st tropez sous le soleil

[Guest]

I am looking for a 36-40' flybridge power boat (4-6 berths) for the cote d'azur and also a mooring to go with it....both of which will be hard to find. In particular i'm looking for a boat which is from 1995 onwards...with air conditioning etc....and 2x300 ish diesel engines....price range up to about 200k euros.
Any advice on these size boats and whether they would be able to cope with a sail from say the south of france to italy?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Paul

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[tcm]

Hi Paul and welcome. I have a boat in South of france.

First, off, of course anytghing that size should eqasily be able to go to Italy. Italy starts very close by! But even across to corsica wd be fine in reasonable weather and still do-able in up to force6 , though nastier. Lots go to greece and further it's all quite coastal, so for long trip you just pick the right day and usually go early moring for max length of day plus avoid onshore-breezy weather from midday.

In order to get a mooring you need to buy a boat from a dealer who is based there already. It's that simple. Turn up with a boat and you can get in the queue - but buy a boat and you jump the queue. So, decide where you want to be. Nearer to Nice airport is usually beter - taxi fares are not cheap. Expect to pay 50 quid to reach la napoule on W side of Cannes, but even St Laurent du Var which is almost walking distance won't be less than 15 quid. St Tropez is great in summer but a vicious place to be in a westerly storm hence fairly cheap- but difficult to reach from the main motorway and a whopping 200-300 euros to Nice airport. Each way.

I would go down there and look around, starting at the marinas nearest the airport, and if you fel they are ok, look hard at what is on offer. But DO NOT buy the boat unless you see a berthing contract as well. You don't want them to say "oops, that berth suddenly isn't available".

Marina wise, the marinas to the west of Nice offer best hunting ground. St Laurent du Var, Baie des Anges is ok and Monsieur Letellier who is a good chap has moderate english and runs the Sealine dealership there. Then antibes, Golfe Juan, Port Canto(not much english spoken in Canto tho) then probl la napoule and la rague

Yiou coudl have a look at the web to get names first. Use "agence" and "bateau" and "occasion" (means secondhand) in google. www.Ancasta.fr is in la napoule for a start.

Note: it is a buyers market and you are only first time buyer once. 20% less than asking is quite achievable if you are in no rush.


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[jfm]

Hello Paul
I'm based in Golfe Juan with a 42 footer. Agree all TCM says (I'm a newbie down there, he's a grand master who's dunnit for years). But just beware, even if you buy from dealer and get a berthing contract, it will only be for this year and next. Then you are on your own. I tried renting and, frankly, you get messed about. In the nice marinas there is massive berth demand. If you get lucky and get long term contract off someone you know who owns the berth as investment, then fine. But that would be lucky. If you rent from a berth broker or the capitanerie you can just get chucked off anytime when the owner changes his mind. So you might quickly realise, as we did, you have to buy a berth. This is lots of loot but it turns out a fantastic investment becuase prices go up fast. Hence, if possible, get on the ladder asap and buy one.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[EME]

Hi Paul and welcome.

Following the Grand Master and his Vizier there is little that I can add except to reinforce what they have said.


I agree with JFM's advice about buying a berth if you can. Rental can throw you off at either one or 2 month's notice (depends on marina)....even if you have signed yearly or any contract. Weird but true.

For this reason you will find that if you can say 'I own a berth', you will find all the agences falling over themselves to try and sell you a boat (except in my case where they have given up..cos I've been pratting around not-buying a boat for months)... easier for them they don't have to find or use one of their own. During winter berths are advertised privately for sale in the local rag , Nice Matin, on a Friday...but be quick.

First thing however is to chose where you want to be, go down in the summer. All marinas are totally different 'out of season'.

If you don't like idea of buying then by all means rent but double check with TCM or JFM or someone else who really knows the area before you commit. There are some REAL rogue dealers down there.

P.S. My berth is in La Rague, quietest of the lot , but furthest from Airport on Menton-Cannes strip...

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=blue>I am WHAT I say I am</font color=blue>

 

[jfm]

All agreed, nothing to say, just posting to test my new pic, taken this weekend in Golfe Juan. Hosted on Pete's site (<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.fairlineownersclub.com>http://www.fairlineownersclub.com</A>) where there's a 3Mb movie (plays on Quicktime) of our fairline blasting by the Eden Roc at 25 kts)

 

[tcm]

oh and except of course that learner is a total liar when he say he has been looking for months cos it must be several years now.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[DavidJ]

We are all in agreement.
No problems crossing to Corsica or Italy in that size of boat. Your only constaint is how much your tanks will hold. I've got a 37 footer and started in La Napoule (thanks to members of this forum) and went down the west side of Corsica to Sardinia to winter in Alghero. Have this year gone up the east side touched Elba and now in Rome.
My advice is rethink the flybridge for that size of boat, you're in the Med now. A sports boat gives masses of room for outside entertaining. I'm biased towards Sealine but you will see some great Italian and French boats on the Med as well as many Fairline and Princess.
Berthing is the big big problem, not to be underestimated especially if like me you don't want just one location but want to travel.
Look at the total cost of getting to your boat not just the flight which you might get for £20. I've just paid a tenner for a flight from Pisa only to have to stay in a hotel for €120.
best of luck, it's really good fun out here.
David

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[EME]

Aherrrrmm...

1st anniversary of purchasing berth next month....oops....

i do not accept blame for Monagesque Squeeker cock-up, apart from getting involved at all of course

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=blue>I am WHAT I say I am</font color=blue>

 

[tcm]

Re: sealine

There is a new dealer in Marina Baie des Anges. Monsieur Letellier is the main man, very good chap. Worth looking at UK boats cos of course if you buy a fr or italin made one in france then it won't have many buttons in english...

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[tcm]

Re: more about boats and berths

There is a tendency to start buying a boat in the same way as buying a car. Look at all the mags, compare value and then find one of those boats.

But boats are much more similar in terms of the engines, the euipment on them. And of course since they are less production-built, you can have a service of almost any boat (esp out of warranty) at any place - not like needing fixing/service a BMW where a toyota garage will show you the door. So, be careful not to set your mind that you will definitely buy a particular model, at least if you plan to be based in the same place.

When 5+ years old, even some "good" boats wil be crap, and some so-called crap boats could be well maintained have all the probs fixed or upgraded. The only fixed thing is the size of the cabins etc which can't easily be changed, but pretty much every thing else in terms of kit and so on can be changed and some of it should have been once you are looking a 95 boat - electronics for a start. Again this does not apply to cars.

Berthwise in the med, the width is all-important. Have a look in the big marinas and the berths are all rated by width, not length. It looks a bit haphazard and laissez faire but it most certinaly not, and they are very rigid about total width, and total length. The absolute max is stipulated in each berth to the centimetre. Close examination of the details or from capitainerie will reveal the longest permitted length and width.

Oh, and forget the capitainerie as the source of berths. In the med, over 75% of berths have been sold privately on long leases about 20 years to run. Whereas in UK only praps 3% like this. So when the capitainerie say "no room" he means no room in the unsold berths, or in the sold berths where the investor has given management to the capitainerie. But the dealers will most certainly have berths, cos each of them will have bought 20 or more in which to park boats ready to sell. At the dusseldorf boat show, many dealers discuissions focussed onthe fact that they see the berth market as far more lucrative that the boat-selling market at the moment.


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[DavidJ]

AC definitely worthwhile

AC definitely worthwhile, I'm just about to fit it. Hopefully the boat you get will have a generator as well.
David

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I also have my boat on the Cote d'Azur and I was very lucky to find a berth for rent thanks to an esteemed member of this forum.
It is worthwile taking a few days to drive around visiting a few marinas just to get a general feel for the place and for the kind of prices being asked for boats but it is fairly pointless looking closely at particular boats unless you've already got a berth or the boat comes with one for rent. jfm's point concerning the temporary nature of berthing contracts is a factor to bear in mind also
If you do decide to take the plunge, beware of doing business with some of the smaller local brokers. When I was looking for a boat, some of them even asked me for a commission in order to get a lower price out of their clients! Sharp practice to say the least. Personally, I would only deal with the larger brokers and I would feel safest with the UK owned ones
I dont necessarily agree with going down the sports cruiser route rather than flybridge even though my boat is a sports type cruiser. When the weather is fine a sports cruiser is great but the weather is not always fine. It does get wet and windy occasionally and if you think you're going to be on the boat throughout the year, flybridge is maybe a better option

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[oldgit]

Re: AC definitely worthwhile

Got to agree A/C a must have on any boat you buy.Recent trip involved temps of over 35C+ during day.
Bit of a roasty job at night when desparate for sleep down below decks.
Do avoid the berth next to main road and poxy open-till-6am disco complete with noisy yobs on pop pops if you wish to retain your sanity.

<hr width=100% size=1>Two boats please one here n one in the Med

 

[parcher]

Good afternoon,

I have recently purchased an 2001 Azimut 42, which currently moored in Olbia, Sardinia. My final resting place is going to be Alicante but am going to take my time sailing her along the french coast and taking in the balerica along route. Can you please give me any advise that will aid my passage from Sardina to France, and what sort of range it is. According to the manufacturers the boat has a range of 360.

Thank you very much

Paul Archer

<hr width=100% size=1>