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Old 20-12-2015, 08:47   #16
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Re: Buying a yacht abroad, then sailing it home

I am sure you have thought of it, but many cruisers (from the US, Canada, Europe, and elsewhere) fit out a boat, sail it across the Pacific, and then sell it either in NZ (as we did) or in Australia (more). You can find a boat already tricked out and proven. Of course, you will have to take great care in evaluating the condition of the boat for the price. Most US/Canadian boats are 110VAC which has to be converted to 220VAC for Australia but at least the wiring is oversized for the voltage so you only have to replace some things and not all the wiring (like a 220V boat going to 110V).

You'll still have the dollar exchange issue to deal with as the owners will want to get as much as they can for their boats compared to US/Cdn prices.
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Old 20-12-2015, 13:42   #17
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Re: Buying a yacht abroad, then sailing it home

I'm considering selling my boat next year and then buying in Europe. Yes, aud has tanked and boats are now 30% more expensive but I believe they still represent better value in Europe than Australia depending on what type of boat you intend to purchase. If for eg. you look at Beneteaus, Barvarias ,the sheer numbers for sale in Europe dictate that they are cheaper than here. In saying that, the Aud could drop further resulting in less value.

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Old 20-12-2015, 17:29   #18
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Re: Buying a yacht abroad, then sailing it home

I reckon it is a bargain, sailing back is worth it alone. When we did it,2009,if you got back within a year of purchase your 10% GST was set on the cost of the boat and expenditure on fuel from your last port, ours was New Caledonia.
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Old 05-01-2016, 22:28   #19
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Re: Buying a yacht abroad, then sailing it home

I work for OzForex now OFX and we have had about five clients a week import boats from the US two years ago and now we are only seeing about 3 a month. Still some good bargains out there but majority of the money is picking up bargains in Europe and South Africa.


We have seen a big pick up in people buying leopard catamarans that are built in South Africa and paying in ZAR which has been one of the only currencies to fall against the AUD and continues to fall. Everyone ships them back here though.


Europe has also picked up not only with yachts but houses, with clients from all countries outside of Europe including Australia picking up great bargains over there.


Happy to answer any questions on the exchange rates as that's what I do but AUD is not looking to go up any time soon. I can save you 3% on the bank rates but overall rates for AUD are flat.
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Old 17-01-2016, 03:13   #20
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Re: Buying a yacht abroad, then sailing it home

[QUOTE=sailingabroad;2007690]I work for OzForex now OFX and we have had about five clients a week import boats from the US two years ago and now we are only seeing about 3 a month. Still some good bargains out there but majority of the money is picking up bargains in Europe and South Africa.


We have seen a big pick up in people buying leopard catamarans that are built in South Africa and paying in ZAR which has been one of the only currencies to fall against the AUD and continues to fall. Everyone ships them back here though.


Europe has also picked up not only with yachts but houses, with clients from all countries outside of Europe including Australia picking up great bargains over there.

Hi,
We are looking to purchase in Europe in the next month or so. Can you give us an AUD to Euro rate and what would the spread be? Haven't done an international transfer before so just beginning to look into who we do it through. Any advice appreciated.
Cheers Mal
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Old 17-01-2016, 03:26   #21
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Re: Buying a yacht abroad, then sailing it home

[QUOTE=sailingabroad;2007690]I work for OzForex now OFX and we have had about five clients a week import boats from the US
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Old 17-01-2016, 09:17   #22
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Re: Buying a yacht abroad, then sailing it home

It was several years ago but we used XE - The World's Trusted Currency Authority for the transfer of funds from NZ to the US. Their customer support was exceptional then. I am a harsh judge of these things and they treated me very well for a one time transfer of only US$100,000. I am sure there are other excellent services as well.
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Old 17-01-2016, 13:08   #23
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Re: Buying a yacht abroad, then sailing it home

Well, I'm going to be a naysayer in this case.

Boxertwinjeff, afaik, has the idea he wants to sail and to buy a boat, but with no sailing or boat maintenance experience. IMO, he should buy small and local and get some hands on sailing and repairing experience before going to a foreign country with different rules to buy a different boat.

Lots of newbies seem to approach sailboat ownership like buying an SUV, but the ocean is an environment in which we need our boats to be safe support systems for us, and nothing he has posted leads me to believe that he has the skills to take on this project. This is not against him, he's probably a really nice person. Boats are idiosyncratic enough, and I think only "internet reading" cannot possibly prepare him for commissioning a new boat on a tight time frame for catching the seasons right. He lacks the basic experience, and that makes it an over-reach. If I am mistaken in that, apologies, boxertwinjeff.

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Old 17-01-2016, 13:49   #24
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Re: Buying a yacht abroad, then sailing it home

Having just bought in Europe (from USA), I would say it makes sense if you plan to cruise the destination and then want to sell or sail it back yourself.

While it's possible to make money, if you aren't careful, travel costs, repair at a distance, legal issues, transport issues and the like have a very good chance of eating up any potential savings.
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Old 17-01-2016, 15:39   #25
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Re: Buying a yacht abroad, then sailing it home

[QUOTE=Balance;2018510]
Quote:
Originally Posted by sailingabroad View Post
I work for OzForex now OFX and we have had about five clients a week import boats from the US two years ago and now we are only seeing about 3 a month. Still some good bargains out there but majority of the money is picking up bargains in Europe and South Africa.


We have seen a big pick up in people buying leopard catamarans that are built in South Africa and paying in ZAR which has been one of the only currencies to fall against the AUD and continues to fall. Everyone ships them back here though.


Europe has also picked up not only with yachts but houses, with clients from all countries outside of Europe including Australia picking up great bargains over there.

Hi,
We are looking to purchase in Europe in the next month or so. Can you give us an AUD to Euro rate and what would the spread be? Haven't done an international transfer before so just beginning to look into who we do it through. Any advice appreciated.
Cheers Mal
Expect something between 1/2% and 1%
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Old 17-01-2016, 16:02   #26
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Re: Buying a yacht abroad, then sailing it home

Quote:
Originally Posted by Balance View Post
Hi,
We are looking to purchase in Europe in the next month or so. Can you give us an AUD to Euro rate and what would the spread be? Haven't done an international transfer before so just beginning to look into who we do it through. Any advice appreciated.
Cheers Mal
Hi Mal,

I'm not allowed to give quotes on this forum due to it's rules but happy to give you a quote over email or phone today. You can reach me on +61 2 8667 9133 or edwardwiley @ofx.com (just take out the space between the y and @ sign).

Depending on how much you are sending would depend on the rate offered but if it was a yacht purchase it would typically be around 0.5% off the mid-market rate you see on the news. Banks are typically 4-5% off the mid-market rate and XE is usually 1-2% off the mid-market rate.

Look forward to talking soon.

Regards,

Ed
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Old 17-01-2016, 21:32   #27
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Re: Buying a yacht abroad, then sailing it home

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate View Post
Well, I'm going to be a naysayer in this case.

Lots of newbies seem to approach sailboat ownership like buying an SUV, but the ocean is an environment in which we need our boats to be safe support systems for us, and nothing he has posted leads me to believe that he has the skills to take on this project. This is not against him, he's probably a really nice person. Boats are idiosyncratic enough, and I think only "internet reading" cannot possibly prepare him for commissioning a new boat on a tight time frame for catching the seasons right. He lacks the basic experience, and that makes it an over-reach. If I am mistaken in that, apologies, boxertwinjeff.
Ann
Ann’s thoughtful comment is very relevant; but in a general sense. Like her I’m not making the points below specifically in relation to the post by boxertwinjeff.

But I’ve often noted much the same as Ann; a very common initial post goes something like “I’m retiring in 2-3 years and plan to buy a 50+ foot cat with every conceivable extra for comfortable living and safe voyaging and sail it to the Caribbean and then across the Pacific. I’ve never sailed before, nor know anything about sailing or boats so I’ll also do some courses and ask questions at forums.”

Now I am not knocking such a person’s ambition. And I seriously wish I had the sort of budget to do the same. But as Ann says they seem to think it’s as simple as buying a new SUV (or perhaps a luxury mobile home). Often there are subtle little responses from responders with the terrific advice suggesting they get themselves a little day sailor and learn and practice. Also there seems a reluctance to point out the pitfalls of having lots of appliances on a boat that’s on the ocean. Because there are so many difficulties, electricity obviously, salt water, being knocked about under way etc. Worse though in my view is the complete lack of navigational skills, and as a result total reliance on GPS. I crewed on an international delivery voyage recently and the paid skipper didn’t even know the difference between true and magnetic. I was astounded. Nor did he believe in paper charts because of ‘the age when they were charted’. Much younger than I, he’d been brought up in the world of GPS and AIS. Where the GPS providers sourced their chart bases wasn’t something he’d ever thought about.

And perhaps as a consequence of such naivety periodically there are posts from people that actually went ahead with their plan and had the most awful experiences (things constantly broke down, they kept smashing their boat into peers, boats and the ground, they got seasick, ripped off incessantly by the locals etc etc). I am reminded for example of More Joy Everywhere. She and her husband had the dream, sold the farm, bought the huge cat and off they went. Virtually no boat skills, minimal mechanical/maintenance skills, minimal navigation skills, and seemingly ignorant of the world outside the US. And when they did get themselves and their continuously breaking down boat to little countries in the Carib found that the locals saw them as just more rich (and somewhat silly) Americans with very deep pockets. Joy was incredibly brave to post all the awful things that happened to them and the serious cash they just kept on losing week after week, month after month. Her posts are well worth reading to see the other side of the cruising experience that very sadly some experience, but very few talk about. I wish more people were as honest here in Cruiserforum as Joy was.
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Old 18-01-2016, 02:19   #28
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Re: Buying a yacht abroad, then sailing it home

Thank you so much for posting that link grantmc. Definitely a cautionary tale for all.

Back in 2013 I was not in the market to buy anything so I didn't read the thread even though it was not really a boat for sale thread.
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Old 18-01-2016, 03:41   #29
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Re: Buying a yacht abroad, then sailing it home

Timely, I just saw another thread where someone was capping thier boat size at a 50' cat...as they were only a couple.

They are talking about long distance offshore cruising with a budget of $300k but had no clue this a huge boat for a couple and anything decent condition is going to be way beyond thier budget. Even towards the lower end of their size range, the budget was going to be iffy as they wanted only a few years old.

There are people who start with zero knowledge, buy on the spur of the moment and do great. You hear about them for the same reason you hear about the lottery winners but never the losers. They beat the odds.
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Old 18-01-2016, 04:15   #30
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Re: Buying a yacht abroad, then sailing it home

Quote:
Originally Posted by grantmc View Post

I crewed on an international delivery voyage recently and the paid skipper didn’t even know the difference between true and magnetic. I was astounded.
Honestly, it's been explained to me many times, and I don't get it either. Seriously. Not trolling.
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