To live or not to live?

[Guest]

To buy or not to buy?

I live in the Middle East where the sun shines every day, plenty of sand and a warm sea; and no taxes (yet). Eat your hearts out. However as a non-local I am precluded from buying property except in limited developments where the flats / villas are so expensive and the future resale market unknown. Property taxes are also a possibility to catch expats in the future.

So I have come to the conclusion that to buy and live on a yacht in one of our marinas is a good option rather than pay flat rental to someone else. It would be my intention to use the boat every weekend and not to turn it into a floating apartment bedecked with flowerpots.

I have seen a 45 foot power yacht in very good condition for the equivalent of GBP60,000. Affordable with loans at 7% here. Engines are Volvo Penta with about 2,000 hours.

Can anybody advise on the realities of 2 people living on such a boat and what costs of maintenance should one allow in the monthly budget?

 

[hlb]

Hhmm. Bit tricky. Cost in UK might be about 8 / 10 grand a year. Depends how much of your own maintainance you want to do and the standards you set. Then again marina cost in the uk might be 2 grand or 8 grand dependant on where. Think you need to ask around localy.

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Haydn

 

[Guest]

Thanks hlb. Great to hear from you, whoever you are. I am reasonably practical and will be able to change oil, filters, hoses, even wires if necessary. I am a bit of a perfectionist so will set fairly high standards for myself. Also need to catch up on maintenance on the boat as the local Arabs spend a lot of money when something goes wrong but not spend much on the maintenance to prevent something going wrong. Using a scourer on the external GRP surface to remove marks, etc., is not a problem because when the shine has all gone they just pay to have the whole boat repainted. I do not have the luxury.

Mooring here, insurance, etc I have costys on, it is the cost of filters, oil, pipes, etc that I do not. As I say I will use the boat on weekends to explore the coast here. Also to get practice using the boat, as I have not driven one for a while.

Thanks for the contact.

Regards,

Paul Jewkes.