Long term cruising questions

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Xlantic

You can order the "zones" in the zones screen by "editing". The one at the top of the list will come up first.

You can erase the zones you don't need so they are not downloaded.

Thanks. The Med is now on top of the list. Do you know how I can get the Atlantic and North America back on the list?

[Xlantic]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Thanks. The Med is now on top of the list. Do you know how I can get the Atlantic and North America back on the list?

In the "Zones" screen you can "Add" additional zones that you name and define in the map in "grid mode". (You alternate from "grid mode" to "orbiting mode" by pressing the hashtag-like symbol in the lower right of the map as you define the new zone.)

I have the Pro version, I don't know if the free version works exactly the same.

I don't know if their predictions are any better than other weather apps but the graphics of Weather4G are awesome!

[omc]

Bought yesterday Weather 4D 2.0.
The last zone previously used comes up first when opening Weather 4D 2.0

[FatBear]

I'm back and holy cow! look at all those replies. My dad went off to the emergency room the same morning that my 31 year old nephew had open heart surgery to repair a defective valve. And I'm trying to get my folks into assisted living and it has just been insane.
I'll go through and read all of the replies and comment or ask about some of them, but please know that I appreciate you all for your help.

[FatBear]

Originally Posted by SouthernPride

How would feel in the cargo hold of a jet at 40,000 feet in 30 degree's for 8 hours.

We naively put a dog on a one hour flight from LA to PDX back in 1994. The dog was never the same again and we still feel guilty about it. We would never do that again. They now keep dogs in air conditioned space in the cargo hold. Or so they say. I think it's the noise and the unfamiliarity without us around that so traumatizes them.

Our current dog fits the requirements to take on the plane with us. Lufthansa has a 7.5 hour flight and has the largest pet-carrier size restriction I've found so far. I'm not sure what to do about the 1.5 hours before the flight and the unknown time after it, but others have done this and I'll be learning about it.

Our dog is a bit anxious, but mostly when we are apart. She generally goes about 9-10 hours at night between "walks". And she is used to three day drives with long days on the road. It's just the "walks" that we need to figure out for the plane ride.

[FatBear]

Originally Posted by yachtgemini

We liked it so much that we are now resident in the UK.
...
Health care costs in Europe are a fraction of the USA and we typically had family cover with a high excess for about US$2000 pa. This would not give you medivac back to the USA but we have generally found European Health care as good as the USA (but lacking the hotel feel) and often better.

So where do you stand if you are a resident? As I've said, my wife lived in Italy for three years and is very interested in living there again on a long-term basis. Does a resident qualify for health care (and do you want public health care?) We've always paid for our own health insurance, but my wife is going on Medicare. I suppose we'd be back to paying for ins. if we moved to Europe. If the health care is less expensive, does that mean the insurance is as well? $2000 is just a bit more than what I pay for two months! Is that for real?

Can a resident vote? What advantages and burdens come with being a resident?

If you earn an income in Europe and are a resident I assume you have to pay some sort of taxes there, is that true? Do you also owe US taxes?

Personally I would consider a VAT paid boat and have one less complication in your life.

I had more or less come to that conclusion. I am assuming that if I buy a boat through a broker in Europe, the VAT will usually or always have already been paid. Is that right? And if I sell it in Europe when I am done with it, I suppose it more or less washes.

[FatBear]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

The OP mentioned that they planned to purchase a house in Italy. As far as I know, that would solve their visa issues.

The options are
1. Buy a boat and cruise for a couple of years then come back to the US.
2. Buy a boat and cruise for a couple of years then buy a house and keep the boat.
3. Buy a boat and cruise for a couple of years then buy a house and sell the boat.
4. Buy a house and forget about the boat.

I am a lifetime boater. I've worked on tugs in the Aleutians and briefly on a 101' schooner in the PNW. Most of my sea time has been off the PNW coast in boats from 18' to 90' - those waters can be very rough. It's hard to picture the Med being any worse, though nobody with any sense goes out in our ocean when it is really bad. It is no mistake that the Coast Guard has their National Motor Lifeboat training at the mouth of the Columbia River. That's where they train on those boats that can roll 360 degrees and so on.
I've rowed well over 17,000 miles in rowing shells, owned and sailed smaller boats (<7m), owned a couple of power boats, and two floating homes. I kinda like boats.
My wife also likes boats, but is less totally committed than I am. She sees this as a means to an end - to be able to visit lots of towns and cities in Europe without constantly packing and unpacking. Kind of like RV travel in the US, but more adventurous. She is not averse to adventure, though she likes her adventures to be experiential rather than dangerous. Who doesn't?
So if we can pull off the cruising start to our European experience, she will be happy and I will be even more so. If not, we both like Italy and would probably settle there on land.

A friend of mine purchased a couple of condos in Malaga, Spain which solved his visa problem by enabling him to apply and obtain a long term Spanish tourist or resident visa, which now enables him to travel without restrictions thought the EU. No more 90 days in then 90 days out stuff.

So does he live in the condos, or one of them? Or does he rent them out? Can buying a condo to put on the rental market qualify you for a resident visa? That sounds like quite a loophole.

[rabbi]

Don't expect boat in EU to be VAT paid. there are many ways around this, at least in the Med countries. Some are genuine charter boats, some are charter boats just on paper. Some are owned by a company but only used by the boss (e.g. I bought my previous boat from an architect company).
Many boats used to located in non-EU countries (Turkey, Tunisia, or some years ago Croatia) and have been moved into EU waters without being properly imported (read: no VAT paid).

A boat is only VAT paid if you have the original invoice from the dealer stating VAT amount and VAT ID of the dealer, or the customs receipt if VAt was paid upon import. If this document was "lost" about 20% of the boat value are gone, too.

Whatever the broker / seller says: A confirmation of VAT status in the purchase agreement is not a valid proof of VAT status.


As for Medical care: Local law & insurance companies will determine this so it depends where you will be resident.
The question is: where do you want to place your residency? And how do you work around Schengen regulations?

Often travel insurances are dead cheap, at least for us: for our last trips we used a long term travel insurance, valid outside germany only, cost ~40 euro per month for adults and 30 euro for kids.

[rabbi]

Originally Posted by FatBear

So does he live in the condos, or one of them? Or does he rent them out? Can buying a condo to put on the rental market qualify you for a resident visa? That sounds like quite a loophole.

Some countries have these loopholes. The US has them, too. Invest a million or so and you get renewable investor visa.

But its not always that easy. Some require local language skills if you want to become resident, require you to show some wealth to make sure you don't get into their social system, etc

for italy for example just look here

[FatBear]

Originally Posted by Juho

A motorboat would be good for the inland canal network. But a sailboat would be better for the sea. ... Since you said that you will not do lots of canal cruising, maybe you should consider the sailboat option once more. Your wife would only need to know how to drop the sails, since after that the sailboat becomes just an easy to handle motorboat.

We went for a sail on a schooner in Port Townsend a few years ago. It was windy and rough and she was greatly impressed at how the sails steadied the boat when they went up. She was also impressed by the more dangerous deck work required to work the head sails. We go out whale watching on the schooner America every year and she loves that, but we do not work the sails.
I've talked to her about roller furling and she has assured me that it would be a requirement in any sailboat she was going to own.
But she is also concerned about the comfort of the living accommodations. She is not in this for the sailing, after all, but would expect the boat to be comfortable living quarters and reliable transportation. We interact a lot more with power boats, living on a river like we do, and she is quite familiar with their accommodations. You are right that I should try and get her out on a large sailboat with roller furling.

[FatBear]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Can we then agree that the Med isn't like sunny Southern California during the winter time, like the OP is expecting?

I'm not actually expecting that. Just that it is nicer than northern Europe during the winter.

[FatBear]

Originally Posted by facciatosta

If you want to stay in Italy permanently you can apply for Elective Residence. It needs to be done in Italian consulate in the United States though. It will require a lot of paper work proving that you will not be burden to Italian state( carico di Stato). They may require permanent address on the application.

Yeah, I was reading about that the other day. So does that mean you have to fly over, get a place, then fly back and apply, then fly over again? Seems like quite a hassle. It isn't possible to go over, find a place, and apply locally?
And can you change your location once you are there with your visa? Like if we started out in one town and found a place we liked better in another town?

[omc]

Originally Posted by FatBear

I'm back and holy cow! look at all those replies. My dad went off to the emergency room the same morning that my 31 year old nephew had open heart surgery to repair a defective valve. And I'm trying to get my folks into assisted living and it has just been insane.
I'll go through and read all of the replies and comment or ask about some of them, but please know that I appreciate you all for your help.

Sorry to hear that about your relatives, best wishes of a full and fast recover.

[Kenomac]

FatBear,

My wife and I completely agree that if we were to do things over again, a powercat, power catamaran would be the best way to see the Med. We'd be able to move quickly to avoid bad weather, a very stable house-like environment with exceptional 360 views out the windows. We spend way to much time below looking out relatively small windows... and we have a deck saloon.

Nothing beats a powercat for truly enjoying a beautiful anchorage. We might make the change in a few years depending on finances, they don't come cheap.

Maybe someday.

[Juho]

Originally Posted by FatBear

We went for a sail on a schooner in Port Townsend a few years ago. It was windy and rough and she was greatly impressed at how the sails steadied the boat when they went up. She was also impressed by the more dangerous deck work required to work the head sails. We go out whale watching on the schooner America every year and she loves that, but we do not work the sails.
I've talked to her about roller furling and she has assured me that it would be a requirement in any sailboat she was going to own.
But she is also concerned about the comfort of the living accommodations. She is not in this for the sailing, after all, but would expect the boat to be comfortable living quarters and reliable transportation. We interact a lot more with power boats, living on a river like we do, and she is quite familiar with their accommodations. You are right that I should try and get her out on a large sailboat with roller furling.

Yes, roller sails would probably be a good choice. You could have also electronic winches, if you want to make sail handling as light as possible.

Sailboats are a bit different than motorboats, but they can have luxurious interior too. If you want to see out well (as often in motorboats), maybe a pilothouse sailboat.

I think sailboats are good for long distance sea traveling because a motorboat needs lots and lots of fuel for that. A heavy cruising oriented sailboat is also very stable and safe. I feel more relaxed with the sails on than with the noisy motor on.