Boat for Corfu - buy it here, there or where?

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ontheplane

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Hi There,

Friend wants to get a dayboat for Corfu.

The only boats for sale locally seem to be ex-hire boats (possibly thrashed or badly treated) or way too dear.

It seems boats overall are very expensive over there.

So ... Is it viable / stupid to buy a boat over here and trail it to Brindeze in Italy and then get the ferry?

Does anyone know any OTHER way to get from UK to Corfu by road that might involve more time on a ferry and less driving (as I can have a beer on a ferry but not whilst driving) and perhaps do more of the trip asleep in a lovely comfy cabin not pounding the motorway/autoroute.

Cost is also a factor as they only want to spend a few grand, so saving £500 on the boat but spending £1000 in fuel and ferries to get there isn't the smartest way to do it!

Thanks
 
If you mean by small dayboat, a smallish under 20ft motor type boat.
Then buy in the uk and ferry Ancona to Igo. make sure you have an SSR, no problems at all.
Small boats in Greece are expensive (just like secondhand cars) plus you would have to register it Greek which involves Port Police and tax office even if second hand. I have done it both ways, you get better value for money in the uk, plus more choice. Open boat or centre console better for use and mooring up. On small cabin boats of around 15ft that are good for uk fishing, the cabin is a pain when mooring up bows to, plus its wasted space.
 
Did exactly that in April this year with a 19ft Chapparal. Went via Ancona which is my normal route anyway.

The route I use (Calais, Rheims, Dijon, Lyon, Mont Blanc, Milan, Bologna, Ancona) is about 1080 miles from Kent and we do 1 overnight about an hour south of Mont Blanc.

It's expensive to drive to Corfu anyway and a trailer increases costs substantially. Costs of English Channel, Road tolls, Ferry x 2 and fuel. You also need a car capable of towing that sort of distance. We have a V8 Discovery so apart from fuel usage it's fine.

If you can buy a comparable boat in Corfu with less than a £1500 premium I would say it's better to buy there although as Davy says you are then into the clutches of thr Greek admin system. You may also need to be a resident. You do to buy a car there.

Good luck.
 
Thanks

Being resident no problem - we already have the paperwork for that as they have a car over there, and a house.

Problem is, as you say the distance/time/cost.

We usually fly out squeezy jet and it costs C£300 each - so as long as we can do the return for around £1000 including fuel it's actually not too much different, and we'd probably take 3 or 4 days to do the trip and enjoy the countries we pass through.

However it's fair to say that it's more the fact that whilst the Corfiots speak good English, we'd not really know if we were buying a dud over there (well, a bit less sure than over here anyway) whereas here we can at least test it a bit, and any problems get it sorted before we go...

Of course if we take it into the country, there may be problems in terms of paperwork etc that buying over there may eliminate.

I'll check out the Acona route - is that much less in terms of driving?
 
So how much do the ferries cost you as a rule? (Dover / Calais and Ancona / Corfu) - It does look far better as the Ancona / Corfu leg I wouldn't be driving which is a lot better than driving all the way down to Brindeze!
 
Of course if we take it into the country, there may be problems in terms of paperwork etc that buying over there may eliminate
Click to expand...
I never had any problem at all with a Brit reg boat, I insured it with a Greek company, they needed to see my ICC as it was 150hp, no problem.

If you buy a Greek reg boat, you only need a tax number. Worth knowing is, on Greek reg, without qualifications, max engine size 15hp on a rib, 30hp on a grp boat.
An Italian friend of mine swapped his engine on his rib, from 15hp to 25hp and used it all year without problems, last year his wife sadly passed away and he went to change the reg document from joint owners to just himself.
Wadda mistaka to make! they saw the size of his new engine and made him take a Greek speedboat licence test. It cost him over 400 euros in total, so be carefull, if in doubt say nowt!
 
Just looked at a ferry from Venice to Corfu....

return next June is £1300 !!!!!!!!!!

Are they taking the p!*s or what!

Any other ideas of routes to take?
 
Yes, I'm looking to take an ICC and the owner will as well, so that won't be a problem.

But it looks ridiculously expensive to get there at the mo - gotta be a cheaper way!
 
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