Selling a boat in the Med

[davidphillips]

Unfortunately it looks as if our cruising days are over for the time being as we have to look after two resident and increasingly decrepit grannies at home.
I have a Westerly Chieftain (26 ft 1970's centre cockpit sloop related to the Centaur) at Navy Services in Port St Louis. Anyone any thoughts as to whether I should try and sell it where it is or take it back to the UK ?

 

[Wansworth]

I was speaking to a yacht broker last week and was asking aout your type of boat.He was not iterested as their clientes went for big shiney stuff..and with the recesion he reckoned average people would be holding back o buyig any boat.Apat from that a Spanish buyer would have to reflag which could cost in the region of 2000 euros.

 

[somerset]

We were in the same position 2 years ago.The boat was in Southern Spain and we had to be back urgently as my mother was due in for an operation.We sold it for a knock down price which I bitterly regret now.Had I had the time I would have got our boat back to the UK and kept her.If you are going to be a carer then I can assure you you will need to get away from time to time.Keep her,get her back to the UK and then review the situation at your leisure.Best of luck whatever you decide /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

p.s. If you have not already done so you may wish to talk to Age Concern AND Citizens Advice about your carer situation - it could prove very worthwhile.(Make an appointment with them rather than phoning)

 

[Tranona]

Think you have to realistic and the chances of selling it where it is are very low. It is not the sort of boat that people want there. In the UK its market value is somewhere between £8k and £12k depending on condition and gear - assuming it has no major faults like osmosis. If you can't see getting back to it in less than 2 years then you have to get rid of it as the cost of storage etc and deterioration from non-use will wipe out any value.

So think you have to bite the bullet and either give it away to someone and let them worry about it or ship it to the UK. This would probably cost around £2-2.5k, but at least you would have the boat here with an option of either using it here or selling it. Realistically, though you are looking at minimising your loss and should be prepared, after transport, storage and brokers fees to net less than £5k.

Feel for you, but I guess you have had lots of pleasure out of the boat in the past - probably way above its capital value.

 

[albineer]

I thinkTranona is absolutely right. My preference would be to bring the boat back but if I needed a quick solution I'd ask Ancasta Intl to see what they say. I'm fairly thick skinned about brokers' opinions of the value of our boat. I asked Boatshed a similar question last year and they said bring the boat back. You could also contact the Westerly Owners group if you haven't done so already. You never know your luck.
Good luck.

 

[davidphillips]

Thanks for this - is it feasible to tow back to the UK. The weight is 2,800kg and presumably is more than a car could tow but should be possible with a long wheelbase landrover or low loader.

 

[Grehan]

After a certain amount of relaxed tiddling around we've decided we need to bring Grehan back to the UK to sell. www.tagweb.co.uk/grehan/forsale Although she's a bit bigger and younger than your craft.
There are UK firms that do operate on a 'land rover and boat trailer' type basis. Do a Google on "UK boat transport" or similar. Bear in mind that a key point, transport-wise, is the width of the boat. 3m and more means Convoi Exceptionel requirements must be met, including not going on toll motorways and having a pilot car.

 

[davidphillips]

I'm soryy to hear that you are selling up too! It does seem to be possible to rent a trailer for the weight (2,800kg) which would have to be towed by a Landrover Discovery or similar. As long as we are within the 3M width (just I think) are there any other problems with using French roads.

 

[Grehan]

I'm not enough of a transport expert (just a past customer) to pinpoint other problems, but the trailer people ought to be able to advise. There are the obvious things of size/weight/handling/speedbumps/etc.
No need to be sorry in our case, we love our boat but circumstances change and we're looking forward to moving to something different, without flappy things, a big pole in the middle and string. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Tranona]

You could trailer, but I think you will find that if you do it from here (ie return trip) it will be costly.

Best way is to contact one of the many boat transport people who advertise in the mag classifieds as they are always looking for return loads. The bigger demand is from here to the Med, not the other way. You will need to be flexible on timing , but guess that is not an issue. If you really just want to sell it you might consider going to one of the brokers with storage that deals in your type of boat - Deacons in Burseldon comes to mind and have the boat delivered direct to them.

 

[oakum]

Are the canals an option or don't you have the time?

 

[Saddletramp]

Somerset has a good point. It could help to keep you sane if could get it back. It depends how close you can get it to home.

There is probably a small market for a private sail but it may take a while. Westerly Owners Club, and Cruising Assoc who will have local reps in France are worth contacting.

Must be someone willing to bring a boat back through the canals.

 

[Gordonmc]

Have a look in the classified ads in PBO.
I noticed one placed by a Yachtmaster offering towing services from UK to Spain, so presumably the other way as well.
It might be worthwhile if you could pick up a cheapish two axle trailer.

 

[davidphillips]

The problem is getting up the Rhone to Lyon. I'm limited to a little over 5 kts and although you can get tow up I gather this is expensive.

 

[Tranona]

If you were doing the canals then Canal du Midi is much shorter but you then have a longer sea passage up the French coast. A professional delivery crew would do it but I would guess not much different from road transport in cost and take a lot longer. Now is the busy time of the year for boats going south by road so you should be able to get an economical return load and have the boat back here in time to sell this season.

 

[pmyatt]

We bought our boat in the Med and it was definitely cheaper than buying it in the UK. We have contacted a transport company about shipping our 38 ftr from SofF to Cherbourg later this year and the starting price is about 3,000 pounds sterling. If possible, definitely get it to UK.

 

[albineer]

How soon do you want to get the boat back? I watched the debits on the info Rhone web pages last year and calculated the flow rates which did not drop below 2kts until late August. So we are thinking of trying in September. Is trucking to St Jean de Losne and then bringing the boat home yourself from there an option? As Tranona says you could go via the Canal du Midi and in my opininion that's a good way to go particularly if you don't need to get to the East Coast.

 

[davidphillips]

The problem of going via the Canal du Midi is (I am told) the sail up the coast against prevailing winds. Could try back up the Rhone - but 2kts seems very little compared with what we experienced on the way down. Anyway we 're in no great hurry and plan to have a last Med Cruise this spring before getting rid of the boat.

 

[Grehan]

Excellent. Enjoy!

 

[Tranona]

Not sure about against the prevailing winds - just a bit of a long haul, but getting round the corner is challenging. However, you could cut this off if you are shallow enough by going through the Brittanny canals to come out at St Malo. If you are prepared for a leisurely trip back to UK this is well worth considering. We are planning this in 2 years time, but not the short cut as we are too big.