Belize or Rio Dulce....or Isla Mujeres?

[chubby]

greetings!

i purchased an older but well maintained&mechanical sound sailboat in panama to learn on...and make pretty again.

its getting new paint and polished this moment...and soon (maybe next sailing season) it will be time to put it on the market and start looking for the boat.

my question..
what do you think of Cucumber Beach Marina in belize? (or just of attempting to sell a boat from belize, period?)

do think it is better/easier to SELL a boat in belize, rio dulce or even mexico(i was looking at isla mujeres)?

my plan was to return towards end of year..cruise a bit...put boat on market and keep it in belize, mexico or even rio dulce.

thoughts/opinions?

(this was originally going to be a PM to belizesailor...hopefully he(she?) sees and responds)
thanks!

[Sailmonkey]

Cucumber beach is a hole, imho

[AnchorageGuy]

We liked Cucumber Beach but I'm not sure it would be a good place to try and sell a boat. As a former broker, I can tell you location is everything. Rio Dulce may be a better option since there are boat on the river for sale and potential buyers will come to a remote area if they have several boats to look at. The Rio Dulce is also a destination so you might find someone that wants to come down and cruise the river and Belize without the hssle of sailing a boat all the way there. Isla Mujeres would probably not be my choice either. It's not going to be a place potential buyers are going to be found. There are exceptions to every rule, but in selling a boat you need to play the best odds. Good luck. Chuck

[belizesailor]

Cucumber Beach is OK, docks need some work (old and damaged by a storm a few seasons ago) and its a bit isolated. I would choose the Rio Dulce over Belize for selling a boat for a number of reasons:

- Brokerages: there are a number of options for assistance with the sale on the Rio, but effectively none in Belize. Many boats are sold on the Rio, but very few in Belize. The result is that there are more brokers/officials who are familiar with the process and can help you complete the sale paper shuffle. Also, more likely to find someone shopping for a boat on the Rio.

- Hurricane protection. Cucumber Beach's entrance is narrow, but open to the east, if the wind howls in from the East, its not pretty. No worries about hurricanes on the Rio.

- Services. Loads of good, and lower cost, options for boat work. Few in Belize and even fewer that I would trust. So, if you need to finish up some pre-sale boat work or the buyer wants post sale work done, the Rio is the place (there was a whole thread on Rio vs Cartegena recently with lots of info on this).

- Parts importation. Customs duties are the #1 source of revenue in Belize (yep, more than tourism!). Duties are crazy high and Customs can be a PITA unless you have a buddy there. Guatemala again is a whole different world (use TransCargo/Captain John on the Rio for easy inexpensive surface shipping).

- Paperwork. Belizeans don't really want you or your boat in "we sea". So paperwork, and official attitude, can be a PITA in Belize. And, if you let it lapse officials are not going to be very understanding. Guatemala is opposite in everyway, friendly helpful officials/agents who are genuinely happy for you to visit their country and easy to work with. Longer duration cruising permit (extended up to 1 year). And if you have a paperwork issue they will work with you to sort it out.

Lots of marinas to choose from on the Rio too.

One negative to the Rio is that it is a bit inconvenient to travel to. I know a few Sellers who have offered a "travel credit" to Buyers. For example, if they close then the Buyer gets a discount on the sale price to offset their travel expenses.

I don't know Isla Mujeres well so maybe someone else can comment on that option.

[chubby]

thanks a bunch, folks!

[Triumphant]

I have a boat for sale in this area and have advertised it in Belize, although it generated a lot of interest, I found that unless it was Belizean registered, no local/ex pat was interested as they would have to import the vessel at 35% import duty, so it is now for sale in Rio Dulce.

A few other points.

Belize will only allow a foreign registered vessel to be in the country for 90 days at a time, as Belizean Sailor says (Hi there Mr C) in Guatemala you can keep the boat there for up to 2 years before you must leave, I also agree with the other points he covered

Having just returned from Isla Mujeras, dock fees are MUCH higher than Rio Dulce e.g. 40 foot cat in Milagro marina $200US for 1 week, you can get a dock for 1 month for the same price in Rio Dulce, but there may be slightly cheaper marina in the lagoon, did not have time to check

[belizesailor]

Hola Triumphant, which boat are you selling?

I have maintained the Belizean registration on my cat with resale in mind. A boat already registered in Belize is a big selling point. As you say, if its going to be imported then thats an ugly problem.

[Triumphant]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Hola Triumphant, which boat are you selling?

.

Sorry for the thread drift,

The boat I am selling is a Beatty 33 see

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...sd-126962.html

Currently at Burnt Key Marina

[belizesailor]

Well, its not too much of a drift...at least it relates to selling a boat on the Rio.

And a beautiful boat she is!

[belizesailor]

And another thought. If I were to sell a foreign registered vessel in Belize, which was not going to be imported, then I would move it out of the country using the original papers (no change to owner and preferably not captain either). This is much less likely to attract attention from the officials.

Of course, the most likely first move would be to the Rio Dulce so might as well sell it there in the first place.