Places in France to buy offshore boats

[cooper1991]

Can anyone recommend 2 or 3 places in France that I'd have a better than average chance of seeing a variety of offshore boats to buy?

Looking for 32-36ft monohull.

Am hoping to go in late September. Maybe visit Spain too. Would also appreciate if anyone knows if buying in France (or Spain) has any more difficulty than the UK (language barrier aside)?

[DDabs]

You could try the East coast around the area of Sables d'Olonne- that is the port of the famous Vendee Globe race and I remember driving that coast, stopping at a few of the little towns nearby, there were marinas with boats in that range.

[boatman61]

Check the French section on INautica..
The NW coast from La Rochelle up.

[DDabs]

Meant to say West... not East. lol

[Mag3]

La Rochelle.

[Pete7]

And Trinite, Port Crouesty or Lorient, all within easy driving range.

Cheap but nice hotel about were the arrow is if needed.

Pete

[barnakiel]

ONLINE


You find the boat ONLINE, then go to have a look at it.


Sables, La Rochelle, Sete, Marseille, St Malo, etc. but truly any other place may hold it.


Cold water boats more likely in N (Brittany), lovely Med style boats more likely in the Med.


Similar story in Spain.


I am in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, plenty of boats here for sale. What boat do you want, specifically?



barnakiel

[psk125]

As Barnkiel says, looking online will tell you where most of the boats are. The obvious spots are the big sailing ports, as have been mentioned. The boat that best meets your needs, however, may be in a tiny fishing harbor in Normandy, or maybe even on Lake Geneva. You have to determine what you're looking for and then see where it is. The big problem people buying boats in France seem to have (from looking at different sites like Hisse et Oh and Sail The World) is finding a good surveyor.

[slug]

Yah

West coast of France

Good boats for sale are stacked up like cordwood

The other region to look is the Netherlands , good boats , fresh water , often kept inside over winter

Stay away from the Med ,,,,sunburnt and neglected by owners who live 2000 kilometers away

[Seaga]

Hello, I am living in the South of France for ages. Some advises for you....
The brokers here are not the same as in the UK or in Germany or in Netherlands or in Scandinavia. Seems like they are not keening to sell the boats, specially if you do not speak French at all, that might be a problem. Be careful with the brokers. Not all of them are ugly, of course but you might meet such persons easily.
The sun. The same age boats in general looks older and untidy here compared to the North of the Europe. The sun burns everything out. Thus, better to look for the boats somewhere in the North of France or on the West coast.
Salt. The water here is more salty then in the North of Europe. Pay attention to underwater hall.
I have bought my boat here but from German guy. He took care of his boat as for his mother. I looked for my boat more then one year and saw about 35-40 vessels.
So....it is possible to find the boat in France but you might be disappointed if you will start comparing how it works in other countries.
Good luck.

[cooper1991]

I'm looking for an offshore boat 32-38ft monohull ideally with good inventory eg big fuel/water tanks, decent powered engine, long keel, comfort ratio>30, tender, safety gear and good to have AIS & hydrovane. Would maybe take steel. Maybe I should be looking in Netherlands as possibly France/Spain/Greece just have lightweight production boats?

[IslandInfedel]

I have been looking for boats in France and Italy as well, some good deals to be had, however I don’t see too many boats with updated electronics or much as far as solar system go?

[Montanan]

Europe’s largest marina, the Port de plaisance de la Rochelle on France’s Atlantic coast, includes no less than 5057 berths thoroughout the old port of La Rochelle, Port des Minimes and a new area of moorings and hard standing.

Port-La-Forêt is the second-largest marina in Finistère with a total of 1130 berths.

[Seaga]

Originally Posted by cooper1991

I'm looking for an offshore boat 32-38ft monohull ideally with good inventory eg big fuel/water tanks, decent powered engine, long keel, comfort ratio>30, tender, safety gear and good to have AIS & hydrovane. Would maybe take steel. Maybe I should be looking in Netherlands as possibly France/Spain/Greece just have lightweight production boats?

I do not know your budget but.......that is an example of the boat you are looking for probably. This boat was available a week ago for sure.
Hallberg Rassy 35 Rasmus

[gilgsn]

I found mine on leboncoin.fr
There are plenty of boats on that site under the "Nautisme" section.



Gil.