How old were you when you got your first boat?

[KingRichard]

What did you get?

Was it a long term plan, or did you buy your first on a whim? What got you into the hobby?

I've always had the seed planted in my mind, and I'll probably get something that can fit on a trailer before too many years pass. I just wondered what makes all you boaty PH'ers tick

I'm 25 now. It looks like you can get something that looks great for about the £10-15k mark. How much for one that could reliably get you to the South of France and back? Nothing mega, just capable of crossing the channel and hugging the coast for a few days.

Oh, and feel free to post some boat porn too

[KingRichard]

I may as well start...

[Mahatma Bag]

this is my current fantasy

[ALawson]

Always wanted a Swan 65, an absolute classic



Oh first boat was a yellow hulled Lazer "the bionic banana", last seen in Dubai Sailing Club 1988.

Edited by ALawson on Wednesday 22 August 18:38

[Schmalex]

I was 6 when my dad bought me a Cadet, pushed me out into the River Hamble & said "get back here". I shit one, then quickly figured out how it all worked & haven't looked back since. Been racing for about 25 years & won many regatta's & Offshore trophies.

[dcl5ah]

I was 21 when I bought my first a Simms Super V with an Evinrude 65hp outboard, all starded when I hired one of the little motorboats on Windermere, who would have thought that those slow little boats would be the fastest thing on the lake now.

Ash

[Walter Wallpaper]

KingRichard said:

What did you get?

Was it a long term plan, or did you buy your first on a whim? What got you into the hobby?

I've always had the seed planted in my mind, and I'll probably get something that can fit on a trailer before too many years pass. I just wondered what makes all you boaty PH'ers tick

I'm 25 now. It looks like you can get something that looks great for about the £10-15k mark. How much for one that could reliably get you to the South of France and back? Nothing mega, just capable of crossing the channel and hugging the coast for a few days.

Oh, and feel free to post some boat porn too

I got into the hobby on a spontaneous long -term whim. I purchased a bargain sloop with a beatiful hull for c. £12,690 including Sky TV and www.Jizzbomb.com on stream, and TBH I have been hugging the most delectable things by the love handles available around the Mediteraeneanmostit coast for the past decade. Soon I'm sure to go blind, the ammount of punami I've gandered leads only to one thing....CrackEyedPipeGlyComa.

I've seached the web and cannot find any cases of boats actually perving eachother so boat porn is a no-no thus far.

As a boaty PH'er, a bottle nose dolphin makes me ..................tickle my tum!!

[Rum Runner]

Topper at the age of 10 .

[KingRichard]

So most boaty PH'ers are windbags eh? What about the speedboat/yacht fraternity? Any aboard HMS Piston?

I'm thinking that getting a cool boat won't be too much effort. If I budgeted say, £20k to buy a boat, then bear in mind that they do chew through the old jungle juice... Would I have to worry about much more than that?

I take it that short sea hops aren't that bad these days what with GPS and what-not. What sort of size boat do you need to do it in any sort of comfort? Fast is good. As is flash

Any suggestions?

[Schmalex]

KingRichard said:

So most boaty PH'ers are windbags eh? What about the speedboat/yacht fraternity? Any aboard HMS Piston?

I'm thinking that getting a cool boat won't be too much effort. If I budgeted say, £20k to buy a boat, then bear in mind that they do chew through the old jungle juice... Would I have to worry about much more than that?

I take it that short sea hops aren't that bad these days what with GPS and what-not. What sort of size boat do you need to do it in any sort of comfort? Fast is good. As is flash

Any suggestions?

Power Boats certainly do enjoy the juice. I used to own a Farline Targa 27 with twin Mercruiser 4.5 V8's, that cost the thick end of £350 to fill up & got about 75 miles to the tank flat out at 43 kts (only took 1.5 hours to get to Cherbourg from Lymington though - the quickest I have ever done it in a racing yacht is 6 hours).

Mooring costs are not cheap - I used to pay £6k a year for the marina.

Servicing is not cheap either - even though the Mercruiser parts were just GM, everything had to be marinised & cost a fortune.

Personally, I wouldn't do a channel crossing in a power boat less than 26 feet & even then, only on a mirror calm day. Pissing about in the Solent or where ever is completely different - I'd take a 12 footer out with no worries whatsover (weather dependant).

[Tunku]

Started on Sunfish and Catfish at about 8 YO, going solo. Before that, Dad's 30' ketch and his shared pilot cutter. That cutter was a beaut.

[thewave]

Optimist aged 6, Dad sent me out for first time in a bit of a breeze, I sailed straight into the side of a moored cruiser!

Have been in various boats since I was literally weeks old, there's a photo of my on my grandad's lap in a Waveney OD (Keel Boat) when I was something like six months old, people would go nuts now!

Up until I had the oppy, they used to tie a rope around me, and use me as a water boy - I had to pump the boat out lol!

Races in the Mirror Nationals at the same time as the oppy as a crew.

Finally gave up sails about 10 years ago, fed up trapsing around the country every weekend not seeing friends etc. Parents gave up sails at same time, moved onto Motor Cruisers, last one a princess 460. Gone now, as parents divorced, shame, because it was nice posing on Daddies Yacht

[Louis.]

I am with Schmalex regarding nothing less than 26 foot and a mirror sea condition !

[Nic Jones]

Got my first Mirror aged around 11, then bought a proper racing one at 15, sold that at 16 and bought the 200.

Fancy a new toy now though!

[BigBazza]

Been around boats ever since I can remember, Windermere every weekend from when I was a toddler until they banned fun.

Bought my own this year, rainy day syndrome, went looking round showrooms, and by the end of the day i'd bought one!!

Chaparral 1930SS bowrider, she's beautiful, fitted a wakeboard tower and she is everything to all people, fast, safe, kids love it. FANTASTIC!

[ALawson]

Louis. said:

I am with Schmalex regarding nothing less than 26 foot and a mirror sea condition !

I know someone who took a canal barge across to france! Longer than 26 foot but he was ex Royal Navy WW2 and it was mirror sea.

[BigBazza]

ALawson said:

Louis. said:

I am with Schmalex regarding nothing less than 26 foot and a mirror sea condition !

I know someone who took a canal barge across to france! Longer than 26 foot but he was ex Royal Navy WW2 and it was mirror sea.

Taken a few barges into tidal rivers and its NOT a nice experience, never mind crossing the bloody channel!

[sawman]

bought my first enterprise when I was 16, worked all summer after my o levels to pay for her. swapped around a bit over the years in a number of one design racers, finally lifted a national championship aged 34.

Ive recently sold my RS vareo, and have now moved to canada finding myself an hours drive from a 250 mile long lake with no boat! although I have a cunning plan involving an ice boat and a very warm suit!

[Johnniem]

KingRichard said:

So most boaty PH'ers are windbags eh? What about the speedboat/yacht fraternity? Any aboard HMS Piston?

I'm thinking that getting a cool boat won't be too much effort. If I budgeted say, £20k to buy a boat, then bear in mind that they do chew through the old jungle juice... Would I have to worry about much more than that?

I take it that short sea hops aren't that bad these days what with GPS and what-not. What sort of size boat do you need to do it in any sort of comfort? Fast is good. As is flash

Any suggestions?

Broom Capricorn with the 5.3 ltr V8 Mercruiser and Bravo 1 Z-drive. Try to get the hull second hand and go to a good mercuiuser dealer and have a V8 lump dropped in. Also, go for the stright thro' exhausts, you'll foul your pants (As will everyone for hundreds of yards around!). Not an hunely fast hull but you'll probably get 50 knots out of it when calm. 9 - 12 galls an hour but you can ski all day on a tank. And boy is it a gorgeous looking boat when it is in the water. The TVR of the waves! I had one until early this year and needed a TVR to make me feel better!

£20k would buy you a great boat. I was actually thinking of dropping a marinised AC Cobra into mine but bottled it!

[jvaughan]

started off in an avon SIB .. 3 meter inflatable, with a 4hp engine !!.. ahhh the early years !!!