Shakespeare 6.2

[Matt]

Does anyone know anything about the Shakespeare 6.5 (not 6.2 - typo in my thread title) on ebay at the moment. I think the chap has had it up for sale for a while.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404458644931

[Nasher]

Looks nice Matt, will be interesting to see what it ends up going for.
I see the reserve hasn't been met yet, but it's a bit low at the moment.

I have to say though, at 6.5m it might feel a little 'sedate' with a 115 on.

[Matt]

Yes, he's had it up for sale for a while in various places, at IMVHO, more than it's really worth, but if condition is OK, it's certainly worth a bit more than currently shown.

But then I see a Bembridge marine cutter up for sale at the moment as a "reluctant" sale for 10K than it was advertised for 15 months ago. Obviously a very reluctant sale!

115 would be a bit sedate - the 6.5m hire rib I had at the weekend only had 115hp and maxxed out at about 31-32 knots. But the goal is to have a boat that's not too quick that I can teach the kids to drive, let friends drive a bit, and so forth. So all out performance is not the goal - good fun is. Though I reckon a 6.5 probably wants a 150-200 on the back, doesn't it. 40 knots flat out, with a nice cruise at 30 would be perfect.

My focus is to make sure the structures are solid and not rotten though. Saw a boat at the weekend that apparently had a new transom & deck 4 years ago - but they didn't glass the transom top properly and used interior grade ply - so water has got in and the ply has already blown! Madness to spend all the effort repairing something and cut a couple of simple and cheap corners that compromise the whole job.

[willk]

Originally Posted by Matt

40 knots flat out, with a nice cruise at 30 would be perfect.

There you go - I too arrived at the conclusion that these figures equalled the notional "R" in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, where "R" was a reasonable speed under the prevailing circumstances and R17 was clearly, waaaay too fast.

[Nasher]

In that case you know the only possible answer is 42.

[blufin]

Iirc these were built by stevetheboat who used to post here occasionally way way back. He also built the hulls for Revenger at the time so I think quality wise they were fairly decent. Nautiquipe is/was part of the same set up. There was a build thread on a 7+m on here again way back which might give some more insight. iandl I think was the name of the guy.

[Matt]

I decided against the shakespeare in the end. I just felt that 115hp and 6.5m wouldn't quite be enough, so I've ended up with a cobra 7.5 nautique with a 225hp Optimax on it. It's had a new interior on it at some point, so looks pretty tidy, although the tubes are poor! I am hoping to get a season or 2 out of the tubes though with some judicious repairs - but we will see, one of them needs a patch rather urgently.

The upside - it was substantially cheaper than any other cobra 7.5 currently on the market. It also turns current owner only bought it in may this year - but the owner before that had it for a decade and I know him - so got lots of good insight and history in to it. The downside - will need a bit of work over this winter.

The engine seems sweet and the hull seems sound though - so hopefully it's a fair enough "deal" - I think any boat you buy other than brand new always needs a bit of work - hell, if need be, I'll retube it and it'll still be an OK deal.

@Nasher - turns out I know a man with quite a few Optimax 225 spares, so if you need any bits for yours, let me know.

[fastasfox]

Where did you find the Cobra?

[Nasher]

Originally Posted by Matt

@Nasher - turns out I know a man with quite a few Optimax 225 spares, so if you need any bits for yours, let me know.

Matt
Firstly, well done on choosing such a nice project.
Secondly, thanks for the above.
Thirdly, I have a full official Mercury workshop manual for my 2005 225 Opti which you are welcome to borrow when you need it.
It's @2.5inches think and very comprehensive.