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Old 21-01-2016, 02:50   #1
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Buying a boat in the Med

Hi everyone,

I'm a 30 year old Kiwi with coastal and offshore racing and cruising experience.
I work 3 months on, 3 months off and within a year or so my girlfriend and I are planning on buying a yacht in the Med. We will use it on our 3 months off work then leaving her in a marina or on the hard ( depending on the season ) for the following 3 months at work.
I'm currently looking at buying a Sun Odyssey 45, as I have had a bit of experience with this model and find them great boats, but I am also open to other suggestions.
I am looking for any advice/info from people who have purchased boats in the Med before including good marinas/handstands to leave boats, the best place to buy etc
I may be leaving myself open a bit here, but if anyone can see any pitfalls or stumbling blocks with my plan or potential choice of boat, then I'm happy to hear it!

Thank you in advance,
Blake
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Old 21-01-2016, 04:13   #2
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pirate Re: Buying a boat in the Med

Hi Blake.. there's some good deals to be had around Greece at the moment..
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Old 21-01-2016, 04:35   #3
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Re: Buying a boat in the Med

Hi Blake, it certainly sounds like a workable plan to me, indeed when we were still in the Med we met several Kiwi's doing something similar (North, South and West Islanders).

The North Ionian area of Greece is generally a good place to look for yachts and there are several suitable yards there - Google 'Preveza Boatyards' - for interim storage.

There may be advantages (based on seeing several do so) to register the boat as British rather than NZ, but provided you can come up with a UK postal address, my understanding is that a UK-Part 3 Registration's not that hard to come by.

Good luck, Bob
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Old 21-01-2016, 04:55   #4
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There are time's when I wonder if we should not just PM loopholes when we want to help sidestep 'THEM'...!!
Part 3 is getting harder.. utility bills are now being asked for as proof of address..
I am guilty as most...
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Old 21-01-2016, 05:06   #5
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Re: Buying a boat in the Med

Thanks, Bob
I will look into the UK registry as you suggest
Blake
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Old 21-01-2016, 08:29   #6
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Re: Buying a boat in the Med

There are some for those parts with similar plans. I guess a good question if you will leave the boat there or if some time in the future you will sail the boat to NZ. Not that a SO45 cannot make it without problems but it can have influence on the choice of the boat.

Regarding the SO 45 a boat that is not better or worse then others. I would maintain an Open mind and if a a 44/46 ft boat is what you want I would try to find one in really good condition, not having done charter, lightly used and with few hours on the engine.

The bigger the amount of brands you consider the better your chances to find a really good deal. Many times a sailing boat being better than another depends on the extras that when the boat is new can amount to 50% of the boat price but that don't make an used boat substantially more expensive.

There are better boats then the SO45, boats that were considerably more expensive when new and that now on the used market have not a very different price, depending on what you can find, boats like the Wauquiez centurion 45, Grand Soleil 45/46, Dufour 44, Feeling 45, Salona 44/45, Comet Genesi 43, Dehler 44/45 among others.

Regarding search try instead of Yachtworld the search engines used in France, Italy and Spain. The Spanish one regarding private boats does not charge a commission (or at least it was like that) so the boats can come cheaper.

In what concerns great places to leave the boat, not expensively, there are several in Greece, in Preveza and Mesalonghi but also in Italy, specially in Fiumicino, that is where one of the Rome airports is.
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Old 21-01-2016, 11:15   #7
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Re: Buying a boat in the Med

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Originally Posted by Polux View Post

There are better boats then the SO45, boats that were considerably more expensive when new and that now on the used market have not a very different price, depending on what you can find, boats like the Wauquiez centurion 45, Grand Soleil 45/46, Dufour 44, Feeling 45, Salona 44/45, Comet Genesi 43, Dehler 44/45 among others.

.
Polux, I should have certainly sailed less than you on a mono since I am mostly on a cat. But I have seen in our yards probably more than anybodyelse make and model of mono, althought I haven't sailed all of them. I noticed that most of the boats you mentioned are fast cruisers..

For me, X Yachts are top of the list, both in terms of materiel used, sailing properties and durability. Old Swans (before the Italians have bought the company) are rock solid but heavy and quite cramped inside. New Dufours are worse than Benetteau and Jeanneau's and equally slow... Dehlers are very good but pricey, for almost about the same priced I would go for X Yachts.
Salona's are again fast boats but durability yet to be tested..
Sadly, I see that with a few exceptions, many monos are increasingly built lightly while the cats are getting heavier and taller

Cheers

Yeloya
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Old 21-01-2016, 11:56   #8
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Re: Buying a boat in the Med

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Originally Posted by yeloya View Post
Polux, I should have certainly sailed less than you on a mono since I am mostly on a cat. But I have seen in our yards probably more than anybodyelse make and model of mono, althought I haven't sailed all of them. I noticed that most of the boats you mentioned are fast cruisers..

For me, X Yachts are top of the list, both in terms of materiel used, sailing properties and durability. Old Swans (before the Italians have bought the company) are rock solid but heavy and quite cramped inside. New Dufours are worse than Benetteau and Jeanneau's and equally slow... Dehlers are very good but pricey, for almost about the same priced I would go for X Yachts.
Salona's are again fast boats but durability yet to be tested..
Sadly, I see that with a few exceptions, many monos are increasingly built lightly while the cats are getting heavier and taller

Cheers

Yeloya
Yes I agree regarding X yachts and I could join some more like Arcona, Luffe, Comfortina, Faubry, Najad or Halberg-Rassy. Unfortunately the prices of these ones, even used, have nothing to do with the price of a SO45.

The ones I posted have a superior quality and a price when bought used not very different from the ones of a SO45. X-yacht prices are quite above the ones of the Dehler, at least in what regards new boats. I believe the Dufours you are talking about are the ones from the GL line that are the ones that they are making now in great numbers.

The Dufour I was referring is the 44, before they have come with that ******** with the grand large line. They practically discontinued the other line of better built and more expensive boats. Now Dufour are built much the same way Jeanneaus and Beneteaus.

Regarding the GrandSoleil I remember talking some years ago with one of the big shots from Kiriacolis about boats and I remember him saying (about the boats they had) that it was all about the same thing (Jeanneau, Beneteau, Bavaria) in what regards quality, except Grand Soleil that were notably better.

Regarding Salona I know the shipyard and the way they are built. They are not built very differently regarding x-yacht. They copied the ways of building and even the type of boat. Kind of a Dacia regarding Renault or a Skoda regarding Audi. Not the same thing but certainly way better built than a Beneteau or Jeanneau.

Regarding being fast cruisers, well they all have great cruising interiors and the difference regarding Beneteaus and Jeanneaus it is only that they are less fat. They are not extreme boats (just good sailing boats) and even the weight is not very different than the ones of Jeanneaus but as they are better built with better materials they are stronger. One of them, the Felling is not faster than the Beneteaus or Jeanneaus and is also a bit fat for my taste.

Do you have heard about the More 50 and the More 40? I believe that it may interest you professionally and that you can get now a good price on them. Go to my site and have a look, Search the net, there is information available. The first one crossed the Atlantic with the ARC to do charter there and will be back to make the season here.

They are made in Croatia by a charter company that had too much problems with new built boats from several brands and that decided to make their own boats. They are Swedes and the boats are cheaper than Oceanis, built a bit like Salonas. They used Salona know how stealing some of their workers including the one that is ahead of production.

Cheers
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Old 21-01-2016, 12:09   #9
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Re: Buying a boat in the Med

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Originally Posted by Polux View Post
In what concerns great places to leave the boat, not expensively, there are several in Greece, in Preveza and Mesalonghi but also in Italy, specially in Fiumicino, that is where one of the Rome airports is.
+1 for Preveza. But its a bit hard / time consuming to get there in winter.

Another option is Marina di Ragusa / Sicily / Italy, where our boat is now. Similar price as preveza for hard standing (but a bit more expensive for travel lift, and much more expensive for works).


Do you have pointers / contacts for Fiumicino?
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Old 22-01-2016, 08:40   #10
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Re: Buying a boat in the Med

You might get some more ideas and information from a 2015 book by Karen Heath Clark, called "Mediterranean Summers: How a man, a woman and a dog spent Eight summers exploring the Ancient Sea in a small boat." It's available on Amazon or Barnes & Noble sites. Full disclosure: Karen is my wife. We bought and sold our boat in Palma, Majorca, a major center for boat sales and a very cool place to spend some time.
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Old 22-01-2016, 10:05   #11
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Re: Buying a boat in the Med

There are plenty of boats for sale in Greece but most do not have the dreaded VAT included. This will be added to the price of boat if it not been VAT registered.
There's also been lots of talk about a Greek cruising tax which has dragged on for for a while now but may still become a requirement i the future. The proposed tax was higher for boats over 40ft
The main Greek cruising grounds are the Ionian, Saronic and the Sporades but there are a few quiet spots in between.
Kalamata has few passing flotillas and can be a lot cheaper.
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Old 22-01-2016, 12:24   #12
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Re: Buying a boat in the Med

I can see you say Location:Europe.
All the answers you have got so far address the type of boat you might need.
You do not need an X boat to cruise the Med.
But as Kiwis, how do you get around the Schengen thing?
We have a Bavaria 42, no VAT paid but on the Australian Ship Register. We have no problem keeping her in Greece, zapped over to Albania last year to restart the clock again at 18 months.
But we Aussies are hurt by the 90/180 days Schengen Agreement. At ridiculous trouble and cost, we are getting an extended visa for 2016.
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Old 22-01-2016, 14:10   #13
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Re: Buying a boat in the Med

The boat is a personal choice matter , pick the boats you like and do your homework.
I bought my boat in Sicily and got a great deal . I registered it in NZ and moved it to Croatia . I applied and got a residents permit , which was about 150 Euro and took about 3 weeks. You need to prove you have money and a clean police report but other than that it was pretty easy. I based out Of Ugljan Island a 20 minute ferry ride from Zadar and loved it. I just sailed out and cleared back in without any problems with the 18 month rule. A great place to stay is Preko Marina , the staff and other berth holders are great. It has 3 supermarkets and great (cheap ) restaurants.
Good luck with your plan
Glenn
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Old 22-01-2016, 14:23   #14
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Re: Buying a boat in the Med

watevaworx does the Croatia residents permit help to extend say in Greece for instance?
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Old 22-01-2016, 14:50   #15
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Re: Buying a boat in the Med

Hi , It is a residence permit for Croatia which is now a member of the EU so I would double check , but I would think it clears you for the rest of the EU. It is a card type ID which is exactly the same as my friends EU ID card. I spent 8 months each year in the region and no one ever questioned it when I returned. I did get stopped for a random check flying in once and they double checked everything and let me go, so I can only presume everything was ok . Glenn
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