Dumb idea?

The One Doctor

I have a interest in boats (I've never sailed, only kayaked). Would it be silly to buy an abandoned small sailboat and do it up? Not for profit, just something to do at the weekends.

I have a small business making wood pendants, but it's quiet at the moment so have time on my hands.

If I did buy a project it'd probably stay in the water - I live in Balrothery so Balbriggan or Skerries is handy. Obviously if I completed the project I'd learn to handle boats etc before sailing it.

fergal.b

Well you have one good thing going for you I also live in Balrothery plenty of cheep boats about and even half decent ones, with a yacht you will be looking for good rigging and a good engine I would also stay away from wooden boats unless you have a lot of time and money to spend, not sure about Balbriggan but you will have a hard time getting a mooring in Skerries it's full to the point that they are mooring outside the safety of the harbour, Loughshinny might be an option but like Balbriggan you will need a boat that can be beached. Some of the others might have a better idea of the kind of boat as yachts are not my thing but I do know cheep boats tend to cost a fortune





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nokiatom

You never mentioned what size boat you would be interested in

The One Doctor

fergal.b wrote: »

Well you have one good thing going for you I also live in Balrothery plenty of cheep boats about and even half decent ones, with a yacht you will be looking for good rigging and a good engine I would also stay away from wooden boats unless you have a lot of time and money to spend, not sure about Balbriggan but you will have a hard time getting a mooring in Skerries it's full to the point that they are mooring outside the safety of the harbour, Loughshinny might be an option but like Balbriggan you will need a boat that can be beached. Some of the others might have a better idea of the kind of boat as yachts are not my thing but I do know cheep boats tend to cost a fortune .

Thanks Fergal, I have read avidly of your adventures, very impressive! I live near the Balrothery tennis courts.

I trained as a furniture restorer and design wood jewellery so I know how time consuming and expensive wood can be to work with, and although they look lovely there's just too much work involved in wood boats.

Honestly I have very little money for this but it's more a hobby thing to do when I have the time.

I get the impression (could be wrong) that boat owners spend most of their time in the boat moored doing odd jobs, the boats only get taken out a few times in the summer.

If you have any suggestions for places to look for boats, websites i can learn the basics of maintaining a boat etc, that would be a great help. I'm home all the time right now because the kids are out of school (and lockdown etc).

All suggestions welcome!

The One Doctor

nokiatom wrote: »

You never mentioned what size boat you would be interested in

Good point! Something like this:

https://afloat.ie/boats-for-sale/sailing-cruisers/907-albin-viggen-23-from-cby

nokiatom

The One Doctor wrote: »

Good point! Something like this:

https://afloat.ie/boats-for-sale/sailing-cruisers/907-albin-viggen-23-from-cby

Nice project boat but remember sailing is the more expensive side of boating. I reckon that boat needs to be floating at all times. It needs an engine and a trailer and sails and that's just for starters

fergal.b

The One Doctor wrote: »

Thanks Fergal, I have read avidly of your adventures, very impressive! I live near the Balrothery tennis courts.

I trained as a furniture restorer and design wood jewellery so I know how time consuming and expensive wood can be to work with, and although they look lovely there's just too much work involved in wood boats.

Honestly I have very little money for this but it's more a hobby thing to do when I have the time.

I get the impression (could be wrong) that boat owners spend most of their time in the boat moored doing odd jobs, the boats only get taken out a few times in the summer.

If you have any suggestions for places to look for boats, websites i can learn the basics of maintaining a boat etc, that would be a great help. I'm home all the time right now because the kids are out of school (and lockdown etc).

All suggestions welcome!

Most boats get launched at Easter and come out at the end of the season a lot of this is because this is the only time they can get insurance for them. Done Deal, Adverts and apploduck would be the main sites to look for boats you could also go around the marinas and sailing clubs most of them will have a for sale board.
Might be worth thinking about a boat you can trailer to start off with mooring can be a nightmare and every time the wind blows you will be worried about it :eek: another option would be Malahide marina but you would be talking big money for the peace of mind. There are boat handling and maintenance courses but I think they are on hold at the moment https://www.inss.ie/ YouTube is great for learning anything you want to know about repairing your boat and motor there are also a few treads here that cover just about everything.





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Mick Tator

The One Doctor wrote: »

Good point! Something like this:

https://afloat.ie/boats-for-sale/sailing-cruisers/907-albin-viggen-23-from-cby

The initial cost of a yacht often is the cheap part. A fixer-upper can be a money-pit for the unwary. If you don’t know how to sail you will make errors in a fixer-upper – guaranteed. (Like thinking that most boats remain on their moorings - per your comment above). Do a sailing course, get an idea first.

That boat above is overpriced even as a project boat. The advert also is extremely poor as the boat specs are wrong.

It needs an engine - minimum 4, better 6HP (forward & reverse gears) so €1,500k, it needs 2 sails +/- €1,500 plus roller reefing €1,000 or no roller reefing and two extras sails No.2 and No.3 genoa (costs the same but roller is better). Does that make/model suffer from osmosis? An insurer will want a survey +/-€500 before going on cover and at that age the rigging probably needs replacement – another €500 minimum. Want to avoid wintering charges ? You need a trailer, another €1,000. Boat has a fin keel so more awkward to launch/ trail.
You need a mooring (hard on the East Coast) or a marina (expensive anywhere!). You cannot trailer-sail a boat >6m, as launching and raising/lowering the mast and getting the tension right takes half a day. You can buy some of the above stuff second-hand if you are prepared to wait and, when you eventually get it not worry if it will work when you need it!

Forget woodwork, the bonus is that you can work with your hands – how are you on working with fiberglass? After a sailing course buy a smaller boat say 17 to 20 feet that needs some TLC rather than a fixer-upper and you will have fun.

nokiatom

Mick Tator wrote: »

The initial cost of a yacht often is the cheap part. A fixer-upper can be a money-pit for the unwary. If you don’t know how to sail you will make errors in a fixer-upper – guaranteed. (Like thinking that most boats remain on their moorings - per your comment above). Do a sailing course, get an idea first.

That boat above is overpriced even as a project boat. The advert also is extremely poor as the boat specs are wrong.

It needs an engine - minimum 4, better 6HP (forward & reverse gears) so €1,500k, it needs 2 sails +/- €1,500 plus roller reefing €1,000 or no roller reefing and two extras sails No.2 and No.3 genoa (costs the same but roller is better). Does that make/model suffer from osmosis? An insurer will want a survey +/-€500 before going on cover and at that age the rigging probably needs replacement – another €500 minimum. Want to avoid wintering charges ? You need a trailer, another €1,000. Boat has a fin keel so more awkward to launch/ trail.
You need a mooring (hard on the East Coast) or a marina (expensive anywhere!). You cannot trailer-sail a boat >6m, as launching and raising/lowering the mast and getting the tension right takes half a day. You can buy some of the above stuff second-hand if you are prepared to wait and, when you eventually get it not worry if it will work when you need it!

Forget woodwork, the bonus is that you can work with your hands – how are you on working with fiberglass? After a sailing course buy a smaller boat say 17 to 20 feet that needs some TLC rather than a fixer-upper and you will have fun.

Mick Tator you are 100% correct.

Tabnabs

If you're looking for a budget boat, I think there's value to had north of the border currently.
https://yachts.apolloduck.ie/boat/westerly-22-for-sale/531134
https://yachts.apolloduck.ie/boat/hunter-boats-19europa-for-sale/576617
https://yachts.apolloduck.ie/boat/hunter-boats-19europa-for-sale/575942

(No connection to broker)

spaceHopper

Not saying this boat but something like a leasure 23, bilge keel so can dry out on mud or sand. Might be able to crain it on to and move with on a car trailer. Made to be easy to sail..

https://www.adverts.ie/boats/leisure-23-sailboat/21544484

Look out for a boat that has good sails and has been well minded. Expecto to have to replace most of the ropes though.

A less dump idea would be to join a sailing club and crew for a while.

Mick Tator

A Leisure 23 would require a big SUV to go any distance. A Leisure 17 would be manageable with a family saloon (2L). I'm waiting to sell a small sloop at the moment, no point it putting it up due to travel restrictions. (Also need to do a bit of work on it, waiting for warmer/drier weather!)

FirstinLastout

Owning any boat is pretty much a dumb idea to begin with but don't let that stop you.

With travel stopped, and being due a "big" holiday last year involving visiting the sister in-law in New Zealand, we said feck it and instead sank the budget into an 23ft sailboat.
Not perfect but suitable for us to continue our learning on and building and developing our experience & confidence with hopefully taking a few overnight trips come the summer.

Have been sailing every opportunity since September; even today when I introduced one of my closest friends and his 8yr old son to sailing, it's been a blast... great decision thus far.
What was a day dream is now a reality, even if it's not quite a 44ft Rassy sailing a course towards Fiji... all in good time.
Only advice is to buy the best you can afford and something that you'll be spending most your time sailing rather than fixing.

The One Doctor

FirstinLastout wrote: »

Owning any boat is pretty much a dumb idea to begin with but don't let that stop you.

With travel stopped, and being due a "big" holiday last year involving visiting the sister in-law in New Zealand, we said feck it and instead sank the budget into an 23ft sailboat.
Not perfect but suitable for us to continue our learning on and building and developing our experience & confidence with hopefully taking a few overnight trips come the summer.

Have been sailing every opportunity since September; even today when I introduced one of my closest friends and his 8yr old son to sailing, it's been a blast... great decision thus far.
What was a day dream is now a reality, even if it's not quite a 44ft Rassy sailing a course towards Fiji... all in good time.
Only advice is to buy the best you can afford and something that you'll be spending most your time sailing rather than fixing.

Thanks guys, I had a choice between flying (paramotors) and sailing. Oddly, it turns out that flying is cheaper.

nokiatom

Medical expenses can be higher with paramotors lol

fenris

FirstinLastout wrote: »

Only advice is to buy the best you can afford and something that you'll be spending most your time sailing rather than fixing.

This!!!!

Especially for a first boat.

A sailing boat and a project boat may look similar but they really are not, cash sunk into a project boat generally do not add anything to the value of the boat as they are expended to get the boat to a place that it should really be in the first place.

A project boat is fantastic for building your skills on and is something that you can take a lot of pride in, however if you are not a confident sailor to start with and also confident in your workmanship, you will find that you rarely sail the boat under anything less than ideal conditions, so start with something seaworthy that you can sail safely tomorrow if conditions were right, there are plenty of project opportunities on any boat, but better to start with cosmetic projects rather than structural!
Every marina has boats that are constantly being worked on but never really move anywhere, which is grand if that was the purpose of the purchase, but for me, safe and seaworthy with an engine that starts first time is a must, that gives you a safety net if things go funky, the deal that I have with my kids or anyone that I bring out is that if they are uncomfortable we can drop the sails and head home even if we have only been out for 10 minutes, that means that the fear doesn't have as much of a chance to sink in and while the may feel a bit silly, they are more likely to come out again, when things will hopefully go better for them.