What boat would you buy to circumnavigate the UK and beyond, with only £5k?

[capnsensible]

Well that's pretty well what I did long before becoming a YM Instructor, (see post#43) though 3K in 1974 will equate to more than 5K now, but it was the cheapest boat in reasonable condition that I could find at the time that had the potential to live on.

A good friend of mine got a boat, his day skipper ticket and his family and sailed from the UK to the Caribbean. Safely and had a blast. I knew him from the time I worked for his sailing school in Gibraltar.

Some people tend to over think these adventures. And thus never get out there and have them!

 

[38mess]

I've only scanned the listing but at first glance list one looks good value at £5k. Lots of recent kit
Westerly Centaur for sale UK, Westerly boats for sale, Westerly used boat sales, Westerly Sailing Yachts For Sale Westerly Centaur - Apollo Duck

Looks good value, and it's been re engined.

 

[Wansworth]

I remember being inspired as a student by an article in YM. A guy built a boat using materials salvaged from demolition sites. It had a simple dory type hull plus keel and junk rig. He then sailed it across the Atlantic. I think the boat was called "Eric the Red". Anyway, from the info in the article I built a model of it.

Yes he wrote a book

 

[Wansworth]

There have been all manner of voyages in what some might consider marginal craft but in reality it all come back to the man or woman onthe tiller,just because someone has sailed in a cheap boat is no garantttee that prospective voyagers on a budget can also

 

[38mess]

A good friend of mine got a boat, his day skipper ticket and his family and sailed from the UK to the Caribbean. Safely and had a blast. I knew him from the time I worked for his sailing school in Gibraltar.

Some people tend to over think these adventures. And thus never get out there and have them!

Very true. Young couple in a boatyard I was in spent two years re fitting an Elizabethan 29 with a view to sailing to the Caribbean, only to lose a bit of drive and enthusiasm towards the end of the re fit, especially the Lady. She had her eye on a nice cottage in the village.
Anyway they set off, her in tears only to get lost in fog in the Irish sea next day. rescued back to the boat yard. They went their separate ways, boat abandoned

 

[dunedin]

I've only scanned the listing but at first glance list one looks good value at £5k. Lots of recent kit
Westerly Centaur for sale UK, Westerly boats for sale, Westerly used boat sales, Westerly Sailing Yachts For Sale Westerly Centaur - Apollo Duck

Looks a great candidate - certainly could easily do a round Britain in that (particularly with the recent engine).

 

[Poignard]

If you want encouragement to do something a bit adventurous, you've come to the wrong forum

 

[Tranona]

If you want encouragement to do something a bit adventurous, you've come to the wrong forum

I guess in part that reflects the wording of the original question - "What boat would YOU buy......." and this forum is dominated by mature "been there and done it" people rather than adventurers starting from scratch.

To me there is overemphasis on the boat type/design rather than what is involved in preparing for and executing such a plan. Post#65 gives an example of what happens to many such projects - maybe even the majority. Judging by the blogs, articles, youtubes, books etc many successful projects like this come well into or even at the end of a sailing career, although of course there is a fair smattering of beginners learning and making mistakes on the way. Often these fizzle out when they come to realise it is not for them.

I am with the buying a well found conservative boat like the Centaur and give it a go, but maybe difficult persuading someone who starts with unfounded negative views on bilge keels and an image of a certain type of boat being the only type suitable when the evidence says the opposite.

 

[B27]

If you want encouragement to do something a bit adventurous, you've come to the wrong forum

Several of my friends have done near or partial circumnavigations of the UK or GB, in boats they already had, and I think it cost every one of them more than £5k one way or another.

For perspective, that's not an extreme sum for an extended holiday.

 

[bedouin]

So being a Yachtmaster instructor you would recommend an inexperienced person with no boat experience to purchase a sub £5K yacht and set sail around the UK presumably taking in some very interesting if not challenging Northern waters. Hmmm.

Why not? If he starts down south by the time he gets to the Northern waters he will have a lot more experience

There are plenty of boats out there for under £5K that are very capable of doing it and plenty of places on the way where you can build your experience safely.

 

[srm]

Why not? If he starts down south by the time he gets to the Northern waters he will have a lot more experience

Indeed, and once he gets further north there is always the option of settling for a circumnavigation of England and Wales via the Caledonian Canal.

 

[srm]

Several of my friends have done near or partial circumnavigations of the UK or GB, in boats they already had,

Wasn't there a guy who decided to sail single handed around the world but could not get a sponsor to build a suitable boat. Not to miss out he went in the boat he already had?
Robin-Knox-Johnston and Suhaili.

 

[Wansworth]

To be able to get in aboat añadió just go is really one of the wonders of this world we live in full of controls and licenses and permits

 

[MisterBaxter]

I would say that the main practical problem with the project is just the self-steering - a small, simple boat might not have the battery capacity to drive a tiller pilot for as long as you might want, almost certainly won't have a windvane system, and might be a bit frisky for sheet to tiller type arrangements. I've had a couple of small yachts that could be persuaded to steer themselves on a close reach, but not on any other point of sail. Of these, batteries are cheapest and easiest to fix but they need to be charged from somewhere eventually.

 

[srm]

I would say that the main practical problem with the project is just the self-steering - a small, simple boat might not have the battery capacity to drive a tiller pilot for as long as you might want, almost certainly won't have a windvane system, and might be a bit frisky for sheet to tiller type arrangements. I've had a couple of small yachts that could be persuaded to steer themselves on a close reach, but not on any other point of sail. Of these, batteries are cheapest and easiest to fix but they need to be charged from somewhere eventually.

As I hinted earlier, self steering can be a problem. It is not just batteries. When in Orkney I helped a guy who had set out to sail around Britain singlehanded and none-stop. He set off with two Raymarine tiller pilots that were well within spec for his boat - according to their sales blurb that is.

He came in to Orkney because his fourth tiller pilot had failed and he was only half way. He had been in touch with Raymarine about the problem. Their initial response was that his boat was too big, then they admitted that they were not intended for continuous use.

I was delivering a Prout catamaran single handed from Plymouth to Orkney. I got as far as St Ives Bay when the wheelpilot belt failed. With a northerly forecast I could not stay there so headed out towards Milford Haven to look for a chandler and spares. I expected to have to hand steer and heave too when needing sleep. In fact the cat was happy to sail on a very close reach regardless of wind strength, sail area, or sea state. I suspect it was because the underwater hull balance never changed as happens when a monohull heels. Once in Milford Haven I ordered two drive belt - when the boat needs a spare I usually buy two, or more. The wheelpilot got me hone, but I then fitted a wind vane self steering as well.

 

[Wansworth]

I would say that the main practical problem with the project is just the self-steering - a small, simple boat might not have the battery capacity to drive a tiller pilot for as long as you might want, almost certainly won't have a windvane system, and might be a bit frisky for sheet to tiller type arrangements. I've had a couple of small yachts that could be persuaded to steer themselves on a close reach, but not on any other point of sail. Of these, batteries are cheapest and easiest to fix but they need to be charged from somewhere eventually.

A boat that will hove too I would think suitable

 

[dunedin]

Several of my friends have done near or partial circumnavigations of the UK or GB, in boats they already had, and I think it cost every one of them more than £5k one way or another.

For perspective, that's not an extreme sum for an extended holiday.

Regarding costs, that’s why I mentioned that if on a budget good anchoring gear and an ability to use it is important.
Concerto gave details of his costs - but also noted that he chose to bypass anchorages and primarily use harbours / marinas. That is a perfectly good approach that suits most. But in large sections of coast a budget conscious sailer could save a lot by taking the opposite approach - bypassing the marinas and using the anchorages (only briefly going into harbours for fuel etc, although some can be done by dinghy and cans).

 

[Poignard]

The OP could, for example, do a lot worse than buy my Twister, which is basically sound but "needs tidying" as they say in the motor trade, for not a huge amount more than his £5k budget and circumnavigate the UK (or the world) in her.

She is in France but by the time he had sailed her back to the UK, he would surely be proficient enough to carry out his planned cruise.

 

[capnsensible]

We all started somewhere. Good luck to OP.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

The OP could, for example, do a lot worse than buy my Twister, which is basically sound but "needs tidying" as they say in the motor trade, for not a huge amount more than his £5k budget and circumnavigate the UK (or the world) in her.

She is in France but by the time he had sailed her back to the UK, he would surely be proficient enough to carry out his planned cruise.

And a very suitable boat to do what the OP says he wishes to do.