Boat Shopping in Europe

Why Europe? Well, that's where we'd like to start off on this adventure of ours. Boats are also less expensive over there, largely due to the charter industry. Thus, it makes a world of sense to us to head in this direction.

Now, google "boat shopping in Europe" and lots of posts come up in sailing forums. There aren't too many blogs on this topic, that we've been able to find (if you happen to know of any, please leave the link in the comments). 

We are hoping that by writing about our own experience, it can help someone else down the road. 

The Search

The usual websites, such as yachtworld, yachtmarket, apolloduck, and so forth all tend to have the same boats listed, give or take a few. Most boats are listed by brokers and charter companies who are phasing out older boats. In addition, there are some charter companies and broker agencies who list boats for sale on their own websites. Some of these are in other languages, so using google translate has been a helpful tool. 

Exercising caution: We tend to be wary of boats that list stock photos instead of actual photos of the boat listed for sale. We've also found different boats that all use the same photos. Either the poster is lazy or it could be a scam. Again, we are practicing due diligence in this matter.

We are working with a broker (who by the way is the most awesome guy) to help us out, especially with buying overseas. He is experienced and has a fantastic reputation with both buyers and sellers. Yep, we did our research on brokers as well, after our first one turned out to be a dud. 

We started out with a list of potential boats and sent them to our broker. He set up the viewings for us, and so we took a quick trip to Florida to set foot on all of the candidates. Walking around on all of these boats, opening cabinets, measuring storage spaces, exploring lockers, checking the size of the engine rooms, sitting at the helm station, etc., all helped us to narrow down the list and get an actual feel of the boat. It's one thing to look at photos and a totally different experience actually being ON the boat. After narrowing it down to one make and model, we were able to then focus in on our search. 

Making an Offer

We are just about to this point. Once we get the house listed on the market, (and hopefully it will sell quickly), we can start making offers on our future home. 

The first steps would be to have an initial survey done on the boat(s) we like. This costs a few hundred dollars and would give us an idea on the condition, tons of photos and other details. If we like what we see, we can then move forward with making an offer. If the offer is accepted, we would put down a deposit and then travel to see the boat in person for the full survey, sea trial, and haul-out. 

Purchasing Process

From there, the purchasing process can take anywhere from 2-8 weeks, depending upon how quickly the repairs (if needed to be done before the sale goes through) and paperwork are completed. 

Timeline

If we buy the boat in April or May, we would haul it out to get any work done that was needed. After school ends, we'd fly out the first or second week of June to move on board and begin adding the additional cruising equipment, settling in, etc. 

We will spend the next 6 months cruising around the Med and preparing for our Atlantic crossing in November. 

Fortunately, we have friends in Croatia who can help us out with logistics and they've even offered to go look at any boats we are interested in and send us their reviews. Being avid sailors, they know what to look for and can help eliminate any that would be a waste of time.

So, here's to the next few months, which will be a whirlwind of selling off our stuff, our house, and tying up loose ends before we set sail on this new adventure! 

Disclaimer: It isn't all sunshine and rainbows over here. We are totally stressed with all we still need to do, but know it will be SO worth it once we get on board!