boats in USA are cheaper than in EU?

[Karletto]

boat1 or boat2 or boat3; thay'r 1/2 the price than in EU; there's no way i can find a boat so long for 7000eur in EU but it's true that mentioned boats are a bit old (+ thay'r 1 ocean and 2 seas away ) -> will it cost me other 7000EUR/ 10000USD to bring it home myself? i'am not going to teach myself sailing but i've never been in Atlantic ocean; of course the boat would keep its USA flag

tnx in advance

[Talbot]

You would not be able to keep the US flag unless you are a US national

cost for sailing home will also need to include the major cost of preparation for such a journey, and the wear and tear on the structure. cost for shipping a boat Florida to UK was about £10,000 last time I checked.

Within EU you would then have to pay VAT on that import.

You have the cost of changing from 110v AC to 220 v AC.

The cost of CE certification
and the cost of RCD certification.

For the right boat at the right price it can still be worth it, but not the bargain of the century it appears initially

[speedoo]

Well, none of those boats are truly blue water capable, and even if they were, you'd have a lot of trouble finding a delivery crew to bring the boat across the Atlantic. So you'd be shipping it and any savings vs. buying something local to you would be wiped out.

[Karletto]

what about this 1? if nothing it looks much more robust then boats above and it's even on east coast

[speedoo]

Try doing a search on the site for "Columbia build quality". It may lead you to some very negative information on build quality that was posted a few months back. If it were not for that, I'd say a Columbia 34 could be a good blue water boat, if it were well prepared.

On edit, here is the thread I refer to:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...-ll-16391.html

Pay close attention to what "Norm" says.

[stevensc]

I recently sold my power boat, it was shipped to Europe, dimentions of the packed boat were:
length 31 feet
width 10 feet 6 inches
height 13 feet
weight approximately 12,000 lbs

Shipping including truck from Louisiana to US East coast port and shipper supplied cradle, approximately $21,000. included Ins. and a $3,500. fuel surcharge
CE certification will be done in Europe but I got and estimate for CE certification by an authorized SAMS surveyor in the US for $5,000.00 to $6,000.00
This shipping was arranged in a hurry maybe lower prices could be obtained, although a higher bid was also recieved, if more time had been available to search and get more offers but I don't think it would have been much.
Beware! the original over the phone, offer was lower than the actual charges.
Good luck!
Steve

[Boracay]

You're looking at fairly small boats (by cruising standards).

If you can find what boats will fit inside (including mast and trailer) a standard 40' shipping container then those could be far cheaper to ship.

It may be practical to remove the keel and put the boat in on it's side.

Having the boat on a trailer would reduce handling costs.

[hurakan]

Karletto,

I made an intensive search about bringing an 25ft- 3000kg from Florida to Izmir, TR. I contacted to many carriers and the cost of transfering that kinda boat was approx. 10k USD.

You can keep the US flag on your boat. To be able to do so, you've gotta set up a company in Delaware, easy even with your credit card for around 400 USD. Then, register your boat on that company and voila! that's it!. You'll only have to pay some 200 USD every year to keep your US company ''alive''. Bacause of huge VAT and other taxes ( shame on those policies!), nearly 90 % of the boats (even 6 meter motor boats) in marinas in TR carry US flag.

[DeepFrz]

I was just reading yesterday that some West Coast dealers are reporting boat sales are down about 60% over last year. Might account for the lower prices.

[MoonlightShadow]

!!! Did you just say 60% DeepFrz. That's an incredible figure! Last figures I saw for UK market were pre-Christmas. but showed the market was actually UP. But that is very deceptive, as most of the sales were into the Euro Zone, due to the 30% collapse of the pound against the Euro, making boats priced in £, 30% cheaper than their European counterparts.

[DeepFrz]

Yes, "60% downturn at the winter boat shows". But I don't know if that is an across the board drop or specific to certain product lines.

This is a quote from yesterday's news.

CHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- Sales of recreational power boats in the U.S. may decline by more than 20% this year, as consumers continue to avoid purchases of luxury items in a weak economy, Brunswick Corp. (BC) Chief Executive Dustan McCoy said Tuesday.

Business Report: UK
There is a ‘survival of the fittest’ mentality amid UK firms as they scramble to cost-save while all the time keeping fingers crossed that the first signs of recovery won’t be too long coming.

[MoonlightShadow]

Dustan McCoy probably has it right, and may even be optimistic. In my UK firm we have not done any cost savings yet, but I can see them coming. What I can't see is any sign that recovery will happen in the near future. The UK has just borrowed more, leaving us with more to pay back - that will IMHO elongate recovery.

I am not in the boat business today, but was during the 1980s recession. We went to the London boat show in 1980 and didn't sell a thing. We dropped 30% of our turnover inside three months, but, we were in sportsboats then.

Used boat asking prices in the UK do not seem to have dropped that much. There is a bit of a downward movement, but it's not what I would call substantial. However, although that is "asking" prices, I'm not sure what actual deals are taking place. Anecdotal evidence suggests that people are offering as low as 60% of asking prices and concluding deals at around 75%. That came from a broker, but I don't vouch for its accuracy (I was a seller at the time). Boat sales are always an individual matter.

I would suggest to Karletto to have a look at domestic market UK boats. If he has Euro to spend, its worth 150% as much in the UK than in Europe. Once he finds something, make a bid - at worst it will be refused, and it will likely be VAT paid, and CE marked, and at least $15,000 cheaper than importing from the US. At the moment, importing from the US only appears to make sense on new and high value boats, where the cost of shipping and CE approval is a smaller percentage of overall cost.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

Yes, "60% downturn at the winter boat shows". But I don't know if that is an across the board drop or specific to certain product lines.

This is a quote from yesterday's news.

First they jack the price up 200% from cost then lower them 60%. They're just feeling the pinch.

[TaoJones]

At the time Karletto started this thread (Aug '08), the dollar was about as low as it has gotten to the Euro since it went over the falls in 2001-02. Today it is about as high as it has managed to climb against the Euro over the last 8-9 months.

What's the difference? Last August the dollar traded at almost $1.60 to the Euro. Today it trades at about $1.25, a decline of about 22% in Euro purchasing power. That's significant.

In other words, even if shipping a vessel to Europe for about $10,000 weren't bad enough, and even if you weren't going to get nailed with a 15-19% VAT to import it , the Forex lift of last summer has vanished. It now makes absolutely no sense for a European to buy a US vessel and import it into the EU.

When the $US resumes its (virtually guaranteed) decline under the heavy burden of future inflation-induced debasement, and if a European intends to keep a vessel purchased here out of the EU in, say, the Caribbean, it would again be economic to purchase a US vessel. But not until then.

For the same reason, if an American is interested in buying a vessel in Europe, his dollar may never go further than it does now. Therefore, there may never be a better time for an American to purchase a European vessel.

TaoJones