What was your first boat you saw , that would be a dream to own and what year you saw.

[DavidJ]

I digress but I remember when I was about 5 or 6 going with my Dad on a tourist pleasure cruise up the Deben (@Bigplumbs country) My Dad said to the captain “I can drive boats” so the captain said ”take over then and bring it back before low tide at 4pm”
The mind boggles, there must have been a dozen or more people on that boat. I remember being quite proud though.

 

[colhel]

I can remember quite vividly the first time I was allowed to steer and I did exactly what my own Grandchildren do. I grabbed the steering wheel and vigorously shook it left to right with no idea the wheel could actually alter the direction of travel.

 

[The Q]

First boat I ever saw 1971, / was on? A wayfarer dinghy in the Hebrides at school.
Never owned one but it's about the same length of my mini keelboat I sail today.
Motor boats first one I've been on ? A lobster boat also in the Hebrides , didn't fancy getting one of them.

Never been a huge fan of going fast , so I'm quite happy with an Elysian 27CC on the Norfolk broads.
I have no interest, in buying something hugely expensive , but if money were available I'd have a good internal refit of our motorboat.

 

[Seastoke]

The only boat ride my dad took me on was when we emigrated…it was a long one

Bouba how old are you ,if your dad took you on a LONGBOAT.

 

[Fishtigua]

My Grandparents retired to Malta in the 70's. Their neighbour had an old wooden Riva and he used to take us young lads out for a spin around the island.
Wish I could afford one now.

 

[stelican]

The first boat I ever saw was a photograph in a family album. It was a Beken photograph of a Camper and Nicholsons Motoryacht named Malahne it was built for the owner of the J class yacht Velsheda. It was requistioned for WW2 and my father served on her for several yrs, At the end of the war my father took his desk top from the ship and had it converted to an occasional table.
I had the opportunity to visit in recent years after its complete restoration when I reunited the desk top. This was used as the lid of a presentation box containing some of the original navigation instruments. The restoration project manager informed me that this was the only piece of the original furniture that had survived after various refits.
Have a look at the boat on the internet "Malahne"

 

[Bouba]

My Grandparents retired to Malta in the 70's. Their neighbour had an old wooden Riva and he used to take us young lads out for a spin around the island.
Wish I could afford one now.

View attachment 159884

I suspect that you could afford one...it’s the driver that will bankrupt you

 

[colhel]

I'm the blonde one, about 1970. Grandparents had a hire boat business on the Trent and Mersey canal. Where the boating seed was sown.


A couple of years later I had a younger Brother.

 

[Croftie]

I will always remember the many times in the 1950's going to Bridlington harbour and looking down off the quay at the RAF HS Rescue boat, It was beautifull, if only I could....

RAF RESCUE BOATS

 

[Mr Googler]

Falcon bonito 36…..Poole…..early 90’s

 

[Daydream believer]

As a teenager I watched Stellas racing on the Crouch. I went on one on Tucker Brown's stand at the London Boat show. It was my 21st birthday before I got to own a new one. Still brings back fantastic memories when I see one.

 

[sharpness]

For me, the same as VolvoPaul, I loved the Moonraker 36. Even today I think they're a fantastic looking boat.

 

[volvopaul]

I'm the blonde one, about 1970. Grandparents had a hire boat business on the Trent and Mersey canal. Where the boating seed was sown.
View attachment 159890

A couple of years later I had a younger Brother.

View attachment 159891

Like you col I was also brought into boating at 6 years old 1970 on the same canal at Shardlow , where was your family business ?

 

[colhel]

Like you col I was also brought into boating at 6 years old 1970 on the same canal at Shardlow , where was your family business ?

A place called Hoo Mill Lock in Little Haywood near Stafford. The house itself had an interesting history and inspired an Inspector Morse episode
The Murder of Christina Collins

The business was Kingfisher Line and was started by my Grandparents who had a fleet of hire boats. Later my Uncle started a boat building business on the premises and built a fleet of about 10 day boats which they hired out. They also built for private customers, one of which is still in the same ownership since about 1980i and he used to post here Scholar Gypsy

The business and house were sold in about 1982ish

 

[Alicatt]

Further to my pervious post, Russia with Love was filmed at Crinan in 1963 when I was 7years old, in 1967, when I was 11, we went back to Crinan with a trailer for a speedboat borrowed from my Uncle Joe and dad was going to bid on an 18ft clinker built boat, however we arrived late and there were only 2 boats left in the sale of the boats belonging to the estate there. One was a 30ft and nice as it was it was too big for what my father wanted so he bid on the 12ft tender and won it at a price of £300, we hauled the boat out the water onto the trailer and it kind of flopped around on it, we shored it up and towed it home. Dad built a trailer for the boat and then we towed the boat to the river Leven, launched it from the speedboat trailer and recovered it on the newly built trailer, Uncle Joe came and collected his trailer, then began 6 years of using the 12ft tender all over Scotland.
Handy Crinan: 12ft clinker built mahogany over oak, with a Stuart Turner 1.5hp 2 stroke inboard, Built by H. Sykes in Hull, unknown date.

 

[Fishtigua]

For me, the same as VolvoPaul, I loved the Moonraker 36. Even today I think they're a fantastic looking boat.

View attachment 159955

I was on the repair crew of the famous one perched up in the rocks. My friend Tony Rive took the photo, he worked on the repair too.

 

[Offshore57]

For me it was the muscle boats in Miami Vice......

 

[Antony Collis]

I always liked the look of the Seamaster 30. I remember seeing them on the river when there were still a lot of wooden boats about. I had a wooden Dolphin 20 that was a bit rotten. i used to wish i could get something fiberglass.
Now i sit in a fiberglass boat and look at the few wooden boats thinking the Dolphin would have been a classic now...

 

[Time Out]

Riva 60 Black Corsair, I treasured the brochure David Lewis sent me with accompanying letter when I was 12.

Coincidentally I saw one of only a few I have ever seen in Monaco on Monday.

Given the age the lines are still stunning.

 

[colhel]