Which boat should I keep?

[ash2020]

Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons I seem to have ended up with two boats, which is never a good idea. A 78 year old wooden classic 5 tonner, 26' in reasonable condition, with nice sails, running backstays and a fairly old but reliable Beta 14 inboard engine. The other is a lovely little 20' Hunter Medina on a galvanised trailer in good condition which just fits on our driveway.

The wooden one, Zircon, is on a mooring in Fowey, we can walk to the quay and dinghy in 10 minutes but it's a very steep walk back and we'd have to carry everything, no parking. She has standing headroom, two separate berths and a smallish cockpit. The small one, Minxy can be kept a 10 minute drive away, on the trailer with the mast up and launched in 30 minutes. Parking there, so could take all our stuff in the car. She only has sitting headroom, largish forepeak and 2 separate berths but has almost the same size cockpit, good sails inc. a spinnaker. Almost new Tohatsu 6HP outboard.

Cost is approx £1k for summer mooring and £1k for winter storage for the big'un. Little'un would be £800 summer and £0 winter as she'd be on our driveway.

Maintenance, probably fairly considerable for Zircon, general tidying for Minxy.

Sailing-wise, haven't sailed either yet but I'm guessing Zircon is very solid and more stable? Minxy is probably more like an overgrown dinghy. Is there likely to be a big difference?

I'm 73 now and increasingly tired. We'll be mainly doing day sailing with the odd overnighter, with 2 dogs.

There's my dilemma, neither boat is perfect but I have to sell one. They're both about the same value. What would you do?

 

[scozzy]

Without question I'd get rid of the wooden one... the medina covers 90% of your sailing needs and better budgeting options, importantly far less hassle to maintain, did I say get rid of the wooden one?

 

[Cerebus]

Plastic fantastic.

 

[Sea Change]

If it were me I'd probably say that the head says keep the Hunter, and the heart says keep the five tonner. It would have a lot of sense to sell her while she is still in good condition.

 

[ash2020]

Without question I'd get rid of the wooden one... the medina covers 90% of your sailing needs and better budgeting options, importantly far less hassle to maintain, did I say get rid of the wooden one?

I'm sensing you're in favour of getting rid of the wooden one. What do you think is the 10% missing? Seaworthiness?

 

[ash2020]

Plastic fantastic.

Not wooden good'un?

 

[ash2020]

If it were me I'd probably say that the head says keep the Hunter, and the heart says keep the five tonner. It would have a lot of sense to sell her while she is still in good condition.

My feelings exactly. I'm definitely leaning towards the Hunter though, and a difficult sale of the 5 tonner might be eased by the inclusion of the mooring for the rest of the season. It would be nice to look after the old one for a few more years though.

 

[Buck Turgidson]

Keep the one you love.

 

[ash2020]

Keep the one you love.

Like them both. Not sure about love :-(

 

[ash2020]

Oh, and of course, the other thing is the Medina will float in a few inches of water with the keel up, the 5 tonner needs 5' wherever she goes.

 

[oldbloke]

Leaving aside the wood aspect they are very different boats suitable for different things. Fowey is a great place but there are really only 2 things you can do from there. Sail up and down the harbour and river, or take a fairly long sail in very open water to the west or the east. I wouldn't want to sail a heavy old boat up and down the harbour and it would be a vanishingly rare day that I would take my old bones Mrs Blokes old bones and 2 dogs to Falmouth in a camping cruiser with a potty under the bed.
Be realistic about what you are actually going to do and keep the appropriate boat.

 

[Egret]

Try them both and see which you like best/ suits you best - do you like painting, varnishing and woodworking, taking part in classics events - or just sailing

- and how far do you want to go in what weather? No embarrassment just to want to sail in the river on fine days which is what we do.

Is launching and recovering each time going to be a struggle for you? Try it.

A Medina should be OK on a mooring in a sheltered, supervised location.

Do a cost assessment for the next 5 or 10 years, or maybe sell both and buy the boat you really want.

Perhaps let fate and the boats decide - the boat often chooses the owner - convinced it did for mine - put them both on the market and see which sells and which wants to stay with you.

 

[ash2020]

Leaving aside the wood aspect they are very different boats suitable for different things. Fowey is a great place but there are really only 2 things you can do from there. Sail up and down the harbour and river, or take a fairly long sail in very open water to the west or the east. I wouldn't want to sail a heavy old boat up and down the harbour and it would be a vanishingly rare day that I would take my old bones Mrs Blokes old bones and 2 dogs to Falmouth in a camping cruiser with a potty under the bed.
Be realistic about what you are actually going to do and keep the appropriate boat.

You're absolutely right. We'll probably turn left or right and explore the little coves but I doubt we'll go much further. You're also right about sailing in the river. There are so many obstacles it's handy to be able to turn on a sixpence, which the Medina will do. It's definitely coming down on the side of the Hunter.

 

[ash2020]

Try them both and see which you like best/ suits you best - do you like painting, varnishing and woodworking, taking part in classics events - or just sailing

- and how far do you want to go in what weather? No embarrassment just to want to sail in the river on fine days which is what we do.

Is launching and recovering each time going to be a struggle for you? Try it.

A Medina should be OK on a mooring in a sheltered, supervised location.

Do a cost assessment for the next 5 or 10 years, and maybe sell both and but the boat you really want.

Or let fate and the boats decide - the boat often chooses the owner - convinced it did for mine - put them both on the market and see which sells and which wants to stay with you.

Thank you, yes, the cost will be quite different. Hunter is cheaper by 5k over 5 years, without any maintenance calculations. I think we'd prefer to store & launch rather than have a mooring. I've had a couple of trailer sailors and they haven't been too much of an issue. Dropping the mast is the heavy bit but we'd only be doing it twice a year. Boats always beckon but they're not always truthful!

 

[PabloPicasso]

Sell em both and get one you'll love.

 

[oilybilge]

Would it be possible to keep both for a season and see?

I keep a wooden yacht on a mooring, a short bicycle ride from my house, and I often go aboard just to do a bit of maintenance/read a book/birdwatch/drink tea. It's being afloat that's the main thing. I know that if I had to launch her I wouldn't bother half the time. If you find you're slowing up a bit, maybe a nice old yacht on a mooring in Fowey Harbor is not to be sneezed at?

 

[dunedin]

…….. Fowey is a great place but there are really only 2 things you can do from there. Sail up and down the harbour and river, or take a fairly long sail in very open water to the west or the east. I wouldn't want to sail a heavy old boat up and down the harbour and it would be a vanishingly rare day that I would take my old bones Mrs Blokes old bones and 2 dogs to Falmouth in a camping cruiser with a potty under the bed.
Be realistic about what you are actually going to do and keep the appropriate boat.

That’s a great point - and if the Hunter is on a good trailer it opens up many other options by towing to a new cruising desitination to enjoy, without the bumpy delivery trips in between.
Take across to Gulf de Morbihan? Over to the Norfolk Broads? Up to the Clyde and through the Crinan Canal?

 

[ash2020]

Sell em both and get one you'll love.

That's a nice idea but have you tried to sell a boat recently? I usually realise about half what I paid for them. Not enough to buy what I really want.

 

[ash2020]

Would it be possible to keep both for a season and see?

I keep a wooden yacht on a mooring, a short bicycle ride from my house, and I often go aboard just to do a bit of maintenance/read a book/birdwatch/drink tea. It's being afloat that's the main thing. I know that if I had to launch her I wouldn't bother half the time. If you find you're slowing up a bit, maybe a nice old yacht on a mooring in Fowey Harbor is not to be sneezed at?

A lovely thought. That's what I do too, find some reason for fiddling about with shackles & stuff and take sandwiches. Can't really be bothered to go out into the open ocean. And that's exactly why it's such a dilemma, because the old one is full of history and very nice to be aboard. Not practical at all. If it cost little to keep her ashore then the decision would be made but I find a thousand pounds to sit on a dank yard for 6 months isn't good.

 

[ash2020]

That’s a great point - and if the Hunter is on a good trailer it opens up many other options by towing to a new cruising desitination to enjoy, without the bumpy delivery trips in between.
Take across to Gulf de Morbihan? Over to the Norfolk Broads? Up to the Clyde and through the Crinan Canal?

That's an attractive proposition.