how much does it cost

Member Joined: Feb 22, 2010 Posts: 9 Location: Bolton

Hi i am hopeing to buy a boat in winter and the big question how much does it cost??????
confused

this year i am hopeing to learn how to fish and where on charter boats
i have fished on the blue mink with andy from fleetwood in march also booked 5th may and 15th june

i live in Bolton near Manchester so 40 mins drive to fleetwood / knott end

i know once i bought it and got RYA training and insurance/saftey equipment how much and where is best to launch
thanks Simon

Regular Joined: Dec 14, 2008 Posts: 256 Location: rochdale

Hi and welcome to the forums. You,ve picked the most expensive way to go fishing, normally refered too as standing under a shower ripping up £50 notes.
I can,t help you with exact costs but hopefully Tomcat will come along and frighten you with the costs of boat ownership.
I had a look at the pro,s and con,s of boat ownership last year and reckoned it was going to cost me about £5000 per year for maintainence, insurance, fuel, trailer maintainence and extra fuel costs for a towing vehicle, which didn,t make sense for 10 or 15 trips a year. Might as well just let a skipper carry the costs for you.
All the best with your fishing and hope you manage to get a boat .
Mike

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:56 am

welcome to our brilliant forums Gilli
i can frighten you with costs but then without knowing which type of boat and engine you want or require then its a bit hard,for example i bought my boat which is a 21ft cruiser for £2500 i used it for a year and decided to put another engine and sterndrive on at the cost of £6000 which included harbour fees and antifoul and then in feb this year new covers £950 which i got cheap as it should have been £1300,then you have your flares,a small inshore pack will cost you £70,radio £100 or more,lifejacket pay £70 for a semi decent one,are you frightened yet there is a saying which is "do you know what boat means" Bung Out Another Thousand B.O.A.T,obviously you can do it a lot cheaper but then your main concern should be safety,safety,safety.
take a look on ebay there are some good bargains to be had but make sure you can view the boat first and if the seller isnt willing for a water trial (at your expense of course) then walk away,if you have £10000 spare you can buy my boat and have any water trial you want.
i hope that this has helped a little bit

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 8:32 am

you can pick up boats fairly cheaply from any where but once you have spent thousands of pounds doing them up you can sit back look at what you have achieved then think i could have bought a brand new boat and been on the water months ago then you have all the safty gear to buy and if you have a fixed radio fitted you need to go on an expensive course to get a licence to operate it then once your happy you have all the gear and its your first boat you will have no idea how to use it safely so yet another exspensive boat handling course which personally although not leagaly required i think everyone who drives a boat should be made to take as i have seen some nasty accidents over the years by inexperienced owners, once you have got the experience and all the gear your now ready to open your wallet and throw all your money into what all us boat owners call the big hole in the water that you throw money into for very little return lol but other than that all i can say is HAPPY BOATING

Dave big grin

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 9:21 am

It looks like if it can be said, it allready has!
I'll only add, this aspect of sea angling doesn't suit everyone. The best advice is to go out with a small boat angler and see if the reality is what you expected. Don't just turn up at the slipway with your rod and butties. Go to the boat owners home and help prepare the vessel for the day. Following your days fishing, return with him and see what's involved in cleaning and engine flushing before the day is finished. These are all aspects that you have to be able to embrace to fully appreciate the experience.
If you are still convinced it's for you, maintain contact with small boat owners and seek their advice before parting with your cash. They know what style of hull is best suited to your local area and what else is required. The boat, engine and trailer are a relatively small part of your overall expenditure.
I'm not trying to put anyone off small boat angling, but, far too many leap in looking through rose tinted glasses and end up selling the outfit within 12 months when they realise the comitment in terms of time and money required to safely run a small sea going vessel.
A good day on your own boat is an experience to relish. Yes it can be demanding, but it's worth it if you are fully committed.

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 3:09 pm

Definition of BOAT is a very expensive hole in the water.

Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:54 pm

It is just possible to do it on the cheap, my mate and I use a 14ft Portabote with a 6 horse outboard for pottering around the harbours and up to a couple of miles out on good days. However I tend to agree with others that if you want to go seriously off shore, a good skipper is the better option unless money really doesn't matter very much - there probably aren't many of us that fit into that category.

Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 8:50 pm

There appears to be a lot of negative issues rather than postitive ones.
A lot of it depends on your situation lke will you be needing a birth, will you be towing, engine size can be expensive on fuel. boat storage, this is a rough break down of my costs .
Boat, Warrior 165 with trailor £11250 with 60hp (Yam 9hp aux as back up)
Compound fees £250 for 6 months.
£15 per launch.
Fuel costs normally £20 per trip.
Boat insurance £210 fully comp.
Annual engine service £40 -£100

Safety Safety safety.. VHF ship to shore radio.mobile phones life jackets for all crew. Medical box.Flares. Fire exstigisher.
Fish finder. GPS with plotter if required.

Hope this gives you some thoughts, every ones needs are different, but once you have a set up, its not that e xpensive, make sure your crew contribute to the costs on each trip. I have a boat fund which helps at the end of the year to go towards next years bills.

Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 7:16 pm

to quot ricksinn " once you have a set up its not expensive" but working on your expences for you to just go out 12 times in a year it would cost £1,000 why pay that sort of money when you could quite easily go on a charter boat 15 times for the same money without the headache of maintaining a boat dont get me wrong i do own a boat and i find it expensive and i know alot of boat owners that would agree with me

Dave

Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 7:21 pm

100% agree with jacko here but im one of the lucky ones that lives 5 mins from the harbour where mine is birthed so i get to use her at least 2-3 times a week

Member Joined: Feb 22, 2010 Posts: 9 Location: Bolton

sorry forgot to mention i am an ex boat mechanic (boat centre, Bolton) so servicing cheap
i have owned boats in the past but not for the last 4 years it was a speed boat on a trailer so no mooring fees and had free parking
i will be buying an "ebay project" but i have space and experience to do it up myself
the boat i am looking for is something that i can fish off and also take the family out on rubber rings and skiing so will have decent size engine
i was asking as never moored a boat so was wondering how much and were could it be moored in NW if the boat is to big to comfortably tow (although as a hgv recovery driver the QM2 would be comfy to tow) big grin

and if insurance has gone up

Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 8:36 pm

well my birth is £2000 a year but then im on the south coast in a posh harbour. my insurance is only £72 per year with towers morden,im sure those from up north can help you with prices for mooring

Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 8:46 pm

edit from the above
insurance is from towergate mardon

Member Joined: Feb 22, 2010 Posts: 9 Location: Bolton

thanks how big is your boat

Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 9:09 pm

21ft 3 birth cruiser