Hello from Lancashire

[shazants]

Hi All,

Over the last six months I have been contemplating joining you all in boating after never really doing anything along these lines before ( Ownershipwise)... I have been on boats and driven? Sailed? Piloted? Captained? small motor boats on lakes (sorry I'm not down with all the special words that are used in the boating world yet) also on some larger vessels like dive boats ( Advanced Open Water Padi Qualification ) / Ribs for Sea Tours etc .... and lastly have been a passenger on very large ships (not that this would help in anyway!).

So.... after much research on the old internet I thought it time to join a forum and ask the experts! So here we go.... I have many many questions and am sure I will have even more once you kind Sailors have answered all my queries and put me right on all the things the internet has provided me that aren't quite on the mark.

Ok so what would I like in an ideal world.... 4 berths / Head / Galley / Seagoing capable in most weathers (I don't mind a bit of rain/cold - however I am prone to motion sickness but this can be covered by medication and I do know that if i am Driving/or at least able to see the horizon i will mostly be fine ((unless really really rough but doubt very much i will be going out in that!)) / Covered/able cockpit / diesel engine(s) / seating for 6ish deck/cockpit area / will be mostly used for weekends and the odd week or two through the year (Still grinding work .. retirement is a long way off).

Now what i have found is that their seems to be plenty of suitable boats around that fit my budget (which at most would be £25k and if i am honest i don't want to spend anywhere near that on a first boat) even if some of them need a tidy up internally.... the main issue i have at the moment is MOORING FEES ..... I just can't justify paying the amounts that i have seen / been quoted ( I have checked at least 25 different marina's all over the UK ) .... the cheapest seems to be around £250 p/m = £2k per year (based on an 8m boat) + then the expense then of lifting out at least once a year for maintenance ( anti-fouling etc )/ winter storage..... Over £200 per month seems ridiculous for something i can only really use at best 118 days a year and knowing our weather I think i will be lucky to get 3/4's of that.

So then my thinking is ... ok why not trailer the boat.... however I am struggling to find anyone that recommends this ( I have really only spoken to brokerages @Windamere and a couple of Marina's around the UK ) I know that i will be limited a little in length from what i have just posted as ideal however i have seen some nice 5.5-7m length boats that I think would fit the bill for at least the first few years. What i am concerned about is where to launch and when and the costs/risks involved in that .... hence why i am here to ask you all.

What advice / experiences have you all had and would care to offer ... I really don't care if i have to drive an hour or two/five to get to where i want to sail/boat/motor etc ..... I live in East Lancashire so no matter what i have to drive to get to the wet stuff..... driving isn't an issue for me i have many years experience driving HGV's and smaller vehicles with trailers... having the correct vehicle to tow the max weight is a slight issue but i think i can resolve that pretty easily.

Ok i think for a 1st post that is enough of a wall of TEXT for anyone...... TL/DR = Noobie wants a golden flying unicorn boat with free moorings / slipways and perfect weather all year round!!!!

P.s. I will of course be completing some formal RYA qualification etc before heading out anywhere in my mythical boat alone

[Scrowe1976]

Hello and wow, loads of qustions....

mooring fees, it depends on whre you want to keep the boat. i'm on the east coast (goole/humber) and my 34 footer is £1200 a year mooring plus a river licence as shes kept on the aire and calder. do some digging, it really depends on what you want from a marina. there are chaeper alternatives.

if towing, what vehicle is towing? dragging a 6m rib or the like up slipways takes a bit of grunt, then wher do you keep it? driveway, boat park, dry stack...

i think you need to narrow down what sort of boating you want to do. day trips, use b&b's, then a rib on a trailer is great.

is you want to sleep on board, cruise for a few days at a time then obviously, youll want something bigger....on a mooring.

like all these things... you have to reconcile your needs.

not sure ive helped but good luck.

[shazants]

Hi Scrowe1976,

thanks for the reply, regarding what I want from a Marina.....nothing really except somewhere to keep the boat without having to pay an extortionate amount... I don't think I need shore power or a clubhouse / toilets etc.... All I am thinking of doing is turning up whenever I can and undocking then getting out on the water.

The sort of boat is definatley one that I can weekend on, doesn't need to be massive initially and can be a v-birth/table combi (if thats the correct term) with a small toilet/small galley.

As for the towing and storage, yes i was thinking initially keeping the boat on the drive, using a pickup/shogun/range rover etc to MAX Tow.... from the research I have done so far it looks like there is the availability of some suitable boats as described within the weight / length limits that i would have.

Looking at the price you pay for the mooring, that is far more reasonable than anything i have been able to find...Goole is only 1.5-2hrs from me which would be perfectly acceptable.... however how long would it take to get to the sea from there? How much would I be restricted by the tide on the humber if heading that way in/out?

[Scrowe1976]

The Humber is quite restricted due to having to Lock in and out. 2 hrs either side of high tide is the norm. the humber is vast so as a playing area its not bad.

to actually get out of the humber from goole onto the east coast is about an hour at 15-20kts ish.

the destinations are varied, hull marina, south ferriby, west stockwith, torskey, lincoln, selby, york, grimsby then out to coast, scarborough, whitby, wells next the sea, norfolk... plus the canal network which for a nice lazy mooch you can go all over... at least the canals mean that if the seastate and tide isn't on your side you can still go somewhere. loads of river side pubs and so on.

the tide is a pain with the locks but its no different than alot of marinas all round our coast line.

[Ianfs]

I wanted to welcome you yesterday and write up an answer, but for me to give a full and honest reply on my mobile, typing with one finger would have taken forever, so I've nipped up to my office today and can use two fingers on the keyboard.

Where to start, well it sounds as if you have done quite a bit of research and have had a reasonable amount of experience with boats and whether you owned them or not, it's the being out there which counts. I've always said experience beats theory hands down.

First of all' you can do boats on a budget and you may be very lucky, but eventually you may also get stung, so its always worth while having a nest egg put by. However, even the best kept boat can be very expensive if it goes wrong, so bare that in mind. Secondly, I doubt very much if you'll find a turn key sea boat which is capable of most weathers for your budget, inland maybe, but sea going unlikely. On the other hand you should be able to find something with minimal work (he said apprehensively) for 10-12k, which has 4 berths and can go to sea. However it will only be good on the sea in reasonable weather and if the truth be known when I sailed to Weymouth recently in a F5-6, even the 45 footer I was in, was being thrown around. The Nelson 42 which flew past at 20kts didnt even think there were 2m waves, it was rock steady.

There are a lot of members on here who trailer their boats, I dont see what the issue is, especially as you have an HGV, you can then look at larger tow vehicles. If you dont have access to a larger tow vehicle then in my humble opinion, it's important to have enough of a tow vehicle for the job.

A few more things, have you looked at a swinging mooring cost or dry stacks in your area? In addition, you've mentioned motion sickness, but you've skippered, piloted and sailed, have you ever been sea sick? It's quite important if you are thinking of going to sea as it can ruin your day and your ownership.

If you have any more details on what you fancy let us know.

[ChrisH]

Hi, I've trailered a 6.1m sportsboat, tried storing her on the trailer at a yard with ramp and also moored it on a drying mooring with limited tidal access using a drive on boat dock to save antifouling, and now I have a 7.5m I keep on a mooring.

What I have found is that I use my boat a lot more now that she sits on a mooring, with good tidal access.
I'm more than happy towing a trailer, even took her to Spain many years in a row, but I had to keep her 20 mins away in the wrong direction of where I wanted to go and found I had to plan a lot more to make sure I used her.

when stored on the trailer in the boat yard, it was a bit better, but I was a bit tide limited, but still you had to go, hitch up, launch, move the car and trailer and vice versa. Not a big deal , but the time does add up.
To be fair, the type of boat I had, open bowrider, did not help, the weather had to be right. So it's not a fully fair comparison with the cabin sports cruiser I have now, but I do find turning up, jumping on, few checks, and off we go, is much preferable for me

I have probably been in a journey similar to what you are about to embark on. And I have no regrets starting out trailering, and moving to different more expensive solutions over years, It was what I was comfortable with cost wise at the time, and as a result I learned what I like, don't like and what works best for me.,

So, nothing wrong with starting off with a trailerable boat, you can always move her to a mooring later if you want, and if you plan to have a range rover or the like I would imagine you will be able to source at least a 7m or more boat .

Good luck in your hunt.,