is not a particularly efficient speed on a normal sized mobo, as your figures highlight

 

[PlanB]

I am quite aware of the various permutations and combinations of time/miles/speed/cost.
At the time we were doing a lot of cruising, we preferred to travel at a speed which was comfortable for us. I´m glad to say cost was not the most important factor.