Turning a boat back into cash quick - suggestions invited

bbilly

bbilly

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Looks like my redundancy is going through fast so I'll take the plunge and sail around the med for a bit. I am considering a boat to spend May-Sept for a couple of seasons in the Med. 2006 Western and maybe 2007 Eastern Med. If I like it I'll move on to the Caribé selling the boat and buying another. I think I'll be doing costal cruising in the med with short offshore passages. I would like to be able to single hand for limited periods so I think 11m is the max. for my limited skills. I'd like to get something thats 2 - 5 years old (slower depreciation) and be able to quickly turn it back into cash if I don't like it, want to move up or plans change. For the summer in the Med I think the AWBs are designed well, I do like the Jeanneaus (e.g. SO37) and the tax free ex-charter boats look good value if acquired from reputable organizations.
My budget is 70-100k euro. The priorities are: solo sailable (lines lead aft, easy reefing), good resale market (3 cabin), classic setup with wraparound galley at bottom of companionway and at least one seaberth (divan). That's the brief; I value any opinions or gocchas (extra tankage, electric winch, blowup doll) coz lots of this is "I think". BTW I'll buy the boat in the Western Med onsite.

Thanks advance if you've got time to respond

BB
 
The production boats are fine for the Caribbean as well? not sure why you would want to change.

But you're on the right track a standard production boat that looks really clean and maybe has newish rigging will move quickly. Ex charter boats are not such a popular choice, as they have generally had a harder life.

I also wanted to be able to sell quickly on my return from the other side, bought a 91 Bavaria (immaculate never chartered sat in Lymington most of her life) kept her well maintained and sold her for more than I'd paid a year later. There are loads of production boats that have been very lightly used sat in marinas.
 
Why not buy Stingo's Bennytoe? www.stingo.co.uk.
It's well set up and ready to go.'
If I didn't have my brick, I'd have bought it.
Only [--word removed--] for you is that it ain't in the Med - it's in the Carib. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Tiga,
Thanks for the post. Maybe the fin keels are too deep for Caribè also what sort of upgrades on an AWB would you recommend for singlehanding for short 24-48 hour offshore. Radar? Lectric winch? Any suggestions welcome.

Thanks

BB
 
Ref: tax free ex-charter boats look good value

Maybe you realise it already but the tax still remains payable as soon as it's non charter. (There must be some kind of sliding scale based on age though)

11m or so is a good size for marina economy. There is a significant step between a 12x4 berth and a 15x5 berth (ref Denia marina 12x4 €14 pd, 15x5 €22 pd)

best of luck...go for it!
 
1.8m is fine in the Caribbean, I've sailed much deeper boats over there and really not a problem. It can get a bit shallow in the Bahamas, but they're not the best bit. Between the islands its often upwind and believe me you'll be glad of a good sized keel.

For single handing, single line reefing, snuffer for spinnaker or twin headsails rolled together. One of those alarm things that picks up other radar transmissions. A very good autohelm/self steering set up with spares and if its electric powered a towed generator.
 
For less than your budget you can get a really nice Jeanneau 37.1 . These 95 -96 yachts are far better built than the current 37 and offer two heads , huge cockpit , and they sail very well. There are a number of ex charter ones for sail in Greece and if you buy from one of the smaller , private charteres as I did you can get a really good boat for not much loot. good luck!
 
37.1 longer and wider than the present 37. they have many more opening hatches and most models have a large forecabin with it`s own ensuite heads and a separate heads on port side rear. the two twin aft cabins are again larger than the new model . this surely has to be one of the most spacious 37footers ever built IMHO. Look for one with the engine driven compressor fridge and the 50hp yanmar this will motor at 7.5 knots at 2500revs when you run out of puff and give you the coldest of drinks without using battery power.
 
Thought you might be interested in my essential kit for singlehanding for any longer than 18 hours:

I use the basic Raymarine radar with 2 Kw scanner. It has two guard zones which can be set up so they overlap and leave the sea clutter zone around the boat dead, also sensitivity is adjustable. Have gained confidence using this around UK. Usually use a 5 mile range guard band and sea clutter dead zone acording to sea conditions. Ocassional false alarms are accepted as they are often yachts giving intermittent returns (only show up at 2 mile or less).
Allows me frequent short light sleep / rest periods. The secret is not to get tired otherwise the body shuts down into a deep sleep and you might miss something vital. I prefer a real radar to a radar alarm as the latter can not warn of hard things that are not transmitting on radar frequencies.

As I prefer to sail I have Monitor vane gear to steer (no power drain and fixable at sea if anything should go wrong)and Air-X Marine wind turbine to provide power for the radar etc. Yes its a bit noisy but the power output is great. I often shut it down in marinas or at anchor overnight so as not to disturb the neighbours. Also electric autopilot for motoring.

Hope this helps.
 
I think your idea of targetting ex-charter boats is a good one as they tend to be boats with a ready market, so resale should be easier. Also you get a better choice. Already much good advice here but I would add that the factors I would use to discriminate between those on offer are:-

Autopilot 10 points
Radar with alarms 9 points
Fridge 10 points
Solar and/or wind generator 10 points
All controls from cockpit 10 points
Good sized anchor and chain 10 points (you will need to anchor in quite bad conditions)
Seaworthy tender 9 points

Hope to see you in the Med, good luck!
 
Re: Turning a boat - Bav37 €120k!!!!!! Tooooo chaep

Lemain, srm,
Thanks so much for your valuable advice. Radar mmmm, yes I'm gonna need it for my catnaps. Do I really need a windvane, they seem to clutter of the stern so much and on a sugar scoop can they be fitted? Does radar need a lot of current, sorry to keep picking your brains but how should I setup the power side. Dedicated starter batt and how many amps for services? Thanks for the top ten of basic priorities. Yesterday I was at the Genova boat show and had a look at the AWBs. They all seem very liveable boats but what most surprised me was the cost of the Bavarias. €100k for a 37 + €20k of bits and bobs (including VAT) sounds toooooo cheap, whats missing!

Lemain - what is your intinery for 2006?

Once again thanks

BB
 
Re: Turning a boat - Bav37 €120k!!!!!! Tooooo chaep

If you are going to buy new you are in a totally different ball game. At the moment the market is weak and new boats are excellent value - though you will need to think through your requirements for all electronics, electrics, sailplans, etc. I'm not attempting to address that subject, it is a huge subject, specific to the planned usage of the owner and, frankly, rather subjective.

Just a few points...some electric autopilots have a windvane mode and are, in effect, windvane pilots albeit requiring electric power. You will need to investigate current drain yourself - find out the model installed and ask the manufacturer. They vary. Incidentally, my list wasn't intended to be a top ten list. Good warps and fenders, decent sails, reliable engine, etc. all come well ahead of the items on my list....I was just trying to indicate how important these things are to a single-hander in the Med. You could manage without, of course, nobody HAS to have electronics (or even electricity /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif)

We plan to sail from Almerimar to the Balearics, then Cote d'Azur, Italian Riviera, Corsica, Sardinia, and a bit more of Italy before finding a spot for the winter.
 
Re: Turning a boat - Bav37 €120k!!!!!! Tooooo chaep

Lemain,
The windvane mode is something I didn't know, thanks. Maybe I didn't express myself well on the top ten, I should have prefixed "extra". Thanks for your valued feedback and have a good trip next season.

Thanks

BB
 
Re: Turning a boat - Bav37 €120k!!!!!! Tooooo chaep

Windvane mode is the only safe mode to use, quite often, for the single-hander. Even with a preventer it isn't safe to let the main back when the wind gets up as the forces can be huge - bent metalwork. With the wind directly behind, if you want to have a pee you either have to alter course or use windvane mode. Windvane mode is brilliant and I am seldom under sail with the autopilot set to compass or track mode. My ST2000+ on my Centaur had windvane mode so it isn't limited to the top of the range systems by any means.

With a decent autopilot it isn't hard to single-hand even quite large yachts; the main problem is berthing and even that is normally fairly easy in the Med if you go in bow first as it is customary for the marina staff to help you in when you arrive - even after a short day-sail.
 
Re: Turning a boat - Bav37 €120k!!!!!! Tooooo chaep

You touched on an aspect that I was considering opening as a seperate discussion. How large a boat? I have friends who seem to think the ideal is 40' min whereas I have some reserves. I seem to think that every extra metre increases forces considerably, higher mast more canvas more forces...more potential destruction if you lose or can't control them. I have driven 43's in the med and on a nice breezy sunny day it's fine, berthing is no problem and as you say if you dive in nose first you only have to stop in time. In a 60kt "maestrale" in the Bay of Lyoins is quite different and I wonder whether a 34' offers more margin of handlability(!)???? Does that 1 or 2 metres make much difference?

BB
 
Re: Turning a boat - Bav37 €120k!!!!!! Tooooo chaep

With regard vane gear vs electronic steering, even with a wind sensor it all boils down to personal choice and wants. As with the choice of any boat and gear its a case of prorities, is a reliable self steering gear more important to you than a bathing platform and ladder?.

I have experience of electronic steering failing, once while on the coachroof reefing and was nearly wiped off the boat. The second occasion meant two days to windward to get somewhere for spares. Fortunately the boat would sail itself to windward hands off for long periods.

During this summer a visitor to our local marina was forced to stop for Autohelm spares. He had planned to sail none stop single handed around Britain (genuine singlehander as he only had the use of one hand) and was picking up his third Autohelm unit of the trip.

If you go for electronic steering make sure it is rated for continuous use and carry a complete spare.

For windvane gear, yes they can be fitted on a sugar scoop stern. There are many different makes but I would suggest the Monitor, they have a very informative web site. The gear might look like a minature drilling rig, but sailing with it is magic, though (as with any self steering) you need to set the boat up so that the sail plan is balanced.

As for size of boat - I used to single hand a classic 42 ft sloop. The gear was heavy but the boat was a stable platform. Some 15 years later I now have a 31 ft cat with similar internal space, and a displacement little more than the lead ballast of the sloop. Gear is much lighter, easier on the arms and the pocket. As an experiment I lowered the mast singlehanded while repairing the mast head light. Compare this with the need for a crane to unstep the 42 ft monohulls mast.

From your questions I would suggest that you need to go and sail some of the boats you are thinking about before buying - or buy something very popular to gain experience on with the intention of selling it after a couple of seasons when you have a better idea of your requirements and capabilities.
 
Re: Turning a boat - Bav37 €120k!!!!!! Tooooo chaep

Weighing things up I am more inclined to favour a lighty used modern AWB for a couple of seasons; something that won't have nasty surprises so I can concentrate on the sea more than the boat and gain experience. If I decide to I can hopefully moved it easily and get a "serious cruiser" or maybe a cat!

I had a look at the MONITOR site and it is very informative. How does a windvane fit on a cat?

Thx

BB
 
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