Owning a boat in Europe from the UK.

[Stuart rigby]

Hi, I'm looking to buy a sailing boat 30-35ft in length and hopefully Moore in the south of France. Please can anyone give me some general advise to see if this a smart move or not.. My plan would be to use the boat as much as possible and potentially charter out through a broker.

 

[Sailfree]

Hi, I'm looking to buy a sailing boat 30-35ft in length and hopefully Moore in the south of France. Please can anyone give me some general advise to see if this a smart move or not.. My plan would be to use the boat as much as possible and potentially charter out through a broker.

Look at the cost of charter coding the boat in France as it's more ownerous than UK.

Can you read and understand the requirements written in French!

In UK I have done it three times for new boats and it has cost approx £15k to £25k extra on the price. Last one was for an 10 berth so that means 14 life jackets to start with!

A lot depends on standard of boat equipment before you start coding.

In UK tax laws make it uneconomic and just help defray some of the annual cost. Some insist they can do it for little money but I am sceptical

After 17 years I would not go the charter route but aim to reduce annual costs.

Remember no one want to charter an old banger and advertising costs, administration handovers and checking boat back in usually result in a 40% charge of the charter income.

 

[Stuart rigby]

Thanks for all the comments all well received

 

[Twister_Ken]

Bear in mind two things...

1. In the SoF mostly you have to buy the lease on a berth - substantial up-front cost.

2. That because boats here park end-on, beam is a criterion in the pricing of berths. Try to find a boat that just comes into a beam pricing band - i.e a 3.45 meter beam will be cheaper than a 3.50 meter beam, because that is in the next step up.

 

[V1701]

Possibly consider Greece, it's easy & relatively inexpensive to keep a boat there, there are cheap flights. Lots of UK flagged boats for sale there so easy transfer of ownership. Have a look at Williams & Smithell's, IBA Greece, e.g. There are regular sales of ex-charter boats. You'd be able to avoid the expense & hassle of trying to code & charter your boat...

 

[Stuart rigby]

Thanks for the advice on Greece and your recommended web site is great, what's people's general thoughts on keeping a boat on the UK typically North Wales pwlleheli or make the move and go to warmer climates. It's not that I'm a total fair weather sailor just the British weather is some what unpredictable? General thoughts are to share the sailing experience with friends and family.

 

[westernman]

Bear in mind two things...

1. In the SoF mostly you have to buy the lease on a berth - substantial up-front cost.

2. That because boats here park end-on, beam is a criterion in the pricing of berths. Try to find a boat that just comes into a beam pricing band - i.e a 3.45 meter beam will be cheaper than a 3.50 meter beam, because that is in the next step up.

This may be true for the Cote d'Azur but neither are true for the Languedoc Roussillon.

 

[Tranona]

There are may advantages to keeping a boat in Greece particularly the predictable weather and relaxed lifestyle. However unless you an see using it more than 4 weeks a year chartering is usually better value. There are many ways of owning a boat including buying an existing boat, charter management schemes, syndicate ownership each with their own advantages and limitations.

While buying an older boat may look attractive as they are generally cheap you need to be prepared to do your own maintenance and you could end up doing more fixing than sailing your boat. If you want to maximise you valuable holiday time then a managed syndicate or a charter management deal are attractive.

We did it for 20 years first through a charter management deal and then owning and running the same boat using a local manager to look after it when we were not there. You can get more real use out of the boat in the UK, but you need to factor in the cost and hassle of getting there which can be expensive if you have a family and not flexible on travel.

Perhaps best to charter first and get a feel for whether it suits you before buying a boat. It is not easy to bail out if you don't like it as it is not easy to sell, so see it as a longish term commitment.

 

[Fimacca]

what is wrong with the UK? plenty of wind to play with (2015 IS the WINDY year!), racing tides and storms to enhance you skills, dodging random speed boats and jet skis who have made a blind purchase on ebay and have NO CLUE whatsover (I dragged a muppet back from the estuary last week to the beach who broke down and became a hazard with no lifejacket on a racing tide and freshening wind)

WHAT FUN ! Loads to see and learn here before a retirement to warmer sailing in my 60's...............................!

Just my views !