Selling my boat in Fiji??

[Geoff H.]

Hugely torn, (Owned and loved for 20 yrs), but am Considering selling my American flagged ‘79 Formosa 51’ in Fiji. Going to haul her and secure in a cyclone pit here in next few weeks and then flying to the states. Anyone done this, who can shed any light, positives, negatives, advice, do’s and don’t? I’d really appreciate it!!

[Geoff H.]

Also, what does one do with personal belongings? Is there a way to store off the boat, in the case I don’t sell her, and end up returning after cyclone season and want to sail on? Storage facility in Nadi / Vuda Point?

[Tillsbury]

Boats located in places like that (pacific islands) are expected to be substantially cheaper than those located in more populous/prosperous areas. That’s the only downside, I guess.

Having said that, I’d suggest that you decide whether to sell or not first. You’re either all in on the project or you’re not.

[JPA Cate]

Geoff H.

Here's my take on this. Some kind of perceived emergency is driving this. If you really have to go back to the States, post haste, and you do not know whether or not you will be able to return, you're really in a bad position.

If you have to go there for medical treatment which you cannot afford elsewhere, and you never know what the results of that will be, you're just going to have to take your chances. I kinda think you have an inkling of that. I don't want to be mean, but sometimes we have crises that are really nitty gritty.

In a pit in Fiji, your boat will accumulate bugs, mold and fall into disrepair. If you want to sell, sell it at a rock bottom price, so that before it is horrible, it belongs to someone else.

If there is a 50-50 chance you can come back to it-- well, I've had a number of surgeries I've survived that had quite a bit worse odds. The hedge would be to empty it of personal stuff, put it in a half container, and ship back to the States, where you could presumably triage it.

If you want to sell it, almost empty it. Give stuff away to locals who will accept it. I'd much rather buy an old boat with nothing major in it, than have to clean it out. Retain the winch handles, the good line, anchors and chain, and sails, stuff that makes the boat sail-able. Hope to find a new stewardship for the boat if you are in doubt.

You're the only one who can take a guess at how serious this is, and what the best way forward is. But, if at all possible, sell the boat before you leave Fiji. Then you will be free to re-invent your life elsewhere.

If that sounds too drastic for you, and I don't blame you if it does, search for a middle road. Sail post haste to Australia or NZ, put the boat under Customs control, and fly back and deal with *stuff* as it comes. Expect no mercy from potential buyers.

Ann

[Frank 101]

I’ll hopefully be ready to purchase a boat a bit after Christmas and I’ve got my eye on a few that have been sitting in different places for some time. A couple in Fiji but the prices are similar to boats in Europe. And that is probably why they sit! As someone else said if the sale figure isn’t attractive to a buyer who would have to fly in then the boat will probably sit and then have to be sold a lot cheaper after it has sat and degraded. Would it be possible to hire a crew to sail it back to where you will be and then you will have more control over things?

[stormalong]

If you can move it, New Zealand would be a much better market than Fiji. Getting someone to travel to Fiji to look at a boat is a problem. There are very few locals that would be interested in a boat like that. New Zealand has local buyers and enough boats for sale that some serious shopper might make a trip. Downside is that you have to import the boat to offer it for sale.

[CassidyNZ]

I’m not sure that selling a boat in NZ is such a great idea.

I met a very nice man on a very well-kept, beautiful X-Yacht 55 in Rarotonga, had cruised for several years and was on his way to NZ to sell his boat and go home to Europe. The Australian X-Yacht agents suggested a sale price of Euro840k and it appeared in the local for-sale pages at that value.

I had dinner with the seller a year later and he said the boat was out for a survey prior to selling, best offer was IIRC, NZ$420k. That’s less than a quarter of the agent’s first flush. Fortunately he is a wealthy guy and didn’t need the money but he was heart-broken at the poor value his beautiful boat had attracted. Sitting in the water in a marina unattended for a year did nothing to help.

Selling in Fiji would no doubt be even less attractive.

[Geoff H.]

Thanks for this everyone. Really much appreciated.

I wish I'd shared a little more in my op. I don't have any kind of emergency at all. Have been off and on cruising this boat since I bought it in 2000, Mexico, C. America, S. America and US Eastern coast, with return trips to LA where I return to work (television producer) and put the boat back to ship-shape. I'm going back to LA soon (an opportunity there that requires a longer commitment,) and am not yet clear on when I can get back out here. I've been told, perhaps incorrectly(?) that Fiji is an excellent spot to sell, that a lot of NZ and Australian folk like to buy here and then sail home. My thinking was that if it sells, okay, if not, I come back and move her along then, perhaps to NZ or Australia, (or ship her home to LA.) I'm more than a little 'in love' with her, so it wouldn't be the worst thing, but after 20 years I've also kind of sown these oats. (And I have no interest in sailing her back 'the wrong way.'

Re: the cyclone pit storage, I've hired a highly recommended 'caretaker' and have purchased a 220v. dehumidifier. I've left her many a time and am diligent with prep for that. She has 6 big solar panels on her hard dodger, new batteries and the caretaker will even be running her engine on a schedule, in the pit!

[JPA Cate]

Hi, Geoff H.,

Glad to hear there's nothing wrong. Your arrangements sound pretty good, and I don't know pro or con how well they will be followed up on in real life.

In that case, have a quick sail to Oz or NZ and put it under custom's control for while you're gone. Based on our experience, either place is a good one to leave a boat. I would not expect the Fiji deal to work too well for you, and it is pretty easy to get back as far as Tonga from NZ, so Fiji, if you wanted to spend more time , another visit, would be doable from there. ....And from Oz, it is not difficult to NZ, and thence, to Tonga. We actually knew some guys who sailed from Brisbane to the Society Is., but with a more weatherly vessel than your Formosa.

Your largest market down under will be in Oz, I think, should you want to sell her.

And if you decide to leave her in the pit in Fiji, I hope she fares well. We have never left a boat in the cyclone belt, there's a reason why most insurances will not cover the boat in the cyclone areas.

I guess I'd be asking myself how much I wanted a different boat, and how much loss on the current one I'd be willing to accept. And how much I want to do the bits from the Milk Run onwards. There are options. We've an Ozzie acquaintance who mostly keeps his boat in South America and spends a great deal of time in Chile, and recently wrote that he prefers the winter down there! So, it takes all kinds. And, I want to add, NZ is a physically beautiful country, just a little like heaven for someone from Calif. Oz has different beauty.

Ann

[bobnlesley]

For what it's worth: Coming through the central/west Pacific we know or have met several who are enroute to Auz/NZ intending to sell there, but most have started marketing whilst still in Fiji or Tonga on the basis that an early sale saves the Aus/NZ import duties. A couple have offloaded their boats at reasonable - for both parties - prices, but the majority seem to have continued west to sell or at least try to sell in NZ and Aus.
Your 'target' market in Fiji will predominantly be Aus/NZ residents looking to buy here as it'll be cheaper (no tax until/if they return 'home' with the boat) and it also allows them to start their cruise in Fiji and head west, avoiding what from Aus especially is a long beat to windward. Those customers might be interested in enquiring about the boat, but are unlikely to want to buy right now: The Cyclone Season's imminent, Fiji's not the safest spot in the Pacific to keep the boat and safe(ish) storage here's relatively expensive; any 'offers' are more likely to be made 4-5 months from now.
Only hearsay, but local wisdom suggests that catamarans, especially higher value ones are better taken to Aus for sale, whilst with a smaller older, heavy, traditional monohull, the market's perhaps stronger in NZ?
Oh you only need to 'import' the boat into Aus/NZ if you intend selling to a resident/national, I suspect there are rules which say you must pay duty before marketing the boat, but as with similar rules in the USA, there are no doubt ways to circumvent them and only pay the import duty if/when you're sure it's a local buying it.

[Tillsbury]

You don’t need to import into nz to sell here, but you only have two years (I think) to sell to a buyer intending to export so the clock is ticking the moment you arrive. I look at the local market regularly, and it’s very often there’s a nice one turns up at a good price... only to find that it’s actually in the islands, so not really much use from here.

Personally, I wouldn’t want to try Fiji to nz as a “shakedown” on a new-to-me boat. Only on a boat I know and trust.

[Tillsbury]

Agree that nz isn’t the place to find a buyer for a big cat or premium nearly new monohull. Most of the market here is ancient beat-up ratty monohulls (aka “Bluewater cruisers”)

[Geoff H.]

Thanks for replies and thoughts. Much appreciated. Here is an update from Vuda Point. Am being told that the cyclone season makes selling and buying a much rarer event, and that waiting to list is smarter. Also informed by A LOT of folk here that the principal broker here is mostly absent/barely involved in transactions. That the seller is expected to do most of the work. I think I’ll come back at end of season (May) and sail my boat to Australia and either sell it there or ship her to Ensenada.....

[JPA Cate]

@Geoff H.:

Shipping from Brisbane to Mexico worked well for a number of our friends. Frankly, I think it is a much better deal. Or list it in Oz, if you're ready for a change of boats. The used boat market here is slow, but there are the dreamers about who want big, heavy, sea kindly.

Ann