Prospective New Boater Advice Wanted

[halfpintharry]

I have owned a share in a narrowboat for years, and am thinking of buying a small cruiser for weekends/short trips inland waterway cruising with a couple of friends or family. I like the idea of a Shetland, possibly a family 4 or a 4+2, my thoughts are:
I have storage space at home for a boat on a trailer
I have a landrover so pulling should be no problem
Instead of being limited to wherever my narrowboat is I can explore further afield for short trips
No marina charges, so low cost running
I want one with a toilet on board

Advice please:
Any recommended models?
Budget £10k - what age am I looking at?
Is launching and retrieving from slipways easy/realistic/inexpensive on a trailer
I'm a competent narrowboat sailor but not been on a cruiser
If I see a boat for sale without a trailer, how easy is it to get a trailer that fits - and what kind of price am I looking at; or should I only buy a boat already supplied with a trailer

Any other advice - or flaws in my plan - please point them out

Cheers
Michael

[Galileo]

I think others on here would be a lot more informative (and experienced) than I, but I'm not sure that I would want to get something bigger than my Shetland 570 down a slipway and off/on my trailer! I can say that my Daihatsu Fourtrak can barely tell that I'm towing it, but then that thing is rated at 3.5 tonnes.

Good luck!

[Drewdoc1958]

Hi Michael

I bought a Shetland Blackhawk last year as my first boat, which just about satisfies all of your requirements and would leave you with a tidy sum to renovate, upgrade all and sundry. I have a Shogun 3.2 LWB (which tows virtually everything) and have trailer ed my boat up a few steep "hills" in Scotland and launched same with no problems. Your 4 x 4 would not have any problems with the Blackhawk. She is rated for a 115hp o/b though I have a 65 hp.

Have fun whatever you choose


Drew

[NelsonAdmiral]

I'm new to boating and thought it would be easy peasy but the small print- or rules and regs and hazards are depressing.

Regards trailer and launching - its ok. Just take it slowly- get assistance first too. Try to avoid launching into currents or waves. Have plenty of rope. And tie it to the boat!

Trailers lose bearings often. Be sure to grease them up before during and after use. Let bearing cool before launching boat into water. The cold water tends to suck into the cooling bearings otherwise.

Landrover is fine for trailering- if a little noisy to drive. Be sure to engage four wheel drive though before you go on to slip.

10K is plenty but id counsel you to buy cheap first. Then there's less money at stake and more spare for unexpected expenses like inspection of boat for safety, insurance, incidentals like slip fees and payments to use inland water.

[sniffyterrence]

First thing some good advice above but trailer boating is a lot more cost effective than keeping a narrow boat as I'm sure your aware so don't be put off. Boat safety will set u back about £120 ish depending what you have on board regards appliances. You can get a river explorer license for less than £100 which allows you on the river any 30 days in a year that's 15 week ends and more than enough. A family four will be easy to launch and retrieve but a 4+2 is a lot bigger which is why most you see will not have a trailer. Buying a trailer and boat separate will be more costly but if you wanted a really good one for a lot of traveling it would give you the choice. Regards model any boat can have a toilet on it just depends how far you want to go with the toilet choice. Price wise there is no way of comparing boats because it will depend on size and age of outboard and quality of trailer not to mention the boats condition and accessories like Canopy's. Try to find one where the owner has already replaced most things including canopy because they all add up and nothing is cheap especially outboards so that should be your biggest concern. That being said £10k is a good budget for a trailer boat and should get you a newish family four unless size is an issue then the 4+2 is the one. It's a good time to buy coming up as well people selling before winter
Good luck . The boat will be a lot more movable in the water than your narrow boat we launch ours in a very good marina for £10 including safe parking of car and trailer