UK chandler who delivers to Ionian Marine yard..

[BurnitBlue]

I have decided to do a big upgrade to my Moody 34. Sails, electronics, dinghy etc. I thought it was an easy choice to make but the number of chandlers and sailmakers makes it difficult to choose between them.
I would be grateful for recommendations

Thanks.

 

[KellysEye]

I would look at different chandlers and sailmakers to check their prices for what you want. Beware of cheap sails.

 

[Tranona]

I have decided to do a big upgrade to my Moody 34. Sails, electronics, dinghy etc. I thought it was an easy choice to make but the number of chandlers and sailmakers makes it difficult to choose between them.
I would be grateful for recommendations

Thanks.

Do your usual research. Essentially choice out of 3 makers for electronics and once you have decided on which one and which instruments you want it is purely a matter of price. You will find advocates of all three and functionally they are much the same but each have their own interfaces, operating systems and charting (if you are going the chart plotter route). You may also have to consider integration if you want to retain any of your existing gear.

Similar scenario for dinghies. Basically 2 main types. The most common are chinese made PVC which sell between £3-500 according to style and size. Not much to choose between them although detail fittings vary. second type, also mostly PVC but usually better features, better design and some are Hypalon and in the price range of £600-1000. You might consider the newer lightweight ones such as 3D or O Lite, but less suitable for heavy or long term use.

Sails are a different thing altogether. You might find this months PBO useful as it has a reasonable article summarising the latest developments in sails explaining the different types, particularly materials, their properties and price differences. You will find similar information on the websites of the big sailmakers such as Kemps, Crusader, Saunders, etc. All these (and many more) make their sails in the UK so will build to your requirements. So it is a matter of discussing what you want and getting their recommendations.

All this sounds like a trip to the Southampton show next month would be worth it as you can see all this gear and talk to suppliers plus get probably the best financial deal. With that amount of gear you could look at getting it sent altogether with one of the carriers who do regular runs to the Ionian.

 

[Bradders]

I bought equipment in the UK and had it shipped to Greece, even with shipping I think I saved about 20 - 25%

 

[sailaboutvic]

I have decided to do a big upgrade to my Moody 34. Sails, electronics, dinghy etc. I thought it was an easy choice to make but the number of chandlers and sailmakers makes it difficult to choose between them.
I would be grateful for recommendations

Thanks.

Make a list and then go into Nautilus in lefkas and talk to the lady boss , just tell her you plainning to buy all this lot what can she do it for , or better still get prices from the U.K. and SVB then go and see her .
Sails I have a contact in Athen , a well know company , but I not going to give their details until I see if they sort out a little problem on sails they made for me .
If you not plainning to replaces sail yet and you can wait till mid sept I know how wel they deal with my problem and then I wil recommend then or not .
Other wise it way point unless you want to have them set to Greece cost around 150/200 pound from the U.K.

 

[Old Bumbulum]

Carriage of big boxes to Greece is surprisingly inexpensive. I think any and every UK chandler worth his salt will be perfectly used to doing this on a regular basis.
Second the plan of a visit to the Boat Show, the discounts you get there should pay the airfare but vic's point about challenging a Greek chandler to match the prices is a good one and probably the least-effort approach.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Some thing to concern is , if some thing arrives broken or some thing missing , it a hassle have to send thing back or wait for a part , where if you buy it locally is much easier to deal with problem
I have to say when every I takes to order any thing from the U.K. To get sent out the cost of carriages has been silly , SVB Germany up to 35kg it's around 25/30 euros

 

[temptress]

I have decided to do a big upgrade to my Moody 34. Sails, electronics, dinghy etc. I thought it was an easy choice to make but the number of chandlers and sailmakers makes it difficult to choose between them.
I would be grateful for recommendations

Thanks.

I use defender.com they are usa based but I have found that they have a better range of options and work out much cheaper than getting ripped off by UK swindlers

 

[BurnitBlue]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will get a list together and shop around.

 

[AndrewB]

I think you will find all major suppliers will ship to Greece. And as Old Bumbulum says, it is not expensive. For the new engine I bought earlier this year shipping overland was just 2% of the total cost - I wondered how they did it at the price.

Of greater concern is what happens when the item arrives at your marina. Some marinas are very casual about storing incoming parcels and mail, the opportunity for misplacement or theft is high. If you are not satisfied with their security, you may be able to ask a local chandler to receive the item for you. Of course they would prefer to order the item themselves - and get the Greek markup - so you will have to offer a small payment for this.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Something that not been talked about when ordering stuff to go to Greece and I and may other have had the same problem , which is the parcel will arrive in Athens quite quickly maybe with in a few days or a week but then gets stuck there for quite a while , in one case I know , a month , I also had the experience where I ended up going to pick it up from the carrier, even tho I paid for a door to door delivery, as they wanted another payment to deliver.
we talking Ionian here so if you happen to get an great price on stuff from the U.K. There the option of having it all delivered to a U.K. Address and then get one of the white van guys who do monthly run to the Ionian to bring it back ,
To be honest, I think when you work out the different in prices and the shipping there not going to be much different then shopping around locally , I brought my last Rocna anchor for 60 euros cheaper then I could had got it from jimmy green who was offering a good deal at the time , my new life raft that's was no was 90 euros cheaper the a similar lift raft from Germany then one from the U.K. and my Generater if you included carriages was 350 euros cheaper buying the same make in the country I was then from the main dealer back in the U.K.
I would try as said in #5 try locally .

 

[mersey]

I use defender.com they are usa based but I have found that they have a better range of options and work out much cheaper than getting ripped off by UK swindlers

Even after import duty?