angellonewolf
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A floating pontoon made of barrels ? (They do make plastic squares for thr same thing ?
- Thread starter ajlelectronics
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Pigeon_Droppings2
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Its quite common for someone to buy a moored boat just for the mooring...then sell the existing boat cheap and put their boat in its place. Moorings (if you can find them) are usually charged per length.
Definitely make sure you've got somewhere you can legally moor it!
Definitely make sure you've got somewhere you can legally moor it!
ajlelectronics
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Had a little play today and it isn't bad. However the steering is notchy, stiff and has free play. I'm told it is cable operated so maybe a new cable will sort it. I know little about these but I do know that it should be smooth.
Does the steering move the whole outboard motor, or just the rudder?
Does the steering move the whole outboard motor, or just the rudder?
Misterg
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If the outboard is hanging off the back, it'll probably move the whole outboard. If the outboard is in a 'well' it might be fixed and the boat steered with a separate rudder. I'd suspect the latter with that style of boat, but nothing hard or fast.
ajlelectronics
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Thank you, a voyage of discovery then.
ajlelectronics
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Misterg
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Photo of a different Viking 26 - Outboard is hanging off the back, so steering will turn the engine (on this one, at least).
Hopefully the stiffness isn't down to corrosion in the engine pivot. Dismantling old outboards is a whole new world of pain!
AVI_8
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I’d love a descent sized boat, I’ve got a wee speed boat with a 75hp outboard, great fun, problem is my wife is not really a boat person, and to commit let’s say £45 grand in a boat unless it’s something that you both feel passionate about is probably not going to happen, even though she knows I’d do that in a heartbeat, I’d love a twin turbo diesel 35 footer boat with a living room downstairs, kitchen and 2 bedrooms, I’m knowledgable enough to do most of the maintenance, my only shining light on this possibly is that my wife would like a static caravan, my argument is that we could have a descent sized boat on Loch Lomond, for the price of a Static caravan, and you can move it and see different places….. It’s work in progress…..One day!
addjunkie
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There speaks a voice of experience!
ajlelectronics
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'Indoors' sister suggested a motor caravan instead of the Viking. I pointed out how impractical that would be as it would sink.
AVI_8
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If it has an outboard then that is your steering, the steering moves the outboard, there will be no rudder, notchy steering is a partial seizure in the cables, could be an easy fix or new cables, if it’s new cables I’m sure you could deal with that.
Edited to say that even my speedboat had a grease nipple for the steering so maybe that’s all it needs if it’s not been maintained properly.
ajlelectronics
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I don't see it being as difficult as my BMW throttle cable replacement. However I had a workshop manual for that.
AVI_8
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Honestly, giving what you do you’d find boat maintenance simple in comparison, and very different and individual, unfortunately sometimes it means getting it out of the water, that is the difference, and it costs money to do that, but not that much, but there are pitfalls in buying boats, before buying one I’d highly advise a professional inspection before buying one, not trying to teach my granny how to suck eggs, but boats have their own idiosyncrasy's which are individual compared to cars, and there are lots of them, ie, if you’re not sure what you’re looking at all could seem well but there could be a shed load of things wrong which are not obvious.
And again edited to say that fibreglass boats have stringers and side supports which are made from wood, often ply, which are supposedly completely encapsulated in fibreglass, problem is that the encapsulation was generally not that good so any water ingress could and has in many many occasions rotted the wood under the fibreglass, there are shed loads of examples of this happening on you tube, again why you really have to be careful, I’d advise gaining knowledge before jumping in by your own research and a professional inspection, unless you know what to look for.
@ajlelectronics Sorry if I've missed it but have you had much experience on canal boats or cruisers?
No point in buying one before trying it out first. Hire one out for a week and see if it is something you and your family could enjoy long term.
And as others have said, look into the long term costs of ownership.
We see it regularly over here on the Fermanagh lakelands.
Someone has a bit of cash and decides to buy a boat to cruise the beautiful waterways over here.
They are keen at first but soon find that a busy life and poor weather soon restrict the number of days out on the water.
Then the fixed costs already mentioned take their toll. Mooring costs, insurance, etc soon add up. Most owners here take their craft out for the winter as they would get damaged otherwise. So they pay for removal and lifting costs plus storage. There are a limited number of boatyards so their rates are not cheap.
After a couple of years the owners realise that they are paying a lot of money for something they only use for a few weeks per year. They sell their boat and go back to hiring one or take a couple of foreign holidays instead.
That being said there is a constant pool of new customers so a decent boat will sell quickly. With the Shannon Erne waterway meaning you can travel the length of Ireland by boat there is a big demand for boats.
No point in buying one before trying it out first. Hire one out for a week and see if it is something you and your family could enjoy long term.
And as others have said, look into the long term costs of ownership.
We see it regularly over here on the Fermanagh lakelands.
Someone has a bit of cash and decides to buy a boat to cruise the beautiful waterways over here.
They are keen at first but soon find that a busy life and poor weather soon restrict the number of days out on the water.
Then the fixed costs already mentioned take their toll. Mooring costs, insurance, etc soon add up. Most owners here take their craft out for the winter as they would get damaged otherwise. So they pay for removal and lifting costs plus storage. There are a limited number of boatyards so their rates are not cheap.
After a couple of years the owners realise that they are paying a lot of money for something they only use for a few weeks per year. They sell their boat and go back to hiring one or take a couple of foreign holidays instead.
That being said there is a constant pool of new customers so a decent boat will sell quickly. With the Shannon Erne waterway meaning you can travel the length of Ireland by boat there is a big demand for boats.
Pigeon_Droppings2
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Im finding my boat is a joy to fix compared to working on cars!
