Buying a cruising yacht advise for the Med

[FayeandPhil]

Hi Everyone.

My partner and I are currently looking at buying a yacht for cruising the Med. I would like to know in your opinion should we go for a 10 year old Beneteau/ Jeanneau type yacht or an older yacht (1980’s)? I have looked and we are weighing up whether a newer boat would be less likely to need repairing than an older yacht? What have others gone for? Pro’s / Con’s… What do you think is the minimum size. What to look out for?
Also would you recommend a water maker and generator or do most of you get by without one? What other bits of equipment have you felt is essential for cruising that has maybe made your life more comfortable or safer but not necessarily essential?
I have worked on a fairly large boat before that had a generator and water maker but as it has a 2000l tank we never used it but I do wonder if it were a 40ft boat would you?
Also I am very familiar with Greek waters having worked as a hostess on Flotilla. However I wondered if anyone has any advice on Turkey. Our family live there half the year and we would like to spend some time there with them in the Gocek area. …..

 

[macd]

There must be scores of old threads answering these questions: worth searching for them.
In brief: you see a broad cross-section of boats used as Med liveaboards: many AWB's but equally many more traditional boats. There's much to be said for buying in the Med, since most such boats are set-up for the conditions (biminis etc). Any talents you might have at maintenance and repair will be a great help and reduce costs substantially.
Size: couples have lived long-term on 26 footers, but somewhere around 35 is probably the minimum for comfort. Maintenance costs rise as something like the square of length; berthing costs obviously rise, too.
Again, plenty of threads on watermakers and gennies in the Med. Watermaker far from essential. Solar is probably (and increasingly) the favoured means of electricity production.
Turkey's great. Gocek area is a popular cruising ground but very busy in high season. Your length of stay would probably be dictated by visa limitations (90 days); residence permits for longer are available, but recent revisions effectively limit this to one year, at some cost and bureaucratic run-around. Tourist visas easy to come-by (if arriving by yacht, visas would be part of the checking-in process, which can be DIY but often involves paying an agent).

 

[Tony Cross]

In my experience most liveaboards are on some type of AWB. The advantage of these boats is that lots of people know how to fix them. Older traditional boats seem to be owned by people who know how and enjoy fixing them.

For a livaeaboard I would advise you to look at every boat as a home first and a sailboat second. I see lots of people struggling on reslly good sailboats that are cramped and ill-designed homes.

 

[Tranona]

Echo macd comments. To me a modern AWB is the way to go. Biased of course because I have a Bavaria 37 which we kept in Greece for 10 years. Such boats are well designed for the conditions. People do use old boats, but often because that was what was available or they could afford. There is some argument for such boats if you are starting from UK, but you may find the cost of refit and equipping for the Med really eats into your budget compared with buying a boat out there. You may of course be lucky and be able to buy a Med equipped boat like mine which is in UK.

35 to 40' is the popular size range. Big batteries, water and fuel tankage, fridge, electric windlass, lots of shade and ventilation and a strong engine are all important. When on the move in summer you will do more motoring than sailing in many areas because of lack of wind.

Greece is easier than Turkey from the formalities point of view and arguably cheaper. Easier for access from UK and probably more choice of places to keep the boat.

As said, there is a vast amount of material available on the subject both on here and in books, magazines articles, blogs etc. Scroll down here and you will get most of the answers plus links to other sources such as. The CA and cruiser's blogs.

 

[jimbaerselman]

"Fitting out for the Mediterranean" is a talk I sometimes give at The Cruising Association's Mediterranean Seminars. You can see the condensed version at http://www.jimbsail.info/preparing/fitting-out-mediterranean.

This is effectively a check list/starting point of things to consider. What you need depends on your style of cruising. What you do depends on your purse.

Flotilla boats are light on equipment compared to most live-aboards. That's because they operate in areas which have good access to water, their batteries are charged with daily motoring sessions, and they rarely anchor overnight away from a serviced quayside.

As soon as you're away from those comfort zones, you've correctly identified that power replenishment and water supplies become more important issues.

Generators and watermakers are complex and expensive solutions which need regular attention. In most Mediterranean circumstances solar panels will be adequate for your needs. Most couples can also easily survive a fortnight with a 200 - 300 litre water tank. It's visitors who run you out of water!

Throughout the popular cruising areas of both Greece and Turkey there is a very high standard of yacht support always within a days journey. Gocek area is dense with quaysides and marinas. See the detail at http://www.jimbsail.info/mediterranean/turkey/lycian

 

[vyv_cox]

Jim's link is pretty much spot on, although my preference would be a bit more emphasis on the shade needed. We consider a bimini to be essential, having spent our first season in the Med without one, to the detriment of my wife's skin. When anchored we can extend the bimini forward to cover the whole cockpit, or half the boat if we wish.

Our boat is 30 years old, UK built, 35 ft. It does become very hot below, whereas it seems that boats more purpose-built for Med conditions, i.e. most AWBs, are a little cooler. We find it plenty big enough for the two of us, carrying folding bikes and many other extras.

Others have discussed electrical requirements. Solar panels are the way to go, selecting equipment that can be recharged by 12 volts wherever possible. A small inverter copes with any that can not, e.g. we have just bought a vacuum bagger for food that only runs on 240 volts. We carried a generator for a while but never used it and now don't bother.

Water is always available in the Med, sometimes not very good quality. A Seagull IV filter improves taste but be aware it cannot remove salinity. Our tank holds around 260 litres and in 10 years in the Med it has never run dry. No watermaker, although it would be a nice luxury item if we had the space.

 

[charles_reed]

ex-charter AWB, safest and most economical way to go.

I have neither, in the Med - so am totally unbiassed.

 

[ostra4]

I second that Charles having bought two ex charter boats ,First from 1989 and second built in 1999 , we are sure the newer boat is cooler down below in the height of summer and sails better in the normally lighter winds .

 

[TonyMS]

Another aspect:

It makes a big difference whether you stay aboard during the winter or come home. If your boat is only for the summer, it can be less commodious, but you may be glad of better sailing performance. For the winter I wouldn't want a mono of less than 45ft, or a cat of less than 35ft. Our 30ft cat is great in the summer, when we live half outside, and value its performance. But it would be near impossible in winter.

 

[FayeandPhil]

Thanks all, This information and all the links have been very helpful to us. Its good to get other people's experiences.

 

[duncan99210]

We have a 40 foot AWB that we've lived on pretty much full time for five years or so. She's fine for us two and the occasional visitor or two, including overwintering in a marina. I wouldn't want anything smaller but equally anything bigger would stretch budgets.
We have solar but would like more. No water maker but it's on the wanted list: our 300 litres do us for two weeks or so. Shade is an essential, we can shade over half the boat and do so most of the time when stopped.
Have a look at the blog for further info on why we chose Rampage.

 

[jimbaerselman]

I second that Charles having bought two ex charter boats ,First from 1989 . . . . <snip> .

Ostra . . Hmm. That wouldn't by any chance have been a Cobra 850? If so, I took that from UK to Greece in 1978!

 

[nimbusgb]

If you intend heading for Turkey you will have to consider what adding holding tanks to an older boat will cost.

Shade is paramount, solar panels. Never use our generator. Watermaker probably more hassle than it's worth.

 

[ostra4]

Hi Jim, the 1989 boat was a Moody 346 but no you mentioned the Cobra we used to have a share in that one for many years before selling and buying our own boat . Many happy times aboard Ostra and I think she is still around but not seen her for a while ,always easy to spot with her name in such big letters .

 

[Max K]

Whatever you choose, make sure that plenty of air can get into the boat even when it's raining*, it is easy to shade from the sun and that it has a reliable engine.

* When it does, it does so with great ferocity and often brown dust!

Max.

 

[Jamesuk]

whats the budget

 

[milltech]

I think a 35' wooden boat would be just perfect, and if it was already in the Med.........

 

[FayeandPhil]

Cheers everyone. Been a lot of help and advise here!!