What boat?

[Penfos00]

Try not to giggle. I'm at a difficult age, I want give up the mortgage and buy a boat. There's only me, but I am fairly large. Little point in having a boat if you don't go to sea, and I think I would (after a decent period) like to go long distance. I presume this precludes motor cruisers.
So, I would like advice. A boat I can live on, go long distances in, (single handed), max cost £80,000. A motor sailor perhaps? (I like the look of those Colvic trawlers).
Obviously I don't yet know the first thing about sailing and appreciate that there will be a (long) learning phase. All advice gratefully received.

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[Tomsk]

I don't want to start a Motor -v- Sail conversation, but why should Motor Cruises be precluded?

<hr width=100% size=1>Tomsk -

Can I leave the planet please.. this one is broken!

 

[northener]

No giggles - I think most of us here have some kind of dream.

For up to £80k you can get a very wide range of good boats - however please consider that the main costs in boat ownership tend to be (in my experience) maintaining it and parking it - with the parking very expensive and variable depending on where you are.

The main advice I would give is that I think you really do have to try and sail with some others in a crew capacity - both to see if you do actually like sailing and to experience if possible a few different types of boat. One story that comes to mind is one of Des Sleightholmes (very respected sailor & writer) where he took out someone who knew all sailing theory but ended up completely incapacitated through seasickness - giving a very rude ending to a lifetimes dream.

Depending on where you are now based you could call at a local sailing club and ask around for crewing opportunities. Alternatively (and this is how I started) you could book yourself onto a residential sailing course/holiday - this will ensure you are correctly taught the basics and introduce you to living on a yacht, allbeit for a short period. There are quite a lot of these courses available, both in Britain and abroad. My own experience was in the West of Scotland, and at one point I was quite sick - but overall I couldn't wait to go again and just learned how to recognise the onset of sickness.

Sorry this probably doesn't directly answer your question - but give it a go - and very best wishes.

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[petersto]

Northener in my humble opinion has hit the nail on the head.
Join a club, offer your services, goto a nightschool, go on a practical course but do not rush the process of purchase. Further do not spend whole sum on boat running and maintenance costs can be prohibitive.
There is a big learning curve.


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[DogStar]

Just to add my - probably worthless - 2p....

If you're looking to take a boat large enough to live on, on long voyages, you're more likely to be able to singlehand a mobo than sail, IMHO, unless you're a very experienced sailor. A displacement hulled mobo will have more room on board than an equivelant sized yacht.

I have a 40' boat that I can handle on my own in any conditions I'd actually go out in, but that only because I'm in an easily accesible, but sheltered midships wheelhouse and only have to worry about throttle, helm, fenders and warps. I wouldn't fancy having to wrestle with canvas on top of that, myself.

The only way you're going to find out for sure, though, is to try as many different types of boating as you can.

<hr width=100% size=1>I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy!

 

[William_H]

Definitely don't rush to buy a boat. Mooring areas are full of boats bought by people with great dreams. More often than not if they look back over the past years they just havn't used the boat much if at all, too busy they would say. They won't get rid of the boat cos that would be the end of the dream. In a way you can't really know until you have owned a boat for a while which kind of boat will suit. This means you should buy a little one and work your way up to what suits. I like little trailerable sail boats with capacity for accomadation. This means you could tow it to all sorts of places or use your canal system to advantage. Don't worry about single handing with practice I think you can single hand almost anything. It's all a question of your life style and you will not know that easily except with experience. Firstly though try a sailing school you might then take up bush walking

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[Birdseye]

The question you are asking impklies that there is a perfect boat if only someone would tell you. But there is no more a perfect boat than a perfect house / car / wife -- everyone's choice is different. What you need to do is to aquire enough practical knowledge to begin to have an idea of what is perfect for you. Even then, you may well not find it.

As others have said, the best way of getting thiss knowledge is to join a club and sail with others. Become something of a boat bum. Scrounge rides whenever and wherever you can. Probably requires nothing more than to be clean, friendly and buy more than your share of beer.



<hr width=100% size=1>this post is a personal opinion, and you should not base your actions on it.

 

[Penfos00]

I assumed that the range would be a problem, ie can one 'motor' across the Atlantic? Not knowing the first thing about it, I think I would prefer a motor, all that rigging and sailing looks complicated, (fun though).

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[charles_reed]

Suggest you learn to sail, preferably in dinghies, first.

Then charter or crew on a few boats to formulate your own opinions and your own boat specification.

The original of the boat I have was designed as a single-handed offshore racer and suits my requirements admirably, however with a very tall bendy mast, an overgrown main and a ballast ratio of 40% in a deep wing keel it's definitely not everyones' cup of tea.

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