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So you are thinking of buying a boat...

(This is not a step by step guide to stress free boat buying. It is not a set of instructions. It is just a series of observations based on experience over the past year or so).


(September / October’ish 2005)
Ring ring…….Ring ring…….
“Hello”
“Hello Paschal, Paul Here. Myself and Sean are thinking about buying a boat… Are you interested?”
“Yea, Yea... Of course I’m interested, but I’ve no money!!”
"Ah don’t worry about it, neither have we…”
“Fair enough so. I’ll meet you in Neary’s for a chat on Thursday”


And so it was that the wheels were set in motion. Neary’s became the temporary HQ, and meetings were held there to hatch plans and make wise decisions…… (I’m still waiting…)

There are a number of decisions to be made at the outset; However, the most important decision (as usual), is Budget. Once this has been agreed, you can work through the other stuff. There are loads of sources of information out there, so do your research. As usual, there is tons of stuff on the web. We found the RYA website particularly useful (There is a Yacht Share agreement available to download here, which covers areas such as time allocation, exit strategies etc).

There are 4 partners on our boat (Paul, Sean, Paschal and Niamh). This works pretty well for us. All costs are split 4 ways, but also bear in mind that you cannot sail the thing by yourself, and it can be difficult to secure regular competent crew…. (Particularly if you are racing).

We are all at similar points along the learning curve. I.e. none of us are complete novices, but none of us are professionals either!! Therefore we all wanted something similar from this boat. I.e. Crack, enhance our sailing skills, an opportunity to spend more time on the water, and build up the sea miles!

Paul is our financial controller, with the unenviable task of taking care of the pounds, shillings and pence.
Sean used to be a mechanic, (but he’s ok now). Therefore he gets to look after the complicated stuff!!….. You never heard a sweeter sounding engine!!
Niamh is a GP, and kindly offered to put together a first aid kit. Happy days we thought, (although slightly concerned about the amount of space likely to be taken up by Heart monitors and the like)……. What arrived was a small Tupperware box filled with hangover cures and a few plasters!!! (It has proved invaluable so far!!)
I take care of cleaning the head and running out of diesel!!

Challenger We bought a 28 foot Bermudan Sloop, “Challenger” which is about 30 years old, but had been very well maintained. We had a survey carried out, which highlighted some areas which needed attention, but nothing to cause major concern.
She was lying in Crosshaven when we bought her, and we sailed her back to Dublin over a few weekends…. Bad weather and seasickness put a stop to our gallop in Kilmore Quay at the first attempt. However, a few weeks later we set off again, arriving in Poolbeg on Easter Sunday.

We decided on Poolbeg for a number of reasons, but mainly because its location suited all 4 partners. It turned out to be a good call, as it is a very friendly club, and we have been made feel welcome from day one.
There is regular racing on Wednesdays, plus various races on most weekends. Racing is competitive, but not life or death stuff, and most people are still talking to each other at the end of the evening!! In our first season we have had some great results, (and some not so great results…). But we certainly learned a few things, and there is plenty of room for improvement in 2007. Challenger also went cruising in 2006, including trips to Carlingford, and the Isle of Man, along with several shorter skites to Howth and Dun Laoghaire.

We are now looking forward to a new season, but as usual, there are loads of jobs to be done. Repairs; small and not so small, cleaning, Antifouling etc. So, if you are considering taking the “Yacht share” route, make sure everyone is prepared to roll up their sleeves and get on with the less glamorous tasks as well!!

Finally, in summary, this has been a great way for me to progress my sailing to the next level, and build on the experience I have gained from sailing with Glenans, SID, and various Skippers foolhardy enough to let me on board over the years.

Do

Don’t