Boats...money pits???
Discussion
Hello all,
The Mrs would like a boat for cruising on the water/fishing (in the sea)!
She says she likes Dory's and the like but honestly, they're tiny and I'm sure they'll pitch and roll and once the novelty has worn off I can't see it being a regular thing. Whereas something a lot more comfortable like a sport cruiser could tempt me in. I really don't want to be doing with launching a boat for each use and would far prefer to have one moored which immediately adds a cost of circa 3k pa.
I've not had a boat before, I've been around them a fair bit and I'm fairly competent mechanically. I'm a bit concerned of taking the plunge because they seem to forever need money spent on them. The purchase price isn't the problem, but I can see maintenance/running costs could be like a third of the purchase price per annum, so by three years you could have paid for it just in maintenance/on costs!
Am I totally overestimating the costs? Boat in mind is something like a Sunseeker San Remo 33ft with twin inboard 200hp Volvo Penta diesels. I know I'm ticking all the trouble boxes as it seems most experienced boat owners prefer outboards. Maybe I should start much smaller? Upto 30k ish budget. There are a few about and they all seem to have had vast sums spent on them over the years renewing, many look like new condition wise with just the classic styling betraying their age.
Then there are fuel costs, to run a 33ft with twin 200hp diesel engines, £50/hr (ie 50 litres per hour total for both engines, is that realistic? Tank size is 500+litres which is somewhat scary to refuel.
Obviously there are a lot of boats in between, like a Smartliner 19 which is like a larger Dory, outboard engine, trailerable for about 11k.
Any advice welcome!
Thanks,
Nito
The Mrs would like a boat for cruising on the water/fishing (in the sea)!
She says she likes Dory's and the like but honestly, they're tiny and I'm sure they'll pitch and roll and once the novelty has worn off I can't see it being a regular thing. Whereas something a lot more comfortable like a sport cruiser could tempt me in. I really don't want to be doing with launching a boat for each use and would far prefer to have one moored which immediately adds a cost of circa 3k pa.
I've not had a boat before, I've been around them a fair bit and I'm fairly competent mechanically. I'm a bit concerned of taking the plunge because they seem to forever need money spent on them. The purchase price isn't the problem, but I can see maintenance/running costs could be like a third of the purchase price per annum, so by three years you could have paid for it just in maintenance/on costs!
Am I totally overestimating the costs? Boat in mind is something like a Sunseeker San Remo 33ft with twin inboard 200hp Volvo Penta diesels. I know I'm ticking all the trouble boxes as it seems most experienced boat owners prefer outboards. Maybe I should start much smaller? Upto 30k ish budget. There are a few about and they all seem to have had vast sums spent on them over the years renewing, many look like new condition wise with just the classic styling betraying their age.
Then there are fuel costs, to run a 33ft with twin 200hp diesel engines, £50/hr (ie 50 litres per hour total for both engines, is that realistic? Tank size is 500+litres which is somewhat scary to refuel.
Obviously there are a lot of boats in between, like a Smartliner 19 which is like a larger Dory, outboard engine, trailerable for about 11k.
Any advice welcome!
Thanks,
Nito
Edited by NITO on Thursday 2nd July 10:50
Ok, I'm not a small boat person, but feel reasonably well placed to comment as some of our tenders and toys are a similar size to the sort of thing you are considering. The main problems for boats are a) seawater is a highly corrosive substance, and b) machinery requires regular use. You can help reduce some of that by either keeping it in freshwater (limits your cruising options), keeping it on the dry when not in use (expensive, and doesn't solve problem b), or using it very frequently (also expensive, and time consuming). Personally, I think boats need to be a labour of love. There is no way you can rationalise them as an expense. Break down your annual costs to an hourly rate and it will be eyewatering.
As you say, it's not the purchase price (aircraft are very similar), it is the running costs. A £30k car used daily might cost a couple of grand a year to insure, service and maintain. A boat will cost many multiples of that, and probably be only used weekly, during the summer months.
As you say, it's not the purchase price (aircraft are very similar), it is the running costs. A £30k car used daily might cost a couple of grand a year to insure, service and maintain. A boat will cost many multiples of that, and probably be only used weekly, during the summer months.
Sorry for the lengthy reply, but hopefully might be helpful.
After owning several fishing boats (think dory / fast fisher style) I bought something more substantial in 2014 that could be trailer easily and needed to be kept in a marina / mooring. I bought a 2005 Merry Fisher 805 - mainly because we wanted to sleep 4 people (at a push) and something that was good for fishing, which the whole family love, and also have some R&R on the coast.
There are many pros and cons of a moored boat vs trailered option, but the absolute first thing to mention is the weather. From the second you own a boat, half your life is spent looking at various reports of swell, wave height, pressure etc, trying to figure out when getting out on it is feasible. Any significant wind will normally result in choppy seas and although a bigger boat can handle this better, its not much fun at all to be out when you have everything falling around and water coming over the cockpit. So bear in mind that every time you want to use the boat, there is a very real chance that the weather/wind will prevent this. Clearly this varies depending on location and there are places where you can improve your odds.
That’s the main reason I choose Poole. It was less than an hour normally for me and if the weather didn’t play ball, the huge harbour provided a safe haven for boating when the ocean was simply too choppy.
You haven’t provided much detail so I have assumed that you don’t live next to the ocean and that you are not primarily buying for fishing and that you would be looking for a marina berth.
Pros of small trailer boat -
Easy to buy
Easy to sell (relatively)
If you know what you are doing technically, there isn’t anything you can’t fix at home
You can choose different locations
Clearly huge savings on marina / berthing fees
You can work on your boat at your leisure (if you keep it at home of course)
Cons of small boat on a trailer -
When the weather is perfect - everyone wants to launch and traffic/launch queues/parking etc is sometimes a nitemare.
Trailers don’t last long and take a fair bit of maintenance
The whole process can be a real faff
A dory style boat really don’t take much swell very well
Pros of berthed bigger boat -
Can be left ready to go so lastminuite.com
Parking is simple
Decent marinas will have good facilities (showers, chandlery, food etc)
Crucially - you have a place where you can make use of your boat, without have to leave it’s berth - I can’t emphasise enough how vital this is. Some big boat owners never leave port - but the marina fees are less than renting an apartment locally for example. You can also wait out bad weather.
Cons of berthed bigger boat -
Cost - fees - engines can be hard to work on, boat will need to come out at least once a year and be antifouled and inspected, will need winterising each year and thats without anything going wrong. Marinas also often charge for others to work on you boat.
Stuck in one area - although you can travel to other marinas / areas.
I paid £40k for my boat in 2014 and ended up berthing it in Salterns Marina in Poole. Perhaps one of the most expensive ones in the area, but it had great facilities and didn’t require the tides to be correct to leave/enter and didn’t have a swing bridge or any other obstacles before getting out to the ocean. It was also very close to the harbour entrance and given the harbour speed limit on top of the other issues, it might take many hours before you could leave the harbour from any other marina. It was also a very nice place to be and my reckoning was that it was about the cheapest place to rent in sandbanks, given it’s location.
The Costs
The Marina fees were nearly £10k per year
To lift the boat out costs circa £250, another £400 to antifoul it (you could do this yourself for about £100)
Fuel wasn’t that expensive because you use red diesel and the only other costs were maintenance, which I did myself - My boat had a Nanni Diesel, which is basically a landcruiser engine and one of the reasons I bought it was the simplicity of it and good access.
Safety
When you have your whole family out on the ocean in a large boat, things are different - you can’t take any ground or go to near a beach or rocks and are constantly on guard against potential hazards, engine faults, taking on water etc and it’s a very different mindset to a smaller boat for some reason.
Our experience -
We loved every minute of it, sometimes just sitting on the deck on a sunny day in the marina was perfect, watching the world go by. We had the odd close call, but nothing to serious. The boat was good in choppy stuff and provided a great platform for winter fishing as well as in the summer.
But ultimately, I just couldn’t get comfortable with the costs of keeping it in the marina and the ease of access to the ocean anywhere else that was close enough to us to be spontaneous made us decide to take a break in 2018. I sold the boat for £35K, but of course paid more than that in ownership/mooring costs. I do of course recognise that it could have been less than half this in some other areas.
My advice -
You are looking at an old sunseeker late 80’s according to your budget, twin engines come with added complications and are expensive to look after. The maintenance costs on a boat like that will be circa £5k per year if things don’t go wrong and you are really throwing yourself in at the deep end.
If I was to buy another boat, it would be something with an outboard, perhaps a merry fisher 855 or similar, but anything a few years old, holds its value well.
In your position, having not owned a boat before I would suggest going down the trailer route with a dory or similar, getting the feel for using it, navigation, sea legs etc and seeing how much you use it and what aspects are important. Then consider the longer term commitment of buying something that requires a marina.
After owning several fishing boats (think dory / fast fisher style) I bought something more substantial in 2014 that could be trailer easily and needed to be kept in a marina / mooring. I bought a 2005 Merry Fisher 805 - mainly because we wanted to sleep 4 people (at a push) and something that was good for fishing, which the whole family love, and also have some R&R on the coast.
There are many pros and cons of a moored boat vs trailered option, but the absolute first thing to mention is the weather. From the second you own a boat, half your life is spent looking at various reports of swell, wave height, pressure etc, trying to figure out when getting out on it is feasible. Any significant wind will normally result in choppy seas and although a bigger boat can handle this better, its not much fun at all to be out when you have everything falling around and water coming over the cockpit. So bear in mind that every time you want to use the boat, there is a very real chance that the weather/wind will prevent this. Clearly this varies depending on location and there are places where you can improve your odds.
That’s the main reason I choose Poole. It was less than an hour normally for me and if the weather didn’t play ball, the huge harbour provided a safe haven for boating when the ocean was simply too choppy.
You haven’t provided much detail so I have assumed that you don’t live next to the ocean and that you are not primarily buying for fishing and that you would be looking for a marina berth.
Pros of small trailer boat -
Easy to buy
Easy to sell (relatively)
If you know what you are doing technically, there isn’t anything you can’t fix at home
You can choose different locations
Clearly huge savings on marina / berthing fees
You can work on your boat at your leisure (if you keep it at home of course)
Cons of small boat on a trailer -
When the weather is perfect - everyone wants to launch and traffic/launch queues/parking etc is sometimes a nitemare.
Trailers don’t last long and take a fair bit of maintenance
The whole process can be a real faff
A dory style boat really don’t take much swell very well
Pros of berthed bigger boat -
Can be left ready to go so lastminuite.com
Parking is simple
Decent marinas will have good facilities (showers, chandlery, food etc)
Crucially - you have a place where you can make use of your boat, without have to leave it’s berth - I can’t emphasise enough how vital this is. Some big boat owners never leave port - but the marina fees are less than renting an apartment locally for example. You can also wait out bad weather.
Cons of berthed bigger boat -
Cost - fees - engines can be hard to work on, boat will need to come out at least once a year and be antifouled and inspected, will need winterising each year and thats without anything going wrong. Marinas also often charge for others to work on you boat.
Stuck in one area - although you can travel to other marinas / areas.
I paid £40k for my boat in 2014 and ended up berthing it in Salterns Marina in Poole. Perhaps one of the most expensive ones in the area, but it had great facilities and didn’t require the tides to be correct to leave/enter and didn’t have a swing bridge or any other obstacles before getting out to the ocean. It was also very close to the harbour entrance and given the harbour speed limit on top of the other issues, it might take many hours before you could leave the harbour from any other marina. It was also a very nice place to be and my reckoning was that it was about the cheapest place to rent in sandbanks, given it’s location.
The Costs
The Marina fees were nearly £10k per year
To lift the boat out costs circa £250, another £400 to antifoul it (you could do this yourself for about £100)
Fuel wasn’t that expensive because you use red diesel and the only other costs were maintenance, which I did myself - My boat had a Nanni Diesel, which is basically a landcruiser engine and one of the reasons I bought it was the simplicity of it and good access.
Safety
When you have your whole family out on the ocean in a large boat, things are different - you can’t take any ground or go to near a beach or rocks and are constantly on guard against potential hazards, engine faults, taking on water etc and it’s a very different mindset to a smaller boat for some reason.
Our experience -
We loved every minute of it, sometimes just sitting on the deck on a sunny day in the marina was perfect, watching the world go by. We had the odd close call, but nothing to serious. The boat was good in choppy stuff and provided a great platform for winter fishing as well as in the summer.
But ultimately, I just couldn’t get comfortable with the costs of keeping it in the marina and the ease of access to the ocean anywhere else that was close enough to us to be spontaneous made us decide to take a break in 2018. I sold the boat for £35K, but of course paid more than that in ownership/mooring costs. I do of course recognise that it could have been less than half this in some other areas.
My advice -
You are looking at an old sunseeker late 80’s according to your budget, twin engines come with added complications and are expensive to look after. The maintenance costs on a boat like that will be circa £5k per year if things don’t go wrong and you are really throwing yourself in at the deep end.
If I was to buy another boat, it would be something with an outboard, perhaps a merry fisher 855 or similar, but anything a few years old, holds its value well.
In your position, having not owned a boat before I would suggest going down the trailer route with a dory or similar, getting the feel for using it, navigation, sea legs etc and seeing how much you use it and what aspects are important. Then consider the longer term commitment of buying something that requires a marina.
Unless your prospective vessel is very large, it is entirely possible to moor it on the south coast for under £1k pa. and the south coast is the most expensive place in UK...other areas will be less!
However, this will be on a swinging or trot mooring so you will need a tender to access the craft.
Until recently I had a speedboat (Simms Super-V/70hp Mercury) on a trailer...the actual cost of the boat and the maintenence was not excessive (but some outboard engine parts are, individually, pretty expensive). The cost was mostly in the towing fuel and the launch fees as most slipways charge for the use.
I now have a motor cruiser (Fairey Huntress) berthed in a marina in Chichester Harbour. Yes it is more expensive both in fuel, maintenence and berthing compared to the speedboat, but it is a lot more versatile and comfortable as well as being suitable for use in a much larger range of conditions.
However, this will be on a swinging or trot mooring so you will need a tender to access the craft.
Until recently I had a speedboat (Simms Super-V/70hp Mercury) on a trailer...the actual cost of the boat and the maintenence was not excessive (but some outboard engine parts are, individually, pretty expensive). The cost was mostly in the towing fuel and the launch fees as most slipways charge for the use.
I now have a motor cruiser (Fairey Huntress) berthed in a marina in Chichester Harbour. Yes it is more expensive both in fuel, maintenence and berthing compared to the speedboat, but it is a lot more versatile and comfortable as well as being suitable for use in a much larger range of conditions.
NITO said:
Hello all,
The Mrs would like a boat for cruising on the water/fishing (in the sea)!
She says she likes Dory's and the like but honestly, they're tiny and I'm sure they'll pitch and roll and once the novelty has worn off I can't see it being a regular thing. Whereas something a lot more comfortable like a sport cruiser could tempt me in. I really don't want to be doing with launching a boat for each use and would far prefer to have one moored which immediately adds a cost of circa 3k pa.
I've not had a boat before, I've been around them a fair bit and I'm fairly competent mechanically. I'm a bit concerned of taking the plunge because they seem to forever need money spent on them. The purchase price isn't the problem, but I can see maintenance/running costs could be like a third of the purchase price per annum, so by three years you could have paid for it just in maintenance/on costs!
Am I totally overestimating the costs? Boat in mind is something like a Sunseeker San Remo 33ft with twin inboard 200hp Volvo Penta diesels. I know I'm ticking all the trouble boxes as it seems most experienced boat owners prefer outboards. Maybe I should start much smaller? Upto 30k ish budget. There are a few about and they all seem to have had vast sums spent on them over the years renewing, many look like new condition wise with just the classic styling betraying their age.
Then there are fuel costs, to run a 33ft with twin 200hp diesel engines, £50/hr (ie 50 litres per hour total for both engines, is that realistic? Tank size is 500+litres which is somewhat scary to refuel.
Obviously there are a lot of boats in between, like a Smartliner 19 which is like a larger Dory, outboard engine, trailerable for about 11k.
Any advice welcome!
Thanks,
Nito
Had a part share in a Fairline Corniche some years ago with twin VP 200's and your estimated fuel consumption is for each engine, unless you are intending to chug around at 8 kts or less!The Mrs would like a boat for cruising on the water/fishing (in the sea)!
She says she likes Dory's and the like but honestly, they're tiny and I'm sure they'll pitch and roll and once the novelty has worn off I can't see it being a regular thing. Whereas something a lot more comfortable like a sport cruiser could tempt me in. I really don't want to be doing with launching a boat for each use and would far prefer to have one moored which immediately adds a cost of circa 3k pa.
I've not had a boat before, I've been around them a fair bit and I'm fairly competent mechanically. I'm a bit concerned of taking the plunge because they seem to forever need money spent on them. The purchase price isn't the problem, but I can see maintenance/running costs could be like a third of the purchase price per annum, so by three years you could have paid for it just in maintenance/on costs!
Am I totally overestimating the costs? Boat in mind is something like a Sunseeker San Remo 33ft with twin inboard 200hp Volvo Penta diesels. I know I'm ticking all the trouble boxes as it seems most experienced boat owners prefer outboards. Maybe I should start much smaller? Upto 30k ish budget. There are a few about and they all seem to have had vast sums spent on them over the years renewing, many look like new condition wise with just the classic styling betraying their age.
Then there are fuel costs, to run a 33ft with twin 200hp diesel engines, £50/hr (ie 50 litres per hour total for both engines, is that realistic? Tank size is 500+litres which is somewhat scary to refuel.
Obviously there are a lot of boats in between, like a Smartliner 19 which is like a larger Dory, outboard engine, trailerable for about 11k.
Any advice welcome!
Thanks,
Nito
Edited by NITO on Thursday 2nd July 10:50
Single engined, displacement hull is a different matter which is where I would suggest you consider looking but maybe realise a smallish one will roll in a seaway, whereas the same size planing hull will sit high in the water but will inevitably slam, and will cost you in fuel to keep her on the plane.
Try a few, if you can (qualification necessary to charter), before you buy.
fushion julz said:
Unless your prospective vessel is very large, it is entirely possible to moor it on the south coast for under £1k pa. and the south coast is the most expensive place in UK...other areas will be less!
Mine costs me £2800 a month in Ocean Village. I got a quote for Palma and it was €4000 Euros....Gents,
Thank you all so much, that’s exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for.
@cashmax, thank you for taking the time to compose such a lengthy reply, it’s really appreciated and I’m taking on board (excuse the pun
) everyone’s comments 
I’m in the South East and probably about 10-20 miles from a few coastlines. Dover is probably nearest for me and has the advantage that it’s not a problem tide wise. Ramsgate has tide issues, then there are a few river moorings out at Sandwich which lead out to the sea and various slipways including Herne Bay and all the aforementioned.
Thanks for the recommendations on boats, I’ll put up some links to the two types I was thinking of, nice as a Sunseeker is, I don’t think I’m in the right league to run one of those comfortably, as has been said, it’s clearly a labour of love and my passion is motorbikes.
I’m not overly concerned with engine maintenance and anti fouling is ok too, but anything to do with fibreglass/resins/leaks
etc I don’t have much experience with and exorbitant fuel costs would be too limiting, if a twin 200hp runs at 100L an hour that would sadly ruin me lol!! (I think anyway, how much is red diesel?? and do you just refuel at the Marina?)
I have plenty of space at home for a trailer boat and suitable vehicles for the slipway, but it’s not a route I’m keen to go down. If freshwater is much kinder, it’s possible to go river moored, but to access the sea would be tidal I believe.
I hear what you say about weather, between work and british weather, I’d hate to think how much actual use we could get, perhaps a trailer boat might be best, at least to begin with.
Thanks again,
Nito
Thank you all so much, that’s exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for.
@cashmax, thank you for taking the time to compose such a lengthy reply, it’s really appreciated and I’m taking on board (excuse the pun
) everyone’s comments I’m in the South East and probably about 10-20 miles from a few coastlines. Dover is probably nearest for me and has the advantage that it’s not a problem tide wise. Ramsgate has tide issues, then there are a few river moorings out at Sandwich which lead out to the sea and various slipways including Herne Bay and all the aforementioned.
Thanks for the recommendations on boats, I’ll put up some links to the two types I was thinking of, nice as a Sunseeker is, I don’t think I’m in the right league to run one of those comfortably, as has been said, it’s clearly a labour of love and my passion is motorbikes.
I’m not overly concerned with engine maintenance and anti fouling is ok too, but anything to do with fibreglass/resins/leaks
etc I don’t have much experience with and exorbitant fuel costs would be too limiting, if a twin 200hp runs at 100L an hour that would sadly ruin me lol!! (I think anyway, how much is red diesel?? and do you just refuel at the Marina?)
I have plenty of space at home for a trailer boat and suitable vehicles for the slipway, but it’s not a route I’m keen to go down. If freshwater is much kinder, it’s possible to go river moored, but to access the sea would be tidal I believe.
I hear what you say about weather, between work and british weather, I’d hate to think how much actual use we could get, perhaps a trailer boat might be best, at least to begin with.
Thanks again,
Nito
I have a 17' Dory Sportsman. Mercury 135hp V6 outboard.
Open boat but has a fold up cuddy at the front which covers about 1/2 of the boat & which I rarely use.
It's quick & very stable. According to the manufacturer's sticker on the side it's unsinkable. But they said that about the Titanic.
Being basically rectangular in shape & cathedral hull you have the effective deck space of a 'normal' shaped hull of 20' ish.
Problem with cathedral hulls is they slam going into wave & as a consequence the ride can be very uncomfortable and also wet due to the amount of spray resulting.
Open boat but has a fold up cuddy at the front which covers about 1/2 of the boat & which I rarely use.
It's quick & very stable. According to the manufacturer's sticker on the side it's unsinkable. But they said that about the Titanic.
Being basically rectangular in shape & cathedral hull you have the effective deck space of a 'normal' shaped hull of 20' ish.
Problem with cathedral hulls is they slam going into wave & as a consequence the ride can be very uncomfortable and also wet due to the amount of spray resulting.
OP, Where are you based in the South East? I was in your position a few years ago and decided to go down the RIB route. I purchased a 5M rib with 65hp outboard new for peace of mind. Depreciation is relatively low so it was a relatively low risk dipping our toe in the water of boat ownership.
We launch from the Varne boat club in Greatstone. Really friendly club with fishing and watersports. It’s location in the bay is very tidal but you can launch 3hrs either side of high tide which is long enough for us. We haven’t ventured too far (trips over to Hythe, Folkestone, Rye etc) and actually find ourselves spending most of our time local in the bay (fishing/wake boarding/skiing/seal watching).
Small enough to tow long distances easily. We’ve taken the boat on holiday to Cornwall several times.
Running costs are negligible. I don’t think we’ve spent much at all!
We’ve used it a lot more than expected (except this year for obvious reasons)
We launch from the Varne boat club in Greatstone. Really friendly club with fishing and watersports. It’s location in the bay is very tidal but you can launch 3hrs either side of high tide which is long enough for us. We haven’t ventured too far (trips over to Hythe, Folkestone, Rye etc) and actually find ourselves spending most of our time local in the bay (fishing/wake boarding/skiing/seal watching).
Small enough to tow long distances easily. We’ve taken the boat on holiday to Cornwall several times.
Running costs are negligible. I don’t think we’ve spent much at all!
We’ve used it a lot more than expected (except this year for obvious reasons)
I’m outskirts of Canterbury, Hythe and Folkestone are also nearby. Folkestone harbour is tidal I believe, no idea on Hythe.
I’ve been out on a rib, fantastic boats but the one I was on smashed around on landing over waves which is something I don’t want having had a ruptured disc in the back, can’t be doing much with any sudden jarring like that. I guess they come in different hull types?
So the boats I had in mind at the beginning of the thread was something like this; (this particular one is out of budget but possibly negotiable...) have seen similar from £25k, this one does seem to have a good provenance and works seems to have all been done properly...
https://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/Cruiser/sunsee...
And at the other end of the spectrum, a 19” cuddy, something like this, the actual one I was considering was 11k on facebook but can’t really link it here so this is similar, just newer...
https://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/Cuddy-Boat-for...
I have no idea about hull shapes so that is interesting regarding displacement and planing. Does beam also have a bearing on stability. The sunseeker ad says it has a deep vee Don Shead hull whatever that means!!
Thanks
Nito
I’ve been out on a rib, fantastic boats but the one I was on smashed around on landing over waves which is something I don’t want having had a ruptured disc in the back, can’t be doing much with any sudden jarring like that. I guess they come in different hull types?
So the boats I had in mind at the beginning of the thread was something like this; (this particular one is out of budget but possibly negotiable...) have seen similar from £25k, this one does seem to have a good provenance and works seems to have all been done properly...
https://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/Cruiser/sunsee...
And at the other end of the spectrum, a 19” cuddy, something like this, the actual one I was considering was 11k on facebook but can’t really link it here so this is similar, just newer...
https://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/Cuddy-Boat-for...
I have no idea about hull shapes so that is interesting regarding displacement and planing. Does beam also have a bearing on stability. The sunseeker ad says it has a deep vee Don Shead hull whatever that means!!
Thanks
Nito
Edited by NITO on Friday 3rd July 11:25
Edited by NITO on Friday 3rd July 11:26
Speculatore said:
Mine costs me £2800 a month in Ocean Village. I got a quote for Palma and it was €4000 Euros....
Wow... That is extrortionate...or you have a *very* large boat!Langstone Harbour charge approx £750 pa for up to 7.5m LOA on a deep water swinging mooring. If your boat can dry out, then, so long as you don't mind the tidal hour restrictions, you can get cheaper moorings in Chichester Harbour, too.
NITO said:
I have no idea about hull shapes so that is interesting regarding displacement and planing.
With a displacement hull your top speed is directly related to the length of the boat at the waterline. A 20' displacement hull will do about 6 knots max regardless of the size of the engine.
https://www.easycalculation.com/physics/classical-...
Yertis said:
That's the biggest hurdle crossed.
Good point lol! Well she is a petrolhead, and she grew up around boats and the sea, she loves being out on the water as do I and the kids do too. I'm sure she'd get involved in the maintenance too, with regards spring cleaning and cushion scattering, when it comes to the messy bits, I'd probably be on my own but that's fine too
GordonL said:
You might find this video on running costs useful OP.
https://youtu.be/YQ8kxp_I7o0
Interesting video. I’ve got a similar boat and pay about the same for mooring. I budget £500 per month and that covers everything and has led to a substantial reserve to cover big items going wrong or upgrades. https://youtu.be/YQ8kxp_I7o0
paintman said:
With a displacement hull your top speed is directly related to the length of the boat at the waterline.
A 20' displacement hull will do about 6 knots max regardless of the size of the engine.
https://www.easycalculation.com/physics/classical-...
Interesting, hence most motor boats being Planing hull then...the Sunseeker being a deep V for a smoother ride but I imagine requires more thrust than a shallow vee to propel it.A 20' displacement hull will do about 6 knots max regardless of the size of the engine.
https://www.easycalculation.com/physics/classical-...
Thanks
GordonL said:
You might find this video on running costs useful OP.
https://youtu.be/YQ8kxp_I7o0
Thanks Gordon, that'll be some home viewing tonight https://youtu.be/YQ8kxp_I7o0
The first thing which strikes me is that at 17" 90-130hp Dory is so difference to a 33ft Sunseeker with twin inboard 200hp Volvos!
It like saying I am thinking of getting a car, and I can't decide between a convertible focus or a range rover sport, and that is ignoring the cost of transport and berthing.
Obviously if you have the boat on a mooring bouy rather than a jetty, you also need to get to the mooring, be that a tender of your own, or using the harbour taxi service is their is one.
A larger boat has a lot of advantages in terms of more space onboard, likely a cabin, facilities like running water and electric light, typically heavier and with better sea worthiness. But that comes with a lot more costs in terms of purchase/storage/transport/maintenance. The fibreglass shouldn't be an issue unless you crash into something, but will need cleaning etc if left out in all weathers, deck fittings will corrode, plastic/rubber/fabric will perish etc. Where a smaller boat you can just hose it down and put in in dry storage and or your own garage.
If you can dump 30k on a boat, you are obviously not short of a few pennies, unless you are planning to take out a loan or marine mortgage for that but obviously nobody has bottomless pockets.
Daniel
It like saying I am thinking of getting a car, and I can't decide between a convertible focus or a range rover sport, and that is ignoring the cost of transport and berthing.
Obviously if you have the boat on a mooring bouy rather than a jetty, you also need to get to the mooring, be that a tender of your own, or using the harbour taxi service is their is one.
A larger boat has a lot of advantages in terms of more space onboard, likely a cabin, facilities like running water and electric light, typically heavier and with better sea worthiness. But that comes with a lot more costs in terms of purchase/storage/transport/maintenance. The fibreglass shouldn't be an issue unless you crash into something, but will need cleaning etc if left out in all weathers, deck fittings will corrode, plastic/rubber/fabric will perish etc. Where a smaller boat you can just hose it down and put in in dry storage and or your own garage.
If you can dump 30k on a boat, you are obviously not short of a few pennies, unless you are planning to take out a loan or marine mortgage for that but obviously nobody has bottomless pockets.
Daniel
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