Thursday, 19 November 2015

The build has begun!

November 2015

When the first couple of sections were being moulded I received some pictures to show me the progress.

 
This is the bow of the inside layer - the bow seating and foot well sticking up

This is the rear of the same section - galley floor and shower

This is the cabin roof section with reinforcing strips

The same piece at the rear showing the cockpit seats and reinforced floor area

Saturday, 26 September 2015

Chapter 1 – choosing a boat

September 2015

My wife Caroline and I are not new to boating as we have been hiring holiday boats for the last 30 years, but recently we decided it was time to buy one of our own, a good few years ahead of retirement but with that goal in mind.  I’m sure many people have gone through a similar thought process and plenty more will in the future so I decided to share our journey as it may help others.  The idea of owning our own boat has been floating around for quite a few years and we’ve changed our minds on whether to do it or not many times, but now we are happy we’ve made the right choice and our new Viking 295 is being delivered in February 2016. Our decision making process wasn’t as chronological as the following notes would suggest but I feel it reads better this way. 

One of the first things we needed to decide is where we would want to use the boat and this actually took us a quite a while as we had a number of choices.  We live by the sea (on the south coast), next to a marina so to begin with it seemed to make sense to get a boat and keep it within a few minutes walk so that we could use it frequently. We looked at quite a few options from entry level Merry Fishers through to old Searays, Sunseekers and similar.  We needed something we could comfortably use for holidays (meaning toilet, galley, hot shower etc were essential!) and this meant we were soon eliminating the cheap but new options and looking at potential money pits.  But in the back of our minds we had some doubts over whether we actually wanted a sea-going boat as our experience has all been on rivers, broads and canals. A sea trial at the Southampton Boat Show confirmed our thinking; we wanted a boat to use inland! Travelling at speed on the Solent isn’t for us; the potential destinations around the Isle of Wight and along the south coast appealed but the journeys required to reach them didn’t, and neither did the running costs.

The next decision was ‘cruiser or narrowboat’, we’ve holidayed on both and they appeal in different ways.  A narrowboat would open up more of the UK waterways for us and there are some beautiful examples available, but most of our holidays have been on cruisers on the River Thames and Norfolk Broads and we enjoy the practicality and weather protection they offer. So with narrowboats out of the equation we had to decide which cruiser!  Living where we do the nearest waterways for us to use are the Kennet and Avon, River Wey and River Thames, we soon decided that we would have a boat somewhere on the Thames. We’ve been spoiled somewhat with the holiday boats we’ve hired as they are much bigger and better equipped than anything we are likely to afford (typically 40’ x 12’ with 2 en-suite bedrooms!) so we needed to be realistic and temper our expectations.  We drew up a short list of wants and needs to help narrow the choice. On the Thames we need to be able to pass under Osney Bridge (2.28m), we want to be able to leave a double berth made up, hot water and heating, ability to accommodate overnight guests (occasionally) and although not essential we liked the idea of a new or nearly new boat. Like many others before us this led us to the offerings from Shetland and Viking, and we’ve been looking at both for the last couple of years.

Back in October 2013 we met up with Vinny and Wayne at a Viking open day (we’d met previously at the Southampton and London Boat Shows) to try some boats on the River Cam at The Five Miles From Anywhere No Hurry Inn. We tried the Viking 24 first and thought it was a great boat and reasonably affordable but next we boarded the Seamaster 28 and it immediately felt like the boat for us. The additional beam not only made the boat much more stable but the additional space in the cockpit and in the cabin was significant. We loved this boat! On the day Vinny made us a very good offer if we were able to place an order, we really thought long and hard but the timing wasn’t quite right. I was nearing the end of a motor racing season (www.sevenracing.co.uk) and I wasn’t sure if I was going to continue racing in 2014 or not so sadly we weren’t able to place an order.

Some photos of the lovely Vivien Ann we tried on the demo day -





As it happened I didn’t race in 2014 and I sold the racing car, but I took up flying and threw myself into getting my Private Pilots License instead! We continued hiring boats on the Norfolk Broads and River Thames in 2014 and 2015 but the boat ownership itch still hadn’t been scratched. With the number of working years ahead of me reducing (and consequently fewer years to pay for a boat) we decided we had to get on with it if we were ever to own our own boat.

At the Southampton Boat Show in 2015 we spent a lot of time looking at the Shetland 27, we’d looked at it in detail previously and it was a viable contender for us along with the Seamaster 28.  There is much to like about the Shetland, the interior design has some very nice touches and it comes in a fair bit cheaper than the Seamaster 28. Viking were showing their new ‘275’ at the same show so we looked at that, but our first thoughts were that we preferred the looks of the Shetland. The 275 has a bathing platform and a transom door to make boarding easier but inside we just didn’t like the fit and finish as much as the Shetland.  James made us a very good offer if we wanted to buy a Shetland 27 so we left the show believing that we were close to making a decision but wanting to see the Seamaster 28 again.

The following weekend there was an open day at Tingdene Thames and Kennet marina and we knew the Seamaster 28 would be there so we went along. We spent several hours on board the boat and had a short river trip as well. It felt as good as we’d remembered from 2 years previously and we were able to crawl all round it this time, looking in every cupboard and hatch. We still felt we needed to justify to ourselves the reason for spending substantially more than we would for a Shetland 27 though.  The 2 boats are hard to compare, the Seamaster is bigger and has a different layout. In the end one of the key factors in our decision came down to the size of the berth underneath the cockpit! In the Shetland 27 we wouldn’t have used it (not really big enough for us) but in the Seamaster 28 it was 4' wide so we could see ourselves using it and leaving it made up as a bed all the time rather than converting one of the dinettes. This was enough of a reason to support the decision, so at long last we’d made a choice! Next we had to choose the spec!

Viking and Tingdene have teamed up to develop and market the boats together which should be a productive relationship for both parties. To begin with I believe there is a desire to standardise the offerings and clarify the options to make it easier for the purchaser. One of the options being introduced is the bathing platform and transom access modification (similar to the 275) to turn the Seamaster 28 into the Viking 295.  I’ll be the first to admit that I really don’t like the look of the outboard being mounted on the bathing platform but thinking about it practically the cockpit sides are very high and we’re not getting any younger so ease of access will become more important in the future. At the marina we were using a 2-step ladder to get on and off!  Our boat is the first 295 being built (in build as I type) so we’re a little nervous as we don’t quite know how the stern is going to look, I’m sure it’ll be fine though.



What a lovely day for deciding which boat to buy! We spent a lot of time on The Bajan Crane!

The other aspect of the new partnership meant that instead of me being able to do a deal with Vinny and Wayne I had to negotiate through a third party. This took a bit of time with Tingdene able to make some offers and Viking having to chip in as well, I’m sure that over time this will become easier though.  We ended up spending far more than if we had done the deal 2 years ago but to be fair we’ve bought something quite different from what was on offer back then. A quick run through the highlights – Viking 295 with bathing platform and transom door access, 40 hp Mariner outboard, hot and cold water system, cassette toilet, warm air heating, co-pilot seat with second fridge under, CD radio, bow-thruster, teak style cockpit floor, canvas/stainless steel canopy, depth gauge, speed log and full galley with oven and grill. The boat is currently in build and we’re visiting soon to see the progress and to take some photographs.  It’s due for delivery in February and we will be based at the Thames and Kennet marina for the first year at least. I expect that in a few years time we’ll have the boat moved to the Norfolk Broads for a season or two.