I have an F38 (1988) that I will likely have to sell in connection to a family move to the UK.
I have considered moving the F38. I seem to recall that shipping would be around $20k (deck cargo).
It is questionable whether that makes economic sense. Additionally, while there are some Freedoms in the UK, it would be a relatively unknown boat and therefore harder to sell over there?
I welcome thoughts on this matter from anyone with experience - moving boats across ocean (not going to sail it and do not think it feasible to pay someone to sail it - probably requires extensive top to bottom checks and upgrades etc.) or maintaining a Freedom boat in the UK (or vicinity). Issues with spares etc.? So far, from 2 1/2 years ownership, I cannot think of specific spares problems that might be more challenging in UK vs US though prices likely higher.
Another consideration is that this is a wing keel. My first preference for location would be W Scotland. That is more of a deep keel place and I do believe that is a consideration for some buyers there.
The boat is in lower Chesapeake Bay now. I may be putting up a selling notice soon but would like to hear any advice first.
Thanks in advance.
John
As well as shipping costs, you will have to factor in import duties, which I imagine would be at standard VAT rate of 20% of the boat’s value. I would also imagine there would be some other handling fees to throw in there as well. One big issue is that any imported boat will be required to conform to the recreational craft directive. In practice that means that items like wiring, hatches, engine, seacocks etc, may need to be replaced to conform to modern (European / British) standards. How likely that is depends on when those kinds of things were last replaced on your boat. There are consultants who specialise in getting your boat through the process (for a fairly hefty fee), but they should at least be willing to have a chat with you on the phone to give you a better idea as to whether it might even be remotely worth considering. I have looked into doing this myself about 2 years ago, & concluded that it couldn’t really be justified. I did speak to one of these consultants but I’m afraid I can’t find any record of their name now. I can tell you where I got the name from though - if you are familiar with the yachting writer Tom Cunliffe, he did a YouTube video talking about the US built boat he imported to the UK. In that video he gave the name of this guy, & that’s who I spoke to. Was more than happy to chat about the ins & outs to give an idea as to whether it might be worth it or not. So basically, if you can find that Tom Cunliffe video, there’s the name of a good person to speak to in there… Sorry I can’t be more precise than that…!
Thanks for these detailed insights. I will look up the contact you mention. Seems like a significant hassle and expense dealing with RCD related inspection etc. The boat is 1988 and at least some systems are original - some wiring for example. I doubt that there is a real-life problem but there could be some according to the book - which is all that counts in this situation. I am aware that AYBC and European standards are not perfectly matched and some boats meet some in one place and not the other.
Though you would have to pay VAT if you imported the boat to the UK, I don’t think there would be other import duties; but I’m not certain. You only need CE certification or the UK equivalent, if you sell the boat soon after import, but if that model was previously sold in the UK, demonstration of equivalence might be all that is necessary, rather than expensive testing or re-equiping.
Maintenance would not be in issue, unless you broke a mast – expensive anywhere, I think – as any ordinary chandlery is easily available, and there are few Freedom specific parts. We find no difficulty.
Resale prices in the UK are generally higher than in Europe or the USA, but the market is smaller, of course. I don’t think the wing keel would be a problem, since UK waters are tidal and there are lots of shallow bits all round the coast, even in the West of Scotland!