MrsM

I painted our ash pole in foot wide stipes in the boat's colours. This was useful for quickly checking water depth. Primer & topcoats. It still looked like new when we sold the boat.

Point of order - thought baths were for storing coal!

These are lovely photos! How great that you kept this record.

Good luck. Hope everything goes well. Exciting times for you!

My mistake (now corrected)

Has this one been discussed? 120 yr old iron hull apparently. Looks tidy but no pictures of engine. Bathroom needs finishing (no pictures). Lister. On for £45k. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/356722374980?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=rp3xfeaqtd2&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=_pUp27oIR9u&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Saw this on eBay. 60' Tyler hull. Approx 2003-4. Sub £20k. A potential interesting project for someone? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326504798698?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=z8fHOknoT7a&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=_pUp27oIR9u&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I was taught to paint woodgrain and marble using a swan's feather and a soft badger brush many moons ago. Still have a bundle of them somewhere.

With respect I would consider that pretty poor research, but each to their own.

Sorry but I just don't agree. I clicked on the advert and easily found all the necessary info, including date of manufacture. However, there were photos in strange places! When you are seriously looking for a boat you pour over every detail available of any boat that ticks most of your boxes. A somewhat unconventional, amateur advert would encourage me to spend even longer checking it out as I would be hoping it might be a private seller who hasn't fully recognised what a decent boat he has and so a gem could be found for a good price (I think this is what happened when we bought ours).

Just in case it is relevant, we bought our boat privately from the deceased vendor's son. He paid for a experienced, but unofficial, boat handler to move the boat from the home marina to the lift-out marina. We had permission to accompany the boat. We ended up cruising the boat ourselves (under close supervision of course) which was invaluable. We also had ample time to test its handling and all the services (loo, water etc) and figure out what worked and what needed attention. After the survey (which we were present for) we were happy to buy the boat. We cruised it back to its home mooring and paid by bank transfer. Deed done and happy parties all round.

Do not expect there to be a formal written 'service history' like you get with a car (often in a special booklet). Many boat owners are able to service engines themselves. In this case, at most there might be a handwritten note showing dates of service and perhaps receipts for filters, oil etc. If the servicing has been done by a third party there will hopefully be receipts or invoices available, but there might not. Have a good look in the engine bay - does it look clean and tidy? Does the engine itself look reasonably clean, as if it has been tended over the years? Also, it is not uncommon for the LED engine hour readouts to fail. Ours often only appeared after we had been running a while and the instrumentation had warmed up. The mechanical counter should still be working though and it isn't too tricky to replace the LED display (I understand). I think the state of the engine bay is a good reflection on the overall state of a boat. Very best of luck with your search and welcome to the forum. I well remember the nerves and excitement.

This ⬆️⬆️⬆️ ⬆️⬆️⬆️ Do not agree. How can you possibly say that boats priced between £20k and £60k are over-priced?! We bought a fantastic and sound boat for sub £50k, which went up in value after we tidied it up (repaint etc). If anything it was underpriced.

It's quite alarming how material costs have increased since lockdown & COVID (even more do than labour). We see this in our house renovation work.