Buying A Boat
Note:
- The description below is not “power” or “sail” specific. It covers both, switching back and forth between the two types. It aims to provide an understanding of boats to help you decide your own need and make your own selection.
- For second hand boats, you may not be able to get all the information recommended below. A builder may not have provided it to the first owner or may not have known it because the boat was built without the architectural input of the designer. Nevertheless, the educational nature of this page aims to make you a better-informed boat buyer.
Suitable boats are like suitable partners. Some dreadful boats have made their owners very happy, while some excellent boats have failed to give their owners the same joy. The best boat is one that you can safely enjoy and be able to resell easily.
If you are new to boating, find someone with experience who is prepared to spend time advising you. Talk to as many knowledgeable people as possible. What should matter is not what you fancy but what suits your needs. Don’t buy your “dream boat” until you have hired boats a few times. Hiring may seem expensive, but it’s not. The interest from the money invested instead of buying the boat and the money saved from maintaining the boat would easily pay for regular hires.
Spend time on other people’s boats. Become their apprentice and take your partner with you. Build up confidence in boat handling. Learn basic seamanship and the rules of the road and, if planning to go offshore, learn coastal navigation. You should be able to take compass bearings, correct them and plot positions on a paper chart when the GPS stops working.
People do not usually get the boat they want until about the third boat they buy. The first boat is usually an all rounder and may quickly become a disappointment. In order to find your dream boat, you would need to eliminate all the different prejudices you have about boats and their equipment. Learn how different boats perform in different sea conditions. Figure out your need for comfort and speed. Establish not only your own preferences, but also those of your partner.
A first time buyer shouldn’t be looking for a brand new boat, just as a first time golfer wouldn’t be buying the best set of clubs. Look for an affordable and manageable production line boat. Don’t buy a one-off special or a specialized boat, such as an asymmetrical sail rigged yacht that needs a large crew to hang off the windward rail or requires water ballast. A symmetrical Masthead Rig with external ballast (heavy keel) will probably make a good first yacht. (A Masthead Rig is a yacht with one mast with her forestay reaching the top of the mast.)
Most modern cruising yachts have only one mast. Boats with more than one mast (split rigging), such as a ketch, yawl or schooner, may look shippy and more secure in case one mast is dismasted. The mizzen mast can also be argued to be useful for holding up items such as a wind generator, radar reflector and antennas for radar, GPS, radio and satellite communication. But such rigs are much harder to balance. Their performance lags far behind the sail-handling technology of the simpler and cheaper and yet more powerful and reliable sloop rigs. Also, the fractional rigs (the forestay extending only part of the way up the mast) are harder to optimize for power, control and comfort.
Don’t fall for the “wrong” advertised features. It is logical for boats designed for short-distance bareboat charters (large holiday groups) to have lots of bunks, toilets and other luxury items within a given length. But a boat crammed with bunks even in and around a centre cockpit is as uncomfortable for long cruises as an asymmetrical boat that keeps veering off to one side. Forepeak bunks may feel comfortable in the harbor, but they are the first bunks to be vacated when the boat starts to pitch in a seaway. In fact, they can be outright dangerous in head seas. You will then be glad that the dinette is convertible into a bunk, which usually being in the middle of the boat is perhaps the most spacious and comfortable space. Also remember that a home-style galley layout can be quite dangerous at sea, and beautiful dining room may deprive you of the best sleeping berth.
The yacht should be of a moderate beam-to-length ratio. The maximum beam at waterline (BWL) divided by the length at waterline (LWL) should be approximately 0.3. Some ultra-light racing yachts exceed this ratio at the risk of losing seakeeping abilities and stability. The boat should have a safe cockpit from where the sheets and winches can easily and safely be reached without leaving the wheel. Centre cockpits are indeed safer and drier than the end cockpits. But they come at the cost of losing the space below deck, especially in boats less than 12 metres in length.
It is wise to stay away from laid decks. They might look classic and romantic, but if they don’t already leak, sooner or later they will. Large varnished surfaces may look warm and attractive, but you are buying the constant care and work that comes with it. Similarly, stainless steel standing rigging is not a good idea. Sure, stainless steel is expensive and corrosion resistant, but it is also heavy and brutally unpredictable. It gives away without warning, often causing serious injury. The galvanized wire standing rigging, on the other hand, costs less, lasts longer and gives months of warning before catastrophic failure.
Labour-saving devices are wonderful, but be wary of relying on them 100%, in case they break down and you don’t have skills, tools or spares to fix them. The seller may also have gone overboard on fitting a lot of expensive electronic gadgets. Beyond a VHF radio, radar detector, magnetic compass and a simple GPS, you seriously have to consider what you need and what you are paying for in the price of the boat.
For a powerboat, the cost of fuel may be a major consideration. A four-metre aluminum runabout runs on the smell of an oily rag compared with a six-metre fibreglass cabin cruiser. You may have to choose between frequent less comfortable boating and less frequent more comfortable boating.
This is an excerpt from Captain Dick Gandy’s Australian Boating Manual
