Time for me to get another boat!

[petem]

Its been over 10 years now since we sold our Targa 30 and life is passing me by (I'm 50 next year) so I'm formulating plans to get back on the water. This is aided by a favourable £/€ exchange rate and the lowest prices used prices I've ever seen. I need to sort out my finance so we're not looking at this summer. We need a two cabin boat that's economical to buy and run so a Targa 34 will suit us fine. I'd like a MkII as I much prefer the fore cabin island berth that it offers. This thread is likely to last for a while so I'll ask questions as they occur to me.

At some point I'd like to keep the boat in UK with seasons in France / Spain (and likely purchase one there where prices are low) so a med spec boat would be good. So my first questions is - how effective would 'reverse air' air conditioning be for heating in the UK? How does it compare to Eberspacher diesel heating?

Second question - I see some med boats with faded blue gel coat. Can this be restored or does polishing / cutting only give a temporary shine?

Pete

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Exciting times Pete. Ref your aircon question, I have both reverse aircon and Eberspacher heating on my T40; I find that the reverse cycle aircon isn't as effective at heating as the Eber. For a UK boat I'd always prefer the diesel heating.

 

[petem]

Thanks Jimmy, I can't see many used boats having both. I guess the big plus for Eberspacher is that you can use it at anchor without a genny running. To be honest, we're not really winter boaters so would probably use the heating to take the chill out of a spring or autumn day / night.

Would I be correct in estimating the cost of retrofitting a genny and aircon is about £7-10k versus Eberspacher at around £3-4k? How much life would be left in a 15 year old genny and aircon set? Do these things last for ever or do they have a finite life?

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Well, it obv depends on which aircon and gennie, but I think you might be a little light on your cost estimates. A new Onan generator will cost you the thick end of £10k fitted iirc, and aircon's going to be most of £5k I would have thought.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Good luck with the search, although no doubt you'll have several long fruitless trips before you find something that ticks all your boxes.
Wrt faded blue gelcoat, you can cut and polish and it'll look good for a while, but will soon start to bloom again. Been there, done that! Why not think about wrapping it?

 

[burgundyben]

I know of a very nice Targa 34 about to come on the market.

 

[petem]

To be honest Ben, I'm in the £50-£60k market so if he's a UK seller any offer I make is likely to be a 'kick in the nuts' as HenryF so eloquently put it. And I'd rather buy a cheap cosmetically tatty one that I can refurb to my own taste.

 

[petem]

Good luck with the search, although no doubt you'll have several long fruitless trips before you find something that ticks all your boxes.
Wrt faded blue gelcoat, you can cut and polish and it'll look good for a while, but will soon start to bloom again. Been there, done that! Why not think about wrapping it?

I'm just not convinced about the long term durability of wrapping. It's the occasional scrape and fender rubbing that concerns me. Paint is an option though but I imagine would be £3-4k or so and even then IMHO it's inferior to gelcoat from a repair perspective. Buying from the Med I need to decide whether I can live with a white hulled boat in the UK (white with dark grey covers and light grey upholstery could be a nice combo).

 

[Whitelighter]

I'm just not convinced about the long term durability of wrapping. It's the occasional scrape and fender rubbing that concerns me. Paint is an option though but I imagine would be £3-4k or so and even then IMHO it's inferior to gelcoat from a repair perspective. Buying from the Med I need to decide whether I can live with a white hulled boat in the UK (white with dark grey covers and light grey upholstery could be a nice combo).

Honestly coloured gel coat is inferior to just about everything.

Paint is very durable but I've seen excellent results from wrapping, and you could safely go for a modern and more suitable colour such as the greys and beiges that have been popular

 

[Seahope]

I know that feeling.

I was at my Mercedes garage last week and the Service Manager showed me the new AMG GT S. Tempting, as would be a new boat but neither would be good investments ;-)

 

[longjohnsilver]

I'm just not convinced about the long term durability of wrapping. It's the occasional scrape and fender rubbing that concerns me. Paint is an option though but I imagine would be £3-4k or so and even then IMHO it's inferior to gelcoat from a repair perspective. Buying from the Med I need to decide whether I can live with a white hulled boat in the UK (white with dark grey covers and light grey upholstery could be a nice combo).

I met a Dutchman in the Dart a month or so back with a Bavaria that had been wrapped about 6 years ago. It still looked immaculate so it seems that it is durable.

 

[Spi D]

We went to several countries before the lastest purchase. Budget up to £200.000

All in all same make and models was priced with a 30% variance (excluding extremes) and the term "very good condition" was anything from horrid to mint. Southern Europe with 12 months' boating
seasons in true salt water plus burning sun made "original state" somewhat faded and in need of extensive TLC (=restoration). Age is important indeed...

The fact that attention to detail is SO much different in Spain/Italy/Greece/Turkey et al explains why their "excellent" equals a toilet without the seat. A very careful viewing an survey is highly recommended.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Great news Pete! Actually we have used our reverse cycle aircon for heating in the Med sometimes and all I can say is that it works. As I understand it, reverse cycle aircon can work down to sea temps of around 7-8degC minimum. Given the choice, I'd rather have Eberspacher type heating because it seems to give a more comfortable type of heat; heat from a reverse cycle system tends to be very dry

As for coloured gel coat, my personal experience is that once it starts to fade its then an uphill task to keep it shiny. You could always paint it though

 

[MedDreamer]

We had both reverse cycle aircon and eberspacher heating when we had our boat in Mallorca.

We preferred the Eberspacher for heating, it warmed up quicker and, as Mike says, it gave off a more pleasant heat - although that could have just been the positioning of the vents. We also had a vent in the cockpit which was useful for out of season cooler evenings.

That said we usually used the air con heating as when we were in the marina we could hook up to shore power which was fully inclusive with the berth rental so didn't effectively cost us anything.

The boat had both when we bought it - it started life in the UK hence the Eberspacer with the air con a retro fit when it was moved to the Med - but I wouldn't fit both from scratch, the reverse cycle aircon will do the trick just fine for the Med.

 

[jfm]

Great stuff Pete

airco is just about ok in heating mode if the sea is say 5 deg, but its not great really. Eber is better and less noisy. On my boat I don't want eber and the reverse airco is a bit crummy in winter, so I just use plug in fan heaters. Job done, for £50

Genset should be fine for 2500 hrs if not loads more, if a decent make like cummins onan or kohler. MYAG has thousands of hours on both his Kohlers

I just wouldn't worry about a bit of faded gelcoat. You could have the hull polished and that last for years, apart from the aft quarters, and the cheapest solution there is to tell yourself it just doesn't matter really

Personally I'd choose a white targa 34 over a blue one every time AOTBE (and AOTBE never happens of course). Ditto a 43 and 48. for some reason a 40 needs to be blue though!

Good luck in the search

 

[petem]

Thanks JFM and others. Not ready to buy yet but this is the sort of thing I'm after...

http://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats/2001/Fairline-Targa-34-2837688/Italy#.Va1Nm6RViko

2001, KAD44, bow thruster, Onan genny, aircon, holding tank, blue galley / bog and teak cockpit.

A little high on hours @1100 but otherwise looks well looked after (the one thing I like seeing in any photo are moisture magnets or dehumidifier).

Pete

 

[rubberduck]

We use reverse cycle & a plinth heater to supplement it, both on remote control looks & works well.

 

[petem]

Personally I'd choose a white targa 34 over a blue one every time AOTBE (and AOTBE never happens of course). Ditto a 43 and 48. for some reason a 40 needs to be blue though!

What colour covers?

This is an interesting look:

 

[Whitelighter]

Id have gone for sand colours on that last one (especially in the med) but I like the more modern take on the hull

 

[MYAG]

Thanks JFM and others. Not ready to buy yet but this is the sort of thing I'm after...

http://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats/2001/Fairline-Targa-34-2837688/Italy#.Va1Nm6RViko

2001, KAD44, bow thruster, Onan genny, aircon, holding tank, blue galley / bog and teak cockpit.

A little high on hours @1100 but otherwise looks well looked after (the one thing I like seeing in any photo are moisture magnets or dehumidifier).

Pete

Good news Pete, personally I wouldn't worry too much about the hours (and 1100 is not huge). Worry more that it has been well looked after and used properly, that's the key imho and it goes for most things on the boat. Look forward to seeing you on the water, good luck in the search.