Which boat for learning on?

[ajt]

Join a club and you may well be invited out on other peoples boats for a trial also they may have a dinghy club for your children to learn at and make new friends. Personaly I started out on motorboats with my Father then went onto a GP 14 Dinghy, I still think that dinghies are the best teachers as they let you know straight away if you do something wrong but are fun and easy to manage. As for the boat itself it is mainly personal choice. Do you want traditional or modern, good seakeeping or space? Dont rush or you may regret it, I spent 18 months looking for my last boat. Anyway good luck and happy sailing

 

[ShipsWoofy]

Come on Talbot, you're slipping...

Usually you are the first one to reply to a which boat question with your crazy talk of two hulls and acres of space.

You have allowed Ecosse120 to slide a post in, this is not good enough, I expect better from you mate. 7/10 for effort.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

If he can keep saving he will be able to spend 300k and get a really decent yacht in time for his kids to inherit her.....


Start small, my best boating memories were on small boats.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

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With the ages of the children I'd say a pontoon mooring is a must. It'll cost more but be far more convenient for your family.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why?

This is a very odd suggestion IMHO, it is no secret that I am not the worlds biggest fan of marina (car parks), but I do not understand how having small children makes this a requirement to sail.

Off the top of my head, the dinghy trip is an ideal time to teach rowing and small boat safety, they will not have the time if they become marina hoppers. Having the dinghy in the water as the kids grow allows you to let them off (gradually) with oars (oar if you want them to learn a more valuable skill of sculling). Buy a dinghy with a small sail and your kids gain independence and are chomping at the bit to go to the boat for the weekend. Oh yes, you can launch a tender when on a marina berth, but how likely is this really?

You can be nearly as noisy and annoying as a family as you want without toffee nosed yachties moaning about bored kids on the pontoons laughing too loudly.

You will learn far more about boat handling if you can pick up a mooring in a tidal or windy moorings.

A mooring is safer for your boat.

moorings look so much prettier.

 

[TheBoatman]

I agree with dogwatch a marina is not necessary.

The Medway suggestion is good because you have loadsa places to visit in a sailing area that can be "lively" but not threatening. There are a number of anchorages that you can "over-night" in complete safety.

I would add that joining a yacht club might be a good idea - you could benefit from cheaper moorings, good helpful local advice on all aspects of sailing/boat maintenance, training courses and probably a good cadet section to encourage the kids with fun things to do!

Peter.

 

[Talbot]

Sorry - but I was half way to cherbourg in a half boat!

 

[David_Jersey]

Windy_Blow

£10k is plenty of money!.........in fact I would suggest it may be too much for what you are after!.........especially given that you envisage selling her after 2 or 3 years.

I suggest that the sailing ability not be high on your list, as long as it sails, the more sedate and more stable the craft is then the less likely you are to scare the kids (and mum, on behalf of the kids!).

I think your priorities on the boat front is have a cabin that can accomdate all the kids, so you "stow" them down below when entering and leaving the mooring or when things get a bit too cold or boring (!) up top - stow them down below with a bag of crayons - whilst you and the missus enjoy the sailing - can make your life easier and they will probably be as happy as larry - notwithstanding that they are missing out on the experiances that you have offered them.

Also having a bit of down below means you can have at least a hob, hot drinks and hot food of some sort are important for keeping the morale of the crew up - especially (but not exclusively!) the younger ones.

Having somewhere reasonable down below means mum also has somewhere to have a p#ss in private /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif THIS is important to women................

The sorts of boats I am thinking of are:-

Small yachts

Out of teh above choice, I would go for one of the 20 foot Hurleys. No offence meant, but pretty much "idiot proof" /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif plus at those sorts of prices you can afford to "take a knock" in a couple of years when you sell (no reason why you should if you buy well) - you can easily lose a couple of G's on a £10k boat.

I would go for a boat with an outboard, cos if it does go "pop" it is easy enough to replace, less aggro and much cheaper to do this with an outboard than an inboard AND you have the option of transferring any new (or good s/h) engine to the next boat. I suggest that you target your spending on the boat to things that you can transfer to any new vessel (although their may be stuff you have to / want to do which are stuck on her - but just think twice about what you are spending (unless it is essential - then do not skimp!) and do not expect to get the money back, any improvements will just make her more saleable, not more valuable)

Where do you find these? Not always online - they are the sort of things that get stuck on a notice board in teh local yacht club / boat yard or have a home made "for Sale" sign on them. I would suggest that you identify the area that you wish the boat to be based in and just trawl around the area, having a nose about and asking the "Locals". (Also it will save you a lot of time, aggro and possibly money if you buy "local" instead of having to deliver the boat to your area).

I would also suggest that as kids do get bored witless "just" sitting on a boat, (heresy?!) - no matter how much fun you are having - that you do make a special effort to include stuff on your days out that appeal to the kids.........even if it is only a trip to McD at the end of the day. You have to train them (Brainwash / bribe?!!) to associate going down the boat with having fun, not just with being cold, wet and scared, whilst Dad has fun..........remember that eventually they will be useful crew and a lot sooner than you think!