What Yacht?

[applepip]

We have sold our house. Me my wife Dot and daughter Leah 16yrs old.
We have upto £90,000 to Spend on the yacht.
In order to do what we want to do we need a yacht to live aboard for the forseeble future. We want to cruise the Med initially.
At the moment we can go anywhere.
Therefore can we do a survey of you liveaboards out there with all that practical experiance.
Where would you buy?
What would you buy?
And dare I ask why?

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[snowleopard]

consideration no. 1, if you are going to be in EC waters for a while it could be very difficult if the boat isn't VAT paid so buy in the EC or budget to pay VAT if buying elsewhere.

the cheapest places to buy are places where the dreams run out, especially the last jumping-off points before ocean crossings. i'm told panama is a prime case. if you do buy abroad, make sure you deal through a reputable broker.

as for what, i chose a cat because of the space and steadiness, especially with family on board.

don't be tempted to go for the very big very cheap bargain unless you are prepared to work long hours fixing it up.

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[applepip]

When you say very big very cheap do you mean the big wooden boats made in turkey or 40' plus grp.

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[snowleopard]

you will often see older large boats going much cheaper than normal, they may look like bargains but always have a drawback. once in a while the problems are just cosmetic and you may be able to live with that. typically you might see a 60 footer for under 100k. have a look through magazine ads, you'll soon spot a few.

a boat is a hole in the water that you have to fill with money. the bigger the hole the more money!

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[mikewilkes]

I would agree with you on the cat, and you do not even need to go as big as yours at 40'. Plenty of room in ours and she is only 32' and of the old style. ie narrower beam than modern cats. Helps with berthing in the med. The bigger they are the bigger the hole in the water.
Mike

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[ongolo]

try portugal and south africa as well.

regards ongolo

<hr width=100% size=1>1000 dream about it, 100 talk about it, 10 start and 1 completes it

 

[MedMan]

No-one can really advise you what to buy. Boats are extremely personal and we all have our own pre-conceptions, loves and hates. For example: you have had two respondents proclaim the virtues of a cat. If that's what suits them or, indeed, you, that's fine by me, but I wouldn't have a cat if someone gave me one and especially not in the Med where marinas are so tight and many charge according to length x beam.

If you are not very familiar with different types of boat and different marques you need to spend as much time as you can getting on board as many different types as you can. Visit as many Brokers as possible and just be honest with them. Tell them you need to look at a wide range before you are ready to buy.

Your 16 year old is going to need her own space and you don't want to be for ever making up a bed in the main saloon. You therefore need a minimum of two well-separated sleeping cabins in addition to the main saloon. Separate heads for each cabin would be very high on my list of priorities too. You could find such accomodation on a high-volume 38ft monohull with an aft cabin which is where I would start looking. Have a look at a few and you will soon know whether the concept is likely to work for you.

I agree with the importance of buying a boat that has EC VAT paid and with the idea of looking for a boat at a spot where many dreams have ended. Gibraltar is such a place and it is reasonably easy and economic to reach.

All the very best in your quest.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.yachtretreat.com>http://www.yachtretreat.com</A>

 

[phil3984]

I have just come back from the states looked at 50 yachts, the dollar is working for us brits and the value is amazing. I have paid half for the same class yacht in the states with a stack of kit watermaker, rib, chartplotter, wind gen, solar panels
etc. It worth buying out there and getting it delivered back to the uk or europe, but you will have VAT to pay, not for me im going the other way. If you want a boat delivered contact me.

International-yacht-deliveries.co.uk

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[jonjo]

> the dollar is working for us brits and the value is amazing.

If I was taking a few years off I would start my cruise from the US.

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[roly_voya]

Can I make 2 pionts for you to think about

1 The area to be scraped and antifouled each year is proportional to the cube of water line length which means a 40ft take double the time and work to maintain compared to a 35ft

2 Everone living in a house, including me, thinks they need a boat far bigger than they actually do untill they try it. In a house you have different spaces for different things like 'kitchen' 'living room' etc in a boat you have your bunk (private space), a space for everyone to do things in (saloon/galley) and fitted storage that enables you to put everything away and keep tidy (crucial for living aboad and not available on standard production boats). Lots of things get done on deck or on the dockside and you live around not on the boat.

I was lucky enought to be able to do some long trips on a 26 ft folkboat, no I couldn't live on it but I stopped looking at 35-40ft and got a 32ft heavyweight long keeler which is very comfortable (especially at sea) and plenty big enough. So I would say go for quality not quantity, go for weight and stability and stowage space for comfort and unless bying one that has been used as a livaboard expect to spend 6 months min converting it from a 3wk per year holiday flat to a permenant home

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[slowlane]

The Yachts are even cheaper on the West Coast of Canada. There are some outstanding builders such as Seascape Marine Industries. I just viewed a refit they completed and it was outstanding.

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[applepip]

Sorry but I cannot see what will take six months getting ready.
Do you mean 6 months of weekends or six months all the time?
What is to do?

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[ongolo]

Its how you like to live.

If your goal is (after all the bad waether) to sit in the sun and stare blankly then a medium size boat of 33 to 36ft would do.

However, if you still like to have many hobbies and if you like to have a large library, a lathe/milling/drilling machine, a forge and an anvil plus black smiths tools, an electronic workshop to make your own printed circuits, consider to have a dark room, and arc welding and a gas welding set, not forgetting that the missus has four sewing machines the textiles and things to go with it, is growing sprouts and spinach and herbs and carries food and fuel for a year, add to this two 200cc offroad bikes, an A3 flat bed plotter, a scanner and currently 2 PC,s and a laptop , a 36fter will not do.

I cannot sit and stare, I have had too much sun already, I must have a plan, something to do to live. Without this I might better not be.

Regards ongolo


<hr width=100% size=1>1000 dream about it, 100 talk about it, 10 start and 1 completes it

 

[applepip]

We have done all that. We are retiring to see what is over the next hill or horizon, yes I will do some writing, I will have computers and cameras.
I have just sold all my hobbies (Model helicopters, planes, boats, cars, Brewing tackle, painting equipment) which I have buried myself in whilst dreaming of the great adventure. I have installed new kitchens,lanscaped gardens with ornamental fish ponds I have given all my DIY power tools away (kept my hand tools to maintain the boat) We are going to have the biggest fish pond and garden we or anyone can have now. I hope we will not need to go comfort shopping as most people do now. We will not have the money to spare anyway. I believe we will have neighbours who talk to us. This is just a tiny part of my dream.

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[Ric]

I think the preparation time is largely down to your own character. Some people buy a house and never lift a diy finger until they sell it. Other people modify it continuously. Same with boats. Lots of people never do anything to them. Others (like me) can't stop fiddling and improving. But I'd advise doing all the improving while you are underway. Take lots of tools, and start your trip in the med where materials and spares are easily available.

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[Vara]

Sorry to nit pick area goes up by power two,volume by power three,thats why polar bears are big.

<hr width=100% size=1>If it can't be fixed with a lump hammer dont fit it!

 

[applepip]

We have now got our eye on a Bavaria 40
1 My daughter will have the forward part of the boat. This will give her "her space".
My wife and myself will then have one of the rear cabins.
2 We are going for space first as we are not sailors yet. It is just the mode of transport we need.
We will be making a move on this purchase 19 March therefore any further comments please.
Ta Terry


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