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Questions as Usual from a New One


mattc

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Going to be getting our first boat.

 

But have more questions than answers. So please excuse them, any help appreciated

 

Want a boat about 60ft and reverse layout, semi trad as this gives more room?

 

But from looking at what available at the moment its hard to find what we want.

 

Would we be better off buying second hand and refitting? or Buying a sail away and fitting out?

 

What is a rough cost per feet to fit out myself?

 

Going to be a live aboard and must have two fixed bedrooms by the way.

 

Thanks in advance

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If you have the ability to fit out yourself, then this is probably going to be the best option.

You will get exactly the layout you want and, as your labour is 'free', you will be adding value to the boat.

However, when you sit down with a sheet of paper and draw out your requirements, the first job will be to reduce the length from about 95' back down to 60'!!!

There is a lady on this site who used to build boats for a living - embarrassingly I cannot remember her name, but I'm sure somebody will be along to remind me. Talk to her about acting as a consultant - I have no idea on numbers, but my gut feeling is that she will save you more than she costs in planning out the build.

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Personally I would try to buy something that is reasonably close to your wish list and live with it for a bit, rather than launching straight into a refit. With a first boat, you may well think you know exactly what you want but often folk change their minds substantially having lived with their first boat for a while. If you need 2 fixed bedrooms that will be the key point. I suggest it matters less whether it is reverse layout or not.

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If its the maximum cabin length that you want then a trad rather than a semi-trad will give you an extra four to six feet of internal space.

 

As to the cost of fitting out yourself, well that rather depends on the materials you intend to use, for example granite worktops cost more than B&Q ones.

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Personally I would try to buy something that is reasonably close to your wish list and live with it for a bit, rather than launching straight into a refit. With a first boat, you may well think you know exactly what you want but often folk change their minds substantially having lived with their first boat for a while. If you need 2 fixed bedrooms that will be the key point. I suggest it matters less whether it is reverse layout or not.

 

 

I suspect Nick has been reading my posts on this subject! My views in a nutshell.

 

Buy any old boat and use it for a year. Your views on what you really want will have totally revised themselves, I predict.

 

And reverse layout is not widely liked. Have a guess why not?

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I'm with the others who say that you don't know what you actually need until you've been boating a while. Get something that is good enough, and move on when you have a clearer idea.

 

I believe that the person that Mike Tee is referring to is Ally. She is a former boat builder/fitter who now does design consultation.

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If its the maximum cabin length that you want then a trad rather than a semi-trad will give you an extra four to six feet of internal space.

 

As to the cost of fitting out yourself, well that rather depends on the materials you intend to use, for example granite worktops cost more than B&Q ones.

But the extra 4 to 6 feet that you will get is not useable living space, taken up by engine access, battery bank etc albeit below decks so to speak. For example my 60 footer is semi trad and the rear "cockpit" as such has bench seats either side (sociable) and under one bench seat is the battery bank, the other contains 2 gas bottles. This arrangement gives very easy access to both the battery bank and the gas locker.

Not saying this would suit everyone but works for us.

Phil

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But the extra 4 to 6 feet that you will get is not useable living space, taken up by engine access, battery bank etc albeit below decks so to speak. For example my 60 footer is semi trad and the rear "cockpit" as such has bench seats either side (sociable) and under one bench seat is the battery bank, the other contains 2 gas bottles. This arrangement gives very easy access to both the battery bank and the gas locker.

Not saying this would suit everyone but works for us.

Phil

The difference between a trad and a semi trad is that with the former, although the space is still occupied by the engine, batteries etc, there is also a fair bit of storage space that is inside the boat is warm and dry. Also you can work on the engine etc in the dry and warm. On the other hand the semi-trad is more sociable. So it just depends on which is the more important to you, room for "stuff" or room for people outside at the back.

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I suspect Nick has been reading my posts on this subject! My views in a nutshell.

 

Buy any old boat and use it for a year. Your views on what you really want will have totally revised themselves, I predict.

 

And reverse layout is not widely liked. Have a guess why not?

 

Reverse Layout is really popular with leisure boaters, idea is that man drives boat and good wife stays below in the galley making food but still within earshot.

You plan to liveaboard. If you are serious then wife drives boat and man (usually stronger) works locks. At the end of the day the boat stops and whoever is the best at cooking does the cooking.

Trad stern and engine room is best!

 

..............Dave

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As the owner of a re else layout I can give some good reasons why it works better for a liveaboard. Number one reason is that the stove tends to be in the middle of the boat giving far better heat distribution. Number two reason while wife :) is busy doing the locks it is easy to pop down and make a cup of tea

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Want a boat about 60ft and reverse layout, semi trad as this gives more room?

 

A semi trad is just a cruiser stern with sides. (Others have given guidance)

 

But from looking at what available at the moment its hard to find what we want.

 

Completely normal but think why what you want, is not out there, could it be unusual, not the norm, it does not work

 

Would we be better off buying second hand and refitting? or Buying a sail away and fitting out?

 

Fitting out, refitting are not to be taken on lightly, you want two bedrooms so I guess more than two people will be on-board so I would suggest that re-fitting would be a no,no.

Also the boat will need to be very close to where you live, it will take longer than you think and cost a lot more as well

 

What is a rough cost per feet to fit out myself?

 

That is very open and depends on the level of quality you want to go to, again it will be more than your estimate

 

Going to be a live aboard and must have two fixed bedrooms by the way.

 

That I suspect will be rare, unless an ex hire boat, difficult to get into 60' and have enough room to live in during the day

 

Now to go smiley_offtopic.gif and some more things to think about before getting a boat, where will you moor it, if not Continuous Cruising and if CCing can you comply with C&RT requirements. Assuming it will be on C&RT waters

 

A link: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/a-boat-of-your-own

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And reverse layout is not widely liked. Have a guess why not?

 

The suspense is killing me Mike. Why?

 

(To me it's always made sense that your most-used door, i.e. the one at the stern, should bring you directly into your most-used living space, i.e. the galley and saloon, with the bedroom being somewhere you go at bedtime rather than somewhere you trudge through continually in outdoor shoes.)

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Going to be getting our first boat.

 

But have more questions than answers. So please excuse them, any help appreciated

 

Want a boat about 60ft and reverse layout, semi trad as this gives more room?

 

But from looking at what available at the moment its hard to find what we want.

 

Would we be better off buying second hand and refitting? or Buying a sail away and fitting out?

 

What is a rough cost per feet to fit out myself?

 

Going to be a live aboard and must have two fixed bedrooms by the way.

 

Thanks in advance

 

My DIY skills are non-existent, but even if you're competent in everything from joinery to plumbing and electrics, fitting out a boat is a big, big job that will occupy you for many months (or more likely, years) when you could actually be boating, and you'll be paying for your mooring, license etc. that whole time. Fair enough if you positively relish the work itself, but pretty daunting if viewed simply as a means to an end.

 

Boats with two fixed bedrooms are certainly the exception rather than the rule, and reverse layouts with two fixed bedrooms will be rarer still, but there will be some out there (including ex-hireboats) if you keep your eyes peeled.

 

I noticed this boat on Apollo Duck the other day: fixed double plus fixed single, with the fixed single at the stern and the saloon at the bow:

 

http://narrowboats.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=416790

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But the extra 4 to 6 feet that you will get is not useable living space, taken up by engine access, battery bank etc albeit below decks so to speak. For example my 60 footer is semi trad and the rear "cockpit" as such has bench seats either side (sociable) and under one bench seat is the battery bank, the other contains 2 gas bottles. This arrangement gives very easy access to both the battery bank and the gas locker.

Not saying this would suit everyone but works for us.

Phil

Phil, my first share boat wasa semi-trad standard, mid galley layout with gas bottles at the rear as you describe, whilst the second was a reverse layout semitrad. My current boat is a trad with a wide hatch.

 

Its horses for courses, and all have different pros and cons.

 

The semitrad (or cruiser) is more sociable if you want more than one person on the rear deck, but loses out on dry storage for bits and pieces.

 

 

Mid-galley works well as a liveabord, and reverse layout gives quicker responses to requests for cold beer or hot drinks :). If the reverse layout has a front bedroom with two benches, it can be used as another lounge area or a bedroom. It also means that if you have small children they can go to bed early without being disturbed whenever someone wants to watch TV.

 

Hopefully the OP will look at several layouts and choose one based on his requirements, rather than just choosing a style without giving it much thought.

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