Bechod has gone. we have a berth empty at Kafiga Landings in Hartlepool and no boat to put there. So how should we go about choosing a repalcement?

We have tried to look at the use we have given Bechod over the past few years, and compared that with ideas for how we'd like to use the next boat more. Are we satisfied with the odd day trip or day passage? How important is taking out several other people? Racing? Fishing? Serious passage making (The Netherlands and Norway aren't very far away...)? Holidays? Caravan (simply sleeping on board by the pontoon)? We can only say what we'd like to do, not knowing if we'd ever actually get around to it. But having a boat capable of fulfilling all the roles we can think of would allow us to see.

But then there is the issue of cost. Greater use allows us to justify paying more on buying and keeping. Buying a well found boat does not usually involve great (forgive the pun) sunk costs, depreciation is low if maintenance is thorough, but greater size leads to far higher berthing fees and more expensive replacements and maintenance. Purchase price is a function of size, age, condition, quality and type, and any boat we could afford requires very careful surveying to avoid problems.

One thought was to go smaller - a large dinghy, such as a Wayfarer, or up to a lightweight day boat. This would give many advantages:
- Keeping a boat on a trailer is much cheaper than a mooring;
- We can easily sail in different areas, such as the Lake District or Wales;
- Several people will fit in;
- When we go somewhere we can pull up on a beach and find somewhere to camp or B&B without also paying marina fees;
- Maintenance and equipping is cheaper and convenient if the boat will move easily and not be too complex;
- Sailing is exciting, almost whatever the weather;
- Cheap to buy.

But these are offset by major disadvantages:
- Sailing can be too exciting and more weather dependent;
- Easy to get wet, difficult to get dry;
- Difficult to carry kit for longer trips;
- Passage making is possible, but tricky and tiring;
- It takes longer to put a boat on the water than simply motor away from a pontoon, and kit cannot be securely stored in a parked dinghy. Would we actually use it very much?
- No toilet.

An almost proper yacht (beds, toilet, cooker) the same length as Bechod (18 - 20 feet) is possible, and affordable, but we are very limited when taking others out - cockpits tend to only have space for two or three. So, if sociability is a priority, realistically we have to look at 24 feet or more to gain the space we need. The advantages then are clear:

- Drier sailing, with access to cabin, kit, toilet and cooker;
- Holiday opportunities - live aboard for weeks at a time;
- Safe and seaworthy - bigger boats cope better when things go wrong;
- Always ready to go - boat can be locked up with all we need on board;
- Opportunities to take people for the day, week, or round the entire coast of Britain if we so desire.

But costs increase at a rate that seems disproportional to length. As the boat gets larger, cranes become involved. There is no option of taking the boat home for winter maintenance, but yacht club or boat yard must be paid for storage. All the essential winter work (which grows with size and age) must be planned and done from the back of a car in whatever weather arrives, instead of in a sheltered and equipped workshop. A 24 foot boat needs twice as much paint as an 18 foot!

So let's suppose we've made the decision - a bigger boat may cost more, but the added utility makes it all worth while. The decision making is only beginning!

Bigger boats come in two basic forms - fast and slow. Fast tend to have limited headroom and storage, and are not the most comfortable in a rough sea. Slow may be caravans (designed to maximise accommodation) or seaworthy, which can be tight on space but would sail round the world in safety. But we want everything - fast enough to get places, roomy enough to holiday on, seaworthy enough to sail to Holland in a gale. Despite the fact that these specifications describe what everyone else wants too, and has done for many years, the perfect boat is not out there (of if it is, I've not found it at a price I can pay!).

Of course the reality is that almost all boats will do all these things adequately. We've viewed fast boats with perfectly adequate accommodation and sea keeping abilities to weather all but occasional (and avoidable) storms. We've scrambled over extremely seaworthy boats that would speed at a rate Captain Cook would envy, even if we might find light airs frustrating, and could holiday four adults for a month – in closeness. And we've ummed and ahhed our way round vast tubs (complete with double berths and oven) in which we would have space to live, would sail to Scandinavia if we picked our window with a little care and have engines efficient enough not to worry too much about the abysmal light wind sailing performance. But we are succeeding only in confusing ourselves. The more we see, the more focused we become on what's lacking in a particular boat rather than what's there. Of course, if we had more money compromises would be slighter - speed, seaworthiness and space can be bought, but we are not in the fortunate position of owning the large pots of dosh required.

This is bringing me to a conclusion. Any number of boats would do, we'd enjoy and stay safe. It's just that so far we still believe we need not compromise - the perfect boat is the next one we'll look at, and when we find that emotion - triggered by condition, location, design, beauty, materials, owner or any number of objectively less significant issues, we'll throw ourselves into it and love because of our inner commitment. I hope it happens soon, otherwise we'll have to face up to deciding where our compromises are, instead of having them thrust upon us.

Of course, I may just be scared of making the commitment.

Steve Bunning July 2003