Buying a sailboat from Tahiti and getting it to San Diego?

[dstaylor95]

I apologize about the random question in advance. There is a opportunity to purchase a 39' sailboat currently located in Tahiti. I live in San Diego. I am trying to come up with a price based on the cost incurred to get the vessel back to SD. Is there anyone with experience on best practices (hire a skipper, dockwise, etc) to get the boat back to SD? I have researched (briefly) transport companies and it appears to be rather expensive. Is this even realistic? The farthest I have sailed in my trusty Cat 30 is to Catalina and back.
Thanks for any insight.

[nes]

Ok, so let me get this straight. You want to buy a boat sight unseen, and either sail it or have someone else sail it back from Tahiti? Maybe it would be better to have it shipped, if that is possible, unless you have someone you trust a lot to look at the boat and tell you it can make that trip. Don't forget you will probably have an import tax to bring it back into California.

[travler37]

Originally Posted by nes

Ok, so let me get this straight. You want to buy a boat sight unseen, and either sail it or have someone else sail it back from Tahiti? Maybe it would be better to have it shipped, if that is possible, unless you have someone you trust a lot to look at the boat and tell you it can make that trip. Don't forget you will probably have an import tax to bring it back into California.

if you want a insured captain then figure $100 a day.
if you just want a crew to bring it back then there are alot of them that have ran out of money and would love to be paid to sail home.and a ticket back with a few thou in there pocket.
keep looking.if :crew" got there on a boat they should be competant enough to get a good boat back.
ben there
Mark

[david samuelson]

I sailed in my boat to Tahiti a while ago and was stopped on the dock by a man from Los Angeles who was looking to buy a sailboat. It had been sailed down from California and the owner did not want to continue his round-the-world. The to-be buyer asked me to go with him on a sea trial. He had the chance to meet me, see if I knew anything etc. etc. After the sea trial he asked if I would be interested in delivering the boat to LA, which I did.
He got insurance on the boat, paid me and 2 crew I took, and 3 return airfares to Tahiti.
There are honest cruisers down there who would like to work/replenish the kitty but cannot because....
Food for thought.
Good luck

[IslandHopper]

Normally this is how we travel to Tahiti and back.....

Simon, Tahiti - old Imperial Leather TV Commercial - YouTube

[Ram]

Originally Posted by travler37

keep looking.if :crew" got there on a boat they should be competant enough to get a good boat back.
ben there
Mark

not necessarily, I’ve had crew that was onboard for years and could not take you anywhere-but could sure cook and looked good in/out of a bikini

[travler37]

Originally Posted by Ram

not necessarily, I’ve had crew that was onboard for years and could not take you anywhere-but could sure cook and looked good in/out of a bikini

Ok,
and if said crew wreacks the boat on a deserted island the problem is?????
Evil Grin
Mark

[Richard Jordan]

Originally Posted by travler37

if you want a insured captain then figure $100 a day.
if you just want a crew to bring it back then there are alot of them that have ran out of money and would love to be paid to sail home.and a ticket back with a few thou in there pocket.
keep looking.if :crew" got there on a boat they should be competant enough to get a good boat back.
ben there
Mark

Any captains I know will be more like $300.

[foolishsailor]

Without even discussing the idea of not only buying a boat unseen but also expecting it to be able to sail the great distance required to get it back from tahiti to california with an unknown skipper...

An insured and bonded skipper will be alot more than 100/day more like 300/day.

When comparing costs between shipping and sailing make sure you incorporate all the costs...

Estimate approx 20k for delivery, food, skipper and crew... but also incorporate wear and tear to sails, rigging, engine, equipment...

Shipping, make sure they include the cost to build the cradle. Sometimes shipping companies conviently leave off the cost to build the cradle for your boat in the estimate and only include it in the invoice when you have committed. It can be around 2-3k

you can google many shipping companies for boats online. I dont know about the South Pacific, but in the Caribbean and down to Brazil there are specialized vessels that do a circuit every couple of months and if you have your boat in a specific location at a specific time they will collect it and deliver it to anywhere on their route. There is one that does the circuit from as far south as Rio up through the Caribbean and Florida and across to Europe. Much cheaper than using a normal shipping container boat to move your vessel.

[barnakiel]

You can send a skipper to fetch her but you must allow for twice the airfare and some form of settlement pay to the guy should the boat be in undeliverable condition.

I did things like this before for prospective and actual buyers. In most cases the guys ended up buying similar / identical boats in their own location. I did not even have to fly - I just made a spreadsheet for them with actual and provisional costs and expenses.

A more expensive one locally may be cheaper than the cheap one abroad.

b.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Also have to factor in that the boat likely to require some work / tweeks to get equipped for the journey (some people get boats a long way on very little - but not everyone can, or wants to)....that even before the boat having sat for a while, if owner absent or broke then have to figure in some deferred maintainence. and possibly a bit more.....

.....not to say that can't be done, but buying away from "home" has it's own challenges.

[elliebell]

Don't listen to any of these fools.... My wife and I will do it for $100/day, directly to a paypal account, with no time limit on when it gets returned..... We have very little experience, but there isn't really anything to hit between San Diego and Tahiti, right?

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by elliebell

Don't listen to any of these fools.... My wife and I will do it for $100/day, directly to a paypal account, with no time limit on when it gets returned..... We have very little experience, but there isn't really anything to hit between San Diego and Tahiti, right?

Interesting offer, but I think he wanted to go from Tahiti to San Diego

Where is all that Japanese tsunami junk at the moment? that could wreck your day.

Pete

[Panamajames]

Why buy a boat in Tahiti when there are many many deals to be had in Central American and even California. If you have to buy it sail it yourself.

[dstaylor95]

Thanks for all the advise. Seven Star quoted me $30k from Australia to Panama. The reason that I am even entertaining the offer is that the boat is in really good condition, have sailed on the boat before and the owner needs to sell. Living in san diego, there are plenty of boats around to buy...thought that maybe this would be a good opportunity to have a vacation with the family in tahiti prior to having someone get the boat back to SD. Would love to do it myself with a crew just dont have the time. Is there a forum that advertises for crew/captain services for such an occasion? Thinking that other yacht transport companies are going to be just as expensive. If I cannot get the boat for the discounted price to offset the delivery I will most certainly pass.