Sailing boats and motorhomes

[Jake Royd]

Had a small sailing boat on the South coast for 30 odd years.
Had a motorhome for 2, so relatively new to it.
I am reflecting on how similar they are on many respects.
Same excitement when planning a trip, same excitement when getting to it, being in it and arriving somewhere.
Lots of similar things like water tanks, had and engines etc.
Of course things like the actual journey are completely different but arriving in a new harbour/anchorage or pulling up to a new campsite/site are similar psychologically.

I gave the boat up when the expense got to me when I compared it to how much we used it. I still love sailing and boats but the motorhome is a reasonable substitute.

Anybody else recognise this process?
Must be something in the two for me...........

 

[pagey]

same damp problems

 

[Jake Royd]

same damp problems

Lot's of mould with boats, so far, no problems with the motorhome ?

 

[Figaro]

I got a motorhome and a kayak, does that count ?
Not sufficiently wealthy enough for a proper boat

 

[stevewagner]

Boat - stands for Bring Out Another Thousand!

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[Kingham]

I got a motorhome and a kayak, does that count ?
Not sufficiently wealthy enough for a proper boat

I’m in that club too

 

[Graham of Madrid]

Mate of mine bought a MH because his girlfriend didn't like his boat. They are now married but he's still got the boat. He goes there to 'escape' and do repairs.

 

[sallylillian]

We boated for 30 years+, the main difference to motor homing is that I no longer have to check the weather before I leave! ....or lie to my wife that the journey will be flat!

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Compromise....... used to race an Osprey dinghy. Towed behind the van for the championships and usually camped in the car park for the duration. Driving in traffic was a bit nervy because the mast used to overhang the boat and even with a marker and a light on was always worried about being rear ended. The mast was carbon fibre and cost a couple of thousand.......

 

[simbadog]

Be careful you don't get them mixed up, motorhomes don't float very well

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[David and Sally]

We had yachts for years until we moved inland. Used to love doing the Channel to France or the Channel Islands.

I know what the OP is feeling.

 

[Jake Royd]

We had yachts for years until we moved inland. Used to love doing the Channel to France or the Channel Islands.

I know what the OP is feeling.

Yes, I guess i'm thinking of the things that are similar and the things that are very obviously not.

The thrill of casting off in a boat is one I would like to feel again. It's a sense of finality, even though you can of course come straight back , but then wind and tide have to be considered.
Also of course telling embroidered tales about your sailing exploits.

BTW , my wide loves the motorhome and I think only tolerated the boat.

 

[hilldweller]

Anybody else recognise this process?
Must be something in the two for me...........

Yes indeed. We've had many wonderful holidays on hired boats and then started pondering boat or van. Van won quite easily in terms of cost and flexibility. Try getting a boat into the Sahara or close to Mont Blanc !!

Mind you, if legal, the boat would be a winner in Venice.

 

[autorouter]

Be careful you don't get them mixed up, motorhomes don't float very well

That's soooooo last century......

 

[nicholsong]

I had a sailing boat for 30 years until last year and have had the MH for 10 years.

I would have kept both but family ties do not allow enough time for both, especially because the boat has always been in Greece, so one cannot pop down to do a bit of maintenance.

The main reason for the MH is that one cannot take the boat Inland except the canals, and there have been so many places we have visited inside Europe with the MH.

As far as cost is concerned the cost of a boat in UK is probably much higher than Greece, where it cost about what I spend on the MH - I did many thousands of miles under sail not diesel.

Maintenance on a MH is easier - just drive it to a garage. Having had to take a big engine out of the boat and have it trucked to Athens and back was not so easy. I also had to take off the cylinder head and replace the head gasket on the quay, because my well-qualified engineer friend would not let me give it to a Greek in our tiny port to do - I had the workshop manual for bolt settings and tightening order and he lent me a good torque wrench.

Aesthetically I have probably been in many more beautiful 'parking spots' on the boat in Greece - and seen more bikinis on, and off, nice figures. But waking up on a wild spot with the Cuillins of Skye in front is also wonderful.

Although bobbing about in a safe anchorage is pleasant, there can be times when it blows up that it is stressfull, but the MH is more secure - even if rocking it is not going to hit the rocks.

Geoff

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[Barclaybasher]

Hard to beat the feeling when you turn off the engine and the sails take over, but as to getting places the MH is also hard to beat...

Downside - in bad weather you can park up in a MH, not possible in a boat - both van and boats are great but different....

 

[Spriddler]

I had a swinging mooring in Chichester harbour for 27 years and cruised both sides of the Channel, Spain, Portugal, the Azores, the Canaries and the Med round to Greece, mostly single-handed. The departures and arrivals were exciting but after about 15 years the bits in between became boring with nothing in sight for many hours on end.
After I gave it up seven years ago and bought a m/h I never underestimate the bonus in not being governed by the weather and tides and being able to stop virtually anywhere when I fancy a brew, food, go sightseeing, or to have a kip. It's also great to have the m/h in my drive instead of nearly two hours drive away, free parking instead of 3+ grand a year for a mooring and being able to get underneath without paying several hundred quid to have it craned out.

27' long keel Albin Vega. 'Te Arawa' (aka 'Tearaway').

 

[Burgo]

+ for the similarities. I do miss that feeling of freedom and calm when you get out of sight of the land, and the night sky when off shore. I don't miss heavy weather when short handed. All in all glad to have spent a few years sailing around Greece and Turkey, doing the Hamble, Cherbourg, Alderney, Hamble run at weekends and doing a bit of racing in both dinghies, yachts & even power boats, but happy now in the MH with the Memsahib and dogs.

 

[David and Sally]

We used to be moored on the Hamble.

 

[Bonkers the Dog]

I have a professional view of boats. I used to use them as a diver. I always thanked the maker that I did not have to pick up the maintenance or the fuel bill - crazy money!

I did once blow up a brand new Cat 8 lt V8 marine engine in spectacular style once. The boss blamed me for razzing it but it was later found to have a catastrophic failure. Phewww…

Caterpillar Europe gave him an immediate replacement, no questions asked. Mind you, he was the main purchaser of Cats and mercurys and small rental boats from them and theirs, so they had to keep him happy.

They are just a taxi to a dive site for me.

A friend of mine is a sailor and he used two phrases to warn of the perils of boating.

1 - "A boat is nothing more that a wood and metal lined hole n the ocean into which was is required to pour vast amounts of money."

2 - " The best two days of a boat owners life are when he buys a boat and then the next is when he sells it!"

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[Campervan_man]

I'm a Motorhome Technician and someone asked Me to Fit a diesel Air Heater to a boat.
A few different parts required to fit to a boat.
Differences I noticed :-
Boat rocks due to being in the water, van usually rocks when someone stands on the hab step.
Things swim or fly past in a boat. saw a snake swim by, black ducks fly by { ELY }.
Water always changing due to wind, weather or both.

 

[Jake Royd]

I remember some perfect sails and wonderful nights with a boat. I remember the sheer stress of bad weather as well!
Mine was only a 25 footer. Coming into Plymouth once with too much sail up downwind I realised I could not risk turning upwind to reef the main without perhaps rolling sideways in a trough and risking a capsize etc.
Many times like this.

You don't get those sorts of moments with a motorhome.

 

[ShaKen]

I’ve had boats for the last 30 years, starting with a 14ft speed boat and working my way up to a 30ft motorboat. I do all my own maintenance and love doing “projects”.

I got my first MoHo last year so we could spend more time travelling around Europe (would be bloody expensive to do in a motorboat!).

Without doubt MoHo’ing is much easier to do; no (major) concerns about weather, tides, whether your anchor is going to slip and whether you’ll end up on the rocks overnight.

Boating does give you access to some amazing places and sights you just can’t get from land.

But....MoHo’ing lets you experience much more of a country.

Saying that, I’ve hired a boat on the Canal du Midi for a week and that gave the best of both worlds.

There is a huge crossover in technology used between boating and MoHo’ing: Heating, Lighting, Water Tanks, Toilets, Shower systems, plumbing, 12v systems etc, so my MoHo is pretty familiar technically.

I expect I will sell my boat at some point in the future (to save some money), but for now I’ll try and get good use out of both experiences when I can.

 

[Spriddler]

2 - " The best two days of a boat owners life are when he buys a boat and then the next is when he sells it!"

3. "Like motorhomes and garden sheds, the perfect size for a boat is three feet longer than the one you've got".

 

[GMLS]

Had a small boat and was always intending to trade up to something bigger. The main issues for me were

Making tentative plans and then having to check the weather forecast before setting off
Relying on others to crew
Limitations on how far you can go in a weekend so more repetitive
The Mrs less keen that I was so not as inclusive than a motorhome

Must say, never regretted it

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[Jake Royd]

Had a small boat and was always intending to trade up to something bigger. The main issues for me were

Making tentative plans and then having to check the weather forecast before setting off
Relying on others to crew
Limitations on how far you can go in a weekend so more repetitive
The Mrs less keen that I was so not as inclusive than a motorhome

Must say, never regretted it

I always intended to get something bigger after several maulings by the weather over the years.
As you will know a larger boat is at once stiffer, more seakindly and faster.
But the economics and age beat me in the end.
We live 3 hrs driving from the coast and I tried a swinging mooring to save money but it did not work very well.
A marina worked at the end of a longish drive but cost well over £2k per year.

Now, I store my motorhome for £40/month about half an hours drive away which works well.
Planning the Nc500 this year and 3 weeks doing the Moselle and the Black Forest.

 

[Jake Royd]

...

 

[TheBig1]

I technically still have a boat, purchased 30 years ago for not much. Then poured thousands into maintenance and running costs. twin mercs that drank fuel like it was going out of fashion. she needed a refit so lifted her out and trailered her to a friends farm till finances recovered. Then I got married and the boat was history. still sat rotting on the farm as far as I know

motorhoming is SO much cheaper than running a boat and less likely to end in divorce

 

[Snowbird]

For several years I did combine the two.

 

[Garratt]

Yes, I gave up sailing to buy a motorhome and noticed many similarities. As others have said, there are pros and cons, but for me the biggest benefit of getting the motorhome is having my other half with me again. We started sailing together but her seasickness got slowly worse until I was single handed all the time, and the final straw was coming back from France in June and not taking the boat out again until the end of August. The boat went on the market and we bought our first motorhome in the spring of the following year. It is saving us a lot of money - storage fees of £550 versus over £3k!
I still miss sailing, but not all the cleaning and maintenance of the boat. My wife is happy, and we are free to explore inland regardless of the weather.

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