<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by thornton
Presumably you are after a 'gin palace' and not a yacht.

If you have no experience of this type of sailing I would suggest you get in touch with the RYA and do a course or two first and see whether it really is your thing. Then when you have a qualification under your belt charter one for a weekend and see how you and the family get on.

There are also many other things to consider, mooring charges either on a swinging mooring or in a marina, insurance and the cost of fuel if you are using a motor boat. As from 1st November VAT is going to be added to diesel for boats. If you feel you won't get the full use out of owning one outright also consider boat share. That is the way we now own our sailing yacht and it consequently gets used far more than it would if only we owned it. Diesel is best as you have no electrics to consider for starting.

If you are thinking of offshore and inland use where would you consider keeping it? The south coast where you have easy access for crossing the channel is not suitable for inland waterway access.

Just a few things to consider before going any further.
[/quote]

Thanks Thornton the advice you gave is very much appreciated.

However the decision as to whether we want a boat has been made. Boating is "our thing" as you put it.

We've also been advised that it can be better to have the RYA courses with/on your own boat so your advice to charter and train before actually buying needs to be considered, thanks for that.

We've factored mooring charges and boat ownership insurance and the like into our our cost/ownership model.

The info. I'm really after is to how to distinguish a Cat B boat when I'm looking in the likes of Boat Trader, Motor Boats Monthly and the like.