Bavaria 34 . 20 years old. Hive mind opinions sought please.

[Laysula]

Yes. The preferred option is to sail her back next spring. However boring things like insurance get in the way. I am going up next week for the insurance survey and hope that I can get insurance without replacing the rigging. It would be a good way of getting to know the boat before I start making changes. However trucking has advantages and is not necessarily more expensive. Decisions, decisions, but just take it a step at a time.

As others have noted on this thread buying a boat out of your local area just adds to the complications.

Funnily enough we bought our current boat in Devon in December some seven years ago with the idea of sailing it back up to North Wales the following summer. After a couple of months of sailing her around South Devon through the Winter and Spring we decided to keep her in Brixham as we liked the area so much. Two years later we upped sticks and moved house to Brixham for the same reason.

 

[johnalison]

It amuses me the way people are often concerned about buying a second-hand boat from as far away as round a few headlands. We bought ours, new, from Sweden. This involved a trip by car to dump our stuff, and then a leisurely trip home on our boat. We had the advantage of being retired, but we could have got back in a fortnight, as many have done.

 

[Koeketiene]

It amuses me the way people are often concerned about buying a second-hand boat from as far away as round a few headlands. We bought ours, new, from Sweden. This involved a trip by car to dump our stuff, and then a leisurely trip home on our boat. We had the advantage of being retired, but we could have got back in a fortnight, as many have done.

+1

Buying local has some advantages but it also severely limits your options.

 

[Tranona]

+1

Buying local has some advantages but it also severely limits your options.

That depends on where you live and the sort of boat you are looking for. If you live between say Brighton and Weymouth you have a potentially huge choice of the popular boats so does not severely limit options. Distance is more of an issue if you are buying a smaller or lower value boat where the search and movement costs can be a big part of the budget.

 

[Wing Mark]

It amuses me the way people are often concerned about buying a second-hand boat from as far away as round a few headlands. We bought ours, new, from Sweden. This involved a trip by car to dump our stuff, and then a leisurely trip home on our boat. We had the advantage of being retired, but we could have got back in a fortnight, as many have done.

That's great if you're buying new, it's reasonable to hope that your new boat will be in sail away condition.
I don't think I'd want to buy a boat at my end of the market, and then commit to sailing it a big distance, without some serious allowance for shake-down trips and some remedial work before setting off.
Which is an open-ended commitment, maybe involving taking crew with you for the first sails in case of problems.

It is also potentially awkward when you have a boat surveyed and some significant issue is found, you may need to get this fixed before bringing the boat home, which means dealing with foreign yards or contractors and possibly a few trips back and forth. That soon racks up costs. Can you get insurance to sail home if the surveyor has said 'you really need to get X Y and Z fixed?

Did you go to the factory to choose your boat, or view the model at a UK boat show?

 

[Just_sayin']

Sale Pending

 

[Skylark]

A boat needs its owner to have a spirit of adventure.

As I progressed size and experience. I searched far and wide within the UK for a 30 footer but to no avail. I found a nice second hand boat near Stockholm and never thought of anything other than sailing it back to the UK. Why wouldn’t you?? I didn’t consider getting a survey, remedial work, insurance and crew as obstacles.

We bought our current boat new from The Hamble and it’s maiden voyage was to North Wales. Later we moved it to The Clyde.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Sale Pending ?

Not the same one.

 

[Just_sayin']

Tis now ?

 

[ashtead]

Didn’t take long -I wonder if it achieved asking price?

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Tis now ?

fair enoughski.

As said, didn't take long. OP you missed it. Or maybe not?

 

[Koeketiene]

It is also potentially awkward when you have a boat surveyed and some significant issue is found, you may need to get this fixed before bringing the boat home, which means dealing with foreign yards or contractors and possibly a few trips back and forth. That soon racks up costs. Can you get insurance to sail home if the surveyor has said 'you really need to get X Y and Z fixed?

You are quite right - that can be an issue.

The surveyor identified two issues which needed to be addressed before I could sail the boat home from Holland.
One was the gas installation needed to be brought up to scratch (common sense) and the other one was that I needed to change the prop (corrosion). Since I was planning to replace it with a 3-bladed feathering prop anyway...
I was fortunate that there was a boatyard nearby able and willing to undertake the work.

I did have to provide invoices to my insurance to prove that the work had been carried out before I could set sail.