Cost to convert to owners version

[Xanzac08]

Hi all, we are in the planning stages to purchase a yacht. We are looking at Bavaria/Beneteau/Jeanneau as a liveaboard. As there are not a lot of owner versions available & when we come to purchase (late 2022) I wondered if anyone had converted to an owners version & rough costs. Also as we are based in NZ has anyone used DYT to transport a boat from either Croatia/Greece or Tahiti to NZ? Hoping the landscape (Covid19) will make it easier to fly to country of boat location towards the end of 2022 however if not then we will be looking to transport to us. After sailing around NZ, we will make our way to Fiji then Australia, to aim for Europe & Caribbean in a few years. Thanks & apologies if this Q has been asked before, I tried searching however couldn't locate any information around this topic.

 

[PlanB]

I don't know about transport, but I do know someone who bought in Spain, sailed the Med for a couple of seasons and then sailed over two seasons via the Panama canal and back to NZ.

 

[Tranona]

In most cases it would be impossible to convert from 3 cabins to 2 (the usual difference between "charter" and "owner" versions because bulkheads are in different places and toilet compartments/chart table/galley layouts are different. As you say most of the boats in Greece and Croatia are ex charter boats which require maximum potential berths. However they translate very well into private use with a bit of imagination. I had a 3 cabin Bavaria 37 from 2001 which I initially chartered out then took it over for my own use. I converted one aft cabin into storage in such a way that it could revert to a sleeping cabin, which is what the next owner did. Since then typical charter boats are bigger and once you get over 40' it gets even easier to do this as there is more walk in space, often enough to put in such bulky things as washing machines. Some models have 2 loos which again can open up the possibility of turning one into storage or a laundry room.

As suggested one of the attractions for you of buying a boat in Europe is that you can keep it there for notionally 18 months without paying VAT and if you time it right have a couple of seasons cruising there with the option of sailing it back. No experience of shipping on that particular route, but generally speaking shipping is very expensive and really only viable for high value boats. For example when I brought my boat back to UK direct shipment was well over twice the price of the method I chose which was part sailing with professional crew and part road. Of course you don't have that option to NZ, but sailing over a couple of years is a great adventure1

 

[jordanbasset]

Agree with the above, we lived aboard on a 3 cabin Bavaria 38, we kept one of the aft cabins for storage, which was very useful and made things easier to get to than in the bottom of a cockpit locker

 

[tkalfaoglu]

Why not reverse the trip -- buy the boat, then do the med traveling/getting experienced and solving boat's problems, and then sail it back home?

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Jenneau 45.2 has a moveable bulkhead converting twin forepeak into a master cabin

 

[Xanzac08]

In most cases it would be impossible to convert from 3 cabins to 2 (the usual difference between "charter" and "owner" versions because bulkheads are in different places and toilet compartments/chart table/galley layouts are different. As you say most of the boats in Greece and Croatia are ex charter boats which require maximum potential berths. However they translate very well into private use with a bit of imagination. I had a 3 cabin Bavaria 37 from 2001 which I initially chartered out then took it over for my own use. I converted one aft cabin into storage in such a way that it could revert to a sleeping cabin, which is what the next owner did. Since then typical charter boats are bigger and once you get over 40' it gets even easier to do this as there is more walk in space, often enough to put in such bulky things as washing machines. Some models have 2 loos which again can open up the possibility of turning one into storage or a laundry room.

As suggested one of the attractions for you of buying a boat in Europe is that you can keep it there for notionally 18 months without paying VAT and if you time it right have a couple of seasons cruising there with the option of sailing it back. No experience of shipping on that particular route, but generally speaking shipping is very expensive and really only viable for high value boats. For example when I brought my boat back to UK direct shipment was well over twice the price of the method I chose which was part sailing with professional crew and part road. Of course you don't have that option to NZ, but sailing over a couple of years is a great adventure1

Thanks, that is great feedback! We would love to fly over & start our adventure over there however it all depends on Covid levels & international flights. How does the VAT work? If we manage to fly over, purchase a boat & sail back to Australia/NZ over a couple of years, if we register the boat to Aus or NZ straight away, do we have to pay VAT? if so is it a % of purchase price? thanks

 

[Tranona]

Thanks, that is great feedback! We would love to fly over & start our adventure over there however it all depends on Covid levels & international flights. How does the VAT work? If we manage to fly over, purchase a boat & sail back to Australia/NZ over a couple of years, if we register the boat to Aus or NZ straight away, do we have to pay VAT? if so is it a % of purchase price? thanks

No, as a third country resident you only have to pay VAT if you actually "import" the boat into the EU and keep it there. You are eligible to keep the boat in the EU for up to 18 months under the temporary importation rules, although this can be extended or indeed renewed by leaving the EU and re-entering. However you can only take advantage of this if you buy a new boat or one where VAT has not been paid already which means either a boat belonging to a non resident or belonging to a business, usually a charter company. VAT varies from state to state and is in the range 20-25%, so in theory such boats are that much cheaper than private VAT paid boats. If you buy a private boat VAT will have been paid and you cannot reclaim it.

Most charter boats come from the big production builders such as Beneteau, Jeanneau, Bavaria, Hanse and Elan and mainly in the 12-15m size range. There is currently a glut on the market as charter operators are trying to reduce their fleets because of the downturn in the holiday market. Easy to see what is on the market by searching either Yachtworld or Yachtmarket for those makes filtered by Greece and Croatia which is where most of them are.

Suspect that now your prime minister has accepted that you can't escape Covid by isolation, much will change over the next few months on the travel front. Just make sure you get your vaccinations!

 

[Xanzac08]

No, as a third country resident you only have to pay VAT if you actually "import" the boat into the EU and keep it there. You are eligible to keep the boat in the EU for up to 18 months under the temporary importation rules, although this can be extended or indeed renewed by leaving the EU and re-entering. However you can only take advantage of this if you buy a new boat or one where VAT has not been paid already which means either a boat belonging to a non resident or belonging to a business, usually a charter company. VAT varies from state to state and is in the range 20-25%, so in theory such boats are that much cheaper than private VAT paid boats. If you buy a private boat VAT will have been paid and you cannot reclaim it.

Most charter boats come from the big production builders such as Beneteau, Jeanneau, Bavaria, Hanse and Elan and mainly in the 12-15m size range. There is currently a glut on the market as charter operators are trying to reduce their fleets because of the downturn in the holiday market. Easy to see what is on the market by searching either Yachtworld or Yachtmarket for those makes filtered by Greece and Croatia which is where most of them are.

Suspect that now your prime minister has accepted that you can't escape Covid by isolation, much will change over the next few months on the travel front. Just make sure you get your vaccinations!

That is great information, thank you so much! Yes I am on Yachtworld daily & will check out Yachtmarket, thanks. Budget wise, we are looking to spend 200-230 NZD with 40-50 NZD for upgrades (running rigging, solar, watermaker, maintenance, antifoul, safety equipment, upgrade electronics, sails if needed) we would be looking for a 15-16m, preference owners version, which I have come across so hopefully when we can get over there we can find a good-ish one! Yes agree, travel is going to look very different soon, it is already being introduced as no jab, no flying for our domestic market & international is also the same. To date we have managed to keep the covid strains semi contained, but that will change once another strain or the borders re open, which to be honest never closed. Stay safe where ever you are! Thanks Michelle