Ahoy Sailors! Ex- and current boat owners.

[CaptainPaul]

Love boats

 

[barryd]

I had a couple of small four berth motor cruisers on Ullswater and Windermere many years ago. The first one on Ullswater when I was in my early 20s and then another one in the noughties for a fair few years which was moored on Ullswater in the summer and Windermere over winter. Did a lot sailing though as well back then from Dinghies to Sigma 38s.

Mrs D was never into them though so they were basically as another poster said toys for me and my mates to get pissed on and cause havoc. When the motorhome came along in 2008 I sold my last boat soon after.

 

[Diabalo]

Had 2 boats a Vivacity 20 and a McWester 26, I also used to regularly sail a mates Maurice Griffiths Noontide 32 the only one then built of steel by Conyer Marine, a lovely boat which was just a stretched version of the well know Eventide.
Gave it all up after having major back surgery, so been motorhoming for the last 20 years.

Don't miss being caught out in shitty weather or stressing out that I'm going to get on my half tide mooring on time and the constant maintenance.

 

[GerTee]

We migrated from a Wayfarer (2685) to ‘Rebellion’ a Kingfisher 20+ which was moored on the Hamble in the 90’s. Sold her as needed the cash. Not had a boat since, though I still get the odd hankering.

 

[Lizbiebrowne]

We learnt to sail on dinghys at Scaling Dam reservoir on the North York moors and then bought a Westerly Centuar which we kept at Whitby for a few years. Moved on to a Fisher 34 that we kept at Whitehaven and used it to journey over to Dublin, the Isle of Man and Kirkudbright and an annual fortnight trip to Scotland. Ended up finding a sheltered swinging mooring on Loch Melfort and moved the boat to there - lots of holidays around Mull, Loch Sunart, Coll, the Small Isles and around Skye. Sold the boat and moved to a motorhome when I retired. Lots of great memories and nothing can beat anchoring the boat in an isolated anchorage, turning off the engine and soaking up the serenity and views.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[ShiftZZ]

I'm reliably informed that Nobitz has a boat

 

[The Coops]

RYA Yachtmaster, Board of Trade Boatmaster, Powerboat and Offshore Rescue Instructor, Navigation Instructor, Qualified Meteorologist, RYA Rescue and Sailing instructor Tickets, all out of date as no up to date First Aid Ticket! And I don't like boats! Had a half share in a 28 Foot Jaguar and numerous sailing dinghys, gave up as very restricted by tides on the moorings and river plus silting up when shipping channels no longer dredged and bought a motorhome, its still like having a boat though, its something standing on the road instead of floating on the water that soaks up money and time!

 

[Lenny HB]

Only been a dinghy sailor, last boat was a Laser, apart from ferries not been on a boat for 15 years, sometimes miss it but don't miss pulling up the beach.
I was treasurer of the local sailing club for 20 years.

Motorhome may not be as exhilarating but overall more enjoyable & I get to play with the electrics.

 

[David and Sally]

Moody 33 Mk2. Sold many years ago due to moving well inland

South coast, France, Channel Isles.

 

[The Wino]

Had a Jeannaeu sun odyssey 32' until a couple of years ago. Had MH and boat simultaneously for 3 years. Sailed out of Chichester and Portsmouth harbours.
Mooring fees went up to about 6K a year plus all the associated costs. Sadly one of them had to go and as it was difficult to take the yacht to Spain and Portugal every winter the MH won.
Very sad day when she was sold and a few tears shed.

We thought it was expensive in Whitby until we heard a few stories about marina costs down south!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[PeterCarole29]

If you count Rhibs
count me in from 1995
Zodiac 3m with 40hp
Avon Searider 5.4 with 90hp
Avon Searider 5.4 with twin 40hp
Avon searider 6m twin 50hp
Shakespere 6.5 with 150hp
Ex military Pac 22 inboard diesel 150hp
Ex essex police boat with twin 225hp (purchased on behalf of Felixstowe coast Patrol) not mine strictly but had great fun with it
10 yrs voluntere attaining Coxaine with Felixstowe coast patrol Rescue

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Blimey!
Wayfarer number 33 must be from a similar era as the "Maloja" !
Mine was number 1309 and made in mid 1960's.

What is the 3rd one down? an 1990's OBO trading wet ?

Before the Hartley wayfarer came on the scene that was a competitive boat, max correctors and very light at the ends. For some reason () the centreboard case was solid mahogany and rather heavy. I bought her off John Parker who raced her for over 30 years and sold her after about 10 seasons racing. Never been rebuilt or even redecked. The best thing is that my old crew on there (now a RN lieutenant ) and I got together last year and tracked her down for him to buy to teach his kids to sail.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Blimey!
Wayfarer number 33 must be from a similar era as the "Maloja" !
Mine was number 1309 and made in mid 1960's.

What is the 3rd one down? an 1990's OBO trading wet ?

That was the SS Lauderdale, at the time the largest bulk carrier in the world 264,000 tonnes Dwt. Oil/ore carrier

 

[Nigel Crompton]

Dinghy sailor from age 5 (dad's light weather crew, GP sail #292), had my own Cadet (#3074) from age 10, sailed a Laser in my forties.
Retired 2010 and bought Liberté (18mx4.50m @45t) a converted 1924 Dutch Aak to live-aboard in Europe. One winter was enough so we got our first A class and spent subsequent winters in Iberia.
The Bursar wasn't comfortable handling Liberté solo if I were incapacitated so we moved onto a 13m steel cruiser.
Brexit put a stop to that so we sold Me and'er and emigrated to Spain in 2020

 

[TDub49]

I have seen many members posting that they used to have, or still have, a boat.

I would be interested in how many of us there are.

Secondly, it would be interesting to know why people progressed from boat to MH.



I have posted my answers before, but will repeat them here as a kick-off.

I bought a westerly 33 (built 1978) in 1987, sailed it down to the Aegean via the French canals and it stayed there. I then sailed the Aegean for near 30 years, but for the last years I overlapped with N&B Arto 69G bought in 2009.

I had two reasons for relinquishing the boat to a very good friend, and he still keeps it there. Firstly, the time needed to maintain the boat at that distance, and to enjoy both, was not available. Secondly, it is not practical to find competent maintenance people in the islands to take over that burden, to free up the time to use it. The new owner is competent in all things needed - motor, electrics, woodwork and GRP.

I shall look forward to all your answers.

Geoff

Trapper 501 owned for 18 years and sold when the co-pilot could no longer get about the boat like an olympic gymnast. Solent and beyond (France, Channel Islands, West Country etc). Bought our first (and so far only) motorhome with the intention of continuing the nomadic life and seeing things from shore-side. Still sail with friends who have boats.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[seasideBill]

I used to race enterprise dinghies in the ‘80s, then got the cat bug and moved on to Hobie 14 before other priorities got in the way. More recently owned a bilge hull Hunter 27 but felt a bit like throwing £50 notes into the sea! Rising cost of floating moorings around the Fal estuary and tendency of marina owners to pack too many boats in was the final blow

 

[robnchris]

Started out sailing dinghies back in the 60's bought a Miracle then raced a GP14 and Wayfarer's.
Did some work on fitting a bowsprit re-rigging and removing the stern decking from the Wayfarer it really flew along.
Then we bought a Newbridge Venturer, moving up to a Westerly Tempest which we kept in Holyhead Chris my wife didn't really enjoy sailing in the Irish sea and around the British coast line so we bought a Catalina 42Mk11 out in Levkas sailed around the med ended up in Gouvia Marina in Corfu when Easyjet started to fly in there.

 

[eddie]

After towing big RIB's down to the Mediterranean behind big RV's for years

we ordered a Doral Prestancia, which was fun but too small.

The broker we bought it from knew how to sell and had just received a Doral Boca Grande, which seemed to fit the bill

But still not comfortable or happy, I saw a Beneteau Swift Trawler Yacht when we were on holiday along the South coast in Brighton, so we ordered one of them

So do we still have a boat? No

Why?

Well at about the same time we (I) started hankering after the last one, we (my wife) got a dog. The new boat will be much better for Shadow, the new boat will be safer for the dog etc

But, the weather in the UK makes boating unpredictable, too much wind bad, too much rain bad, too much Sun, impossible but the number of Sunny days, especially when you work are limited to a handful of weekends

We got to the point that we were paying thousands of pounds a year in Marina fee’s Insurance, lifts, maintenance, before considering the cost of the boat, and jumping into the camper and spending a month in the South of France looking enviously at boats, before succumbing and hiring a RIB for a couple of weeks

We were sat with our mates (who’d also left their pride and joy in the clutches of MDL marinas) and did what you should never do, add up the running costs of owning a boat versus the amount of decent weather

So we decided that boat owning would be better done when retired, and you use it when the weather is good, not when you have time.

Sold our two businesses three years ago, now not home long enough to warrant owning a boat, again it would be a millstone, we “should” go down to the boat

So how do we get out boaty fix?

Well last year we took the RV to Holiday Marina in Port Grimaud, and had arranged to charter a 26 foot RIB for a month, cost £5k which sounds a lot, but realistically is under a third of the fee’s for the 42’ trawler (which was 44’ in fee’s terms)

We used the boat everyday in what must be one of the most fun boat areas in Europe, the Bay of St Tropez, had a blast, got our boating out of our system, came home had July and August in the garden, then September time off to Scotland.

So effectively 15 weekends for £5k much better value than nearly four times that amount to sit and look out of the windows and a grey, rain splattered sea and lots of other tied up boats in a Marina

 

[enark]

A “boat”…..



A yacht……



Back to your question, maybe the old adage about if you live more than 20 miles from the marina, you seldom visit? Has a bearing?

 

[Brains]

Had 2 boats a Vivacity 20 and a McWester 26, I also used to regularly sail a mates Maurice Griffiths Noontide 32 the only one then built of steel by Conyer Marine, a lovely boat which was just a stretched version of the well know Eventide.
Gave it all up after having major back surgery, so been motorhoming for the last 20 years.

Don't miss being caught out in shitty weather or stressing out that I'm going to get on my half tide mooring on time and the constant maintenance.

I had a Vivacity in the 1980's
I kept it at Mariners Farm down the hill from you.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[jennywren]

Interesting thread, I often thought there appeared to be a close correlation of people who sailed and those who went on to own a mh. Possibly a link with climbing and mountaineering to that we also share.

We owned a Westerly Konsort for about 12 years, first out of Devon and Cornwall and then kept her in Pembrokeshire for about 5 years. Many trips across to Brittany and Channel Islands as well as Scilly and Ireland and North Devon and Welsh Coast too. We also lived on her for 6 months with our two young children and sailed the Biscay Coast. Very happy days, used her alot, most weekends in the Summer. Our lads got into their sport in a big way so we were using her less and less, hence the reason to let her go in the end.

We still enjoy watching the yachts sail pass when parked up overlooking the sea (possibly one of the reasons we like to find a good coastal park up) and when amongst an idyllic sailing area (such as at present - we are on Islay), the thought of having a boat again is quite appealing, however, the winter maintenance is definitely not!

For those that still sail, please enjoy, we have many wonderful memories of remote anchorages and beautiful passages (and less so, of more adverse conditions!). Not too dissimilar to motorhoming in many ways, apart from the latter affording you the opportunity to pull over pretty much whenever you wish!

 

[Diabalo]

I had a Vivacity in the 1980's
I kept it at Mariners Farm down the hill from you.

I had both mine at Mariners then got a half tide mooring next to Gillingham pier and moved the McWester to there. It's a small world.

 

[nicholsong]

Ahem ....

Here is part of my team last weekend.

Canoes.
Being used for touring

Last summer we had 60 teenagers, 30 canoes, doing DofE Gold:
All travelling individually from Fort William to Inverness over 4-5 days camping as they went. No outside supplies (or adults)

We will have the same again this summer.
Canoes very definitely can be used for long distance multi day independent touring.


View attachment 1041432

A commendable venture - 'touring' yes, but 'sleeping in' not.

 

[barryd]

I just have this now. A sevylor Kayak. You boaties might find this capsize survival video extremely useful. In an emergency, would you know how to get back in your boat?

 

[jollyrodger]

Being in the right place at the right time:
Son was in St Mary's H Paddington a few years back
Stayed the week end in campervan and came across an add, boat for sale by tender moored at southdock marina.
To kill time went and had a gander .
turned out it belonged to an actor who had been sectioned ,boat had to go .
Not moved in 12yrs we were told .
Got on very well with the agent selling 1.5 bmc that nobody managed to get going I jury rigged a can of diesel and a touch of easystart engine ran well.
Long story short tendered sealed envelope £1
Found out I was the only one to tender
Had to go from marina so back load with Windsor transport and dropped into the oggin in plymouth new fuel tank fitted a good service and engine fired up no probs
No osmosis and a bit of a shake up inside
New kitchen foc from my mate at jobel kitchens
The sink end of line stock from b&q
Sold for a good sum a little later .then sold on again by my buyer
Wish I could do that every day
Was Dawn Mystic when I had her

Dawncraft Illusion 37 For Sale | Norfolk Yacht Agency | NYB75864

DAWNCRAFT ILLUSION 37 - 1980 - Powered by a single Perkins 4.236. 5 berth accommodation across two cabins with two toilets and one shower. BSC 01/22.

www.nya.co.uk

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[BigVtwin]

oooo great post

Used to mess around in dinghies - had a 13ft lark for a few years and some good memories (leaving Abersoch beach with off shore wind, spinnaker up, feet in straps and swung right out, flying!!!!)
Then on to crewing in bigger tubs out of Pwllheli marina...

It's still a dream of mine to own a floating MH and bugger off round the med, but unfortunately the idea never gets past the Chairman of the board (the missus)... so i am left to watch Youtube and dream and pray

What did make me laugh, was being pitched up next to a lovely couple in Spain last year. Turned out they had sailed halfway round the world, and then shipped their boat back to the UK, sailed for years with kids on board, really did the Full timer lifestyle. needless to say there were a few libations and some great stories told.

The bit that makes me laugh, is his connection between boating and MHing.... always looking for your next place to stop, always concerned on drinking water (and/or waste water) and always concerned about battery power/solar power... He said we just swapped marinas for Camp sites

 

[Razamataz]

We started boating 1980 in a 17 foot Bath Tub with a brand new 55 yam!
Then Shetland 570 with 85 yam… absolute speed machine!
Cruisers Rogue 2470 v8 petrol …. Even faster and Moocho in fuel
Cruiser 2670 bigger and wider … far more stable and less wobbly when moored.
Then my favourite Fairline Targa 30
….. just an absolute pocket rocket… kept that almost 10 years.
Got most of my £90000 back…. Gave me the confidence to tell my boss where to GO!!!
Most of time spent on little more than a wee puddle…. Loch Lomond became our go to place for 28 years.
Still absolutely love boats….. we are in Santander Aire parked in Marina… next to a fair line 48

 

[nicholsong]

Being in the right place at the right time:
Son was in St Mary's H Paddington a few years back
Stayed the week end in campervan and came across an add, boat for sale by tender moored at southdock marina.
To kill time went and had a gander .
turned out it belonged to an actor who had been sectioned ,boat had to go .
Not moved in 12yrs we were told .
Got on very well with the agent selling 1.5 bmc that nobody managed to get going I jury rigged a can of diesel and a touch of easystart engine ran well.
Long story short tendered sealed envelope £1
Found out I was the only one to tender
Had to go from marina so back load with Windsor transport and dropped into the oggin in plymouth new fuel tank fitted a good service and engine fired up no probs
No osmosis and a bit of a shake up inside
New kitchen foc from my mate at jobel kitchens
The sink end of line stock from b&q
Sold for a good sum a little later .then sold on again by my buyer
Wish I could do that every day
Was Dawn Mystic when I had her

Dawncraft Illusion 37 For Sale | Norfolk Yacht Agency | NYB75864

DAWNCRAFT ILLUSION 37 - 1980 - Powered by a single Perkins 4.236. 5 berth accommodation across two cabins with two toilets and one shower. BSC 01/22.

www.nya.co.uk

If agent was on commission he must have been pissed off with tender price of £1

 

[Deep Owl]

In a previous life, I had a 11.6m steel Stevens cruiser ( a real gin palace, so beautiful) on the Thames based at Shepperton. The plan was to take it over to the French canals after retirement, but plans changed! In 2008 the river licence was £4000 quid a year, and getting more each year, plus running costs (add a 0), so it had to go.

A couple of years later, the new “we” were sitting in the Côte d’Argent restaurant in Calais, overlooking the aire at the ferry port mouth. We were fascinated by the motorhomers bustling about; we went to the NEC that October “for a look” and bought one there and then for summer 2011. We’ve never looked back.

 

[cyberyacht]

Started back in the sixties with an Enterprise, followed by 5-0-5, Fireball, Int Moths then on to a plywood Debutante. Mid 70's built a 27 ft Macwester Rowan Rose from a shell. In the 90's had a Mirage 27 followed by my final boat an LM30 motor sailer. As I got older the work side of it outweighed the fun and coupled with OH's lack of enthusiasm, we bought a caravan which was replaced by a motorhome seven years ago after we sold our Spanish apartment which we'd had for fourteen years. As has been said, there are many parallels, the upside of MH's is the absence of scrubbing and antifouling. Too old and slow for bouncing decks now.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}