Boat Mart February 2010 Preview

YOUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO AFFORDABLE BOATING HUNDREDS OF BOATS FOR SALE - SEE INSIDE

Incorporating Boat & Yacht Buyer

ONLY £3.50

February 2010

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BEGINNER’S GUIDE TOP BUYING TIPS FOR THE BOATING NOVICE

TOWING MADE EASY

TRAILER YOUR BOAT WITHOUT THE STRESS

WIN

DIY NAVIGATION SUITE

A SUNSPORT

INFLATABLE

CAN ELECTRONICS REALLY BE DONE ON THE CHEAP?

READER RENOVATION

WORTH

£659

SIX MONTHS, £550 AND A BOAT TO BE TRULY PROUD OF

INSURANCE IN FOCUS FIND OUT HOW TO GET THE RIGHT DEAL

FEBRUARY 2010

PUT TO THE VALIANT V620

TEST WONDERFUL WINTER UPGRADES

STAY SAFE WITH RNLI SEA CHECK

Editorial Editor: Alex Smith Email: EditorBoatMart@Boatmart.co.uk Art Editor: Mark Hyde Contributors: Peter Caplen, Angela Clay, Simon Everett, Adrian French, David Greenwood, Susan Greenwood, Colin Jones, Phil Pickin, Irving Stewart, Ted Tuckerman, David Webber

TOWING MASTERCLASS STEWART SUFFIELD SHARES HIS TALES OF WOE

Advertising Tel: 01223-460-490 Senior Sales Manager: Samantha Broome Sales Executive: Claire Broadmoore Private Advertising Queries: 01223-460-490 Designers: Flo Terentjev, Sarah Garland, Ben Ingham

Production Studio Manager: Sal Law Production Controller: Anthony Gibbons Tel: 01223-460-490 Email: copy@cslpublishing.com

Subscriptions Subscription Hotline: 01442 879097 Fax: 01442 872279 Email: boatmart@webscribe.co.uk Managing Director: Sue Baggaley Web: www.boatmart.co.uk

Published by: CSL Publishing Ltd, Alliance House, 49 Sidney Street, Cambridge, CB2 3HX Tel: 01223-460-490 Fax: 01223-315-960 © 2010 CSL Publishing Ltd CSL Publishing also publishes All At Sea, Sports Boat & RIB, Jet Skier & PW and Boat & Yacht Buyer magazines.

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Printed by Garnett Dickenson Distributed by Comag Specialist Tavistock Road, West Drayton UB7 7QE DISCLAIMER The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the publishers. Every care is taken to ensure that the contents of the magazine are accurate but the publishers cannot accept responsibility for errors. While reasonable care is taken when accepting advertisements, the publishers cannot accept any responsibility for any resulting unsatisfactory transactions. They will however investigate any written complaints. CSL prints advertisements provided to the publisher but gives no warrantee and makes no representation as to truth, accuracy or sufficiency of any description, photograph or statement. CSL accepts no liability for any loss which may be suffered by any person who relied either wholly or in part upon any description, photograph or statement contained herein. The advertiser warrants that the advertisement does not contravene any Act of Parliament nor is it in any way illegal or defamatory or an infringement of any other party’s rights or of the British Code of Advertising Practice.

For artistic purposes lifejackets are not shown in all of the photographs. Boat Mart strongly advises that lifejackets are worn at all times for watersports.

COPYRIGHT No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted without the prior written permission of the publisher. Photocopying or other reproduction without the publisher’s permission is a breach of copyright and action will be taken where this occurs.

This magazine is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper

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BOAT INSURANCE LAID BARE

BOAT MART FEATURES

FIND YOUR DREAM BOAT

BUYING ADVICE VALIANT V620 ................... 25 Off to Essex for a misty morning run

PAGE 136

STORMCATS TOPE HUNTER ....................33 An affordable fisher with practicality in spades

ESSEX BOATYARDS IN FOCUS

41 PRACTICAL PROJECT

97 109

ESSEX BOATYARDS ...........41 Apparently, not all boatyards are born equal THE RELIANT SPORTS BOAT ....................44 Get yourself a classic in the making BUDGET OF THE MONTH....46 Just how much can you get for ÂŁ23,000?

GETTING HITCHED ............52 VW launches a radical new hard-core pick-up

EQUIPMENT TOP GEAR ..........................56 The latest gadgets to tempt the winter boater

LIFESTYLE CLASSIC CORNER ..............79 How to get involved in the classic boat scene TOWING TANTRUMS ...........81 Confessions of an old hack to dispel your trailer blues BLOW UP BOATING ............89 Everything you need to know about inflatable dinghies ANGLING ADVICE ...............91 Hunting plaice for beginners

QUIZ TIME ..........................95 The ICC questions continue PRACTICAL TECH TALK .......................101 What can we really find out from the boat brochures?

PRACTICAL MONTHLY ......103 Winter jobs for dedicated DIY addicts

RESTORATION DIARY .......106 Steve Elliot completes his six-month labour of love RNLI SEA CHECK .............113 The best free safety advice you are ever likely to get GETTING IT RIGHT ...........119 The dark art of launch and recovery BOAT MART REGULARS

INSHORE SKIPPER .............67 Insurance - the good, the bad and the brilliant ELECTRONICS MADE EASY ........................71 Is it really possible to rig up a DIY navigation suite?

Throw us a line .............. 09 Newsline ........................ 15 Subscribe ....................... 74 Courses ........................ 125 Boats and Yachts for sale ...136 Classifieds ................... 150 Next issue .................... 160

NEWSLINE

Topical Talk WIth JANE RICKARD

It’s the start of a new year and for many, after the hype of the festive season, things can seem a little cold and miserable, especially with the start of the season still a few months away. So why not treat yourself to something special?

Now we’re not saying go out and buy yourself a new boat, although feel free to do so if you wish, but why not see if you can find a good deal online for that piece of kit you’ve been hankering after for months. There will be plenty of New Year sales going on and with new equipment being introduced for 2010, some dealers will be offering great deals to make way for new stock. If you want to stick to your budget, though, try not to get distracted by all the latest kit that will also be on sale.

If you’ve still got some maintenance or practical jobs to carry out on your boat, now is a good time to get them finished - see this month’s Practical Monthly (p103) for tips about what you could be getting up to. You certainly don’t want to end up rushing them when the new season begins. Besides, it’s a chance to spend a bit of time with your boat, even if it’s not out on the water. Spring will be here again very soon and, with a little love now, your boat will be all the better prepared when the time comes.

16 I February 2010 I Boat Mart

Film stars in WickloW The Wicklow crew is all smiles as it poses alongside the Hollywood A-listers

On 02 December 2009, famous actors Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle took time out of a busy filming schedule to drop in and say hello to Wicklow RNLI lifeboat volunteers and to get a tour of the lifeboat station. The two stars had been in Wicklow filming scenes at the East pier beside the lifeboat station for a new movie called ‘The Guard’.

Irish actor Brendan Glesson also starred in the drama ‘The Lifeboat’ in the early 1980s, filmed at St Davids in Wales and American actor Don Cheadle is well known from many films including ‘Hotel Rwanda’ and ‘Oceans 11’.

Tommy Dover Wicklow volunteer lifeboat press officer said: “The two actors were filming beside the lifeboat station and we invited them in to look around. They were very friendly and happily posed for photos with the lifeboat crew. We took great pride in showing them the lifeboat station and our two lifeboats. Wednesday night is the onshore training night for the lifeboat crew, so plenty of the station’s volunteers were present for the surprise visit.” www.rnli.org.uk

Pontoon PerFection A new chandlery in Portsmouth is providing an unusually attentive waterside service. You Boat, based in Gosport, at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour, is offering a ‘Pontoon Pick-up’, whereby passing boaters can call ahead with their order, pay by card and then have the goods waiting for them at the end of the pontoon when they arrive. The chandlery itself will be stocked with all the expected brands and will offer a customer loyalty scheme for regular patrons. If they add Pussers Rum to their stock list, we envisage it being a very popular service indeed.

02392 522226 www.ouboatmarine.com

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VALIANT ORKNEYV620 592

VALIANT V620

On a gorgeous, misty, muddy Essex morning, Alex Smith heads for the new waterfront premises at IBS International for a look at the Valiant’s striking 620 Cruiser.

I

t’s a great pleasure visiting IBS International’s new headquarters at North Fambridge in Essex. For a start, it ticks all the right boxes from a practical perspective. It has a slipway, a storage yard, a workshop and a pub virtually on site, plus a small, friendly marina just a hundred yards upstream and access to its own pontoons, accessible at the lowest of low water springs. But the real appeal consists not in practicalities like these but in the fact that this place is about as perfect a slice of estuary Essex as you are likely to see.

When I arrive at about 0730, the tide is out extremely out, in a way that only Essex seems to manage, exposing huge, heavy beds of east coast mud. A mist hangs low and thick and a pale sun glows weakly through the haze. Gulls and wading birds are already wandering around quietly, as if nursing hangovers and the silence of the place is palpable, with not the slightest noise either from people or traffic. In fact the only sound is a gentle lick as the water begins to flood the Crouch and bury the mud once more. I’m about two hours early for my appointment with the Valiant V620 but nothing could suit me better than just sitting on the wall, wrapped up warm, watching the water rise and waiting for the arrival of the day . . .

THE BOAT BUILDER Valiant is a relatively young company. It was founded in 1994 and yet its range of boats already shows it to be a prolific builder, with around 30 models currently in production, distributed by dealer networks in 25 countries around the world.

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Boat Mart I February 2010 I 25

StORmcatS tOpE ORKNEY HuNtER 592

StormcatS tope Hunter

Up in Islay on the west coast of Scotland, a boat builder called Stormcats is building a very serious reputation for itself. Simon Everett heads north to take a look.

T

here have been interesting things happening in the Stormcats boatyard. The Monostorm was already well established as a successful design but the firm’s mechanic, who hails from South Africa, wanted a small open boat for himself and his family. They had been working on the Monostorm hull to produce a different kind of boat.

The tumblehome was removed, the waterline beam was increased to provide even greater stability and then to reduce the wetted area they incorporated chine cutaways at the transom, as used on tournament skiboats, to allow the wake to fold quickly, and to reduce the amount of spray from the stern. Now, there are any number of small fishing boats out there, each

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with its own particular strengths but the new Tope Hunter has been designed to provide an easily launched, handy boat with plenty of space aboard and with a reasonable turn of speed.

The size is handy enough, with two models - one of five metres (or 16-foot, five inches in old money) and one of 5.9 metres (or 19-foot, six inches for traditionalists like me). I took both boats out and tried them back to back and found there was little to choose between them in terms of manoeuvrability. The bigger boat spins just as fast as the smaller one, another facet of those chine cutaways at the stern, which allow the stern to slip and the prop to maintain its bite throughout the turn. If you need to manoeuvre in a tight space, you can put the wheel over and open the throttle and the boat just spins around on the spot. This is the same with

both models. The longer boat, of course, has a good deal more deck space, as the console is very similar on both and takes up the minimum of room, being situated right forward. This is the South African boating philosophy coming through, where they have to tackle huge surf to launch off the beach.

The forward steering position gives the helm a far better view of the approaching waves and therefore better control. Over here in the UK, we would tend to place the helm aft, to prevent us from getting wet but then we rarelyN have to launch off the beach into ten-foot surf . . .

But the other benefits of the forward helm are every bit as useful. The increased deck area and ease of reaching the stem for anchoring are things that everyone will appreciate. Although she is

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Boat Mart I February 2010 I 33

EQUIPMENT

TOP GEAR

enGine neWS n kit & acceSSorieS n Book reVieWS n BUyinG adVice

Smart Stick

Digital Yacht has expanded its range of AIS products with what it describes as “the world’s first, fully self-contained Smart AIS antenna”. The SmarterTrack ANT200 incorporates a highly sensitive dual-channel AIS receiver into a waterproof antenna housing no bigger than a traditional GPS antenna. You basically connect the power and interface connections to any compatible AIS plotter and you’ll be presented with an overlay of AIS targets directly onto your plotter screen. All commercial ships over 300 GRT have a mandatory requirement to carry a Class A transponder – sending and receiving AIS data which includes position, identity and course information. Leisure users can also opt for a more simplified Class B transponder if they wish to transmit as well as receive their position information. The SmarterTrack ANT200 will decode both types of transmission.

Fancy a cold one?

I appreciate that it’s the dead of winter and that you are about as likely to embrace a chilled beer on the deck of an open boat as you are to raid the January sales in nothing but a pair of skimpy Speedos. But these new coolers from Sherpa really are worth shouting about. Why? Well believe it or not, they will keep their contents cold for up to five days with no power - and that’s not just when the thermostat is nudging zero but in the summer when it’s nudging ten! Strong, hygienic, waterproof and available in a range of sizes from 15 to 245 litres, these things even feature an optional seat, allowing you to buy a cooler and a seat pod all in one. Either ice or medical grade gel packs are all you need to maintain the freezing temperature for days on end.

Price: from £55.99 01598 740685

www.coolicebox.co.uk

Price: £186.83 01179 554474 www.digitalyacht.co.uk

Handy Holder

If finding storage space on your boat is a struggle, how about Accon Marine’s Quick Store System? It offers extra pockets to keep small items safely stored while underway, by means of pouches hooked securely onto a quick-release stainless steel drinks holder. Durable and breathable, it is constructed from water-repellent, vinyl-coated polyester mesh fabric with antimicrobial properties making it resistant to mould and mildew. It’s fast and easy to install and it’s lightweight and lowmaintenance once fitted. It could make a nice, easy winter job.

08452 266953

www.cquip.com

56 I February 2010 I Boat Mart

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INSHORE SKIPPER

INSHORE SKIPPER with Colin Jones

Colin Jones learned his seamanship with the longshoremen and fishermen of Swanage, driving their passenger launches, sailing boats and outboard motors for hire. A short spell in the Royal Navy gave plenty of sea time and was followed by several years of serious cruising and diving from a RIB. Since 1989, he and Rita have taken their Colvic Watson 29 to several countries. She is currently based in the French canals and the Med. (www.colvicwatson.co.uk)

BOAT INSURANCE: AN INSIDER’S INSIGHT Insurance seems like such a drag - until the day you need it . . .

How much to insure a live-aboard wreck?

Answers on a postcard.

T

he insurance premium payment day seems to come around sooner with every year we own the boat. Like most of us, I regard it as grudge money. I pay it with reluctance and hope never to use it. However, when some incompetent clown smashed 37 tonnes of charter boat into us when we were at anchor, the annual investment seemed very good value.

Our claim was settled without question and we actually ended up with a better boat, so we have stayed with St Margaret’s ever since.

However, even though we admire loyalty, there is no harm in looking around to check if there is a better policy for our level of bank balance and circumstances.

Right from the start, we should be clear about three facts. (1) There is no such thing as the ‘best’ policy in all respects. They all differ according to your type of boat and where you ➧

BASIC BOAT LIABILITY COMPANY Call for a quote or visit our website • 08707 870030 • www.basic-boat.com Third Party Boat Insurance • £5M liability cover • £50K wreck removal cover This company is part of the Howe Maxted Group Limited who are Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

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Boat Mart I February 2010 I 67

TOWING TIPS

Towing The line After a lifetime or two of trial and error, Stewart Suffield brings us squarely up to date with his definitive guide to the art of trailer boating . . .

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n half a century on the road I’ve piloted virtually everything from mopeds to milk floats, bubble cars to limousines, and mowers to trucks, frequently savouring more than 1,000 miles a week. For a sizeable chunk of those miles I have been towing, and again that has involved everything from caravans to race cars, with even the odd combine harvester thrown in. And in a rather vague and faintly boastful fashion, that brings us very nicely to the subject of this month’s main feature - towing boats.

SAme dog, new trickS Over more than two decades working for Boat Mart, I’ve pulled plenty of boats, not least a dauntingly huge 30-foot Motorcat - and

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yes, I’ve made mistakes but all that suffering has resulted in some very valuable lessons.

For example, I’ve learned that it’s not merely the power of the ‘tug’ that’s important - the handling and grip is absolutely critical. I have also learned that merely having a powerful engine is pointless if the gearing is all wrong.

Just as crucially, it’s not getting a trailer moving that’s the difficult thing, it’s stopping it safely.

And finally, I have learned to my cost that if your boat begins to overtake you, things have gone very badly wrong!

Now I’m certainly not going to suggest what car to tow with, how to tow or even the maximum load you can tow. These things you can easily research, and should learn, before you first hitch up. What I am going to do is

question some commonly held myths, and offer a few tips based purely on personal (and even painful) experience. It’s a fact that any car can tow a boat. The big questions are always ‘How big?’, ‘How well?’ and ‘How safely?’

reAd between the lineS When reading the various tow car awards reports, pause to consider that most people, including journalists, who regularly tow boats for a living tend to drive 4x4s, such as Land Rovers, Shoguns and other big pick ups – and most of them are automatics.

There are salutary lessons to be learnt from this because while very few people deliberately take their cars off-road, boaters do have to face steep, muddy or sandy slipways, pebbled

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Boat Mart I February 2010 I 81

PROJECT

PRACTICAL PROJECT #99

BEGINNER’S GUIDE BUYING THE RIGHT BOAT In a follow up to last month’s boat buying essentials, Peter Caplen runs you through a few of the basics to consider before parting with your hard earned money . . .

All boats need maintenance but sometimes that amounts to nothing more than a bit of spit and polish

Boating can be a compulsive pastime, taking up a large proportion of disposable income and personal time, so if you are considering taking the plunge and buying a boat there is more to be considered than the type and colour. Let’s start at the very beginning and ask why you want a boat? Having once been a seafaring nation they say it is in our blood, but discounting this romantic notion there must be other

Even something as simple as changing switch labels can be interesting

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reasons for expending a great deal of cash. There is a wide choice of boats available for hire throughout the country covering numerous different areas and types of cruising. Why not simply hire a boat whenever the urge strikes?

Buying a boat makes no sense at all yet many of us do so and spend most of our waking hours either working on it or thinking about working on it.

And this is the big difference between a hired boat and the one that we own - work!

But ask nearly any boat owner and he will say that he enjoys tinkering with his boat almost as much as going out in it. ‘Tinkering’ varies between boat and owner, and may be nothing more arduous than polishing the copper pipe-work around the engine, but more often it will involve altering the boat in some way. There are always ways of improving a boat, fitting additional lighting, installing a washbasin in the toilet compartment or even fitting a bigger spotlight on the roof. Boat owners can walk around any chandlery and find something they didn’t realise they needed and if you are seriously thinking of becoming a boat owner, you can rest assured that it won’t take long for you to be bitten by the bug .WHERE WILL I USE IT? The narrow boat is the archetypal inland waterways craft. They were developed along with the canal system itself and their basic design has not changed in several hundred years. It is therefore safe to say that the narrow boat is the absolutely ideal mode of transport for canal cruising, so if your ambitions are fixed firmly within the bounds of the inland canals, the narrow boat is the one to aim for.

Unfortunately, due to their size, they tend to be rather more expensive than smaller GRP canal cruisers, but they are also roomier, easier to handle and have the in-built strength to handle the day-to-day rigours of canal life.

Narrowboats are built in a variety of styles from the traditional (or trad’) with a tiny aft deck with room for the steerer and possibly one other person. Forward of this is often a replica boatman’s cabin.

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Boat Mart I February 2010 I 109

GETTING PRACTICAL IT RIGHT

GETTING IT RIGHT

LauNcH aNd REcovERy

One of the things a novice boater hates is busy, mid-summer launching. And recovering your boat as the tide begins to drop, the stream starts to flow, the wind gets up and the slipway gets slimy – well that’s no picnic either.

Jon Mendez explains how to get it right.

W

ith a bit of practice, launch and recovery is not that difficult. And it’s worth learning to get it right because trailer boating has lots of benefits. Your boat can stay in much better condition if it’s out of the water, plus, of course, it costs less to keep it away from the marina and it allows you to enjoy a greater variety of boating areas.

I know I always say it, but in this case it really does pay huge dividends – BE PREPARED. There is nothing worse then waiting for ages at the slipway site while people clog things up, struggling with a badly prepared rig.

Turn To p125 for relaTed courses

At home Lots of preparation can be done before you leave home, especially if it’s a slipway that you have not used before. Check who owns it. Is it a public slip, or a club’s? Who administers it?

Do you have to pay? If so, to whom, how much and where do you find them on the day? Some slipways need an annual licence. Some local council-owned slips require proof of insurance before they will give permission to launch and some slips, which specialise in personal watercraft, require an RYA licence first. Boat launch (www.boatlaunch.co.uk) provides good basic information and phone numbers so you check it all out. ➧

Remember - if you’ve had a long trip, wait for those bearings to cool down

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Boat Mart I February 2010 I 119

WIN A SuNSporT INflATABle BoAT

Courtesy of Barrus, Boat Mart readers are in with a chance of winning a great little tender from the SunSport inflatable range . . .

The SunSport range of inflatable craft is designed to be very versatile indeed. With robust build and durable, abrasion-resistant fabrics, they are ideal for use as ship-toshore ferries, or else for exploring the coastline or spending the day on the lake.

Compact, lightweight, easy to stow, simple to transport and quick to launch, the highpressure inflatable hull with extended planing surface is very quick to plane with just a small four-stroke Mariner outboard of between 2.5 and four horsepower.

They are extremely stable in the water, with big buoyancy and excellent people carrying capacity and with a weight of less than 36 kg, allied to the ability to deflate to a compact size for easy stowage on your main boat or transport in the boot of your car, the AIB 230 is about as easy to own as a boat can be. The 230 comes supplied with oars, a seat, a repair kit, some bellows, a valise and an inflatable floor.

Contact 01869 363636 www.barrus.co.uk

WORTH

ÂŁ659 ENTER NOW

Boat specs length 2.28 m Beam 1.34 m Tube diameter 36.5 cm Weight 35.6 kg passengers two Max power: 4hp Warranty: two years

FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer the question below, complete the form and send it to: Boat Mart Competition, CSL Publishing, 49 Sidney Street, Cambridge, CB2 3HX or email competitions@boatmart.co.uk or visit www.boatmart.co.uk (BEFORE 10 FEBRUARY, 2010).

Question: WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM POWER RATINg OF THE SUNSPORT AIB230?

Answer Name

Daytime Tel No.

Email

Address My boat is a: Rules: Employees of CSL Publishing and their immediate families are not eligible to enter. The winner will be selected at random from all correct entries after the closing date. No alternative to the advertised prize is available. Only one entry per household. Entrants must be aged 18 or over. CSL Publishing accept no responsibility for any damage or injury caused by competition prizes and any enquiries should be directed to the manufacturer or retailer. The winner’s name and postal town will be published in Boat Mart and the winner will be notified in writing within 14 days of the closing date. CSL Publishing will use your information for administration and analysis. We may share your information with carefully selected third parties. We, or they, may send details of other goods and services which may be of interest to you.

Please tick this box if you do not want your details shared with carefully selected third parties. n