I'm after a powerboat equivalent of SOTW
Discussion
I'm going to echo the thoughts already expressed and say don't. Boats going wrong at sea is not like cars going wrong, things can turn from happy smiles all round to to life threatening calamity in a matter of moments. Going to sea without all the correct safety gear and in a dodgy craft which is likely to fail in some way is pretty irresponsible, the lifeboat/coastguard won't be particularly amused when they have to come rescue you. That said it is certainly possible to get on the water and have fun on a budget, a shonky old fibreglass powerboat is just the wrong way to do it.
A small aluminium boat like a Linder 400 with a ~20hp outboard on the back would be obtainable for around the £1500 mark. It is a lot easier to ascertain their condition, they are tough, have built in foam flotation so won't sink completely even if it all goes wrong and importantly they can have oars so when your old motor fails you can get home (slowly). Such a boat will still plane with ease, carry a small family, possibly tow children on waterskis etc.
Alternatively have you ever tried sailing? £1000-£1500 would buy you a decent usable dinghy or catamaran and personally I find them much more fun and exciting than powerboats. The ongoing costs are also tiny in comparison, no fuel, tiny insurance, very low maintenance etc.
A small aluminium boat like a Linder 400 with a ~20hp outboard on the back would be obtainable for around the £1500 mark. It is a lot easier to ascertain their condition, they are tough, have built in foam flotation so won't sink completely even if it all goes wrong and importantly they can have oars so when your old motor fails you can get home (slowly). Such a boat will still plane with ease, carry a small family, possibly tow children on waterskis etc.
Alternatively have you ever tried sailing? £1000-£1500 would buy you a decent usable dinghy or catamaran and personally I find them much more fun and exciting than powerboats. The ongoing costs are also tiny in comparison, no fuel, tiny insurance, very low maintenance etc.
TurboHatchback said:
Alternatively have you ever tried sailing?
WHAT!!! Burn him - the heretic!!!
I had a squint at an advert at the weekend for a 30 footer with 2x 7.4 litre carbed petrol v8s as propulsion. Quick guess, around 45-50 gallons per hour on a steady cruise, don't want to think about WOT, probably close to double that.
Now that's the way to do it. Bloody raggies
Jaguar steve said:
Oh yes. 
Sailing.
Join a club, get involved and help out, have a few impromptu lessons and crew for anybody who'll take you out. Give that a season or so and if you get hooked spend your grand on a good dingy.
Nooooow we're talking sense...
Or do what I did... Sailing.Join a club, get involved and help out, have a few impromptu lessons and crew for anybody who'll take you out. Give that a season or so and if you get hooked spend your grand on a good dingy.
Nooooow we're talking sense...
Pick up a 21fter for a couple of hundred quid, patch the holes, pop a cheap outboard on the back. Watch some youtube videos on sailing and just wing it... I managed to not die somehow, although whilst showing it off my my pal who is a sailing instructor he says my self taught technique required some work.
I'd echo Jaguar steve's & CubanPete's comments. Many years ago I bought a PlanCraft Sabre with a 100hp outboard to use on the Norfolk Broads/off the coast of Gorleston (this was when it was possible to ski in certain areas of the Broads). It would have been cheaper to stand at the side of the river and chuck tenners in the water for an hour. It's not the buying and storage, neither of which were a problem, it's the running and maintaining. Fuel consumption was crippling, the motor needed work every other time we took it out, and yopu really can't skimp on safety kit.
I'd liken a £1k boat to a clapped-out S Class Merc 500; you might be able to afford to have it sitting outside your house, but you'd be stranded/broke if you want to use it. And I certainly wouldn't be taking my kids out in it.
As for parts being cheap; not in my experience. Quite the opposite.
Picture of a boat identical to my old one. The amount of kit in the photo would have been the absolute minimum for a couple of hours skiing with a couple of mates.
I'd liken a £1k boat to a clapped-out S Class Merc 500; you might be able to afford to have it sitting outside your house, but you'd be stranded/broke if you want to use it. And I certainly wouldn't be taking my kids out in it.
As for parts being cheap; not in my experience. Quite the opposite.
Picture of a boat identical to my old one. The amount of kit in the photo would have been the absolute minimum for a couple of hours skiing with a couple of mates.
Dont listen to the nay-sayers 
I bought a little 17ft boat, complete with a 2001 yamaha 5hp outboard delivered from Wales to the Midlands for £500. The boat is ex hire, but in sound shape, and while the engine is well used its not old. First time I took it out (inland water) we just put it in the water and went for a play. Since then its had a service, which cost about £50 in bits, and some of my time. Insurance is £50 a year, stored at home, and a good day's running only costs about £10 in fuel.
You probably wont find what you're after for the money, but you can find cheap, reliable boats. You're after the equivalent of an old V8 GT car, whereas your budget probably stretches to a reliable 1980's Rover.
I bought a little 17ft boat, complete with a 2001 yamaha 5hp outboard delivered from Wales to the Midlands for £500. The boat is ex hire, but in sound shape, and while the engine is well used its not old. First time I took it out (inland water) we just put it in the water and went for a play. Since then its had a service, which cost about £50 in bits, and some of my time. Insurance is £50 a year, stored at home, and a good day's running only costs about £10 in fuel.
You probably wont find what you're after for the money, but you can find cheap, reliable boats. You're after the equivalent of an old V8 GT car, whereas your budget probably stretches to a reliable 1980's Rover.
Condi said:
Dont listen to the nay-sayers
I bought a little 17ft boat, complete with a 2001 yamaha 5hp outboard delivered from Wales to the Midlands for £500. The boat is ex hire, but in sound shape, and while the engine is well used its not old. First time I took it out (inland water) we just put it in the water and went for a play. Since then its had a service, which cost about £50 in bits, and some of my time. Insurance is £50 a year, stored at home, and a good day's running only costs about £10 in fuel.
You probably wont find what you're after for the money, but you can find cheap, reliable boats. You're after the equivalent of an old V8 GT car, whereas your budget probably stretches to a reliable 1980's Rover.
Did you miss the bit about being able to ski behind it? And it being a speedboat?I bought a little 17ft boat, complete with a 2001 yamaha 5hp outboard delivered from Wales to the Midlands for £500. The boat is ex hire, but in sound shape, and while the engine is well used its not old. First time I took it out (inland water) we just put it in the water and went for a play. Since then its had a service, which cost about £50 in bits, and some of my time. Insurance is £50 a year, stored at home, and a good day's running only costs about £10 in fuel.
You probably wont find what you're after for the money, but you can find cheap, reliable boats. You're after the equivalent of an old V8 GT car, whereas your budget probably stretches to a reliable 1980's Rover.
IforB said:
AdeTuono said:
Did you miss the bit about being able to ski behind it? And it being a speedboat?
Other than that. A 5hp ex-hire boat that does 5kts on a good day fits the bill perfectly...
And no, I didnt miss the point about wanting to ski behind it. Hence my qualification at the end, saying his budget would get him a 1980s Rover and he's after a V8 GT car, You can get a safe, reliable boat cheaply, but maybe not the type he is after, and so he either needs to up his budget or reduce his requirements.
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