Cheapest / quikest way to get a 36 ft moody back to Blighty from Corfu

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dockmaster

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After 3 yrs cruising and one year trying to sell my moody 36 I have decided to bring her back to the UK but as I cant get the time off to sail her back myself and dont trust anyone else, I have decided to sail to Izola Slovinia then truck to Holland then sail to Blighty, has anyone else done this ? it will cost aprox 4500 euros. Is there a cheaper option other than the 1000+ mile sail to France which I dont fancy.
 
You may want to reconsider renting a crew - virtually every boat I've heard of being trucked has suffered damage. Some friends of friends used a delivery crew to get from Duquesa to Greece and were very happy - the crew wrapped the whole of the inside of the boat in clingfilm to prevent wear and tear and provided all their own gear and food. I seem to recall the cost was in the region of €1500. Will ask friends to ask friends for details.
 
I would first tell everyone more about the boat as there are recent posts from people wishing to buy a first boat 36-40' to sail to the Med as a live aboard.

Or would your boat not be everyones cup of tea?
 
If you're still trying to sell, given the current £ / € exchange rate, I'd keep her in the Med....I was at a yard yesterday and apparently everything being sold at present is heading into Europe - domestic market is almost non-existent.

Perhaps a mainland site may work better than on Corfu????
 
Re: Cheapest / quikest way to get a 36 ft moody back to Blighty from C

We are looking for our first boat and a trip to the Med to boot!!
We sailed on a Moody for our competent Crew and were sufficiently impressed enough to consider one... Our plan is to sail around The West Coast Scotland though for year or so... pm me some details if you like /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: Cheapest / quikest way to get a 36 ft moody back to Blighty from C

Bambola quatre is a well found well equiped 1979 moody 36 and has looked after me and my family well for 3 years she can be viewed via clipper marine or visit michael briants site
There doesnt apear to be a market for older strong boats in the east med as everyone seems to want a floating caravan these days and I am not propaired to give her away she cost me 40k and I have spent at least 10 on her so at 37500 she is already good value - I may as well bring her back and either sell her here or make use of her.
 
Re: Cheapest / quikest way to get a 36 ft moody back to Blighty from C

Couple of observations
Market in Greece is slow for everybody
Your boat as you say is not an attractive proposition against others in the market
Your suggested route back to UK is sensible and the lowest cost, although I don't have any direct experience
Your current asking price is top whack wherever the boat is located in todays market.

If you think price is the barrier rather than general lack of interest, dropping the price there might be a better option than spending more money getting it back here where you still may not get the price you are after. Different if you plan to use it in the UK as at least you will get some value out of it while you try to sell.
 
Re: Cheapest / quikest way to get a 36 ft moody back to Blighty from C

I believe the market is slow everywhere Bambola is an attractive proposition to the right person ( I bought her and am very pleased with her ) as far as price is concerned I havnt seen any other boats with the spec that Bambola has (full electronics , chargers ssb solar wind gen water maker etc) for this price I think the bigest problem is deciding where to draw the line as far as money goes I could (and would)drop the price 5 k if I could be sure she would sell straight away but with the mooring costs at aprox 3800 euro a year in Corfu I feel that bringing her home is the best bet where I can at least keep an eye on her.
 
Re: Cheapest / quikest way to get a 36 ft moody back to Blighty from C

I agree that bringing her to the UK is probably the best idea. I know about the marina costs as my boat is moored about 150 metres away from yours when it was on the hard! I saw your boat when we were there earlier in the year and thought then it would be difficult to sell. We went through the loop of looking at Moodys when we bought our boat and they are stuck in a price bracket of £35-40k asking and vary enormously in kit. The goodies you have put on don't necessarily add value in relation to cost. I would think your buyer is more likely to be in the UK looking for a boat for their "big adventure" and would tick a lot of boxes. In Corfu you can get a 34ft AWB half the age and well equipped for Med sailing for a similar price. For £12k more you could have my 7 year old Bavaria 37. Different kind of boat but more suitable for the environment.

As you may know there would be no problem finding a delivery crew to get her up to Slovenia in October, but I don't know what trucking is like then. The best time to get return loads is in the spring when the new boats are delivered.

Good Luck
 
Re: Cheapest / quikest way to get a 36 ft moody back to Blighty from C

[ QUOTE ]

As you may know there would be no problem finding a delivery crew to get her up to Slovenia in October, but I don't know what trucking is like then. The best time to get return loads is in the spring when the new boats are delivered.

[/ QUOTE ]

I trucked my boat from Holland to Italy a few years ago. Most companies would only quote to Slovenia because of the bureaucratic hassles for large loads in Italy. The trucks are travelling empty going south to Slovenia because they are loading Elans for northern European distributors, which is why I could get one company to do a night dash from Austria to my Adriatic marina without observing the regulations (police escorts, provincial permissions, etc. - it was at their risk. I even got a special price because they were so keen to not have an empty load trip.
 
Re: Cheapest / quikest way to get a 36 ft moody back to Blighty from C

The return loads come from Bavarias (among others) going the other way, usually in the spring!
 
Re: Cheapest / quikest way to get a 36 ft moody back to Blighty from C

Hi Dockmaster. Guess as you have been in the Med for at least a couple of years, thought you would have sussed that out! In no particular order. Space, simplicity, good build quality, reliable modern electrical and plumbing systems, light airs performance, goes backwards, big cockpit, sugar scoop with hot and cold shower, walk through transom, bimini, passarelle, in mast furling, big windlass etc etc.

Angus Primrose designed your boat for bashing about the English Channel and the western approaches with lots of nice warm down below accommodation for in port when it was miserable and raining. He also did the Ostar in his first 36, but regrettably lost his life when he foundered off the Carolinas. So a great boat and of course many are used in the Med, but if one were starting from scratch to design a boat for the Med you would end up with something nearer mine than yours. Equally for my Channel bashing I have a traditional long keeler, although I would be happy using my Bavaria here, as I probably will do in the future. But If I were spending £50k on a boat for here as a long term investment a Moody or Westerly would be high on my list!

Hope that explains adequately
 
Re: Cheapest / quikest way to get a 36 ft moody back to Blighty from C

Oh i see the light at last - as long as your happy ! I thought Angus Primrose Died delivering a 33 bilge keeler not a 36 fin. and we are talking about 30 - 35k not 50.
 
Re: Cheapest / quikest way to get a 36 ft moody back to Blighty from C

[ QUOTE ]
The return loads come from Bavarias (among others) going the other way, usually in the spring!

[/ QUOTE ]
I can well understand that judging by the sheer volume of Bavarias to be seen in the Adriatic, mostly charter boats, although for private ownership Hanse numbers seem to be rapidly expanding, which suggests an increase in the north to south delivery logistics and more empty trucks going north. Before, the charter fleets were mainly central and southern Adriatic but I noticed this year how the Istrian (Slovenia and Croatian) charter fleets have burgeoned.

I shipped in September and the Dutch company I used was going empty to bring back a new Elan from Slovenia and all the other Dutch and German companies that quoted were on a similar exercise; all except the one Dutch company were adamant they wouldn't deliver to Italy, quoting instead to Koper, Slovenia.
 
Re: Cheapest / quikest way to get a 36 ft moody back to Blighty from C

What a strange comment if I may say so. I thought the test of the success of any purchase decision was the purchaser' s satisfaction with their choice! However, my choice may not be your choice, but I hope I also conveyed that if my requirements were different, then I would choose another kind of boat! It is the suitability that is important not the boat per se.

Regarding the price range, I did say im my first response that in your price range you are competing with a whole raft of more modern boats, and that is what purchasers (if there are any in these dfficult times) seem to prefer in that environment.

Please don't take my comments as a criticism of your boat or your preferences. If I were in your position I would be bring the boat back to the UK because this is where the potential buyers are.
 
I honestly believe Bambola is a better buy than most other boats in her price range and find it very dificult to understand why most people want to buy a boat that looks like every other on the water and in my opinion less sea worthy having said this some newer boats have advantages for shorter trips or for turning heads in the marina !
But the reality is that Bambola has looked after me and my family for thousands of sea miles and has become one of the family and I am devistated having to sell her but we are now living another chapter in our lives and it is not practical to keep her (2 boats and no house is not ideal)
The delivery I am planing is indeed a return Bavaria load and buy the sound of things is the best way forward for me
Thanks for all your comments - it is allways good to run these ideas past you guys.
 
I can understand that you love your boat and to you is worth the money that you are asking, but to us and others there are lots of bargains to be had and we have to think that if we needed to sell it we could recupe at least a part of the money invested. We wish you good luck and maybe you should try to sell it in France, it is a much sought after boat here.
 
Peter,

I think in reality for someone like me it is the size of her. As you quite rightly say she has everything for a cicumnav proven by Michael Briant and a lot of work done by yourself. Had she been a bit bigger - say 39 - I would have looked closely at her. However for long term sailing and live aboard she is a little small. But as you say for offshore sailing or further I would trust her far more than any Bavaria !!!. She may be better off in UK. Have you tried front Row Yacht Deliveries. They have an excellent write up as always looking after clients boats with good experienced crew.

What do you reckon would be your lowest price you would take for her in reality.
 
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