Unseen - a Survey - a Visit - No Broker!

[CarlF]

I think you have only good news.

A 15 year old repair followed by blue water use is nothing to worry about.

Osmosis would have happened long ago to this boat if it was going to happen. A responsible owner would have fixed it and told you. If it wasn't
fixed, it will be obvious to a surveyor - or you.

The owners sound very good. While you don't want to be blindly trusting, it's great to have a "win-win" transaction. After my last boat purchase, the owner spent gobs of time helping me learn the boat and even bought some equipment he thought I needed and gave it to me as a gift. I've now sold the boat but exchange holiday cards with both the previous and new owners.

I don't consider a bad engine a deal killer. It can certainly be part of the price negotiation. It's not really that expensive to repower. You might want to do it in any case and know the engine's good for another twenty years.

And expect to spend substantial money in the 12 months after you buy the boat in unexpected repairs and "improvements" -- no matter what the survey finds. Budget for it.


Carl

[goboatingnow]

@goboatingnow - Can I ask where you got this specific information? I scoured the internet and couldn't come up with anything as decisive as this! I'm not sure yet if no CE will be a show-stopper but it will give me something further to think of. My immediate intention is not to bring her to the UK and also not to sell her. However, things do change and I wouldn't want to be completely limited in my options. I'll either walk from it or decide that I don't need it and use it to negotiate a better price instead. We are both British (I do live in France but can use my dad's address in the UK to keep things simple) so will ask the owner if we can sort something out by way of keeping her, if only as a paper exercise, as being in or around British waters on and off. She has been to several European islands in the Caribbean so that might work too. It all seems a very complicated issue

from several years involved in importing and exporting things and thats including yachts both leisure and commercial ( sailing school)

CE/RCD is very straight forward, it applies , with a handful of exceptions to all pleasure boats under 24 metres imported into or built in the EU since june 1998, new or secondhand make no difference

RTR ( returned goods relief) is a VAT relief that is applied where items are temporarily exported and returned into teh EU by the same owner, and have not been substantially altered. In the absence of a qualifying RTR, VAT is due on everything imported into the EU. RTR relief is typically automatically granted for 3 years, but can be extended virtually indefinitely by agreement with customs.

In your case , with a vessel originally from the UK , still registered there and obviously due to its age exempt from the RCD, you would be safe enough providing the registration remained on the SSR. ( and you have some form of VAT proof, or a VAt excemption ticket)

Note that if you are a French tax resident, you should be aware of the implications in owning a boat, while living in france. However there is no requirement that requires french residents to register in france, just they must have a registration.

dave

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by LBH49520

I appreciate the need to survey the engine but not sure I would put it before a boat survey. I'm guessing people don't shop for engines and then hope a half decent boat comes with it? I really like the boat and all that comes with her, I see her value being in the bit that floats and the electronics on board. Yes the engine is very important but they can be sourced should they be rough. Or rebuilt and fixed.

I have assumed that the engine isn't dead as they are continuing to use her on a daily basis and the surveyor will take her out on a sea trial. This won't tell me everything about the engine but it will say that it works and at what kind of power/speed she produces through the RPM range. There are never guarantees with anything mechanical, new or old.

Thank you for your comments

You need both, and the engine survey is much cheaper than the boat survey. The great majority of boats need a dependable engine, and for all but the most expert sailors, IMO a boat without a dependable motor is unsafe.

I think you've already fallen in love with the boat.

[settlednomad]

@CarlF - I do hope that all goes well and, like you, had also thought that after so much time, if there were any issues with the boat then they would have shown before now. There was no osmosis during her last survey '98 though I'm sure it can rear it's ugly head at any time!

@Goboatingnow - Invaluable information, thank you. The boats origin is in the US though registered in the UK in '96-'97. She has a VAT paid receipt and a European tax exempt certificate though not sure if that covers me. I fully intend to keep her on her same registration that she has had since '97 and will not register her in France. No plans to import or sell at this time. She is purely for personal use and I hope to keep her for a very long time.

@Rakuflames - You could be right, she is a beauty and I really would like her. But love isn't blind in this case, I know I could still quite easily walk away from her too