Purchasing Sea Life
Our Experience of Buying Overseas.
The general accepted way of buying a boat is waiting for the right one to come on the market in an area close by. Then you can have a good look at it and go for a sail before making an offer.
We wanted to take advantage of a disparity of economic times between USA and Australia to buy a boat saving the shipping cost to Australia. We can then cruise off into the sunset. On a return to Australia 15% tax needs to be paid.
Buying a boat over the internet and in a different culture is difficult and has high incidental expenses.
To make it easier I wanted to look at one specific manufacturer and just a couple of models that should be in my price range. Beneteau has captured my eye at the Sydney Boat Show. They are good boats built on a production line to force the prices down. Further they are built with the consumer firmly in mind instead of the dictates of old fashioned 'salts'. This has given them deep exposure to the charter market as well as a clearly defined resale value both in Australia and overseas. Their popular status gives that resale market liquidity i.e. you can sell them easily if the offered price is at the market price.
I wanted a boat less than 10 years old and not in need of more than a good clean and polish. I am not interested in 30 year old boats that need refitting.
Our price range would include the Beneteau 36 footer 361, either an ex-charter boat, or a never chartered one, and perhaps an ex-charter 393.
The search area: USA and Caribbean.
Some shiver at the thought of an ex-charter boat and are much in preference of a boat with only 200 or 300 hours on the clock. However I found the prices expected for lightly used boats far above the market value and a strong reticence to negotiating. Ex-charter boats are in a different price bracket and have realistic owners.
3 very nice 361's in the USA would not negotiate to a similar price as a same year ex-charter 393. The 361's would have been $7,000 more than the 393. When you need to cruise across oceans the decision is a no brainer.
Using the internet to search for boats is exactly the same as looking at houses on the net. As we just spent one full year buying our house we know the professional photos bare little resemblance to real life. We knew we had to build a personal rapport with a ex-charter broker and still not make decisions sight unseen.
USA brokers require the 10% deposit to be given to the broker at the time of the offer. Most Australians will find this ridiculous and anyway couldn't comply easily. Although most brokers started by insisting on it I just made the offers without deposits. Their offer forms were long and complicated and are used to try and stop purchasers making too many offers on too many boats thus driving a wedge into the price structure.
On March 4th we flew into Charleston, South Carolina, USA to see two 361's at the same price. One was absolutely shocking and one beautifully kept by a seaman with just 300 hours on the engine. The price for each was the same. We weren't interested in the crook one and the nice one wouldn't negotiate. Another in Annapolis wouldn't negotiate so it was off to Florida to the boat haven of Fort Lauderdale.
During this time in the USA we saw a number of brokers and boats and made offers on 4 yachts.
In Ft Lauderdale, broker Peter Wiersema of Moorings Brokerage deals with Sunsail and Moorings ex-charter boats over a vast area including the Caribbean and Pacific. I had been emailing him and on his email list for a year and had made a few calls to him to get to know him. Now I wanted to meet him in Fort Lauderdale to find out if there was a trust level and see an example ex-charter Beneteau. The trust here was getting vital as boats must be seen personally and while driving around the USA is coslty with accommodation, its nothing compared to flying around the Caribbean seeing multiple yachts.
Peter Wiersema of Moorings Brokerage
Peter Wiersema's name had popped up on Cruisers Forum positively. That forum also had a member who was a previous client and I was able to exchange some emails. Dealing on an overseas, different culture, purchase is daunting! Finding people who you trust makes it easier. Peter showed us an example boat that was a 'proof of concept'.
Moorings Brokerage in the Caribbean works like this: People who want an investment buy a brand new Beneteau that Moorings and Sunsail have the factory slightly modify for charter. The boat is then brought from France and goes into their charter fleets for a few years. The owner can then sail his boat away, sell it, or put it back out to charter with a second tier charter company. The boat sales all happen at the end of the charter year in June and July i.e. during the hurricane season. The boats, however, have been earmarked for sale up to one year before.
Our idea was to go sit on the islands and wait for a good ex-charter boat to become available. We were expecting an expensive wait for 3 or 4 months.
We started by going to St Maarten to see two boats a 361 and a 393. The 393 was a fine boat. We could afford the 393 if we didnt have to pay accommodation for 3 or 4 months. See all the negotiational permutations?
The other side of the world is a weird place. The offer is accepted and the deposit actually made, but you can still pull out of the deal up to a specified date. So our date was going to be after the Marine Surveyor had tickled the ribs of the 393.
Marine Surveyors have one brilliant thing when it comes to Beneteaus: Detailed Knowledge and an intimate understanding of each model as well as the build process and design, further, and importantly, a clear knowledge of what a charterer can do to a boat! Stewart Knaggs, Surveyor, would say things like: "If a Beneteau has hit the rocks you will see it here, or here." Suffice to say We couldnt find any major problems. There were, of course, minor items but Peter said they would be fixed prior to closing.
John Sinke the Base Manager of Sunsail Saint Maarten and Nick the Technical Manager released the boat to us and we sailed out of Oyster Pond on April 11th.
As at 27th April we are still waiting for the Australian Shipping Registration to come through. Also we have noticed a problem with the forward fresh water tank and have reported it to the broker as it was a Survey matter. Peter Wiersema and John Sinke have conferred and we are taking the boat back to Oyster Pond and Sunsail will fix the leak. Now try and get that sort of 'After Sales Service' on any normal second hand boat purchase!
Buying an ex-charter yacht has its benifits, sure it has some extra engine hours, but the engines are designed for a long life and are better used than idle. The yacht when bought is "Charter ready" with all systems functioning and serviced even the linen and shampoos are on board along with a galley full of utensils and a Nav table full of the small gadgets. Remember Charter yachts are made with good systems that are not fragile - charterer prrof. Just the sort of kit you need for a long cruise! The survey will determain if the boat has been on the rocks and also the broker will disclose any insurance claims. We are happy that our boat has not been mistreated. Having said that we are enjoying personalising Sea Life and buffing the boat into As New condition.
In conclusion: Yes, we would love to have Beneteau build us a brand new yacht. Sometime in the future that may happen. But until then we feel we have been able to purchase a wonderful yacht that will safely cruise us 'Bluewater' around the world.
