Sail away with Paul Chopin.
A blog highlighting the steps taken to purchase a yacht, getting out to sail her and the adventures, not to mention the cost(!) in putting her to sea.
Third yacht - nearly bought!
Home again, it was time to start looking again for that yacht of mine. Searching various agencies, listing my name and requirements with others, I soon picked out a few to short list. A Gib Sea 42 in Turkey, a couple of Beneteau 351 in Greece and Croatia, another Gib Sea 37 and a Bavaria 33, again in Croatia. Enquiries made, the first offer was put on and accepted on the Gib Sea 42. However, on further enquiries, there were problems with the boat so I did not even consider having any survey done. The next was a Beneteau 351, based in Greece.
Nice looking boat, offer made and accepted, deposit put down and a pre-survey carried out. Keel bolt problems and hull cracks so deposit refunded. The others either had VAT to pay on them or were not prepared to reduce the asking price.
Again, another very nice looking boat. A price had been agreed with the seller and a pre-survey was booked. All was going well until the keel bolts were inspected. Unfortunately these were extremely corroded and there was cracking in the bilge box around the bolts. Oh dear. Another one to pass by.