|
DaveAuld wrote: Just need to stop spending on astrophotography gear!
I don't know what sort of gear you have, but if expenditures on astrophotography gear are a concern, then taking up a boating hobby is not for you. 
I'm not saying this as a boat owner myself, but I think everyone will tell you owning/operating a boat is ridiculously expensive. I think most owners agree that "boat" is actually an acronym for Break Out Another Thousand...because nothing you do on a boat, no matter how small, will cost you less than that.
|
|
|
|
|
Your best bet is to have a friend who owns a boat that you go sailing with.
I started with a (friend with a) 30ft catamaran which was an exciting sail on the Irish Sea, especially in winter!
Later, I upgraded to a (friend with a) 44ft yacht on a lake/reservoir (deep brown muddy puddle) in Oklahoma. Due to being used to the Irish Sea (and thus being a lot braver than the owners) I got the fastest speed they had ever recorded and scared the heck out them! I got invited to go sailing again every time they wanted to scare their friends!
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
|
|
|
|
|
Yes! Best boat is an "OPB" ... Other Person's Boat.
|
|
|
|
|
I've had sailboats and now I have a small fleet of canoes and kayaks. I got into long distance paddling/racing with canoes over 10 years ago and never looked back. One of the cool things about the canoes and kayaks, is that they hold their value. People that purchase a used canoe/kayak can often resell it for close to what they paid for it even a few years later. There are tons of places you can paddle that powered boats can't reach and its good for you!
Hogan
|
|
|
|
|
You might look for a “boat club”.
They have some in our area that work out really nicely. For a price much less than a monthly loan note, you get x hours per month of time. Fill it up with fuel when you are done with it.
The club deals with all of the licenses, maintenance, berths, insurance, etc
You just schedule and go.
If you do want to purchase, consider a partnership as it is hard to use a boat every weekend.
Run the calcs on renting versus buying. Renting a boat seems expensive until you own!
|
|
|
|
|
So, now we should call you captain, captain?
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
|
|
|
|
|
No.....not until it actually happens!
|
|
|
|
|
Had a seven meter Norwegian "offshore" boat in my youth.
With a 200hp engine.
In my experience, the money sink was the tank.
You just simply couldn't run it cheaply, nor for very long btw. (But quite far actually)
Anyway, in my experierience you really need to have a "parking space" (whatever it's called in english) for your boat, otherwise there simply will be to much fuzz to get it in and out of the water and therefore won't be used very often.
|
|
|
|
|
The ones we have rented in the past was about 54 euros for fuel used during the day, with a few fast blasts and then steady cruising, in and out of lagoons and bays, covering maybe around 30 to 40km. That's was 250hp, Marinello 26.
And yes, I would be looking for one with a berth (parking space) already.
|
|
|
|
|
That's a much better boat than what I had.
It had an extremely v-shaped hull and a very high speed propeller, so it was basically full speed or nothing. 
But it was indeed very fast, just not for very long. 
I would definitely choose differently today. Marinello looks good to me.
|
|
|
|
|
I'm actually looking at something bigger, that was just what we would hire for the day.
|
|
|
|
|
In that case I would take a look at a boat with a diesel stern drive.
|
|
|
|
|
Cheers,
The one I have my eye on is twin 260bhp volvo penta stern drive.
|
|
|
|
|
They say you can see the stars better out at sea, but it's harder to steady the telescope.
It was only in wine that he laid down no limit for himself, but he did not allow himself to be confused by it.
― Confucian Analects: Rules of Confucius about his food
|
|
|
|
|
You also need a name for the boat.
Have you considered Boaty McBoatface?
The difficult we do right away...
...the impossible takes slightly longer.
|
|
|
|
|
Used to own a small yacht. Was fine when we lived somewhere you could sail most states of the tide, but when we moved to a harbour where the sea was less accessible it became "1. A hole in the water you pour money into."
Unless you really do plan to either sail/motor on rivers or lakes, and almost every day, just hire as needed: it will save you an absolute fortune.
I reckon that in out last year we made maybe four trips in total, all lasting much less than a day, and each one cost us well over £1000! Never mind all the time spent maintaining and cleaning etc - and that was on a fibre-glass vessel. Much worse if you have any wood (at all).
If you really love boating then fine, but if it has to be fitted in around work etc, just hire!
|
|
|
|
|
Mike Winiberg wrote: if it has to be fitted in around work
That's the best thing, I have 6 months holiday a year, and live in the sun kissed south east Mediterranean, so available time and weather in our favour.
|
|
|
|
|
Good!
If you have the time available then boating can be as uplifting an activity as anything, but if you don't it is just a money sink...
They say that the best two days of owning a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. 8)
That wasn't entirely true for us, but pretty close nevertheless!
|
|
|
|
|
They say you have two great days with boat ownership:
The day you buy it, and the day you sell it!
Joking apart, given your location, why not buy a sailing dinghy and learn to sail? It's reasonably easy to grasp the basics after which it's a skill you can improve at for a lifetime. And keeps you fitter than you might expect (depending on how high performance the boat is)
|
|
|
|
|
BOAT - Bring On Another Thousand.
Lived on a sailboat for 12 years and I can testify that is a true statement.
Fair winds bub.
|
|
|
|
|
For that content, I recommend www.yachtforums.com
There are a number of experts there who can give very good answers to all kinds of questions about Yachts.
One thing I should caution you on, is go small at first. Most people who buy boats end up leaving them at anchor most of the year and that still costs you money in the long run. Learn how to keep your costs down first (while maintaining safety) 
|
|
|
|
|
I believe it was an ex president who said "If it floats, if it flies, if it F^&&cks, rent it.
|
|
|
|
|
cavilling faction captures joint (9)
|
|
|
|
|
Ok we give up 
"I didn't mention the bats - he'd see them soon enough" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
|
|
|
|
|
To avoid an "Oi!", I decided to post it a little early. 
I will try to post it at 11:30 BST. I'm almost always up by then and will hold off so that the time is more predictable.
|
|
|
|
General 
News 
Suggestion 
Question 
Bug 
Answer 
Joke 
Praise 
Rant 
Admin 
Submit an article or tip
