Challenge: Buy a Used 26' Boat and Get it to Finland for 6,000EUR / $7,500 ?

[crazyeuropean]

Hi there,

You want a challenge? I got one.
I have this idea that I have to live on a sailboat. Just a small one would be enough, I don't have nor need much stuff. It should sleep at least two people and be able to sail along the coast. Location would be around here (Finland), so I'd probably have to rent an apartment during the winter months, or get big time insulation. I'd gradually make my boat kind of self-sufficient, with electrical motor and solar/wind/muscle power etc. and I'd be one of the happiest and freest creatures alive.
Now the problem is, I don't have much of a clue about boats (yet), and my budget is very limited, compared to most of you. You see the numbers in the title. Maybe I could get 1,000 EUR more until summer, but then I'd hardly have any savings left, which I figure is not a good idea... This budget would have to include the boat itself, an expert to tell me it's ok, transport to Helsinki/Finland and whatever toll they'll demand here.

So, what do you old guys think? What's with all those few thousand €/$/£ boats I find in the ads, are they any good? If yes, will all the other costs I don't know much about still make this dream unaffordable for me?

Thanks for any advice (especially if it doesn't end with "forget about it")!

The crazy European

P.S.: I could offer online German lessons in exchange... Or French. Or basic Italian/Icelandic/Finnish/Swedish...?? Or advice on getting around in Europe, eating gluten-free... I'm young and I need the boat!

[sandy daugherty]

I have absolutely no idea of the number of homeless people who can survive a winter in Helsinki, nor do I know of any place near by that allows liveaboards on minimal boats. I DO know that living aboard here in the US is challenging in the moderate climate of the middle eastern seaboard Like the Chesapeake Bay, and becomes more of an ordeal further north. Just getting back and forth to the boat is dangerous, but hauling food and heating fuel, or just getting to a shower and to work in the morning requires something akin to an heroic effort.
Your written english is good. With your other language skills, wouldn't it be possibly to find work in a more salubrious clime?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by crazyeuropean

Just a small one would be enough

With that budget IMO you have to look locally as delivery (by land or sea) would finish () your budget.....if you do not have the time and skills to do so yourself. and even then, it's a tight budget. Wouldn't surprise me to find that Finland also has some boat import taxes to think about.

IMO to get a good small boat for that budget she will be a) basic and b) small .......going larger means they be "fixer uppers" and those that need updating / refurbishment and are more like the start of a loan agreement, buying the boat is just putting down the initial deposit on the total cost - not to say it cannot work well, for those with time / skills and the future income. But you ain't buying a sailaway package.

What about buying a good boat "abroad" and keeping her there for 6 months whilst you learn how to sail her back to Finland?....even if the sail back is 6 months down the line?

This one has been for sale for a while (her deep keel means that a Marina is the likely berth in the UK - especially for someone who is new to sailing and has not wangled a 24/7 swinging mooring - so the annual cost of that berth would be a fair percentage of her total value!)........so might be a deal available that brings her into your budget........located in Cornwall (South West coast of the UK).....of course no idea what condition she is in......and a boat viewing trip will take a chunk of your budget / might force you into buying something you later regret.

Invicta 26 for sale - Yachtsnet Ltd. online UK yacht brokers - yacht brokerage and boat sales

[crazyeuropean]

Hi Sandy,
I know it's hard to understand for most people, but I do like it here. I'd be able, but not willing to leave Scandinavia. And, note:

Originally Posted by crazyeuropean

Location would be around here (Finland), so I'd probably have to rent an apartment during the winter months, or get big time insulation.

I'm not crazy enough to think I could just spend a winter on a boat here, without the option of fleeing into a boring but warm apartment...

David,
Thanks for your input. Basic and small is no problem. Unfortunately, i's not feasible for me to sail a boat alone any time soon, though I might be able to find a few more experienced sailors to help me. Hmm, I'll go write some emails...

[slomotion]

When I was 28 I bought a 27' sailboat and lived on her while cruising around New England for 4 or 5 months. Come winter, I foolishly decided to park her and go back to work instead of just heading south. I didn’t do any real cruising again for 20 years. So, in principle I think you have a great idea.

However, as David points out, on your budget you are unlikely to be able find a good condition boat and have it delivered to Finland. You need to shop locally. I know the Fins have made some great boats, but I have no idea what the local market is like. In the U.S. for $7,500 you could find many 25-27 footers in reasonable condition that would be suitable for coastal/island hopping sailing. Crossing oceans is a very different proposition.

Bear in mind that purchasing a boat is just the beginning. Owning and maintaining a boat that is already in good condition is expensive. Repairing/upgrading a needs-work boat on a limited budget is often a prescription for disaster. You want the best condition boat you can afford. I suspect you are a relatively young person (if so, of course, I hate you because I'm 59 and I have no idea how that happened). Don’t make my mistake. If you have the dream now, then now is the time to make it happen - youth, energy, and enthusiasm will help you find a way.

[Cacique]

Here in the UK you should be able to find something, then all you need is to find someone with experience to help you sail it home.

[Hampus]

With that budget, don't look outside of the EU. The import taxes and demand for a CE certification would crack your budget like a tiny egg under a 30 ton truck... With the Swedish "peseta" about to hit rock bottom, I sugest you have a look over here. No matter where on the Swedish coast you got the boat you would be able to hop between marinas and day sail it home. If you need any help let me know. If you find any suitable ones in southern Sweden i could have a look for you
Here are a few i'd reccomend:

Under 26 ft:
http://www.blocket.se/vi/20432163.htm?ca=23_11_s
http://www.blocket.se/vi/20412137.htm?ca=23_11_s
http://www.blocket.se/vi/20239631.htm?ca=23_11_s

26ft or more:
http://www.blocket.se/vi/20392126.htm?ca=23_11_s
http://www.blocket.se/vi/20356503.htm?ca=23_11_s
http://www.blocket.se/vi/16680263.htm?ca=23_11_s
http://www.blocket.se/vi/20096855.htm?ca=23_11_s
http://www.blocket.se/vi/20315083.htm?ca=23_11_s

/Hampus

[snapdragon747]

Hi

Horrified by the cost of yachts in the UK and Europe, I flew out to the States and bought a 29ft C&C for $6000. I sailed this up the coast to Newfoundland and lived aboard it for two winters! -20c 1 metre of snow on the boat and the harbours froze over!

But I was warm and cosy inside the boat and just heated it woith a small electric fan heater.

My original plan was to sail it back to the Uk and live on it there but I kind of got 'stuck' in Newfoundland where I made many friends and found enough work repairing boats etc. I also met a Newfie lady there and she moved in with me. We are currently in Nova Scotia and heading back down to the South for this winter!

I have seen plenty of useable 28-30 ft sailboats in the USA that can be bought for between $1,000- $5000

[barnakiel]

A Folkboat will do?

b.

[barnakiel]

PS I do not think those '...usable 28-30' sailboats in the USA ... for between USD 1-5k..." can be taken to Finland other than by a ferry, can they?

It has to be a local boat - Finland or Sweden.

Hugs,
barnie

[snapdragon747]

The problem with folkboats is that have absolutely no head room.....just about have sitting headroom.

[barnakiel]

Errrr ... a 26' with the standing height of a modern man (people used to be much shorter in the 80'ies ;-)) ...

Well then perhaps a nice power boat, a.k.a. stinker?

An Albin has more headroom but it is a poorer sailing boat.

As far as I can remember the 27 Vancouver is the smallest I had head room - but a Vancouver is 4 times more expensive.

b.

[SabreKai]

I'd suggest a Grampian 26, built in Canada. Right now with the market so messed up, you can get an so-so condition boat for as little as $2500. Spend a couple of weeks going over her and then try the atlantic in mid summer. Should be do-able. I was going to do it.

I lived for 18 months aboard, at 44N in Lake Ontario. The boat is not insulated, so I froze my buns off at times. But it is possible. As for head room, the Gramp has 6 foot even in the main cabin.

Sabre

[barnakiel]

Grampian looks much like an Albin. Albin available locally.

I would not recommend crossing the N Atlantic in either.

But I do like the Grampian and the price range looks fine - probably great deal for the Lakes, isn't it?

b.

[SabreKai]

Well, I've had my Grampion out in all sorts of weather, including a blizzard. (sailing in a skidoo suit is sooo fun) and the worst was a down wind run with the winds starting at 20-25kts, and building up to 40-45, gusting to 55kts. It scared the bejeebers out of me, particularly when I had to turn and reach to the harbour entrance off a lee shore with shoaling sand. However, the boat handled it quite well, with the main reefed down as small as it would go and the jib reefed down to about 60-70 sqft. I had previously removed the chainplates and remounted them with ss backing plates after checking the inside mounting ribs for soundness.

My brother was with me, didnt have a clue about sailing and thought it was a blast. Me? I was a bit white for a while but I wouldn't hesitate to take that boat across in the summer months. The only thing I would do in preparation is to put up plywood sheets over that huge main cabin portlight and close off and deck over about 3 feet of the bathtube they call a cockpit. All that would require is an extension of the rudder shaft upwards about 3 feet to clear the new lazarette deck.

Sabre
73 days n a wake up.