Tigerr

We moored for a couple of years at Cropredy. It is a good marina, good facilities. Handy for the village, although if you want to buy stores you need to go 10 mins to Banbury by car, where everything is available. Very handy for Oxford commute. If using phone wifi - assuming you have a 4g ariel and router setup - it is OK but prone to slow/low. We were on EE - never got 3 lights. You'd see people wandering around atop the bund trying to get signal. You need a mast for certain, which you can see by the number of them there. It's in a dip, and that doesnt help. As for the marina wifi - it was ineffective at peak times. Too many people using it. It was one of my main reasons for leaving - couldn't stream netflix in the evening. We gave up bothering with it. I understand though that Aquavista have invested across their network, and maybe the marina wifi is much more powerful now. It's really worth asking about it. What you want, is a marina close to an urban centre, ideally on high ground.

Ideal for a river I reckon. But the currents round Bembridge are nasty, 13knots at peak along the ledge where the bream are. I think I have to go for a planing boat and most likely an outboard Are there any useful websites like this, you could suggest, for folk doing what I have in mind? I am acutely aware that while I reckon after so many years I know a fair deal about NB's, and indeed small boat sailing on coastal waters, its a different ballgame with motorboats and I dont know, what I dont know!

I've been looking at a Nelson in Emsworth. It's got a small engine - a volvo penta inboard 20hp. Am I right in thinking i is simply underpowered for anything coastal? The tidal flow at Bembridge where it would be berthed can exceed its quoted speed so it would be going backwards! Ive also been looking at a Hardy 20 with a honda 70 outboard - which would have a fair turn of speed. My brother says I should really think of a small planing boat rather than a displacement hull, as he says the fishing boat he uses (displacement) can easily take 3 hours to get out to fishing spots and small muddy boats whizz past all the time on the way. But then I assume they bob about like corks once they get there and everyone is sick.