Delivering yacht from Greece to UK.

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andy-6693

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Hi

I have seen a yacht I like that is a bit of a project and hence can't be sailed at the moment. It is a Beneteau First 345 located in Preveza, Greece.

I have had a little look around at different ways of getting it back to Devon, UK. My options are either, have it delivered by lorry, get it on a ship and ship it back, or rent a trailor and land rover to go out and tow it back.

Obviously I want to do it in the cheapest possible way as my budget isn't huge. What would you guys recommend? Any companies that you would recommend?

Can you actually get trailors for 4.5 tonne 34 footers? I have seen some for up to 3.5 tonne but not 4.5.

Finally, Is shipping it going to be any cheaper and is there actually any cargo ships that operate between Greece and the UK?

many thanks

Andy
 
Hi Andy
I looked into this a couple of years back when I was interested in buying a Moody 346 out there in Greece . It was hard to find a haulage firm at anything like an affordable cost. The next best alternative was to sail her back via the french Canals. I would suggest you get her into reasonable shape and find a newly retired couple who may sail her back for you.
I ended up buying a boat in the far east (Ipswich) and sailed her up the east coast in a few hours
If you have not got ample money or plenty of time to sort her out yourself then I respectfully suggest buying a project much closer to home.
Martin
 
Hi
I think the reason you cannot find trailers over 3.5 ton is because there are not man, if any, standard vehicles that can legally tow over 3.5 ton that includes a landrover.
 
Halo said:
Hi Andy
I looked into this a couple of years back when I was interested in buying a Moody 346 out there in Greece . It was hard to find a haulage firm at anything like an affordable cost. The next best alternative was to sail her back via the french Canals. I would suggest you get her into reasonable shape and find a newly retired couple who may sail her back for you.
I ended up buying a boat in the far east (Ipswich) and sailed her up the east coast in a few hours
If you have not got ample money or plenty of time to sort her out yourself then I respectfully suggest buying a project much closer to home.
Martin
Click to expand...

Yeh i did look into the french canal option but im sure i read somewhere that the maximum draft is 1.6m and this boat is 1.9m. Otherwise the canals would have been the best option.
 
nickd said:
Hi
I think the reason you cannot find trailers over 3.5 ton is because there are not man, if any, standard vehicles that can legally tow over 3.5 ton that includes a landrover.
Click to expand...

Yeh, i had a little look at a lot of different 4x4s and they all said max towing capacity 3.5 tonnes :/
 
Canals up the middle of France - 1.65m perhaps 1.7m after that you will have to go 'round the outside'

Canal du Midi ( Neck of Iberia/France ) - 1.5m at best

I got a quote for a 39' boat from Athens to the uk on deck of a freighter: £17000.

Quotes as a backload on a trailer from the south of France to the north coast. £5000.

Towing a big load with a small vehicle across France will cost a bomb in fuel, tolls and gendarmerie.

Ultimately the cheapest way is to sail it back even if its a bunch of 3 or 4 day 'hops'. Is the boat that bad that you can't put 2 or 300 litres of diesel in temporary tanks and motor a lot of the way? It may be a plan to decide what needs doing to get her seaworthy, source the bits, ship them or buy locally and then sail her back.
 
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It is a yacht that was laid up for the winter last year and left. The boat was flooded due to a blocked anchor well drain and hence the boat was about knee high in water.

The engine will therefore need work, I am told it needs new alternator and new starter motor. but if its been flooded then who knows what the internals may be like. It needs new batteries which isn't a problem. New Bilge pump which also isn't really a problem. And because of the flooding, all the electrics would need checking. Other than that there is a lot of interior work that needs doing but it would be reasonably liveable without it. The cheapest flights I can find to get out there are about £200 each way, so I won't know for sure what exactly is wrong with it until I got out there. The main problem would be the engine. It was used last summer so the flood damage is the cause of anything being wrong.
 
andy-6693 said:
It is a yacht that was laid up for the winter last year and left. The boat was flooded due to a blocked anchor well drain and hence the boat was about knee high in water.

The engine will therefore need work, I am told it needs new alternator and new starter motor. but if its been flooded then who knows what the internals may be like. It needs new batteries which isn't a problem. New Bilge pump which also isn't really a problem. And because of the flooding, all the electrics would need checking. Other than that there is a lot of interior work that needs doing but it would be reasonably liveable without it. The cheapest flights I can find to get out there are about £200 each way, so I won't know for sure what exactly is wrong with it until I got out there. The main problem would be the engine. It was used last summer so the flood damage is the cause of anything being wrong.
Click to expand...

Forget it, unless you have the resources to get the boat back together out there and use it - and even then only worth it if it is very, very cheap. Neglected flooded old boat in that environment is a write off.

There is no way economically of bring a boat back from Greece to UK if it is not mobile, except possibly trucking it to Piraeus and then ship to Southampton. Rough cost £15k.

Normal route is to sail up to Slovenia at the head of the Adriatic and truck to channel port. £4k plus handling or up to an extra £1k to get it to UK, but this varies according to time of year and whether you can get a return load from a UK haulier.

Alternative is to sail to SofF or Spain - around 1000-1200 miles and then truck back to UK - similar cost to Slovenia route. Sailing all the way back is minimum 5 weeks hard slog as you are against the prevailing wind up the Portuguese coast, although manageable in the spring.

I brought my boat (similar size) back in 2010. Professional crew to Spain then truck to Poole. Sailing all the way would have cost in the end over £5k, with fuel a big chunk. Could have been done slowly as a holiday for similar budget over a whole summmer through the canals - but that is not available to you.

If you want a boat like that in the UK better to buy an up and running boat already here.
 
TQA said:
Get someone to put a spanner on the engine and see if it turns.

Fly out with a starter in your baggage anything else should be fixable locally and quickly.
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I have asked for more info on the engine, If the ater level flooded above the air intake of the engine then thats bad news surely?

Here is a picture of the engine that he sent to me

c24483a8.jpg
 
Thats an ancient engine - went out of production more than 20 years ago. Not the best when it was new and bits are hugely expensive.

How much are they paying you to take it away?

Sorry if I sound negative, but kept my boat out there for 12 years and seen loads of neglected boats like that rotting away in thee boatyards because they are not worth repairing - and there are plenty of good together boats for sale at fair prices.
 
They are asking 6k, for a Beneteau First 345 is a bloody bargain. The boat was only taken out the water last year and was flooded by rainwater about knee deap inside. I pressume it is the original engine.
 
Andy: I'll be in Preveza in about a month and would be happy to look her over if you can wait that long.

However, my immediate reaction is that you'd be throwing good money after bad. I'm presuming that you don't have the time to work on her in Preveza, which is the only way I could foresee the deal making sense.
 
It is £6k because it is worthless! New engine, complete rewire, refurbish interior is £12-15k just in materials plus your labour. Might be OK if you live out there. Many old boats are refurbished by people who live there working in the charter or tourist industry in the summer and spend the long cool winters working on a boat.

But unrealistic to go out there, buy it and do it up with the intention of bringing it back here.

Suggest you splash the couple of hundred on tickets - probably better to get Easyjet to Corfu then go across to the mainland and hire a car. Put aside a week and you can trawl around the boatyards on Corfu, Preveza and Levkas so you can get a feel of whats on offer - as well as satisfy your curiosity on this boat. Great holiday as well! You might even get a late selfcatering deal on Levkas for the price of a return ticket.
 
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macd said:
Andy: I'll be in Preveza in about a month and would be happy to look her over if you can wait that long.

However, my immediate reaction is that you'd be throwing good money after bad. I'm presuming that you don't have the time to work on her in Preveza, which is the only way I could foresee the deal making sense.
Click to expand...

That is a wonderful offer, and if it is still for sale and im still interested then then I will take you up on the offer. Currently I have about 5 weeks free until september time, so I would have that time to do any work. My main concern with working on her in Preveza is communication and sourcing parts etc.
 
Tranona said:
Forget it, unless you have the resources to get the boat back together out there and use it - and even then only worth it if it is very, very cheap. Neglected flooded old boat in that environment is a write off.

There is no way economically of bring a boat back from Greece to UK if it is not mobile, except possibly trucking it to Piraeus and then ship to Southampton. Rough cost £15k.

Normal route is to sail up to Slovenia at the head of the Adriatic and truck to channel port. £4k plus handling or up to an extra £1k to get it to UK, but this varies according to time of year and whether you can get a return load from a UK haulier.

Alternative is to sail to SofF or Spain - around 1000-1200 miles and then truck back to UK - similar cost to Slovenia route. Sailing all the way back is minimum 5 weeks hard slog as you are against the prevailing wind up the Portuguese coast, although manageable in the spring.

I brought my boat (similar size) back in 2010. Professional crew to Spain then truck to Poole. Sailing all the way would have cost in the end over £5k, with fuel a big chunk. Could have been done slowly as a holiday for similar budget over a whole summmer through the canals - but that is not available to you.

If you want a boat like that in the UK better to buy an up and running boat already here.
Click to expand...

^^^^ What he said + Infinite. You are looking at a bottomless money pit and aggro to the cubic power..

Dont do it...
 
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