- Jul 28, 2021
- 1,579
- 12,161
- Funster No
- 83,033
- MH
- Rapido Dreamer PVC
- Exp
- Minimal
Hello all
and a quick intro. As a long time nautical family in 2017 we bought ourselves a Swift Caravan as part of a long planned family chug from Plymouth where we have the boat moored to Leith via the east Coast using the caravan as accomodation for changing over crew for different legs of the journey. After ridiculing the build quality for a while we consoled ourselves with the fact that at least Swift did not make boats! But in fairness the Caravan was absolutely fine, did the job for the 12 weeks and everyone enjoyed the caravan. It has been used by all and sundry since so it turned out to be a good buy. However for our next cruise project next year we have had plenty of time to assess what we need. The Caravan became a bit of a faff moving off every couple of days and we were not able to park up in Marinas for the night whereas PVC's seemed more welcome for a modest cost if visiting moored craft overnight. So now the Caravan is sold for nearly what we paid for it, such is the market, and we are on the point of ordering a PVC which has the size and flexibility we think we all need. We have decided on the Rapido Dreamer Living Van with 160 hp, 9 speed Auto, heavy chassis plus a load of options. Time will tell how we get on with it but it is the layout which replicated our Swift which worked for us and will be more nimble to get about in. We are also hoping the PVC will be less prone to moving about when on site. I am drawn to hydraulic jacks for their convenience despite the cost equating to 12 months mooring fees. I have lurked about this and other forums gleaning absorbing various views on them . So my first question, of many I suspect, is do Hydraulic Jacks reduce movement when deployed on site?
Thanks in anticipation of your experiences.
and a quick intro. As a long time nautical family in 2017 we bought ourselves a Swift Caravan as part of a long planned family chug from Plymouth where we have the boat moored to Leith via the east Coast using the caravan as accomodation for changing over crew for different legs of the journey. After ridiculing the build quality for a while we consoled ourselves with the fact that at least Swift did not make boats! But in fairness the Caravan was absolutely fine, did the job for the 12 weeks and everyone enjoyed the caravan. It has been used by all and sundry since so it turned out to be a good buy. However for our next cruise project next year we have had plenty of time to assess what we need. The Caravan became a bit of a faff moving off every couple of days and we were not able to park up in Marinas for the night whereas PVC's seemed more welcome for a modest cost if visiting moored craft overnight. So now the Caravan is sold for nearly what we paid for it, such is the market, and we are on the point of ordering a PVC which has the size and flexibility we think we all need. We have decided on the Rapido Dreamer Living Van with 160 hp, 9 speed Auto, heavy chassis plus a load of options. Time will tell how we get on with it but it is the layout which replicated our Swift which worked for us and will be more nimble to get about in. We are also hoping the PVC will be less prone to moving about when on site. I am drawn to hydraulic jacks for their convenience despite the cost equating to 12 months mooring fees. I have lurked about this and other forums gleaning absorbing various views on them . So my first question, of many I suspect, is do Hydraulic Jacks reduce movement when deployed on site?
Thanks in anticipation of your experiences.