Having made the decision to downsize, it’s just a matter of finding their sea legs for Gilbert and Maire
Over the years I have been boating I have bought and sold many craft, all of them used. Increasing age and the degeneration that naturally occurs with it led me to spend some of the children’s inheritance on a brand new boat for myself and my wife, Maire.
Why did we choose to downsize from a Sabreline 36 flybridge to a Sealine C330? There were several reasons. The Sabreline we had before was a great boat; it was comfortable, safe and spacious. However, it did need a bit of looking after and following a winter with an expensive generator repair, three days of polishing the hull and with the thought of more necessary jobs to come, I decided I wanted to do less maintenance and more boating. Living on the French canals for much of the year, we also realised that the Sabreline was too high for some bridges and the Caterpillar engines weren’t enjoying a lot of slow-speed cruising.
So having made the decision to change to a smaller boat, why did we go for the Sealine? For starters, there is a Sealine dealer half a mile away from our berth in France, so we thought that would make any teething problems easier to solve. In fact, we ended up buying it through Thames Boat Sales in the UK as we bumped into the broker who had sold us one of our previous boats at the Southampton Boat Show. He was working for Sealine at the time and TBS had a stock C330 that could be delivered in time for our late spring/ early summer cruise. He offered us a tempting deal that included a handy discount off the new price and taking our Sabreline 36 in part exchange, so we went for it. We named our new boat Let’s Go as it summed up our fresh approach to boating.
Denne historien er fra September 2017-utgaven av Motor Boat & Yachting.
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Denne historien er fra September 2017-utgaven av Motor Boat & Yachting.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Lofoten or Bust- Part 4- Grandezza owner Per Harrtoft heads back to Sweden after an epic 3500nm adventure deep into the Arctic Circle to visit the mythical Lofoten islands
After ten memorable days in the Lofoten Islands in the far north of Norway, we are on our way back south towards Sweden. We have already made it as far as Trondheim, a charming place even if it was raining so hard we had to cycle round the city centre clutching umbrellas. But now we are back on board Deamare, our Grandezza 40 Fly, eating up the miles at a steady 31 knots.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YACHT TRANSPORT
As the name suggests it's a means of having your boat moved professionally from one location to another. It might be as simple as hiring someone to tow your RIB a few miles down the road or as complex as shipping a superyacht halfway around the world.
HANDLE A SINGLE SHAFTDRIVE BOAT PART 1
Single shaftdrive boats are relatively rare these days but the reduced costs of buying, servicing and fuelling such a simple but reliable drivetrain does mean they are making a bit of a comeback.
COCKWELLS MOTOR LAUNCH
There can be very few boats that have appeared three times at the Southampton Boat Show and been sold off the stand each time.
INSTALLING AN AUTOPILOT
Rick Channon makes solo boating simple with a Raymarine Evolution Autopilot
GOOD AS NEW
Why fit a brand new engine when Volvo Penta's remanufacturing service can rebuild you an old one to the same standard for a fraction of the price?
BENETEAU SWIFT TRAWLER 54
Alex Smith heads to France's Beneteau HQ for a UK exclusive on what might just be the best Swift Trawler yet
ΧΟ EXPLR 44
Can XO's all-new aluminium flagship really make it big in the Med?
BUYING OUR FIRST CLASSIC
Instead of whiling away their retirement playing bowls, Rob and Shona Adams decided to invest their time and money in a classic Silver gentleman's yacht. Would the gamble pay off?
PRINCESS S65
Torn between the V and F Class flagships? The new S65 might be the boat you've been waiting for...
