Purchasing a seized boat in France

[Floating around]

Hi All,

First post for a new member.
As the title says, I’m looking at purchasing a seized yacht in France (not a French registered boat). Not the easiest way to go! I have just started on this and was hopeful that someone could give some tips on what to look out for legally or any other pitfalls. Unfortunately I don’t speak a word of French. So it is going to be an interesting adventure.
I don’t have allot of details yet as I have just found her while on a work trip.
She has been abandoned for a while by the looks of it and has acquired a few dings and scrapes. Nothing that looks structural. Must have been in the water for a while as there
Is about 5mm of solid buildup on the prop shaft although the hull is basically clean. Has been stored on the hard for some time, probably years. Sails are still on. The clear plastic of the dodger has completely disappeared! I haven’t been able to get inside yet.
So all up a bit rough but hopefully has good bones. Obviously the hope is to get it for a rather good price due to the unusual situation.
Sorry for the rambling and thanks in advance for any help.

[goboatingnow]

You need serious French lawyers on board for this. The specifics of its seizure are very important. Most importantly you must be 100% sure any lien on the vessel is discharged and you are 100% sure.

Personally I don’t see why your bothering.

[letsgetsailing3]

Seems like there are easier ways to hurt yourself than this.

[JPA Cate]

Concur that you will need a French lawyer. Clear title is only one issue.

Also, in general badly neglected boats take much more time and money than the new buyers anticipate--this is a serious warning. If it has been on the hard so long the pvc windows in the dodger are kaput, the sails may well be history, too, and possibly the halyards, if it is windy there. The halyards can chafe on the sheaves and when you go to use them they part at the chafe spot. So the running rigging may not be usable, either.

If you tell us what kind of a boat it is, we may be aware of pitfalls of the brand.

Ann

[skipperpete]

My boat is stored at Port Napoleon Adhoc marina in the South of France and there are roughly 1,000 other boats on the “Port á sec” and the rate of abandonment is high. The marina conducts seizure and disposal auctions through a legal firm in Avignon and a list of seized vessels is sent out in the regular newsletter. The starting prices are low, often €5- €200.
1 Klm away is “Navy” yard again with about the same number of boats on the hard and I suspect the same problem with non payment even though it’s a cheaper yard. Along the canals there are abandoned and broken boats on the banks all the way to Sète so your find is not unusual.
Good luck with the legals, when I have time I’ll look for the emails with the legal firms details and post the newsletter.
Pete

[Floating around]

Thanks for the reply’s.
Yes I will absolutely get a local lawyer involved once I have got a bit more info. I don’t know the details of the seizure or anything along those lines yet. She originally had some documentation attached to the hull but this has disintegrated. The shipyard should have a copy on file.
I think that she is a bit of an inconvenience to them and they would like to get it gone, it’s a large commercial shipyard. They have crushed one 80ft classic this week already……
As for easer ways to hurt myself, probably correct. Nothing ventured nothing gained. I have heard stories of people purchasing boats for the cost of the paperwork. Would like to carry this a bit further to see if it is one of those.
The boat in question is a Jeanneau 45DS so could be quite nice with a bit of love.

[Floating around]

Re the amount of neglect, not to worried about that for the most part. I expect all sails, ropes and fabric to be throwaway. Same for battery’s. Main concern is humidity levels inside and the damage they can cause along with teak decks and the expense of dealing with them.
Engine should be ok, but have the skills to sort it if not.

[Floating around]

Originally Posted by skipperpete

My boat is stored at Port Napoleon Adhoc marina in the South of France and there are roughly 1,000 other boats on the “Port á sec” and the rate of abandonment is high. The marina conducts seizure and disposal auctions through a legal firm in Avignon and a list of seized vessels is sent out in the regular newsletter. The starting prices are low, often €5- €200.
1 Klm away is “Navy” yard again with about the same number of boats on the hard and I suspect the same problem with non payment even though it’s a cheaper yard. Along the canals there are abandoned and broken boats on the banks all the way to Sète so your find is not unusual.
Good luck with the legals, when I have time I’ll look for the emails with the legal firms details and post the newsletter.
Pete

Hi Pete,

I would be interested in getting a copy of the news letter. It is surprising how many boats get abandoned. A wanderer down the docks of some marinas can be an eye opener. Although I suspect that a lot of the actually abandoned boats are not worth much more than a few hundred after the years of abuse.

[goboatingnow]

The big issue are non obvious damage. No point buying a boat for €10 and finding £50k layer and two years down the road and it’s still not usable and reliable. ( and you’ve run out of money) Your boat then joins the long list of abandoned stuff in marina yards.

[skipperpete]

Originally Posted by Floating around

Hi Pete,



I would be interested in getting a copy of the news letter. It is surprising how many boats get abandoned. A wanderer down the docks of some marinas can be an eye opener. Although I suspect that a lot of the actually abandoned boats are not worth much more than a few hundred after the years of abuse.

The auction I mentioned was in 2018 and they had some pretty good boats. A Swan 65 sold for €60,000.
Here’s a screen shot of a few of the 30 boats that were disposed of but note this was in the 2018 auction, there has been another since then and there are still a lot of abandoned boats ( but presumably paid up) down in our “dead boat corner”[ATTACH]265310
You would definitely need to know a lot about boats to buy one of these and some were bought solely for parts salvage and cut up elsewhere.
The legal connection was in Arles not Avignon and it was the bailiff.

[letsgetsailing3]

Well, the location is good, anyway!


If I can't dissuade you, good luck with it!

[Rumrace]

Sounds like it’s cooked in the sun awhile. My boat had the captain passed and it sat in storage for 2 years. It’s a relatively new boat but many terminals were corroded and the plumbing system I salvaged only the two water tanks and the toilet shell. Batteries and cables all tossed Two mattresses tossed. And the boat is not 10.
Make a list.

[Fore and Aft]

I have been looking at seized yachts as well. I just wonder what effect it would have on my health.
Cheers
https://www.theguardian.com/news/202...sold-gibraltar

[Chuck34]

FWIW…
It has often been said….the most expensive boats you can own are the ones acquired for free or next to free.
You can easily spend many thousands of $$$ on just sails, canvas and rigging and that’s before tackling any problems…engine, deck issues, bottom issues, wiring, plumbing, fuel tank, water tank, waste tank, upholstery….the list is long.

[skipperpete]

That’s a valid and frequent observation, some folks have no manual skills and are doomed to fail with a restoration from the start however , I’ve seen many many successes in France, Malaysia and Australia. Age has a lot to do with accomplishing the goal and in France on my marina hardstand young people are doing refurbs on €3,000 boats with great success. There are dock sales and used equipment chandleries to buy all the bits and pieces at rock bottom prices and young people work really hard to get out sailing.