We are in Croatia and have bought our Lagoon 440

[Lagoon4us]

Originally Posted by Traveler2012

Well done! I hope it all goes though quickly and easily for you. We are currently looking for a catamaran ourselves and are tossing up between buying one in OZ or to venture overseas. It is great to hear good reports of overseas purchases. I'd love to know how you ended up finding it. Websites? Brokers?
Cheers,
Enjoy

Internet is a fantastic tool we are from Gladstone Queensland, there are many very good boats in the Med look at EYB (European Yacht Brokers) and ask for more info on your choice and as long as you don't put yourself at risk the whole excercise is totally enjoyable.
We have come across people that want to do no more than help. It's a buyers market we are using OzForex to do the funds transfer and they are fantastic, presently we talk to both their Toronto and London offices, their commission is low and very secure.
I cannot talk about everything till the ownership transfers at closing but i must say we are totally happy......Cheers Frank

[Traveler2012]

Hi Frank & Vivian,

Thanks for your reply. I will look into the website and money exchanger. Any info is always a big help.

We are from the Sunshine Coast, QLD. We've been doing charters on different catamarans to get an idea of what we want to buy. Still doing our homework and deciding between a few different ones. Next year we will get serious.

How exciting for you two!

Enjoy,

Nic & Paul.

[Lagoon4us]

Originally Posted by Traveler2012

Hi Frank & Vivian,

Thanks for your reply. I will look into the website and money exchanger. Any info is always a big help.

We are from the Sunshine Coast, QLD. We've been doing charters on different catamarans to get an idea of what we want to buy. Still doing our homework and deciding between a few different ones. Next year we will get serious.

How exciting for you two!

Enjoy,

Nic & Paul.

I've built a couple of cats and always the sloping windows leaked after a year due to heat/cold = expansion and contraction. I never really liked the Lagoon gun emplacement look HOWEVER once we went inside and saw the room and considered the vertical window = minimal leaks we were then appreciative of the concept. Thanks for your kind thoughts Frank

[monte]

+1 for oz forex

[SlyPhy]

....what happened next?!

Very interested in your story as my wife and I are planning something very similar next year.

[Lagoon4us]

Originally Posted by SlyPhy

....what happened next?!

Very interested in your story as my wife and I are planning something very similar next year.

I've written a bit what topics do you wish to know about? Cheers Frank

[Lagoon4us]

Originally Posted by monte

+1 for oz forex

Oz - forex were the easiest part of the transaction it could not have been more efficient.... very smart people!

Monte's revenge!

'Perfecting the art of nothing'

"Forget a 360 i'm doing a 380!"

[SlyPhy]

Originally Posted by Lagoon4us

I've written a bit what topics do you wish to know about? Cheers Frank

Hi Frank,

I'm wondering if you are now on your way back to Aus (if that's your intention) and how the purchase process ended up.

We're from the Whitsundays and looking at being in the Med this time next year to find something livable and sail back home.... so many things to sort out and there is nothing like the first hand experience of others to learn from.

Cheers,

Simon.

[Lagoon4us]

Originally Posted by SlyPhy

Hi Frank,

I'm wondering if you are now on your way back to Aus (if that's your intention) and how the purchase process ended up.

We're from the Whitsundays and looking at being in the Med this time next year to find something livable and sail back home.... so many things to sort out and there is nothing like the first hand experience of others to learn from.

Cheers,

Simon.

Hi Simon back in 78 my wife and i worked at Happy Bay Long Island and built our Adams 35 steel round bilge their in our spare time.
Yes we are currently registering our boat in Australia and over the next 4 or so years we are making our way back.
We will winter in Malta and work on the boat readying for ARC 2013. Next month we head for Greece having sailed most of cent and northern Croatia now, this is a beautiful flat sea sailing area great for sorting out the basics before meeting any real weather. BUT the BURA blows here it's a northern wind and we have seen 65 knots so far...
35KG Kobra and 1/2inch chain is nice.

When you get closer to the final search look at buying a one owner boat WHERE the owner has ordered a new boat, this style of person in my opinion looks after his boat, after seeing the way the braindeads treat there charter/hire boats avoid an ex-charter boat unless funds demand it or you are very very sure because Simon they are hopeless skippers.
All engines are either stop or flat out, the gear is minimal and wev'e seen a couple on the slips having their extensive damage patched...
Peter Shmid at EYB Yachting was our broker, we had no complaints at all BUT at all times we called the shots.
Cheers let me know how i can assist Frank

[Traveler2012]

Originally Posted by Lagoon4us

Hi Simon back in 78 my wife and i worked at Happy Bay Long Island and built our Adams 35 steel round bilge their in our spare time.
Yes we are currently registering our boat in Australia and over the next 4 or so years we are making our way back.
We will winter in Malta and work on the boat readying for ARC 2013. Next month we head for Greece having sailed most of cent and northern Croatia now, this is a beautiful flat sea sailing area great for sorting out the basics before meeting any real weather. BUT the BURA blows here it's a northern wind and we have seen 65 knots so far...
35KG Kobra and 1/2inch chain is nice.

When you get closer to the final search look at buying a one owner boat WHERE the owner has ordered a new boat, this style of person in my opinion looks after his boat, after seeing the way the braindeads treat there charter/hire boats avoid an ex-charter boat unless funds demand it or you are very very sure because Simon they are hopeless skippers.
All engines are either stop or flat out, the gear is minimal and wev'e seen a couple on the slips having their extensive damage patched...
Peter Shmid at EYB Yachting was our broker, we had no complaints at all BUT at all times we called the shots.
Cheers let me know how i can assist Frank

Hi Frank,

Thanks for the update my husband and I were wondering how you were going with your travels. It sounds like you found a real gem. I think we need to purchase that guys next boat when he next sells in the future. Ha ha

We are still wondering whether to purchase overseas next year as well. I realise you bought a much better boat over there but without getting too specific, was it cost effective in the long run to fly over, stay there, organise the purchase, get set up to go etc. Compared to purchasing in Australia?

Cheers,
Nic.

[Lagoon4us]

Probably there are many advantages, yes it is cost effective if you are gearing your life down as in a form of change or retirement. We sold the family 5 bedder to do this simply because only our bed was occupied, the kids grew up.

Secondly to re-start our cruising life in the med isn't too shabby, it beats going all the way around the world or crossing the same oceans twice, Croatia in itself is a gem and i'm sure their are many other gems along the way. (Greece is next)

Thirdly the same boat in Australia would have a 30% mark up so at today's rate and values our cruising costs could well break even IF we sold but i doubt we will.

It suits our lifestyle we plan on taking probably 4 years to eventually sail back, no timetables, actually it's timetables that get you in trouble.....
Cheers fire away with any questions.......Frank

[Lagoon4us]

We arrived back in KREMIK today to replenish, the weather is quite hot so once we connected to shore power we cranked up the 'as yet' untested/used chilled water air con.

It didn't work!!! So on the trouble shooting trail i went with in my mind the fear of fears "untinned wiring" gnawing away at my very being,,,,,

First fault the water pump">raw water pump was hot and just humming, so i switched it off and popped the junction box (all mounted on a bearer in the dusty bilge) to check for bad heat producing corroded wiring, NOPE it was all good, then remembering back to my days dealing with an air compressor whose motor used to just stick and pole when turned on after little use i tried rotating the pumps motor with a flat blade screwturner and low and behold it was stuck.

So some back and forth movement freed it up, turned the pump on and presto we got water flow.... BUT still no cooling.

So i read the french wiring diagrams (may as well be in Russian) and go to the forward cockpit locker where the main unit is installed, i unscrew the electric control box and check the fuses on the AC side, all good, i then pop the fuse from the 12volt dc control board it's ok but i here a slight crackle as it came out meaning it wasn't connecting real well.

Back to the AC board fire it up and now the chilled water is pumping, good stuff!!!!

Now in this expedition i removed the stainless steel non airtight cover plates to the units circuitry and whilst there i saw the dreaded MULTI-STRAND COPPER WIRING was clean and bright, no wicking of oxidation all very, very nice.

Why am i telling you this? Well this is a 2007 model that has been in the med all it's life and during this fault finding exercise i saw NOTHING bad, when you guys are looking, investigating and researching the boat that you will sink your hard earned into, just remember there is a lot of mis-leading crap out there.

Actually whilst i was doing this Viv had the washing machine running and the thought came to me i may put a three way valve on the drain line so i can dump spent water into the bilge to:-
1) Give the bilge pumps some exercise.
2) Wash the dust hairs and builders dust out......

We will sleep cooly tonight!