Yacht or motor boat to live on..advice for newbie?

We know people who lived aboard a Westerly Konsort for nearly 10 years, they kept the bow cabin made up as a bed and they had headroom throughout the boat. They also have hot water but found that showering onboard wasnt practical due to the condensation, especially in the winter.

Im the sort of person that cant sleep in any noise and we have stayed on our konsort a few times in bad weather and been up all night, that said my wife and son can sleep through anything and probably sleep better on the boat.

The major problem with living onboard is the amount of condensation and heating I would imagine, we have never lived onboard so I cant say im going to be much help.

We do stay onboard now and then through the winter. Last time onboard we had a convector heater (about 2kw) on about number 3 through the night and located it in the saloon but left the bow cabin door open, the windows were still dry in the morning even though the cockpit was wet and it had dropped right down that night.

Another suggestion is that it might be worth looking for something that has a cockpit enclosure or even purchasing one afterwards if the boat was the right price. We had one on our previous boat and it was so useful. Somewhere for shoes, wet coats, laundry to dry etc.

Hope this helps a bit.

Ian
 
Matt341 said:
We know people who lived aboard a Westerly Konsort for nearly 10 years, they kept the bow cabin made up as a bed and they had headroom throughout the boat. They also have hot water but found that showering onboard wasnt practical due to the condensation, especially in the winter.

Im the sort of person that cant sleep in any noise and we have stayed on our konsort a few times in bad weather and been up all night, that said my wife and son can sleep through anything and probably sleep better on the boat.

The major problem with living onboard is the amount of condensation and heating I would imagine, we have never lived onboard so I cant say im going to be much help.

We do stay onboard now and then through the winter. Last time onboard we had a convector heater (about 2kw) on about number 3 through the night and located it in the saloon but left the bow cabin door open, the windows were still dry in the morning even though the cockpit was wet and it had dropped right down that night.

Another suggestion is that it might be worth looking for something that has a cockpit enclosure or even purchasing one afterwards if the boat was the right price. We had one on our previous boat and it was so useful. Somewhere for shoes, wet coats, laundry to dry etc.

Hope this helps a bit.

Ian
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Cockpit tent gives you alot of usable space,as you say, and is an essential part of living aboard. Eber or similar blown air heating solves the condensation problem,and is cheap to run.
 
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TQA said:
Why does he need insurance? Not a legal requirement as far as I know. Some marinas insist on 3rd party which is easy to get. Or have I got this wrong.
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Hmm not sure about that? but if he were to be based in Brighton Marina I feel sure a quick phone call would let him know. Now the tricky bit as with any Yacht Ins a NEWBIE with little or no sailing experience on a Ferro could be erm Expensive, I think?
Third Party IS mandatory to 3million.
Peter
 
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How about this?

http://www.networkyachtbrokers.co.uk/boatinfo/10884/Excalibur+36+/moreinfo/

Of course I'm biased as I have one myself, but:

36 feet long
Standing headroom in the saloon even if you're tall
Fore cabin makes an excellent double berth (if you make an infill piece)
This one apparently has a good new diesel
Classic design by highly respected designer
Superbly seaworthy - capable of crossing oceans in comfort
Good sailing performance
Encapsulated keel so no problems there
Don't seem to suffer from Osmosis
And the price looks like a bargain......

This is not my boat for sale, I just happened to see the ad.
I lived on my very comfortably for months at a time (in the Caribbean though)

What do you think?

Oh, and you can get third party insurance online from the Basic Boat Liability Co. No qualifications needed, and not expensive.
 
Condensation is certainly something I worry about as it was terrible when I hired a river boat a few years back. I’ll certainly spend a few quid getting a good grasp of the interior climate control.
I will get insurance. When you say “expensive” how much are we talking in a year? Thousands? Or still in the low hundreds?

Sandyman – Looks beautiful, but boy would that take some looking after! And 60% is good :)

Captinbob – I like your blog by the way. Keep it up and please upload more pics.

Avalon – that is exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for. I love the style of it. Subtle, but has presence. Beautifully shaped, but practical with space. Any pics inside it (none on the website)? The inventory looks good, too.
 
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jimmy_bobby said:
Condensation is certainly something I worry about as it was terrible when I fired a river boat a few years back. I’ll certainly spend a few quid getting a good grasp of the interior climate control.
I will get insurance. When you say “expensive” how much are we talking in a year? Thousands? Or still in the low hundreds?

Sandyman – Looks beautiful, but boy would that take some looking after! And 60% is good :)

Captinbob – I like your blog by the way. Keep it up and please upload more pics.

Avalon – that is exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for. I love the style of it. Subtle, but has presence. Beautifully shaped, but practical with space. Any pics inside it (none on the website)? The inventory looks good, too.
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Insurance (3rd party) £90---£200 DEPENDING ON CRUISING AREA ,£500--£600 all risks on an insured value of £40 grand +-
 
Best thing for condensation...

...already been said but Eberspacher blown air heating is very good & very cheap to run. Cost about £1500 plus fitting (or DIY), expensive but worth it in the long run to be comfortable, warm & dry in your new home.

Definitely go for it, it will be an adventure & I bet your daughter will love it as well. There's always reasons not to do something & people who are more than happy to point them out to you. Ignore them, what's the worst that could happen? You try it, don't like it & might lose a few quid when you resell. There's some great advice been given already, I would just add go & see as many boats as possible, have a list of essentials, desirables & would be nices, make detailed notes & take your own photos each time you view something (brokers photos & descriptions of course nearly always look good). That said you'll know when something feels right, then try to contact owners about what to look for or be wary of with a particular make/model, how they sail, etc. & having decided the trick becomes getting it for a good price...

Above all, take your time, it really is a buyers market, I spent a few hundred quid travelling around seeing lots of boats £15 - £25K over a period of months, that was money well spent in the end. I met some brokers who were really good & helpful, others who were almost totally lacking in any interest whatsoever (presumably as I was spending such a relatively small amount of money). Get recommendations for a surveyor from the forum. In the marina, you'll almost certainly end up using their showers/toilets, not nice to discharge raw sewage! Or just shower at the gym. You could have a PortaPotti to use on board (probably more civilised than you'd think) & only use the sea toilet when not in the marina.

There's a 1989 Jeanneau Sundream for sale here @ £22K (no individual url for it), I chose one of these as it's a more modern design & very spacious for its size, might not suit if you're tall though. Feel free to PM if there's anything you'd like to ask as I was pretty much exactly where you are with your boat hunting now six months or so ago...

In the meantime, best of luck!
David.
 
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jimmy_bobby said:
Condensation is certainly something I worry about as it was terrible when I hired a river boat a few years back. I’ll certainly spend a few quid getting a good grasp of the interior climate control.
I will get insurance. When you say “expensive” how much are we talking in a year? Thousands? Or still in the low hundreds?

Sandyman – Looks beautiful, but boy would that take some looking after! And 60% is good :)

Captinbob – I like your blog by the way. Keep it up and please upload more pics.

Avalon – that is exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for. I love the style of it. Subtle, but has presence. Beautifully shaped, but practical with space. Any pics inside it (none on the website)? The inventory looks good, too.
Click to expand...

as an afterthought , you mentioned a wood interior? That is VERY desirable,as it gives a much warmer feel than fibreglass.
Also worth mentioning is upholstery--very often the original stuff was clammy vinyl. I was lucky in that mine had been replaced .
 
Very interesting thread....with lots of good advice so far. Jimmy bobby....you're new to the game so take your time, you don't want to end up buying a dog, (boat that is)

We've all got our preferences and are biased in our own ways concerning boats. It can be a bit of a nightmare at first when you're on a learning curve. But if you get that list of priorities right, starting with your available budget, you'll soon find that the amount of boats available diminish rapidly. This is a good thing.

Old Steel Boats : Be very wary...although a great boat-building material it sure ain't maintenance free. A coat of paint over a steel hull can hide a multitude of sins...but not for long. Condensation's a big problem too if they haven't been insulated properly from day one.

Old Wooden Boats : Incredibly romantic... but I think a woman would be cheaper to maintain. Good ones don't come cheap. A wonderful hobby if you've time on your hands, but not much more than a pile of firewood waiting to be ignited if you haven't. Boatyards and creeks throughout the land are full of them, slowing rotting away and hoping that some mug will come and buy them.

Ferro Boats : A much maligned material actually. It got a bad name through lot's of home build projects, that to be honest were awful. Not all mind, some friends of mine built an Endurance 46 and made an incredibly professional job. It went around the world twice. Windboats also built the hulls for the Endurance and they were pucker jobs. For a newbie I'd stay well clear. They can seem like an awful lot of boat for the money, but there's a reason for that. Insurance companies don't seem to like them much either...but then again, they don't like old boats end of.

GRP, Plastic Fantastic : Not maintenance free but a darn sight easier than the above materials. The big scare word is "Osmosis" but although a pain doesn't sink boats. Devalues them yes, but it's repairable. If you buy one that's found to have the pox, it's a bargaining point. Older GRP boats were constructed to be bullet proof. It was new technology so the hulls were substantially laid up, as opposed to their more modern counterparts. The fit outs left a lot to be desired though, lots of plastic laminate and vinyl seating. Lovely....on a cold damp day.

My own input into this would be : Get the biggest boat you can afford (max 35/36') any bigger and just about everything maintenance wise and berthing wise starts to skyrocket. Buy a boat that you like the look of (your liking of the Excalibur 36 tells me something)....great boat. Almost bought two of them over the years, but on both occasions the owner changed their mind on selling.... (Full price offered too) Remember that all boats are a compromise, what you gain in one area you can lose in another. Older boats with wineglass shaped hulls are narrower and less voluminous for their length than cruiser racer types with D section hulls. Both have their plus and minus points. Keep an open mind. A 1970's She 31 or similar doesn't have half the room below as a 1980's Moody 28. Far prettier and a better sailing boat, but for living aboard the Moody comes out on top. You can pick them up pretty cheap in the Med, ex-charter. But in the UK they are more expensive.

As for living aboard in the UK : This is where size does play a part. Get a few days of incessant rain and even a 35' boat can make you feel like your living in a shoe box. I certainly wouldn't go below 30'. Some form of heating is essential even if you're on a marina with power. Fan heaters are a back up, but you can't beat a diesel heater for dry heat. Plenty of stowage is a bonus too, cos you'll find when you're living aboard, the boat will start to fill up with gear. Leave a few things un-stowed and it soon starts to resemble a teenagers bedroom. I could go on but you get my drift, and some things have been commented on already.

It would be handy if you could find a mate who's practical and preferably with boat knowledge. Take them along when you're looking. Remember...there's no such thing as a bargain boat. Anybody that tells you there is, is either deluded or has too much money for their own good. If at all possible get a boat that's been cared for and updated, it will save in the long run. If it's a sailing boat, the expensive items are sails, rig and engine. If all these are in good nick, you're on the right track. Won't comment on motor boats cos I hate the wretched things....there you go...I'm biased.

As for boat insurance. I recently put my mate onto Navigators & General. He was going to pay over £100 for third party, for a 32' boat valued at £17,500. Got it through their online site for £60. The URL is below...

http://www.thirdpartyboatinsurance.co.uk/thirdparty/home/introduction.htm
 
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Lets remember the OP wants something to live on in a marina. I still think ferrocement is the way to go. They suffer less from condensation than FG or steel and maintenance is less. Plus the cost factor. How about this.

http://www.whatboat.com/boats_for_sale/ferro_cement_hulled_sail_boats/

page 2 the 11m Hartley Cowrie

Bet you could buy it at this time of year between 10 - 15 K. Arrive with a bag of tenners and start counting them out on the salon table. [ Yes I did used to be a used car dealer ]

It even looks OK externally and the interior is not too bad either and it is on the southcoast. Might even sail OK.
 
I am a sailor on a 33' boat I do not live on it but spend as much time on it as Possible I purchased it from a person who dived in, in the deep end to his large loss many thousands.... also before the final purchase I followed the 2 year history of a Sadler 32' In which a person ran into personal difficulties bought the boat for around £27,000 hoping to sail into bliss, only to use it once and offer it for sale for less than £20,000 a year later.. I have the same dream as you along with my wife, but breaking the shackles to shore is hard.try to get experience, The cost as a policeman you could easily bear but you will wake up under the same stars as land lubbers since you have to go to work tomorrow and in a marina you will have slapping ropes, and many more noises sounding like hundreds of wind charms etc, Really personally as I write I love It.. ebespatcher, the first 2 days last week after a 3 week break showed lots of Condensation then none...lovely, drop the warps sail for a hour and you feel free of totalitarism. but its short lived.
 
TQA said:
Lets remember the OP wants something to live on in a marina. I still think ferrocement is the way to go. They suffer less from condensation than FG or steel and maintenance is less. Plus the cost factor. How about this.

http://www.whatboat.com/boats_for_sale/ferro_cement_hulled_sail_boats/

page 2 the 11m Hartley Cowrie

Bet you could buy it at this time of year between 10 - 15 K. Arrive with a bag of tenners and start counting them out on the salon table. [ Yes I did used to be a used car dealer ]

It even looks OK externally and the interior is not too bad either and it is on the southcoast. Might even sail OK.
Click to expand...
Sorry but all the ferro boats Ive seen look like home made bodges! Even the nicest one in Pwllheli last year looked like an amateur plasterer had done it!
Stu
 
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