Hello.The more I look over the last few days and going up to 50ft I'm more incline to likes of Azimut 46/50, Princess same range, Prestige 46/50. Generally 3 cabins I think is a must and approx 4-4.5m wide beam - prefer the more open space in saloon and in cockpit for living.
But in that price range there almost none in Croatia and few Azimuts in Italy. Most of whats available Spain/France.
Have any one of you done the passage from Spain/France to Croatia? Having a completely new boat and going on such a trip makes me question my life choices a bitFor sure something will go wrong with the boat. I reckon road transport of that size would be easily £10-15k with extra slip charges and some assembly at the destination?
Yes as you mentioned the house would be probably 60-70% of time we spend with occassional "lets go for few days" on the boat. An of course me popping in for 2 weeks for no reason at all
....nor will their price.
At the Southampton Boat show this year, I was on the Azimut stand and on board a 40 footer the salesman knocked £140 grand off the price before I even said hello.
You get what you pay for, you can't get a Mercedes for Ford Fiesta money.
I would like take Cat or Cummins over Volvo any day. Any engine will overheat if not properly maintained. The paserelle should be powerful enough to lift a decent tender. The one on my Azi will lift 200kg, enough for a 3.5 m tender with electric start and tilt 20hp outboard. The challenge with shipping the bot by road will be bridge height. You might have to remove the radar arch to meet clearance needs. Not a great prospect. Taking the boat to Croatia on her hull is not a daunting trip if you have an experienced skipper on board. Just be selective with the weather. When I was in Croatia sailing, there were huge numbers of Azi’s. Greece also, and they might be cheaper there than France?Hi Rafiki
Yes definitely a Flybridge - no question about it
Yes shaft is exactly what I'm looking for. Sadly the older models like Azimut, Prestige etc have Cummins or CAT's. I red the latter had some overheating problems. We the amount of Volvo Penta now is it easy to find good mechanics and spare parts for them
or is it bit of challenge in some marinas?
Thank you for any help. Definitely you guys are an encyclopedia - and willing to help at moments notice.
I couldn’t be happier with my 42.
I did opposite of Jrudge ie went from the S58 to the S65. In my experience from a boating or driving point of view there is not much difference that should worry you. My 65 actually has thrusters fwd and aft so in any big wind it is actually easier. If you want 3 cabins then I think you need to head to 50 ft plus. The S 58 is a fabulous boat and you should def look at it if you can find one. In med fly is where you live. In Greece where I am - Ionian - no need for stabiliser. In Italy and Balearics it’s a very nice to have. I would strongly recommend that before you buy do two things re the engine - get the oil analysed (costs very little and can reveal a lot) and get the engine dealer of the make to plug the computer in. That should tell you how the boat has been used plus any faults that have happened.
I took my boat from Menorca where we were for a few years to S Italy and stayed for a couple and then to Greece. It is a fabulous journey. Highly recommend. Take your time and do Sardinia and especially Corsica and then down through Elba.The more I look over the last few days and going up to 50ft I'm more incline to likes of Azimut 46/50, Princess same range, Prestige 46/50. Generally 3 cabins I think is a must and approx 4-4.5m wide beam - prefer the more open space in saloon and in cockpit for living.
But in that price range there almost none in Croatia and few Azimuts in Italy. Most of whats available Spain/France.
Have any one of you done the passage from Spain/France to Croatia? Having a completely new boat and going on such a trip makes me question my life choices a bit
Yes as you mentioned the house would be probably 60-70% of time we spend with occassional "lets go for few days" on the boat. An of course me popping in for 2 weeks for no reason at all
Not sure if this point has already been made on this thread but, whereas most contributors on here are UK based and inclined to see SunFairPrin as the mainstays of the market, the OP is likely to be buying and using a boat in territories where the UK manufacturers’ offerings are seen as fringe products with availability and resale impacted accordingly.
Yes one of the points I made in post 18 but appreciate a while ago -in uk there will usually be a handful of the SunFairPrin offerings but Azimuth might be regarded in much the same way as Sealine is bu=y some. Clearly it’s ideal to have a brand which is able to be resold in locality and I’m sure many in Med admire features in say an Azimuth which don’t suit the UK market. Ultimately the choice in an old boat is going to be influenced by features outwith the brand like servicing history or whatever a buyer values -luckily as a seller you only need to find the buyer who values your Unicorn even if many others don’t see its appeal. As a buyer I lot is heart I suspect though as opposed to head -it’s like the current craze for many to buy an Old Ford Escort after all.
Actually some of us in the UK really like Azimuts (note, not Azimuth). I’m on my second. The styling and build quality are 2 of its finer features.
