Buying a boat in the Med

[Jennygj]

Bought Far Away in Croatia six years ago, an ex charter Bavaria 46 in excellently maintained condition. Registered her in Australia, had Shengen issues to consider since then. Now keep her in Greece, currently at Aktio, last year on the hardstand at Aigina island near Athens. That's a top spot with four hard stands in a row and easy access by ferry to the city. There are several good hard stands in Greece. Many Brits haul out for the summer months as its too hot for them, and relaunch when the weather is cooler. They all seem to know where the cheap and reliable haul outs are around Greece.

[mcarling]

Originally Posted by watevaworx

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.

A holder of a residence permit issued by any Schengen Area country can stay in the Schengen Area as long as the residence permit is valid, in the issuing country as long as the residence permit is valid, and in any other specific Schengen Area country for 90 consecutive days, after which registration is required. It does not get one into UK/Ireland.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by FilBrown

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.

Only if you are an EU citizen.. NZ, Aus, US do not have to pay if the boat is being flagged in their home country.. after that they just follow Schengen procedure and go to Turkey every 18mths or..
Head for the Caribe..

[monte]

Kiwis can stay 6 months in shenanigans areas so it should t be an issue for the op. What will be an issue is that the cruising season is really only from around May to October so part of his 2 X 3 months onboard will be a bit chilly (bin) Maybe basing around turkey will allow for a bit more time in warmer areas, or somwhere like cartegena in Spain isn't toooo cold in the winter so you could spend the warmer periods in the Balearics and the cooler periods there in the marina with some land travels thrown in for good measure.

[monte]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Only if you are an EU citizen.. NZ, Aus, US do not have to pay if the boat is being flagged in their home country.. after that they just follow Schengen procedure and go to Turkey every 18mths or..

Head for the Caribe..

What boaty said ✌️
Other options for leaving the EU every 18 months are Montenegro, Tunisia and Morocco, depending on where is nearby

[mcarling]

The Canary Islands are nice enough in the winter.

[Toys_with_time]

Originally Posted by bobnlesley

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

Not sure I can see any advantages in UK registration. The main problem you will have is the 180 day limit for staying in the Schengen countries not the 18 month limit on the boat which can be fixed by leaving EU for a day.

TwT

[Toys_with_time]

Originally Posted by Blake_NZ

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

Have been doing 5 months on, 7 off for the past 6 seasons and can thoroughly recommend it. Eastern Med is cheaper than Western and we still have not tired of visiting Greek islands. You will have a problem with part of your time being out of season but land based travel can also be very rewarding.

I would look carefully not just at marina prices but also at quality of staff and services - if you don't want to spend your valuable holiday time doing repairs & maintenance yourself then you need a yard you can totally trust to look after the boat and do work for you when you are 20k km away. We have been based in Marmaris, Turkey for 4 years and are very impressed with the quality of work and availability of parts.

As for boats, my suggestion would be to buy a catamaran but then I might be biased!

TwT

[Polux]

Originally Posted by FilBrown

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.
...

The biggest problem is not the VAT not being paid but the fact that a boat without a VAT paid means 90% of the cases an ex-charter boat.

Nothing wrong with charter boats if they were well maintained except they have been used by 5 or 6 years 5 times more than a similarly owned private boat and not with the same care.

There are much more probabilities of the boat to have being grounded (several times) in his lifetime, more engine hours, harder use everywhere. That's why they are generally a bit cheaper. Greece and Croatia is where you will find a bigger percentage of these boats simply because it is where most charter companies operate.

[Blake_NZ]

Thank you for the advice.
Do you know of address for the the Spanish/French Italian websites you mentioned?

[Blake_NZ]

Originally Posted by monte

Kiwis can stay 6 months in shenanigans areas so it should t be an issue for the op. What will be an issue is that the cruising season is really only from around May to October so part of his 2 X 3 months onboard will be a bit chilly (bin) Maybe basing around turkey will allow for a bit more time in warmer areas, or somwhere like cartegena in Spain isn't toooo cold in the winter so you could spend the warmer periods in the Balearics and the cooler periods there in the marina with some land travels thrown in for good measure.

Thanks for the advice. Ideally I would like to take the boat to the Carib, but that would be 2 or 3 years down the line. I have thought about where in the med is still reasonable in the off season (not mid winter) and yeah, the Balearics also came to mind

[Blake_NZ]

Originally Posted by Toys_with_time

Have been doing 5 months on, 7 off for the past 6 seasons and can thoroughly recommend it. Eastern Med is cheaper than Western and we still have not tired of visiting Greek islands. You will have a problem with part of your time being out of season but land based travel can also be very rewarding.

I would look carefully not just at marina prices but also at quality of staff and services - if you don't want to spend your valuable holiday time doing repairs & maintenance yourself then you need a yard you can totally trust to look after the boat and do work for you when you are 20k km away. We have been based in Marmaris, Turkey for 4 years and are very impressed with the quality of work and availability of parts.

As for boats, my suggestion would be to buy a catamaran but then I might be biased!

TwT

Thanks for the advice as well as the motivation.
Chartered a cat in Croatia last year and have to say it was brilliant!
A mono is probably a bit more realistic for me in terms of $ at this stage!

[Blake_NZ]

Thanks everyone for all the the advice and info so far.
For what it's worth, I also have a UK passport which should make things a bit simpler as far as staying in the EU goes.
It sounds as though I would be best to register the boat in the UK or NZ to avoid paying VAT. Will this mean I still need to hop out of the EU every 18 months? If so, i can't see it being too much of a problem

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Blake_NZ

Thanks everyone for all the the advice and info so far.
For what it's worth, I also have a UK passport which should make things a bit simpler as far as staying in the EU goes.
It sounds as though I would be best to register the boat in the UK or NZ to avoid paying VAT. Will this mean I still need to hop out of the EU every 18 months? If so, i can't see it being too much of a problem

Register in the UK and you'll get nailed...
Although not part of Schengen the UK is still Fiscally sttached to the EU.. so there'll be a VAT reckoning

[patprice]

I might be wrong, but as I understand things, if an EU passport holder owns a non VAT paid boat in EU area you have 30 days to pay the VAT!!