I can understand the diesel costs now. But they mostly never went any where before. Though in the early days of the forum, loads of us went places and a few still do. Now I can understand little boats cant go far, but passed 33ft they can mostly go anywhere with in a bit of reason. Boats in the various marinas we've been in, seem to troupe out, then back again on the next tide. Where as we go out and may be away for a few weeks. Yep it has things to do with work. But I could still talk to customers, even if it ment climbing a hill in Ireland. In those days it did not stop us, but now there are marinas most every where. I hate the things. But anyway. I have had many cruises of 600 miles or more. None of them with much difficulty. Whats the point in having a boat and not going any where, except the folly inn. Yep been there a few times to. But why do most boats never leave the marina and if they do, it's a mile out then back again.
Why is Solent to the West Country thought of as a big deal. Get to Dartmouth then go back. Like it's the end of the earth or something. How come we fit that in with a cruise to the CI's, France and then Solent, before back to Plymouth. How come were now back in North Wales. Now doing Ireland IOM and other places again with the old P 35. Is it that other boats arnt up to it and not built like they were, or is it the folk. The navigation is mostly point and go. There are few excusess.
So why dont most boats go any where, is it fear or something else.
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No one can force me to come here. I'm a volunteer!!.
I visited a marina in the USA a few months ago, and it was obvious that many of the boats parked there were simply floating condominiums - and why not?
Even a very comfortable and well appointed motor cruiser would cost significantly less than a pigeon hole in a block of flats ashore, and there is still the option of going somewhere if desired for a change of scenery.
Combine this with marina fees considerably less generally than on the south coast of Britain and one can see why these floating condos are so popular.
Oh, and fuel in the USA is probably half the cost of what it is in Britain.
But maybe the floating apartment is popular in Britain as well? You don't HAVE to go anywhere, but you can if you want to have a change of scene.
I think lack of confidence. I spent the summer training up a guy (for free rides) who had bought a 50ft yacht as his first boat. It never went out. He had never even anchored, could not turn the fridge on, did not know how to fill the water up etc. He did know how to sail though, just not prepare or look after a boat!
And this is the main issue. In the past most people started with a small boat, learn't the ropes and then moved up in size. Now 34ft is a small starter boat. Boats are more complex as we have more toys and so people are scared to use them.
People focus on careers/family/mortgage and then one day realise they have a dream to own a boat and the money to buy a good one. They do not have time though. So off they go and buy the big boat but do not spend the time to learn about it or how to handle/run/fetle it. End result lots of boats do not go anywhere.
I bought my 45ft yacht and on the first trip the bow thruster broke. I could still put it into a med style berth no problem as I have been doing it (allbeit) on smaller boats for years. A newby would have no clue! I even decided not to get the bow thruster sorted until I am very sure how to handle her without!
In my Marina the Sailing boats go out a lot, but the Power boats are holliday cottages in the sun.
So, Too much money, too little time, lack of experience and no passion! I intend being out Saturday and Sunday....wind 12-15kts, 20 degrees and sea state slight! Got two seperate crews lined up as well...
Paul
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Boating is the only thing that keeps me sane!
I guess I consider Solent- West country a cruise. Why dont we do it more often, or further? Time,weather and fuel, really, and I guess the type of boat we have.
Regards time, we both work, so it isnt possible to just bu**er off for some days,as its all to do with whats going on, and getting cover at work ..*2 . Then neither of us care to battle on for hours in poorer conditions. Gotta sat F4/5 for four or five hours in quite physical in this boat(well, guess I could slow down, but then might as well get a Nimbus!)
Depending how far west we go, its £1k in fuel.. fine if we have time to spend down there, but its just not worth it (to me) for a w/end.
Having said that, we use the boat every w/end form March til Oct, but mostly day.. w/end boating, and the Solent is great for that.Sure if we had great weather,we d probably take some longer trips, but on the spur of the moment boating isnt very feasible for us. But I dont feel I m missing out somehow, just bcz I m not roaring off some distance.
I think there is a definite speed and distance relationship. The slower the boat type the further they travel so I guess its a fuel thing. sailing boats, displacement and semi displacements on average travel further afield and fast planing boats have the narrowest horizons. this is prob down to the owner's intentions. If you intend to travel far and wide, you buy a boat that can do this without costing a fortune. This leaves out most big planing boats and explains why so many of them wallow in the marinas.
it all depends on the nut holding the steering wheel, doesn't it ?
Some ain't up to it; others get stuck in, partly sink, cover the boat in gore, axsphyxiatify ancient castles, explode bogs, live on broth for months, leave crewmembers on the pontoon over night, post videos of attacking warships. It's amazing that they find any time to log sea miles at all.
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I think, therefore I am. I am, therefore I sail.
In the past most people started with a small boat, learn't the ropes and then moved up in size
Thas a really good point.........
I started sailing (mirror Dingy) when I was about 15 and that taught me how to sail. Fortunately the company that I worked for had five yachts around the country and I moved up to the bigger stuff. In order to do so I had to go and do RYA courses, be vetted by the organisation and prove I could handle the boats safely before I was allowed to take one out.
Many people go stright into Mobo's thinking it is easier than a sail boat and have no or very limited knowledge about the sea.
Now I'm based in the Menia Canal I watch people that never go passed the ends of it (Puffin to Abermenia) and I feel that is a fear factor more than anything else.
The other point I find is that when travelling around this area there are limited resources (marinas) as safety havens, and I know you have an anchor?? but many prefer to tie up and sleep at night. Compare the North West to say the Clyde and you now have an area that supports (kind of) cruising, many places in the Clyde have ports about a 4hr sail-cruise away without the difficulty of strong tides and overfalls.
The other point that prevents people cruising is the cost of mooring in marinas (and yes I know we have anchors) but lets face it our weather conditions are not suitable for travelling on the hook, we normally find that we get a lull between each low and sometimes it may only be a day or so before the next low takes over. In the States they have what is called reciprocals, which means if you belong to one marina you get a free night in another one, you pay for the second I think!! but what that does is it makes travelling around more acceptable and brings in a little revenue to the marina with pumpout, fuel, restaurants, drink and food bits and bobs ect! Wouldn't that be a good idea for our marinas to participate in.
So why don't people go anywhere............ Time Cost and weather!
Tom
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I wish I'd been born rich instead of good looking ?
with the old P 35. Is it that other boats arnt up to it and not built like they were, or is it the folk. The navigation is mostly point and go.
I put it down to seating plans being designed for boat shows.
My Princess 360 ( note flybridge seating here http://www.icvideo.co.uk/felix.html ) is more or less the same as your boat but the few years between had already seen 'boat show seats' added throughout the range at that time.
Back rests are too low.
Everything spins round in order to turn into a drinks lounge, great for boat shows and marinas, but you know exactly what is going to happen as soon as you find yourself in an afternoon sea breeze off a headland.
As you lean forward to grab a rail the back rest smacks you in the back and makes a noise like the boat is shacking to bits.
It leaves a choice, get a bigger boat ( not really as the whole range has these boat show seats)
Stay in the marina so the wife and kids don't get frightened as you round the headland
My choice was to simply add a press studded strap to lock the back rest in place while at sea.
A petty design issue such as that sorted for a pound or two and is removable without trace.
Newer boats deteriorated further , the fairline wrap round seats are unbelievable for a so called seaboat.
Even sealine who I have a lot of respect for in finding space with interior designs lack any secure seating for crew, back rests are not much more than waist height.
I always thought the new colour plotters were so easy to use there would be massive increase in boats cruising, its so easy compared to the old paper charts and Decca days.
Weather forecasting is so easy now with the advent of mobile broadband Lap tops, perhaps some cant understand how to interpret them ?
I don't think the weather has really deteriorated, we have set holidays and only ever twice not made our planned destination, two years ago and 15 years ago.
You mention the west country, I would like to try the Scillys but when I look at the mileage it makes more sense to head South to the warmer, closer Channel Islands with cheaper fuel and berths, even France offers better value and reduces the chance of being storm bound.
Boats need to be fitted with ample bucket seats and handy grab rails in order for all the crew to feel secure offshore.
Time and size of my old boat prevented me from long cruisers, but plan to be away far more next year with my new one...and its a bit less that 33ft....but probably more able than most.. I don't really agree that a lack of confidence is a common issue that stops people using there boats....perhaps some...who knows!?
I don't think I am alone in that I also simply enjoy being on my boat, and frankly I don't really care where! I like getting out but as I have to work 5 or 6 days a week I don't get a chance to just down tools and go away for a week or two whenever I feel like it. Most people have to work for a living to afford a bloody boat... certainly I do and its a tough world at the moment.. so yes, I do use my boat I guess more than most but I do also consider it a holiday home.
My parents who also keep their boat at Mercury are beside a beautiful Swan 53. It arrived 18months ago (brand new), the owners have been down to it twice last year for weekends only, not once this year.....Now obviously this is something else again.... wealthy owners needing a yacht as whim? who knows... a skipper comes down and cleans it every few weeks... but that's it.
Helped my mate get his Binliner 285 lifted at Penton Hook yesterday. Looked round the sales pontoons and some of the boats around there have not moved for years, its like some sort of GRP graveyard...very sad.
Boats need to be fitted with ample bucket seats and handy grab rails in order for all the crew to feel secure offshore.
my boats interior.... certainly NOT designed for boat shows!!! Out last Friday in some rough stuff and everyone found somewhere to wedge themselves...whilst we played submarines!
I guess no one answer, but I figure also that for some folks the reality does not quite measure up to the brochure or simply that a boat is one thing amongst others - and not the overriding passion.
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Posted by downthecreek:
You are a prolific producer of offensive and gratuitous drivel
Location: Unfortunately in the office and not on the boat
Posts: 22
We keep our boat in Mallorca and every summer until this one have cruised for 3-4 weeks to other parts of the Med. This summer due to the current recession cannot afford the time to leave the office as probably would not have a business left to come back to !
That being said a lot of boats out there are used purely for social occasions ie out of port round to the next bay drop the hook and drink/swim/ socialise (which there is nothing wrong with) or as a holiday home.
I think it is also fuel costs which scares the whole lot of people
this year I did not do any hundred miles plus trips to Sicily, hopefully next year will do this
another problem is the expense of marinas when u go to Italy for me and start to pay for 100 EUROS per day for a ten metre is not nice too
so u have to budget like a max of 10000 EUROS to do a nice trip IMO
We have been in a similar position to Firefly, size of previous boat restricted the distances we could go. As we now have something a little bigger it has opened up new horizons for us but we will still be restricted by a lack of time except for holidays. I can't operate my business from a hill in Ireland, those who can are very fortunate.
We are also restricted by a lack of experience as we are relative newbies and building up slowly rather than jumping in and putting lives at risk.
Personally, I don't have a problem with peeps using their boats as floating holiday homes if they wish, after all if everybody in Conwy, or PD come to that, were keen to get their boat out at every opportunity the area would be mayhem.
Live and let live I say in this particular case, and I'm not know for being overly tolerant!
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'I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered! My life is my own!'
I think another factor could be over planning. People tended just to turn up at the boat on the basis of a vague weather forecast and head off dealing with whatever came along. I know all we used to do was listen to the coastguard forecast on vhf.
Now with the internet it can be a combination of a dozen different forecasts, webcams, live weatherstation reports and opinions on forums even - seen it on here "What's the weather like at ....., is it worth me driving down to the boat?"
Perhaps we just need to head down to the boat and look out of the window and head off. I know we have a tendancy to sometimes not set off in conditions that we wouldn't have thought twice about ten years ago, in a smaller boat as well. Perhaps we just get softer when we get older.
__________________ Warning - Internet forums may contain nuts
Live and let live I say in this particular case, and I'm not know for being overly tolerant!
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Oh, I'm not bothered what folk do. It just seems a bit daft to spend 100 K +, then 5 grand or so in marina fees, to have a boat thats not used or not even visited in many cases.
Would the same folk book a world cruise, then be quite happy if the ship could not be bothered to leave Southampton.??
Most places it's quite easy to go some place with a pontoon, instead of an expencive marina. Why do folk need expencive marinas when they do venture out?? Even in winter a little Honda genny sorts the heating and TV out, so it does not have to be 40 quid a night.
It's just that I thort, having a boat was about visiting different places and having adventures. Suppose I must be wrong.
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No one can force me to come here. I'm a volunteer!!.
It's just that I thort, having a boat was about visiting different places and having adventures. Suppose I must be wrong.
Nah, you're not entirely wrong, I can't see much point to having a boat without intending to use it either.
All I'm saying is folks as do want to use 'em are sometimes limited by lack of time and, if they're going to be honest, ability.
I suspect as others have said, there is a fear factor which creeps in for many also. Some have a bad experience which puts the wind up 'em and puts 'em off going out at all, but they still like to be afloat in the safe confines of the marina.
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'I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered! My life is my own!'
yes onto back to my point
I still use the boat gone out nearly every weekend from May till September Friday to Monday
this year instead of the usuall 1 week to 2 weeks around Italy in beginning August I stayed running around the Maltese Archipelago, mostly Gozo and Comino for nine days and that was fun too
surely much less an expensive and less a thrilling one too, but none the less relaxing, was spoiled a bit by a small problem in the anchor winch in the middle of it
hopefully next year will be Eolian Islands, or inside the Italian shoe in the Ionian Sea we will see when it comes the time....
[*]Lack of Time for more than day hops = buy a smaller boat less to ten metres
[*]Cycle of life - Active boats can become less active as family and life circumstances evolve or change (ie kids grown up, new babies, etc) = go to an old people house
[*]Lack of confidence and fear after an impulse purchase = idiot
[*]Lack of experience = you will get it
[*]Lack sense of adventure = every day is an adverture actually
[*]Lack of funds = yes those come scarse even to me
[*]Spouse wants to stay in or near homeport due to past scare in a bit of swell = divorce or tie her to the bow in some real
conditions
[*]Blinkers (ie boats can only be parked on serviced jetties with 240v) = soloar panels, portable gennies etc
[*]Limited ability due to lack of training or experience = if you want u learn
[*]Some thought a boat was just a floating caravan = in US they do something similar to this but not our EU boat, but a boat is a totally different experience actually I hate the comparison dont know why
People are all different and that determines how they use the boat. We moved up to a 30 foot plus size but still basically go to the same places we did in our 21 ft. Most times we only travel 4 to 5 miles from our home berth and then return in the evening. We have travelled further but mostly stay local. We enjoy the local beaches (Poole) with 2 young Kids, then back to the berth and enjoy the evening with good friends on the pontoon.
Also as previously said people use boats as floating holiday homes, spend time aboard but dont move, again we do this, just the change from home is good. Cant see the problem.
We dont have a problem (Now !!) berthing the boat or with navigation on longer trips, we just enjoy what we do.
Boats are just toys, so long as it puts a smile on the owners face, job done.
In my case I tend to be solo with limited time & usually have bits to fix on board, which means I need to be close to shops for tools/ parts etc & limits my time for sailing for fun. Alternatively I have inexperienced family members (including grandchildren) so I tend to anchor off beaches where I can dry out & they can play on the beach.
Long passages with kids are a constant stream of "are we thare yet?"s. It isn't easy to get a pair of 6 year old boy-girl twins to show much interest in a chart & passage planning. It works for about 25 seconds at a time on average. I managed to get my kids counting jellyfish for a 12 hour Irish Sea passage once. Fishing will keep 'em busy for about 10 minutes but requires 30 mins to set up & 2 hours to untangle after.
On the other hand, digging sandcastles & catching shrimps on a beach entertains them for hours, - as does crab fishing off the slate quay in Caernarfon while I examine the merits of various fine malts. Which explains why I don't go far these days.
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Boaty junk clogging up your shed or lockers? Chuck it in Marinaskip
In my case I tend to be solo with limited time & usually have bits to fix on board, which means I need to be close to shops for tools/ parts etc & limits my time for sailing for fun. Alternatively I have inexperienced family members (including grandchildren) so I tend to anchor off beaches where I can dry out & they can play on the beach.
Long passages with kids are a constant stream of "are we thare yet?"s. It isn't easy to get a pair of 6 year old boy-girl twins to show much interest in a chart & passage planning. It works for about 25 seconds at a time on average. I managed to get my kids counting jellyfish for a 12 hour Irish Sea passage once. Fishing will keep 'em busy for about 10 minutes but requires 30 mins to set up & 2 hours to untangle after.
On the other hand, digging sandcastles & catching shrimps on a beach entertains them for hours, - as does crab fishing off the slate quay in Caernarfon while I examine the merits of various fine malts. Which explains why I don't go far these days.
Yep, but I count that as doing something, going some where. I can understand folk doing things different with kids or when I had to be back at work by Monday. I'm not getting at folk or blaming them for something, I'm not telling them what to do. You have nothing to feel guilty about.
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No one can force me to come here. I'm a volunteer!!.
Location: chasing some sunshine - or a cold beer - or both
Posts: 880
I consider myself a pretty dedicated boater, but often don't feel that I have "been anywhere" by which I mean that I am generally forced by circumstances to visit the same old haunts season after season.
I work an 80-hour week at work most weeks Mon - Friday. Saturday is spent generally doing stuff with the kids and chores and maintenance that needs doing at home. Sunday is "my" day.
The boat is 130 miles from home - about 2.5 hours down the M25/M3 if I put my foot down. Sunday I'm up and out of the house by 6:30 to be at the marina by about 9 - stopping en route to pick up essential supplies like beer and the Sunday paper. I get an hour or so to prep the boat, do essential maintenance, etc and then its engines on and queue for the 10:30 bridge to get out.
Options out of Poole Harbour entrance are turn right for Studland, Swanage, Chapman's Pool or Worbarrow Bay - or turn left for B'm'th or further afield to the Solent, Yarmouth, Beaulieu etc - all within a couple of hours at cruising speed. The further you go the earlier you have to up anchor in order to get back again at a reasonable time, so the less time you have to relax and enjoy it when you get there. If we aim to get back in on the 6:30 bridge, by the time I've refueled, berthed and tied up, given her a wash down, and made all ready to leave for another week, its 9pm. We then have a 2.5 hr+ drive back home to get in for midnight and start the cycle all over again. The time I get to just "sit and relax" on the boat is my own "down time" that I get in the whole week.
Last year I did this 22 weekends, and went down another 4 times just to run the engines up when it was too cold and poor weather-wise to go out. Additionally we did take our 2 week summer holiday aboard, and did our only long trip - down to Falmouth for the regatta, only to be rewarded with the two worst weeks weather in August during living memory. The family were all of the "never again" opinion when asked if they wanted to holiday aboard this year.
This year I have done only 20 trips down to the boat since she went back in late in March. We've also had 5 long weekends aboard - inc 3 great ones in August this year, allowing longer stays in Mercury, Island Harbour, and Weymouth, but all our longer distance trips we had trips planned - Cherbourg and the CI - had to be cancelled due to bad weather or mechanical problems.
I would love to cruise further afield, and the costs of fuel etc don't faze me at all - its just the time factor involved for both me and SWMBO. If we were to try to do the CI for a weekend and the weather turned nasty, meaning a delay for the journey back, I would be "up the creek" at work Monday morning. That's the only thing that's stopping me, including the necessity to boat solo a lot of the time out of the main season due to lack of willing crew.
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I am far too old to know everything - I leave that to the kids.
Well my excuse is swmbos work and having a 4 yr old.
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Also new product that disperses rain off glass.And a new product to restore crazed polycarbonate windows.
Still doing vinyl boat names if you need any.
Supplier of BIC boats and inflatable kayaks. http://www.h2o-marine.co.uk
By the way any orders have a contribution to Cancer Research UK.
[*]Lack of Time for more than day hops = buy a smaller boat less to ten metres
[*]Cycle of life - Active boats can become less active as family and life circumstances evolve or change (ie kids grown up, new babies, etc) = go to an old people house
[*]Lack of confidence and fear after an impulse purchase = idiot
[*]Lack of experience = you will get it
[*]Lack sense of adventure = every day is an adverture actually
[*]Lack of funds = yes those come scarse even to me
[*]Spouse wants to stay in or near homeport due to past scare in a bit of swell = divorce or tie her to the bow in some real
conditions
[*]Blinkers (ie boats can only be parked on serviced jetties with 240v) = soloar panels, portable gennies etc
[*]Limited ability due to lack of training or experience = if you want u learn
[*]Some thought a boat was just a floating caravan = in US they do something similar to this but not our EU boat, but a boat is a totally different experience actually I hate the comparison dont know why
I work an 80-hour week at work most weeks Mon - Friday.... Saturday is spent generally doing stuff with the kids and chores and maintenance ... Sunday I'm up and out of the house by 6:30 .... to get in for midnight and start the cycle all over again....
I had forgotten about the journey to the boat. Mine is only 2-2.5 hrs (110-120mls), but long enough to make a day trip damned hard work & probably pointless given the need to coincide with tides. I only work part-time these days, but I am effectively running a charity workshop where customers & volunteers alike depend on me being available. We have just taken on a full-time supervisor, so that may help as he gets up to speed. But family commitments with young grandchildren plus health & relationship dificulties for a close family member AND home maintenance requirements have prevented much time away from home this year. last year it was other shit.
My point is that most people's lives are more complicated than they plan for. The boat & "sailing off into a rosy sunset" is a dream that is seldom achieved. Few are the people like Haydn who are able to manage family & income commitments in order to spend long periods away from home. But good luckto them, especially when they entertain me with their stories of Derring-do & mishaps (hope your leg is better now Debs)
I don't want sympathy, I am not looking to absolve myself from blame. I choose my life & how I live it. I could choose to walk away from the kids & my problems, but I won't & I probably wouldn't be happy if I did - I would feel I had let everybody down if I did that.
I expect that every unused boat in a marina has a sad story to tell of broken dreams if you were to pursue it.
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Boaty junk clogging up your shed or lockers? Chuck it in Marinaskip
I consider myself a pretty dedicated boater, but often don't feel that I have "been anywhere" by which I mean that I am generally forced by circumstances to visit the same old haunts season after season.
I work an 80-hour week at work most weeks Mon - Friday. Saturday is spent generally doing stuff with the kids and chores and maintenance that needs doing at home. Sunday is "my" day.
The boat is 130 miles from home - about 2.5 hours down the M25/M3 if I put my foot down. Sunday I'm up and out of the house by 6:30 to be at the marina by about 9 - stopping en route to pick up essential supplies like beer and the Sunday paper. I get an hour or so to prep the boat, do essential maintenance, etc and then its engines on and queue for the 10:30 bridge to get out.
Options out of Poole Harbour entrance are turn right for Studland, Swanage, Chapman's Pool or Worbarrow Bay - or turn left for B'm'th or further afield to the Solent, Yarmouth, Beaulieu etc - all within a couple of hours at cruising speed. The further you go the earlier you have to up anchor in order to get back again at a reasonable time, so the less time you have to relax and enjoy it when you get there. If we aim to get back in on the 6:30 bridge, by the time I've refueled, berthed and tied up, given her a wash down, and made all ready to leave for another week, its 9pm. We then have a 2.5 hr+ drive back home to get in for midnight and start the cycle all over again. The time I get to just "sit and relax" on the boat is my own "down time" that I get in the whole week.
Last year I did this 22 weekends, and went down another 4 times just to run the engines up when it was too cold and poor weather-wise to go out. Additionally we did take our 2 week summer holiday aboard, and did our only long trip - down to Falmouth for the regatta, only to be rewarded with the two worst weeks weather in August during living memory. The family were all of the "never again" opinion when asked if they wanted to holiday aboard this year.
This year I have done only 20 trips down to the boat since she went back in late in March. We've also had 5 long weekends aboard - inc 3 great ones in August this year, allowing longer stays in Mercury, Island Harbour, and Weymouth, but all our longer distance trips we had trips planned - Cherbourg and the CI - had to be cancelled due to bad weather or mechanical problems.
I would love to cruise further afield, and the costs of fuel etc don't faze me at all - its just the time factor involved for both me and SWMBO. If we were to try to do the CI for a weekend and the weather turned nasty, meaning a delay for the journey back, I would be "up the creek" at work Monday morning. That's the only thing that's stopping me, including the necessity to boat solo a lot of the time out of the main season due to lack of willing crew.
To be honest, I have nothing but praise for you, I hate driving and for that reason alone I wouldn't do what you do.
I live 5 mins from my boat, work 40hrs a week,(well that's a bit of a fib) attend 40hrs a week is closer to the truth, visit the boat most weekends,and grab the extended weekends when possible, you know, the ones where the weather is looking good from thursday thro' tuesday, but unfortunately arn't designated bank hoildays,
Haydn, I'm one of your folly fans, been there five weekends this year, and you're right about boat size, I don't want to go any distance in mine unless the water's like witch's tits, I don't get pleasure from being bounced around and getting soaked through anymore, it was ok in 1975, but not now, in any case the bus driver don't like it when I show him me bus pass sopping wet.
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"It's Better to Have Memories Than Dreams"
old forum id "Oneaway"
We used to go on long cruises from the Medway we cruised, France, Belgium, Holland, most of the south coast and the C.I. I worked out that a trip to the C.I. these days is going to cost me 2.5.k in fuel alone! As we get older SWMBO wants more comfort! like a holiday in the sun! and with the cost of fuel these days you can buy two weeks in the sun. To cut a long story short I transported my boat to Spain and we now fly out cheaply and use the boat as a floating holiday home! we can potter down the coast and enjoy lovely warm weather mostly calm seas and sunshine! England as far as I am concerned is finished for boating, I have had 25 years of rough seas, huge tides, cold wx, fog, rain and a little sun! No contest!
Location: chasing some sunshine - or a cold beer - or both
Posts: 880
Don't get me wrong - I'm not looking for sympathy - I love the boat and its worth it to me to drive 5 hours there and back during the day to get 8 hours out on the boat - roughly.
I look forward to being able to retire - or maybe take a less active role in my company - so that I can move the boat out to the med and cruise in better weather than we get over here. If I had it in the med now I would probably only get there a handful of weekends a year, so what I do now will have to suffice and will keep me happy for a few more years yet.
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I am far too old to know everything - I leave that to the kids.
Even though I spend nearly every weekend on my boat, I don;t take it out as much as I would like, as I am distracted by the incredible social life I enjoy in that part of the world.
So good that I am currently moving to be closer to my boat and in a couple of weeks I will be able to park my boat fifteen feet from my front door.
I am so looking forward to next summer. I can finish work at 5.30 and be out on the boat by six.
I can understand the diesel costs now. But they mostly never went any where before. Though in the early days of the forum, loads of us went places and a few still do. Now I can understand little boats cant go far, but passed 33ft they can mostly go anywhere with in a bit of reason. Boats in the various marinas we've been in, seem to troupe out, then back again on the next tide. Where as we go out and may be away for a few weeks. Yep it has things to do with work. But I could still talk to customers, even if it ment climbing a hill in Ireland. In those days it did not stop us, but now there are marinas most every where. I hate the things. But anyway. I have had many cruises of 600 miles or more. None of them with much difficulty. Whats the point in having a boat and not going any where, except the folly inn. Yep been there a few times to. But why do most boats never leave the marina and if they do, it's a mile out then back again.
Why is Solent to the West Country thought of as a big deal. Get to Dartmouth then go back. Like it's the end of the earth or something. How come we fit that in with a cruise to the CI's, France and then Solent, before back to Plymouth. How come were now back in North Wales. Now doing Ireland IOM and other places again with the old P 35. Is it that other boats arnt up to it and not built like they were, or is it the folk. The navigation is mostly point and go. There are few excusess.
So why dont most boats go any where, is it fear or something else.
Live and let live, I say. If peeps want to use their boat as a floating cottage then why not? If every boat went out every weekend, places like the Solent would be unbearably overcrowded. You can get a perfectly serviceable boat for £100k suitable for spending extended periods on. Can you get a weekend cottage on shore for the same money with an unimpeded view of the sea? I think not in most areas so a boat makes an excellent floating seaside cottage compared to a shoreside property and I'm sure thats part of the reason many peeps buy boats
The other issue is fuel. The average 40 footer now costs more than £1000 to fill up and you can blow that in less than 10 hours running. Many owners can just about afford to buy their boat and park it in an overpriced marina but sticking their hands in their pockets for £1k every other weekend in order to do extended cruises all the time is beyond what most peeps want to or can afford
Really interesting thread Haydn has started, on a subject that has long intrigued me. As he does indicate; expensive possession, plus very costly to keep lying around.
Others have said, they do not consider a lack of confidence is a main reason, I actually think in many cases it is. But the main reason obviously is that so many owners are still working, and in addition as has been remarked many have considerable distances to travel.
In our own case we are what I prefer to term as 'leisured', so we can use the boat at any time - and we do a lot, at this time of year as a 'week-end cottage', being that it is sixty five miles away, its a pleasant change of scene. However out of around 150 boats on our pontoon, only one other owner uses likewise. The smallest on the pontoon has not been used or visited by the looks of it for at least the past two years - I do wonder if he does not pay MDL by direct debit! Actually in this case, as I suspect in some others, the reason they go on paying for, and keeping their possession is for sentimental reasons. A pity, and sad at the same time.
Talking to the harbour master at my marina the other weekend, he told me that he has been there for eleven years and the are some owners he has never met or seen them on their boats. They pay their fees, but never visit.
I think it's an easy answer. Most people have to work 5 days a week and also have children. So any trips are either at weekends and you can't go far in a weekend and it be worth while, or longer trips during school holidays.
You have to be lucky to have booked holiday from work to coincide with school holidays and good enough weather to warrant going on a long trip.
Of course if you are retired then you'll neither have the worry of booking the right weeks holiday or kids.
Some folk seem to think I've asked this question in some sort of derogetary way. No I have not. When kids were young and work to do, we just had little boats that we could sail on the local res on a Saturday afternoon. Maybe money had some thing to do with it as well.
But I still cant understand why folk would buy a boat, they have no time to sail or even visit. Theres nowt wrong with it becoming the country cottage, especially in winter. We're sat on the boat now, all snug and warm even though the WEbasto has packed in again, more about that on an other thread.
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Why Dont Most Boats Go Anywhere.
Ocean Froggie 
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