Your thoughts on Purchasing a boat; max £50k

vandy

vandy

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I started with a dinghy back in 1995 when I was just 14 and upgraded it since then and now on a Pilothouse Motor boat.

I have never owned a boat with proper accommodation and facilities and we have been thinking of our next boat having these facilities so we could explore further and more on long weekends etc..

So boat searching started again, and as always my budget is the limiting factor. I can max spend £50k and preferably want a boat with shower/sleeping facility and post 2000.

Based on your experience; what boat do you think I should purchase? I have seen quite a few Bayliners which tick the boxes BUT never owned one, and don't know about their performance and ownership in the UK?
 
vandy said:
I started with a dinghy back in 1995 when I was just 14 and upgraded it since then and now on a Pilothouse Motor boat.

I have never owned a boat with proper accommodation and facilities and we have been thinking of our next boat having these facilities so we could explore further and more on long weekends etc..

So boat searching started again, and as always my budget is the limiting factor. I can max spend £50k and preferably want a boat with shower/sleeping facility and post 2000.

Based on your experience; what boat do you think I should purchase? I have seen quite a few Bayliners which tick the boxes BUT never owned one, and don't know about their performance and ownership in the UK?
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Have a look at Sheperds of winderemere they have a Bayliner 288 Fly diesel named "Karibu" great boat and seeing as it was my mates boat and he part ex'd it there a few years ago I'm certain they will do a deal....superb boat with bowthruster, low hours and all the gear you might want? maybe worth a silly punt? if you want any further info send me a PM and I'll put you in touch with my mate who was and still is the "one" owner (other than Sheperds) from new.
Rob.
 
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It is a tricky budget, you have a choice of brand new boats (2012) with limited accommodation, but quite a lot of 2nd hand boats with cabin etc..

Bayliners are good boats and very popular BUT I have seen some latest versions coming with Petrol engine or mercuriser. I would personally prefer good old Volvo Penta.
 
RobWales said:
Have a look at Sheperds of winderemere they have a Bayliner 288 Fly diesel named "Caribu" great boat and seeing as it was my mates boat and he part ex'd it there a few years ago I'm certain they will do a deal....superb boat with bowthruster, low hours and all the gear you might want? maybe worth a silly punt? if you want any further info send me a PM and I'll put you in touch with my mate who was and still is the one owner (other than Sheperds) from new.
Rob.
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Here you go!



http://www.shepherdswindermere.co.uk/sales/boat.cfm?reference=U03
 
lovezoo said:
Lot of money to pay out just for a badge and less reliability than the Mercruisers.
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Do you own a Mercruiser? How did you find them? I have seen quite alot of boats within my budget all with Mercruiser but like "Inception" I thought Volvo Pentas are more reliable?:confused::confused::confused::confused:
 
vandy said:
Do you own a Mercruiser? How did you find them? I have seen quite alot of boats within my budget all with Mercruiser but like "Inception" I thought Volvo Pentas are more reliable?:confused::confused::confused::confused:
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Yes, I have owned my petrol Mercruiser for the last 6 years or so and it is still going strong.

See this thread for some comments on the two manufacturers:

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=244104

For me with an outdrive boat, the Mercruiser does appear to have some design advantages over the VP drive.
 
Prosser marine has a 2009 bayliner 285 which can sleep six in mint condition having only run about 30 hours from new. I know this boat very very well and asking prices just dropped £10k on Thursday to £59,995, I know this is slightly over your budget but probably the best deal in the uk on an as new boat of this size and condition.

Any questions please give me a shout on pm.

Honeybee is the boat name ;)

Chris
 
RobWales said:
Have a look at Sheperds of winderemere they have a Bayliner 288 Fly diesel named "Karibu" great boat and seeing as it was my mates boat and he part ex'd it there a few years ago I'm certain they will do a deal....superb boat with bowthruster, low hours and all the gear you might want? maybe worth a silly punt? if you want any further info send me a PM and I'll put you in touch with my mate who was and still is the "one" owner (other than Sheperds) from new.
Rob.
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Not a great sign for it's residuals if it has been sat with Sheperds for a few years waiting to be sold.....
 
PaulGooch said:
I have a Merry Fisher 805 for sale, well within your budget. See my signature. You won't find a cleaner, better looked after example. You're welcome to come and take a look around her.
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Thanks.

I was considering one in fact which was based in Brighton Marina. Two problems with MF 805 for me, one is the size of the cabin which is a bit small (sleeping area), and more importantly the bridge clearance of the 805 which is around 3m.

The later one is quite restricting factor because where we are there are a couple of bridges with max 3m headroom) and it becomes even less when it has rained alot (on Monday I saw a boat stuck under the bridge)...:(

Bayliner 285 has around 2.7m Bridge clearance which is ideal for where we are located....
 
vandy said:
Thanks.

I was considering one in fact which was based in Brighton Marina. Two problems with MF 805 for me, one is the size of the cabin which is a bit small (sleeping area), and more importantly the bridge clearance of the 805 which is around 3m.

The later one is quite restricting factor because where we are there are a couple of bridges with max 3m headroom) and it becomes even less when it has rained alot (on Monday I saw a boat stuck under the bridge)...:(

Bayliner 285 has around 2.7m Bridge clearance which is ideal for where we are located....
Click to expand...

The cabin is actually not too bad. With the infill in place it easily sleeps two adults, crossways.

The air draft is as you say, 3 m. Can't get away from that one, unless you're really good with a saw and GRP :D
 
vandy said:
I started with a dinghy back in 1995 when I was just 14 and upgraded it since then and now on a Pilothouse Motor boat.

I have never owned a boat with proper accommodation and facilities and we have been thinking of our next boat having these facilities so we could explore further and more on long weekends etc..

So boat searching started again, and as always my budget is the limiting factor. I can max spend £50k and preferably want a boat with shower/sleeping facility and post 2000.

Based on your experience; what boat do you think I should purchase? I have seen quite a few Bayliners which tick the boxes BUT never owned one, and don't know about their performance and ownership in the UK?
Click to expand...

If you are likely to go far out to sea you might consider the need for a second engine.
 
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