Will $30k Buy a 40-50' Sailboat Big Enough to Live On?

[RayfromFrance]

but if I as a swedish or french citizen USE a boat that comes from the USA and is bought by a fellow in Singapore, registered and insured in Singapore, than why wouild the boat have to comply to CE eurpean regulations ? I do not understand.....

More to this, is that we will most of the time sail outside of europe, but even if we sail in europe all the time, if the US boat has been bought by a man in Singapore and if it is registered and sail under singaporian flag, I do not see the problem.

Or do I misunderstand something about international laws and sail boats ?



All the best, Raymond

[witzgall]

Ray, if you have 50k savings, and you spend most of it on a boat, what will you use for expenses while cruising?

Chris

[RayfromFrance]

I rent my house ! 800 euros per month, that is 1100 dollars

[PyotrBee]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Ray, no one except US citizens can fly under a US flag and title.

Can't they form a corp and have the corp own the boat?

[Talbot]

Originally Posted by Rhosyn Mor

meeting the RCD can be horrendous.

You are mixing two different requirements CE and RCD.

CE means that everything on the boat (such as electronics, electric system etc) has to be EU approved and have the appropriate CE Mark. In UK, I believe that the RYA has the responsibility for authorising CE compliance

RCD is the Recreational Craft Directive. This authorises the weatherand sailing conditions that the craft can cope with. Some people select the RCD equivalence of a rowing boat, which is a lot cheaper, but I would be concerned about an insurance company using this as an excuse not to pay up.

I believe the position at the moment is that you can operate with craft within EU waters if they are not CE or RCD compliant, but you cannot sell them in the EU.

I suspect that sale in Sweden might solve that problem!

[MacG]

Raymond,

Cruising you can do - in fact as long as you are not intended to sell the boat in EU countries - you have not to worry about CE regulations.
Do not stay longer than 3 months in any EU port - be careful with the Red Tape countries and make yourself familiar with the local regulations.

Fair Winds and happy sailing

[RayfromFrance]

Yes, that is what I figured out. And I can simply sell it, when I sell it, outside of europe. Simple. Thanks for the 3 months tip. Mostly we wanted to sail around the mediterrean before heading further...

Thanks a lot to everyone for all this help, this website really is wonderfuil.


Raymond

[PyotrBee]

Cyprus and Malta used to be good non EU spots, but now they are EU. But you can get a permit into the EU for 12 months, and extend even to 18. Just be careful about 6 mo + in a *single* EU country because of taxation issues. Also you have Turkey - which for sailors from the Med is a favorite because there is so much of it, and its inexpensive! We used to live in Cyprus, and even though Cypriots and Turks hate each other to the blood feud level, sailors still sneak over to Turkey and love it there...

[RayfromFrance]

thanks for the tip, I will defenitely go by Turkey while sailing around the mediterrean next year. We love Turkey. I will not stay in any EU country for more than 3 months, but I suppose that Turkey can be a good spot to leave the boat during non sailing times then. Thanks, Raymond

[PyotrBee]

We also lived in Turkey and its a fantastic place. That aside, its the #1 spot in East Med for people to store boats. Even many Greeks keep their boats there off season because its inexpensive.

Greece is also not to be missed, and I love Greece so do not misinterpret my next comment. But from a cruising standpoint, service, prices, and hassle levels are exponentially better in Turkey. Don't let that stop you from visiting Greece, but Turkey is more "enjoyable" from the cruising aspect because of these factors.

[RayfromFrance]

great and thank you for this input.

I spend three months in Turkey 34 years ago when I was travelling overland to Asia.
I had to wait for a visa through Iran while in Turkey, it took three months !!!

I had a blast. Especially in eastern Turkey. Met many many friendly people and so on. Was invited several times to stay with people, really hospitality is like in Albania, Malaysia and Marocco. Thanks again, Raymond

[osirissail]

- - For the price range you stated, look at ferrocement, FRG boats will have to be in the "must sell quickly" group or there are usually some serious problems with the boat such as rebuilt hurricane wrecks or serious osmotic blistering and delamination problems. Estate sales have boats where the owners have no interest or idea of the value - there are great opportunities there. Also drug confiscation boats can be quite a bargain.
- - You can own and register in a US State (like Florida) as a non-citizen (tons of Canadians do it) but you must pay the taxes. Taking the boat out of USA waters is problematical. The suggestion to get Swedish documentation is good. Normally most countries have a "temporary" type documentation to allow you to get the boat home. It just takes a lot of time on the internet and in government offices in you home country to find out the details of how to do it. There is major business in Florida and other USA locations selling boats to Europeans, Australians and just about every other place in the world, so it is being done. You just need to get the "full story" from your home authorities.

[RayfromFrance]

okey, thank you. I will buy through a singaporian friend and he will be the owner, avoiding european problems.

[barnakiel]

A mentioned Tayana 37 at 25k seems way below market low, look out for the reason.

The EU process is not CE certification. But a Singapore or US boat imported into the EU will be liable to import taxes / flag taxes and possibly also the VAT - according to the regulations of state where you enter (VAT) and later register the boat. These can be two different countries.

A VAT if paid once will not be requested again. So it makes sense to make your EU landfall in a place where the VAT is lowest.

Few if any, EU state will allow to you to keep a non-EU flagged vessel in Europe. So you will have to re-register.

b.

[RayfromFrance]

Thank you but there are many foreign boats here, with owners from all around the world, flagged NZ, Aussies and so on. If my boat is registered in Singapore, I think there will be no problem since the owner will be Singaporian. He must be able to have his boat in Europe, I believe, non ?