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Buying that first boat


Minos

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Today I crawled all over a 52' Trad, BSC to 2014, nasty tiles in the kitchen and those windows definitely need replacing. Who puts household double glazing units on a NB????

 

However, the fit out was just right: a double bed, a shower cubicle & Thetford and four kitchen units - all separated by a couple of walls. A stove in the saloon - but nothing else. Exactly what we need, as we have to fit some disability specific stuff. Because it was relatively empty, it looked perfect for us to adapt.

 

It's in budget, and it is just the sort of thing we are looking for. Not for living on, but for weekend breaks and the occasional longer holiday (up to 6 weeks) with three kids.

 

But we're still saving hard. And it's only the second boat we have really looked at, so I'm not buying it on principle. I want to crawl over a lot more boats and learn more first.

 

What else should I look out for?

 

For example: this boat was out of the water, and the hull newly blacked. But it looked like the blacking had been painted over a partially stripped base. Is that all right? What am I looking for in a decent hull?

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Thanks, Martin.

 

If the boat broker has provided a survey, would you trust that?

 

no - your surveyor needs to be independent from your seller and the person brokering the sale.

 

Others on here may not agree.

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Today I crawled all over a 52' Trad, BSC to 2014, nasty tiles in the kitchen and those windows definitely need replacing. Who puts household double glazing units on a NB????

 

However, the fit out was just right: a double bed, a shower cubicle & Thetford and four kitchen units - all separated by a couple of walls. A stove in the saloon - but nothing else. Exactly what we need, as we have to fit some disability specific stuff. Because it was relatively empty, it looked perfect for us to adapt.

 

It's in budget, and it is just the sort of thing we are looking for. Not for living on, but for weekend breaks and the occasional longer holiday (up to 6 weeks) with three kids.

 

But we're still saving hard. And it's only the second boat we have really looked at, so I'm not buying it on principle. I want to crawl over a lot more boats and learn more first.

 

What else should I look out for?

 

For example: this boat was out of the water, and the hull newly blacked. But it looked like the blacking had been painted over a partially stripped base. Is that all right? What am I looking for in a decent hull?

The money to buy the boat. I don't understand how you aren't buying on principle when you say you are saving hard.

Sue

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What Circe said (I would be suicidal to ignore my wife...) and I just wont buy the second boat I ever looked at without looking at a lot more first.

 

I did that with a car once, and was royally screwed.

 

Right now I don't know what I doing or what I am looking for. I can tile, decorate, service an engine and maybe even replace boat windows. It's a start...

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no - your surveyor needs to be independent from your seller and the person brokering the sale.

 

Others on here may not agree.

I agree. You want someone who is independent but, is acting for you, as you are paying their fee. You can use any defects found as price bargaining chips (providing it's not a 'Don't touch it with a barge pole' moment). It's a buyer's market at the moment so there is probably no hurry to commit.

Roger

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no - your surveyor needs to be independent from your seller and the person brokering the sale.

 

Others on here may not agree.

 

Tough call. I bought a boat with a 'recent survey' I knew the surveyor and trust his work.

 

Reading it carefully and crawling over the boat satisfied me enough not to spend around a grand having another.

 

Others on here may not agree.

 

Today I crawled all over a 52' Trad, BSC to 2014, nasty tiles in the kitchen and those windows definitely need replacing. Who puts household double glazing units on a NB????

 

However, the fit out was just right: a double bed, a shower cubicle & Thetford and four kitchen units - all separated by a couple of walls. A stove in the saloon - but nothing else. Exactly what we need, as we have to fit some disability specific stuff. Because it was relatively empty, it looked perfect for us to adapt.

 

It's in budget, and it is just the sort of thing we are looking for. Not for living on, but for weekend breaks and the occasional longer holiday (up to 6 weeks) with three kids.

 

But we're still saving hard. And it's only the second boat we have really looked at, so I'm not buying it on principle. I want to crawl over a lot more boats and learn more first.

 

What else should I look out for?

 

For example: this boat was out of the water, and the hull newly blacked. But it looked like the blacking had been painted over a partially stripped base. Is that all right? What am I looking for in a decent hull?

 

 

It might be worth stating your budget, the forum can turn into a right old Phil and Kirstie experience !

Edited by RichardH
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If we save for longer, then we may get a little more versatility in what we can buy.

 

or pay for a survey saving you a lot more longer term..

 

Tough call. I bought a boat with a 'recent survey' I knew the surveyor and trust his work.

 

I'm not getting any sense they have your experience though...

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Tough call. I bought a boat with a 'recent survey' I knew the surveyor and trust his work.

 

Reading it carefully and crawling over the boat satisfied me enough not to spend around a grand having another.

Well, you do know an awful lot more about boats than I do.

 

It might be worth stating your budget, the forum can turn into a right old Phil and Kirstie experience !

The budget depends on whether you ask Circe or me. She thinks we have almost fifty grand. I suppose if we cut her shoe budget we might...

 

Seriously, £25k or thereabouts. Obviously the longer we save and don't spend on mooring and licences, the more we will have for the boat. And we are looking to buy in the next couple of years.

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Our first boat was the second one we saw because it ticked most of the boxes and we knew we might not find anything better.

Sue

 

I'd go with this. If you know what you are looking for (and it's not a narrow beam version of the QE2 for less than 20k) you will know when you've found it, Ripple was moored next to the boat I was viewing, Juno was the 3rd boat (and the first viking) we viewed

 

edited to add: I knew Ripple was sold about half way through the test cruise for the buyers, I could see them look at each other and both agree "it's this one, let's not look any further"

Edited by magpie patrick
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Thanks, Martin.

 

If the boat broker has provided a survey, would you trust that?

 

It's quite common for buyers to buy recent surveys from sales that have fallen through for one reason or another. There's absolutely no reason you should not trust these surveys if they've been commissioned by a previous would be buyer from a reputable surveyor.

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When we bought Lily Maud it had recently had a hull survey. We asked the surveyor to assign it to us which he did FOC. We then just paid for an interior survey, which did not show any serious problems. we have owned her now for about 18 months and the only problems we have had were;_

1) wobbly floor in bath room under carpet tiles. Not spotted by our surveyor. Where previous owner had cut a section out of the floor and not refixed properly. Now cured.

2) Very strangly wired battery system. Partially cured by changing wiring.

3) Alternator tension bracket locking stud thread stripped in engine casting. Helicolied, stud and nut fitted.

4) Cannot think of no 4.

So all in all I am still pleased with our purchase. A little too high a buying price. But better to pay too much and end up with a good boat than pay too little and end up with junk and more expense. (Who did say that originally? Was it Dickens or Johnson?

 

It's quite common for buyers to buy recent surveys from sales that have fallen through for one reason or another. There's absolutely no reason you should not trust these surveys if they've been commissioned by a previous would be buyer from a reputable surveyor.

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