Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesPNW
Congrats 69Datsun510.
I am interested in learning from your purchasing experience and tips. I plan to upgrade my Oceanis 250 to a cat in the Med. There are a couple of good leads in Spain and Croatia. But I have not figured out what will involve beside my bring my checkbook.
Ciao.
J.
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Best I can tell you, I'm no expert, is from my experience so far. I'm still going through it now.
Make sure you have a
buying agent from the US to deal with your offer, setup a stateside escrow account, and procedures for the
purchase. They can help with locating a
boat for you, too. Make a first offer, once a
price is agreed, go see the
boat. Your agent will be able to guide you through the process. Just make sure you get one that has experience in international transactions. I did a LLC for the boat documents and USCG documented vessel.
I went over to Croatia to do the
survey and sea trial. I don't recommend
buying sight unseen. The airfare and stay can be done for under $2000. Shop the airfare and do an Airbnb. The Airbnb I stayed at, I could walk to the Marina, overlooked the harbor, was private, clean, and awesome people. I can't wait to go back!
I think the biggest wrench in the whole process so far for me, has been the
insurance. You'll need
ASA sailing
classes 101,103,106, and 114 if you buy a
catamaran, logged hours on a similar vessel. If you don't have the
ASA but years of experience, checkout NauticEd website. You can create a logbook, do certifications, etc. Will also need to get a
ICC license to operate in the Mediterranean, there are threads on the forum on this subject and NauticaEd covers how to get one.
Insurance may still want a licensed
Captain to check you off for operating the vessel you buy, If you don't have documented certifications, especially if the vessel is considerably larger then you have experience on. I'm still going through the insurance process. I'm hoping my friend who is going with us, he has a USCG Master 50-ton
license and sailing endorsement, can get approved by the insurance to sign me off for competency of operating my
new boat.
Hope that helps you get a better picture of the process and good luck