Crazy Idea? Beneteau 331 to NZ?

[Omatako]

Originally Posted by Heynekamp

If you could resell this for $150,000 $NZD you could still justify the cost of the trip. Essentially there is enough in it to cover the cost of the journey which is all I'm looking at doing. If it took a half year to sell it then you get the enjoyment of using it for half a year. Depart the US in late September- October and try to get to NZ by mid-December?

I would be astonished if you could sell a used Beneteau of any size below 38ft for NZ$150k. If that is your plan, with respect, you're going to grow old with that boat. You would in my opinion be real lucky to get $100k.

I have a fully-kitted-for-long-term-cruising, with CAT 1 clearance, all the bells and whistles, 44ft centre cockpit boat in very good condition and I would consider myself quite lucky to turn NZ$150k nett if I sold it tomorrow.

Buy the boat of your choice, enjoy the trip across and maybe there is a very outside chance you could sell the boat for landed cost (if you're really lucky) but don't bank on a free ride. If it were that easy, I would be doing it for a living.

Oh, and September is too late. It is not uncommon to get cyclones in the SW Pacific in December. My trip was what I consider a "whistle-stop" trip and we took 2 months, 3 weeks. If you're considering your voyage to be anything other than a pure delivery, budget 3 months + which gets you into January. Good luck with that.

[latka]

Let the comments fly![/QUOTE]


Had a bit of a laugh about the "flying comments".
We've been doing those return trip now for years for every second year in all sorts of boats, from 28 to 43 foot and have always made it home without outside assistance.
But we Kiwi's are a special breed of sailors as you all know!

[double u]

the trip: absolutely doable, don't take the Tonga-NZ passage lightly, but don't let people scare you too! a not inconsiderable part of the seaworthiness of a boat is in the crew (which is NOT to mean that the boat & the condition it's in doesn't matter!!!
the business-part: no idea

[Pete7]

Why buy it in the US, surely Europe would be better:

2004 Beneteau 331 Sail New and Used Boats for Sale - www.yachtworld.co.uk

[Kenomac]

It's more a question of ability and how the boat is equipped. If you're asking the question, then it might be wiser to have the boat shipped. Another issue, if you need to spend thousands to equip the boat, then add in the wear and tear, lost wage earning time... It might be cheaper to ship the boat.

[Schrewsburyduo]

It's a great concept. Most of the trip would be fun. Your calculations are good. But... Don't forget crew costs... That might make your equation tip the other way. In my book there are amazing boats to be had in nz. A lot of cold mounded kauri boats well designed for those waters. I did a fair bit of sailing in nz. Hauraki, Nelson, Tauranga, and Wellington. 25 knots is nominal in Wellington.... Benes are designed for fun in fair weather -- lots of freeboard so the boat sails in little wind and has huge space below. I would not take such a boat to nz unless you will only plan to sail it around bay of islands.

Dashew's book on heavy weather handling is excellent reading as they detail some of the aspects of making that specific last leg to nz. The interviews and first hand stories of tens of yachts that made it through the same weather system where a bunch of boats were lost and many lives thrown away.... Excellent reading. And reading those stories, the boats that stayed out at Minerva reef fared worse. The best option sometimes is to punch through at high speed. This is why enough fuel is key... For that leg.

I also have an ericson and love these boats. You can get a 35 fairly cheap and refit it.... Compared to nenes those boats sail amazingly well and are very fast. The latter ones were built by pacific seacraft. Read web chiles book however. He took a 37 ericson the long way to nz... And his recent trip in a 21 foot sports boat is also worth reading about. He did get some rough weather before he got to nz... Also Chris Williams recently took a 32 ericson from la to Hawaii and back its a YouTube video worth seeing if only for the video itself.

If I were to do what you are proposing it would be in a 35-38 foot. Maybe the Catalina 38. Still a cheap boat. You can decently refit it and have enough money to pay the duty etc.

I have a quick question for those that might know about nz gst and duty: If a nz citizen brings a boat they purchased in the USA and they owned for a number of years in the USA - does that change the duty equation when binging it to be registered in nz? Also is the gst imposed on the purchase price? (If that were the case one can buy cheap and refit...)

Good luck. Please keep us posted. It's an interesting concept and if you end up doing it it would be worth hearing about the sort of weather you get during your autumn or spring passage.

[Mr B]

2011, San Diego to Melbourne by ship was around the $125,000-00 AUD mark,
The Exchange rate was $1-03 AUD USD $1-00
Its now 74 cents AUD to USD $1-00

This did not include the cost of the Vessel,

It will cost a lot more to ship now,
Not sure of the NZ exchange rate,

Not sure why boats are so high in cost to ship,

36 foot Coach I imported in 2012, only cost $12,000-00 AUD, but it was Roll on Roll off,

[ALAIN97133]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Why buy it in the US, surely Europe would be better: 2004 Beneteau 331 Sail New and Used Boats for Sale - www.yachtworld.co.uk

Why buy in Europe when you have hundred FRESH WATER sailboats on the Great Lakes? And taking one out to the ocean is a great way to get use to your new toy! I did it two years ago from Manistee MI to the West indies. My 1988 Ericson 34 looks as great/new as a 2000+ sailboat that has spent all her life in saltwater... & remember that on the Great Lakes they are only 6 months a year in the fresh water For exemple: 1995 Beneteau Oceanis 321 sailboat for sale in Michigan or 1992 Beneteau M-38 sailboat for sale in Michigan Cheers !

[Scout 30]

I ran across this listing yesterday & thought of this thread. Seems like a good candidate for what you're planning & would fit in well in NZ I think.

https://miami.craigslist.org/brw/boa/5662755530.html

[ALAIN97133]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

I ran across this listing yesterday & thought of this thread. Seems like a good candidate for what you're planning & would fit in well in NZ I think

Also have a look at this other most interesting Saltram 36 but for over $100K!

1997 Saltram 36 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

With a displacement of 8 metric tons, you'll be able to load it without loosing too much in sailing performance

Saltram 36 archive details - Yachtsnet Ltd. online UK yacht brokers - yacht brokerage and boat sales

[Omatako]

When we did our boat (SD to NZ) we specifically looked for a boat on the west coast because the cost of sailing a boat from the east coast or even the Gulf was considerably more expensive. Higher air fares, longer trip thus higher lost wages, Panama transit, etc. A boat from Europe would be more costly again and would have to be a spectacular bargain to compete with a west coast US purchase.

The importing cost into NZ is based on landed cost. It includes any identifiable cost and it also includes the duty (yes I know, a tax on a tax). So if you buy cheap and refit you're going to probably save the cost of the refit since the customs dept in NZ can't quantify/identify it.

But you'll need to offset the cost of your much longer stay in US and additional lost wages against the savings in import costs so there is probably not a great win there. Refits take time, we turned our boat around in two weeks and left and you ain't going to do that with a refit.

And remember the OP has as a strong motivator, the need to sell at a profit.

[hoppy]

Does NZ have a FTA with the US like Aus has? If so, then it might be worth looking at US made yachts.

Just noticed that the 331 is built in the US

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by ALAIN97133

Why buy in Europe when you have hundred FRESH WATER sailboats on the Great Lakes? And taking one out to the ocean is a great way to get use to your new toy! I did it two years ago from Manistee MI to the West indies. My 1988 Ericson 34 looks as great/new as a 2000+ sailboat that has spent all her life in saltwater... & remember that on the Great Lakes they are only 6 months a year in the fresh water For exemple: 1995 Beneteau Oceanis 321 sailboat for sale in Michigan or 1992 Beneteau M-38 sailboat for sale in Michigan Cheers !

$55,000 for a 20 year old boat would be too rich for me even if it was only used in fresh water because after a year in salt you have a 21 year old boat that was very expensive.

Pete

[barnakiel]

My attitude is similar to already posted: if one is asking, one should not. Otherwise the boat properly preped will make it.

b.

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

My attitude is similar to already posted: if one is asking, one should not. Otherwise the boat properly preped will make it.

b.

The OP was probably confused by the stupid list on the site he linked to

Originally Posted by Heynekamp

is this a crazy idea seeing how a boat like this is not on any of the 'approved/recommended' bluewater/offshore boat lists (like: Mahina Expedition - Offshore Cruising Instruction )

Let the comments fly!