Best Boats Under £25,000
Nine sensible, seaworthy boats you can genuinely buy for the price of a used car.
Jack & Anchor Editorial3 August 2026 7 min read
The £25,000 reality check
At this level you are buying a boat from the 1980s or 1990s, or a small modern boat. Both can be excellent. What you cannot do is buy a large modern boat cheaply — if the price looks too good for the size, the deferred maintenance is the difference.
Sail
A Westerly Konsort, Sadler 32 or Moody 31 gives you a properly built cruiser with standing headroom, an inboard diesel and a track record of crossing Biscay. Budget £3,000-5,000 in the first year for rigging and sails.
Power
A Hardy Seawings 22 or Merry Fisher 585 gives you a genuinely usable all-weather day boat with modest fuel bills. Older sports cruisers of 30ft+ are tempting at this price but bring twin-engine servicing costs that dwarf the purchase.
What to prioritise
Structure first, systems second, cosmetics last. Paint and upholstery are cheap. A tired engine, wet deck core or corroded keel bolts are not.
