which mb for a beginner?

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liamsdad

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10 Oct 2005
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Hi all, I've just registered and am looking for some advice on buying a motor boat cruiser. I must add I am a complete novice looking to buy next year but will do a RYA power boat course first before taking the plunge!
There are several criteria that need met.
1- budget of about £7000 max.
2- looking for a boat with 2 berth cabin.
3- will be used in the River Forth so must be suitable for estuary use.
4- I've no need for speed but realise a petrol engined boat is more likely to be available than diesel.
5- Able to trailer, sometimes, have land rover.
6- anything else, just looking for advice so I can look at the classifieds and get an idea of models/makes to short list.
Thanks for your help.
 
Hi, welcome to boating,

For 7K, you may want to look at a secondhand shetland, poss a 4+2. We considered one of these, a year ago but eventually spent more on a more seagoing cruiser. There are also many similar river boats around 21' with a cabin that you can get for that sort of price, however they are likely to be 10 years old plus and will powered by an outboard

the shetland is certainly quoted for estuary type use, the main thing is to ensure you have a suitable engine size. I am not sure what shetland would quote, however 30+hp outboard. Many are only fitted with around 10hp which is ok inland but not sufficient on the estuary.

I suggest you try looking around at local marinas and the like and get a feel for the different models

Good luck
 
Not too sure what you can get for £7000 with a 2 berth cabin, maybe an older Shetland which are solid well known boats and ideal for the use you have in mind, problem is it will probably have an oldish outboard, so be careful as these can cost more than they are worth to fix up. Get an independant survey or take along someone who knows what to look for, be wary if its too cheap, as you generally get what you pay for. Ideally you want a newish engine preferably a 4 stroke for economy, as newbie you want it to be reliable, unexpected engine failures can be worrying at the best of times, especially if you are in tidal waters. I guess the best thing is to trawl thro a few boat mags classified section and get a feel for what you can get for your budget, and then try and do a deal, remember cash always talks!
Good luck and welcome to boating,

Steve
 
I have to admit a Sealine or similar is kinda what I would like even if it pushes my budget higher.
Is there any dis/advantages about an inboard engine?
 
Hardy 18 or Shetland. No problem for a Landy. Trailer could cost a fair bit if you want a decent one which you do! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
Advantages ;
An inboard/outdrive is so much easier to work on yourself, after all the engine is usually a marinised car engine.
There is plenty of room to get around it for servicing etc & few special tools are required.
Inboards are 4stroke so slightly more fuel efficient & are less noise intrusive.

Dissadvantages,
weight, manifolds are expensive, outdrives are expensive & they are not good at low speeds as encountered on rivers etc, but for estuary & inshore they should be fine.

The landy will easily cope with the 190 or 195 sealine's or one like this;

http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/F66778/
 
Thanks Enterprise, I take it you like Sealine boats. That is probably the kind of boat I had in mind, now to start saving and hopefully next year I'll be on the water.
I red the thread about life being too short so buy a boat now, and after a health scare earlier this year it's time to think about buying a boat before I miss the opportunity and regret it.
 
Hi, in the same category as the sealine I can vouch for the Fairline 21 weekender, one of these should fall within your budget if you are prepared to look around. Great little sea boat for its size and mine took me through some pretty rough stuff without any complaints!!!

Best of luck.
 
I think the shetland mentioned earlier is well worth a look. I've got a Shetland Kestrel [formerly the 570] and use it for estuary/coastal stuff all the time off of the North Devon coast. I picked it up secondhand including trailer and a 50hp two stroke for 4.5K but replaced the 50 after a coupla years with a 100HP 4stroke as I wanted more grunt to fight the tidal currents where I usually roam. Also bought a new trailer for about 2K as the one it came with wasn't really suitable [no brakes for a start]. I trail it behind a Subaru Legacy without an issue so can't see hows a Landy would have any problems at all.

It deals with the coastal work pretty well. Obviously at just under 19' it's not going to deal with the conditions a bigger boat would but most of the time I find that if the conditions turn bad enough to have me heading back inshore it's because I have exceeded my capabilties rather than the boats.

J
 
An emotive subject. People are naturally going to be biased. With the LR your not going to have many problems towing anything upto the legal limit. All the questions have been asked and only you can answer them.

For a good seaworthy hull that has a good turn of speed for not a lot of money that can overnight 2 look at the Tremlett Sportsman 21. You can pick up good clean examples for under 5K. Theres on on Boats & Butboards that has had stupid amounts of money spent on it with a new engine thats still under warranty c/w trailer ready to go offered at 9k.....bit of haggling!

Told you people would be bias, I've got one! It takes anything thats thrown at it. Its built like a brick outhouse and doesn't cost heaps to run. Got a big boat feel in a trailerable package. Looks to be just the thing your looking for.
 
I've got to thank everyone for their advice, and I'll get a shortlist and start scanning the ads.
Anyone recommend places in Scotland or North of England where boats come up for sale regulary or brokers they recommend?
 
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