The year has ticked round to its last day and foremost in many peoples minds is the upcoming London Boat Show.
The ‘great and the good’ will be talking sales speak, spouting off the virtues of ordering a shining new craft with smiling sales personnel lurking ready to clutch at any interest a punter might show…
As you can tell I do not have a lot of time for boat shows … in general! I think I last attended a proper show around a decade ago, maybe more tides have ebbed and flowed: I cannot really remember… I know, many find them interesting, a day out in a boaty world during the depths of winter when sailing seems a long way off…
This year has seen a large number of craft come onto the market, much of it of from the more expensive ranges, well beyond the ‘starter’ boat, yet many of those craft may well have been someones first foray into cruiser sailing. Headlines have been made in the yachting press with stories of 100K boats going for a song: it is a buyers market… And here is the nub … there are a huge range of smaller craft ripe for picking too.
One only has to peruse the pages of the online sellers, such as Apollo Duck, or wander around yards, either those attached to marinas or a proper boat yard itself… I did this on a gloriously sunny day, one of the many enjoyed this summer on the east coast, while appreciating the delights of Woodbridge.
As I wandered through the compound of Andy Seedhouse, I was amazed at the number of simple affordable cruisers of up to around 26′ or 8m there were for sale. See: http://www.andyseedhouseboats.co.uk/
For anyone wanting to find a craft to get started; to do all the silly things in; to find out if the sailing life is something you want; and most of all, if it is the life that ‘the mate’ can fall in love with: oft as not it is man and wife or partner (being politically correct). So often the man jumps in forgetting the fact that the ‘other half’ isn’t so keen or has reservations… Here some nurturing may be needed… Yes I know, sometimes it is the other way round, but it’s less often!
Outside the usual glossy looking sales outlets you will find that many of these craft require a little tender loving care and attention, but with a little work a splendid little ship can be had… I started out this way, many moons ago. I taught my mate to sail and from there she gained a love of salt, marsh & mud … the rest is history.
So here are a selection of craft seen during my visit … in the yard a number had ‘sold’ signs attached and some of these pictured may well have found new homes, with an excited crew getting down to some of that tlca and looking forward to the spring…
Dinghies Galore… Andy Seedhouse always has a collection of handy craft on his ‘shop’ front. Most seemed ready to go, if a little ‘rough’ round the edges, but nothing a bit of elbow work couldn’t fix in the winter…
Tarka, a carvel built mahogany long keeled sloop, awaiting a new lover… She looked sound enough.
Alongside Tarka was a Vivacity 24 – this again should find a fun loving young family aboard…
A double ended Cromer Crab boat for the more traditional day sailor…
A Leisure 22 – quite old now, but a capable river cruiser…
Here is a little sports type boat, with accommodation fior 2 + 2 children, say… Ideal for pottering in the river learning the ropes and large enough to take down to the Backwaters in good weather…
This lovely clinker motor boat looked quite fetching, provided there aren’t major leakage problems she would likely take up…
Your boating need not start up at the top of the range – marinas are full of those. The RYA and marina organisations are having to give time and effort to get some of those static craft moving, laudable, but a sad reflection too… Don’t join them!
Look at: http://www.apolloduck.co.uk/ There are others too… And yards to wander around where that little gem is waiting for you…
Happy sailing.
A Happy New Year to all my readers too…