Pop my bubble: Buy a sailboat in Thailand and sell it in Annapolis for world cruising on the cheap
Posted by CandleTiger@reddit | sailing | View on Reddit | 118 comments
So I have this daydream I have been building up, and I need somebody with experience to tell my why it's hopeless and will never work. I'll be retiring in the next few years, and my budget extends to a nice boat OR a nice house but not both. The wife declines to spend retirement living on a boat and touring the world, so I'm thinking to do a temporary stint:
-
Sometime in the five-years-from-now range, I'll be moving to Bangkok for six months for some stuff my wife is doing
-
While I'm over there, buy a nice boat for relatively less money in Phuket and spend time doing local shakedown cruise and getting to know it
-
Sail it to Annapolis via Suez with a crew of unpaid plucky adventurers.
-
Tourist for months on the way
-
Sell it for relatively more money
Am I crazy, is this a stupid idea?
Assumptions I'm making:
-
I can insure the boat. Financial risk is limited to some kind of unexpected high repair cost, but expected financial outcome is most likely, total net cost after buying, maintaining, selling the boat will be on the order of like 10% of the initial sale price, and getting stuck with the full bill (boat can't be sold but insurance also doesn't pay out) is unlikely.
-
I can get qualified by then. Currently I day-sail rented keelboats in the Puget Sound. Need to get a lot more instruction and experience before I'll be comfortable (and insurable) doing long cruises.
-
Unpaid plucky adventurers are there in Phuket who want to join me instead of knife me and steal the boat. I figure I'll want a crew of at least 4 -- myself, probably a family member or friend or two, will need to find a couple strangers. (Wife is likely to fly in for good destinations and the Med but won't be reliable crew for passages) Youtube is full of romantic European kids off vagabonding the world on one boat or another, are such people real and findable in Phuket?
tenuki_@reddit
Any plan to buy a boat and make money is fantasy IMO.
greatlakesailors@reddit
At the Annapolis sailboat show there are always a few agents trying to sell "make money on your new boat with is" deals.
Basically they boil down to:
Buy $2m yacht
Pay $250k/yr to professionally operate the yacht
Get $350k/yr in charter revenue when you aren't using the yacht
After 7 years the yacht has depreciated to $500k
You report $100k/yr in net income and $214k/yr in depreciation to the IRS, on the books of some small business you already own that is actually profitable
After 7 years you have lost $798k but it's a tax deductible business loss and you still own a 50' catamaran yacht
Farts_Are_Funn@reddit
I heard that same pitch at the Miami Boat Show 6 or 7 years ago. I'm a CPA and have done taxes for over 25 years. Some of the stuff they were saying doesn't quite stand up to IRS scrutiny. And at the time, there was a major IRS initiative to look at these boat/yacht "businesses" that were really just a tax dodge, I do now know if that is still the case as I haven't followed it since then. I didn't tell them who I was, just that I wasn't interested.
Inevitable_Brush5800@reddit
As a CPA, should you not be helping people pay the minimal amount of tax? It isn't tax dodging. If you own a business and can reduce your taxable income, you do it. If you're an individual and can reduce your taxable income, you do it.
Why do people feel some moral superiority or responsibility to pay taxes? If you don't pay them, you go to prison. The government is a business. The government isn't there to help you. Stop treating them like some well to do 501(c) non-profit out to make your life better.
Farts_Are_Funn@reddit
Actually, as a CPA I have a very specific ethical responsibility with respect to tax preparation. The rules are I cannot advise a client to take a position on a tax return that I do not believe would be supported by the IRS. So basically, I have an obligation to make sure clients follow the tax code. Now the tax code itself leaves for a lot of leeway, and of course I want my clients to pay the smallest amount of taxes legally possible.
This "business" the salesman was telling me to set up was a tax dodge, plain and simple. There was no plan to make a profit and no reason for the business to exist other than to create a loss to reduce other taxable income. It was even in the "business plan" they gave me that the goal of the "business" was to create a loss. Finding out the IRS was looking closely at these arrangements was enough for me to call it BS.
Now, not all charter yachts are set up that way. I'm sure many of them are fine businesses that do things on the up and up. This one wasn't.
Inevitable_Brush5800@reddit
Of course setting up a shell company is illegal. Using capital expenditure depreciation in a legitimate business is not, and that's what I was referring to.
rthille@reddit
And with the current administration, looking at wealthy tax dodgers isn’t really a priority.
Inevitable_Brush5800@reddit
Since when is following the law "tax dodging". It isn't the individuals responsibility to fix the tax loopholes that politicians created for themselves and their donors. You follow the law, you're fine.
Depreciation is everything. If you can avoid government theft called taxation, do it. I don't care if you make $10,000 a year or $50,000,000 a year. Forced taxation under threat of imprisonment is robbery. Period.
Farts_Are_Funn@reddit
Hmm, 6 or 7 years ago. Think about that a little more maybe?
UnluckyChampion93@reddit
This is how every "big" Yacht Charter company makes money. I'm preparing to lunch a service that will somewhat compeete with an already existing subscription service - based on my calculations, they are making a loss on every boat, but since the boats are owned by naiv individuals putting down 300-400K upfront, the platform can make money, but the owners... no way.
In my case, I would need 5-6 boats fully booked by my potential members to make enough to pay one somewhat decent salary after boat leasing, admin fees, etc etc... Yes, it will be a side business for now.
yelruh00@reddit
If it were true we’d all be rich! Am I right?!?!?
Inevitable_Brush5800@reddit
No, because I'd say 0.05% of the posters here could afford the initial investment of $2 million on the capital expenditure.
Papadapalopolous@reddit
Infinite money glitch
swirling_ammonite@reddit
You know what boat stands for, right?
Busy Out Another Thousand
Inevitable_Brush5800@reddit
Well, after Biden's term it's now "be out after third job".
CandleTiger@reddit (OP)
Yeah, not planning to make money. Just planning to lose money in more limited amounts.
itmaybemyfirsttime@reddit
This will be problematic/
Also boats arent cheap in Phuket. Getting European parts is pretty expensive.
Also and correct me if Im wrong.... you want to do the pacific crossing from the Gulf of Thailand to West coast Panama?
CandleTiger@reddit (OP)
No, the other direction, Thailand -> Suez -> Mediterranean -> USA East Coast
beamin1@reddit
You like pirates? Cause that's how you get pirates.
fluoruranus@reddit
Unless unpaid plucky adventurers = heavily armed mercenaries with sea legs.
Chewy-Seneca@reddit
Honestly sounds like a lot of fun, I get to learn to sail AND shoot stuff? What an adventure for a young man!
YearOfTheSssnake@reddit
THIS ⬆️⬆️⬆️
whistleridge@reddit
The only reliable way to do this is to carry a cargo that you can sell for a profit. Buy a bunch of spices, store them, and sell them in a farmer’s market for a profit kind of thing.
Practical_Owlfarts@reddit
"Spices"
whistleridge@reddit
Given the absolutely ferocious penalties in that part of the world for…spice…trafficking, I’m not sure it’s worth the risk.
InterestingMotor8143@reddit
MY ARRAKIS
Practical_Owlfarts@reddit
You want that boat or not?!
RobbieFowlersNose@reddit
Nose spices?
CandleTiger@reddit (OP)
Is that a thing, do cruisers really do this? Selling provenence-free curry leaves at a farmer's market seems like not necessarily a reliable way to make money.
whistleridge@reddit
I strongly doubt it. If nothing else, the import fees would eat you out of house and home.
I’m just pointing out that the only way to make a profit - or even a more modest loss - with a boat is to carry cargo. And pretty much the only cargo a private sailboat could carry from that part of the world is spices or paying passengers.
cruisinbears@reddit
I know of one instance where a boat would purchase bulk legal items in one country and sell them in a future destination where they are desirable or rare. He just made sure the items were legal so they could be claimed as ship’s stores if questioned by customs.
The examples he gave me that I remember: American cigarettes South African wines Vanilla beans from Madagascar
He joked that it was light smuggling, but he could make a decent profit and if asked by officials could say “I intend on smoking every single one of those cigarettes!”
CaspinLange@reddit
I really love this story
MangoShadeTree@reddit
It's what shut down the silk road, so it's gotta work, right?
IxyCRO@reddit
The kind of thing sailboats were made for
whistleridge@reddit
I don’t disagree. I’m just saying, spices are light, easy to store, and profitable, so they’re like the only cargo that might offset trip expenses to any extent.
Mynplus1throwaway@reddit
They were just pointing out that using a sailboat for it's original/intended purpose is ironic since you figure it goes without saying.
pheitkemper@reddit
You can make a small fortune with a boat!
You start with a large fortune.
YearOfTheSssnake@reddit
🤣🤣🤣
once_a_pilot@reddit
Funny, you can do the exact same thing in the aviation business!
pheitkemper@reddit
for sure. Planes and helicopters make boats look cheap by comparision!
Scarecrow_Folk@reddit
New boat math just dropped. It's way cheaper than a plane so the boat was free!
Sam_Sanders_@reddit
If you start with a large fortune, and then make a small fortune, you'll now have a large fortune plus a small fortune.
pheitkemper@reddit
FTFY
Sam_Sanders_@reddit
Yikes, who knew boaters took everything seriously.
pheitkemper@reddit
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Schrodinger%27s%20douchebag
Accomplished_Fee9363@reddit
You mean :you can make a large Fortune with a pirate boat
pheitkemper@reddit
Yarrrr!
BudgetAudioFinder@reddit
You can buy and sell boats and make money. I've done it. But, the reality is it's not going to happen with boats you want and are looking for. It's going to happen with boats that appear miraculously in your life at the right time/place and with the right seller.
For the purpose of this guy's post you are 100% correct though.
2340859764059860598@reddit
OP's gonna make it big selling shrimp
jimbofranks@reddit
As long as you remember they are separate pursuits.
Plastic_Table_8232@reddit
^^this^^
Very few boat owners sell boats that are ready to leave a dock let alone cross oceans.
Op - it’s not just your sailing skills that will need updated but your mechanical skills as well. Expect systems to need refurbished, leaks from deck fittings, ports, hatches. Sails are typically not in great shape either. Auxiliaries with wiring shorts, fuel tanks needing polished.
People just don’t invest in refitting a boat to turn around and sell it.
Sure, exceptions exist but your not plugged in enough to the local scene to benefit from them or, they are small boats someone’s over invested in only to find the boat no longer fits their mission and they need something larger.
With your level of ownership experience I would anticipate a 3 to 6 month window to shake down and equip the boat for such a passage.
Cruising gear is expensive and the majority of boats are not outfitted for long range cruising. While some of it is comfort related much is survival and safety.
All boats have nuances new or old, little quirks that need managed or remediated.
You either need a huge bank roll, a lot of skill and energy, or a big bank roll and skill / motivation.
I don’t want to discourage you but even getting a boat provisioned will be a learning curve.
You either need to find a way to get a lot more sea time and more engineering experience before attempting this and setting yourself up for failure.
Being that you’re planning to do this with an amateur crew, the decision making and safety of the crew is going to fall solely on yourself.
You need to be physically and mentally equipped, as well as have the tools and parts, to fix crucial systems on passage. It’s hard enough to evaluate and fix these things at the dock with a well stocked chandlery near by. Doing it in remote locations can sometimes be impossible.
Once you get the boat back expect a light refit prior to sale and then a 10% premium from the broker.
Off the top of my head I would say you need $150 - $175,000 for a boat that’s capable, a $30k reserve fund for emergencies, 20k for dockage, haul, bottom job, misc fixes prior to pushing off and six months without working to get fully prepared before leaving. Life raft will likely need recertification or replaced, ground tackle will likely be insufficient or need updated. You’ll need a dink with an outboard. Likely new batteries and more as well as an upgraded alternator, inverter and some other forms of power generation like solar or a generator.
I would want to have one other crewman onboard for the refit phase that’s going to make the journey with you so you’re not the only one with knowledge of the boats systems.
Good luck, I’m not trying to discourage you but fear you’re really romanticizing this.
When you buy the boat remember selling it is going to cost you 10%. So if you buy one for 150k you’ll have to sell it without investing anything into it for $165,000.
Once you have the boat upgraded and ready to sail selling it after only a short time of ownership seems insane. Most guys sail them and stop investing the last 3 years if ownership and just perform “good enough”. Fixes.
If you need upgraded AP or electronics you’ll be lucky to recoup $.25 on the $1.00 even if it’s only a year old.
I wouldn’t want to trust an old AP for a long voyage and would want a backup ram / rotary unit onboard for a spare.
With a crew that size you’re going to be in the 40* range and likely will want an electric windlass and bow thruster.
Just the cost for spare brushes for the bow thruster will make you puke in your mouth.
Half-Borg@reddit
What is AP?
Double-Masterpiece72@reddit
Autopilot
MrSnowden@reddit
While the financial upside might be a bit smaller, you could accomplish nearly all of this simply by being someone else's "unpaid plucky adventurer". Then you paid nothing, make nothing, get to have the sailing adventure of your dreams. And as a bonus, can just bail out when it becomes less awesome or your wife e.g. has a sudden medical emergency.
CandleTiger@reddit (OP)
That's a real option.
Inevitable_Brush5800@reddit
Phuk It....just buy the boat man. You literally only get to live one life. There are no re-do's. You can't take the money with you. You don't keep your memory. You don't keep your body. You keep nothing.
Go travel.
FellateFoxes@reddit
As a boat owner, I’d genuinely say this is the superior choice
cyricmccallen@reddit
honestly the best option IMO, at least til you’re experienced.
Inevitable_Brush5800@reddit
Phuk it...buy the boat.
greenfrog5w5@reddit
If you carry enough opium and sell it upon arrival, it should definitely pencil out.
srobison62@reddit
I say phucket go for it
Full-Photo5829@reddit
There are certain places in the world where boats are cheaper specifically because they lie at the END of an obvious sailing route. IIRC Langkawi is one such place. If you purchase a boat there, your options are tricky. Do you want to hug the coastline of India and Pakistan and Iran? Do you want to brave Somalia or the Cape of Good Hope? Do you want to go East across the whole Pacific? People end up in these places and realize they dislike all the options.
CalicoJack88@reddit
I was surprised that no one else in this thread was mentioning pirates off the coast of Somalia? Let alone sailing next to Yemen?
Which basically leaves the Cape of Good Hope followed by the Skeleton Coast, what could possibly go wrong there….
Full-Photo5829@reddit
You mean it's not called "The Skeleton Coast" merely because of an abundance of Halloween decorations?? 😉
ssoroka@reddit
easier way to sail the world for free: get your skipper’s papers and deliver other people’s boats for them. you don’t have the risk or expense of owning the boat. you get paid to deliver the boat and can pay a real crew that won’t flake out on you. you’ll also get to sail nicer boats than you could ever afford.
oaklicious@reddit
It’s actually an achievable goal but would require a huge time and skill investment between now and then. It also would be unlikely to shake down the way you are imagining, most likely you’ll lose most of the value of the boat if you are actually able to sell it.
CandleTiger@reddit (OP)
What's the mechanism for this? I'm sure there's stuff I'm missing, but -- which stuff?
I figure, I buy the "turnkey" boat 15-25 years old (would be nice to get a loan but not counting on it)
That limited guesswork adds up to 11% of initial purchase price lost in the end.
What's the part I'm missing that's going to wipe me out?
BudgetAudioFinder@reddit
Leaving out spare parts and redundancy.
Not to mention, turn key isn't a thing for this type of voyage. Everything on a 15 to 20 year old boat needs to be gone through with a very fine tooth comb, much of it will need replacement or upgrading. All maintenance needs to be up to date before you would leave and you need the ability to fix everything (skills and parts) at sea without outside assistance.
Not to mention emergency and survival gear. You are going to (or at least should) spend a pretty penny on those items too.
Go price out all the things you need for this voyage to have a well equipped boat. It's more than you think as it adds up quickly.
seamus_mc@reddit
Everything breaking on the voyage.
fluoruranus@reddit
You're leaving out the "at least twice."
seamus_mc@reddit
I figured I would break him in slowly.
fluoruranus@reddit
That is slowly. "Everything breaking all at once and again 5 seconds after you thought you fixed it" is really what I meant to say.
CandleTiger@reddit (OP)
I mean -- that's absolutely a risk. I'm sure something expensive will break. But surely it's not typical that everything breaks on each voyage, is it?
seamus_mc@reddit
What boats are you thinking about?
CandleTiger@reddit (OP)
I'm really not very specific at this point. 35' to 40' catamaran, budget under $500,000 with my (apparently wildly optimistic) assumptions on how much I'll get back at the end. I can afford to lose something like $250K on the trip -- I'd rather buy a nice boat that holds its value.
Buying a cheap boat and selling for nothing is fine financially but having it disintegrate underneath me while underway would be not so fine.
IanSan5653@reddit
Honestly, with your budget your plan sounds achievable. Pull your boat budget down to $350k and save the rest for sails, rigging, safety equipment, etc.
hifromtheloo@reddit
For this amount of assumed loss I’d just go charter a captained catamaran in the Caribbean.
CandleTiger@reddit (OP)
That doesn't scratch my itch the same way.
hifromtheloo@reddit
But have you owned a boat within 10’ of the length of the catamaran you’re considering? Getting insurance is insanely hard if not. If not, I’ve heard some insurance companies will sign off only if you have a captain on board for x amount of miles first.
@Sailing Totem offers a great consultation service of helping those want to figure out how best to approach jumping into the sailing world that might be worth a look.
seamus_mc@reddit
Im thinking any leopard 40 in that range needs new sails and rigging before even looking at anything else. $$$
Double-Masterpiece72@reddit
I think you're vastly underestimating how harsh the blue water open ocean environment is on a sailboat. I got a brand new sailboat 2.5 years ago and we have put 20k miles on it (roughly what you plan) and already need new sails, some new running rigging, and had a couple of serious systems failures (autopilot, watermaker, rudder, etc). A 15-20 year old boat I would expect to have at least double the number of major issues in the deep blue.
seamus_mc@reddit
I think 5% is crazy optimistic. I got a decent deal on a boat and i am deep into 5 figures on the refit before i start blue water cruising on it. All new safety gear alone can hit 10k. Im not skimping on life rafts or safety gear when i am crossing oceans.
Kibbles_n_Bombs@reddit
I feel like it’s more like buy a boat.
Spend another 20%-100% of your purchase price getting the boat ready to go.
Sail around the world, if you’re lucky, sell for 10% more than you paid for - minus the broker’s 10% commission putting you back at square one.
CandleTiger@reddit (OP)
Yeah that's the goal -- ending at square one would be fantastic, I don't think that's realistic though. I did think I could end with only losing 10% of my original money. Most of the commenters here seem to think that I'm dreaming and would not get much at all back on selling the boat.
chi_sailor@reddit
Google search says you can tack on an import duty of 1.5%. Not going to wipe you out, but worth adding to the list.
JettaGLi16v@reddit
If you were talking about cars, you’re right on. Boats are way harder to sell. I have only bought one boat, the one we are leaving on and intend to make our home for 2-10+ years, but from watching the market, boats just aren’t easy to sell. And you’ll have Marina fees while it sits, possibly $1-3k a month, depending on area and size.
In my (barely educated) opinion, there IS an opportunity to exploit differential markets, but you’d have so do a fair volume of vessels to offset the few that you take a loss on. And lots of crap will break on a journey that long. Your full time job would be sailing from Phuket to Annapolis & letting a broker handle the rest.
BudgetAudioFinder@reddit
You will likely not be able to insure the boat for that voyage. Or, if you can find someone to write more than a regional policy, it's going to be extremely expensive.
You likely will not make money on the boat.
Finding crew is a crapshoot. You will likely find people to go, but do you really want to end up in the middle of the pacific with people you don't know and can't vet? That's a no from me, for many reasons, but you make your own choices.
Crossing the pacific from Thailand to somewhere in the Americas, even with stops at various islands, is a huge undertaking. You are going to have that be your first real test of the boat's systems, your ability to navigate, your ability to weather route, your ability to stock the boat, and your ability to manage yourself/crew at sea? Those skills are way above and beyond putting sails up and down for a day sail or even a weekend trip.
5 years from now, is your health and fitness going to be up to this? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but you are setting off to the most remote parts of the world. It's something that you need to think about.
Are you factoring in either the Panama canal costs or the extra time to go through the fjords?
Lastly, and perhaps most controversial, you think being "qualified" matters? That means you passed a test and checked some boxes. You need to be prepared and competent in all aspects of sailing and your boat systems regardless of what piece of paper you might have. You life and the life of everyone on your boat for such a trip depends on that, not on some certificate.
This plan is a cluster and should definitely not be how you start cruising.
If I were you, I would start racing at a local club now as crew. Just get on boats, get the experience. This will be a great way to learn the sailing part and if you help enough the boat systems. While doing this, learn the other things you need to know independently. 5 years of concentrated effort and you will be well prepared to sail on long voyages.
From there, get a reasonable bluewater cruiser and start with coastal cruising around Annapolis. Then expand your horizons from there.
Sea_Ad_3765@reddit
I live near Annapolis. And want to see you have a favorable outcome. This is not a viable plan for so many reasons.
hottenniscoach@reddit
The only place I consistently see boats priced under market is in French Polynesia. It might be that couples by Boat and then spend 30 days from Panama to French Polynesia and decide that they’re never gonna do that again.
standardtissue@reddit
Sounds like your plan depends on getting free labor
chunklight@reddit
Boats aren't cheaper in Phuket and parts are much more than in Annapolis. The only thing cheaper is skilled and unskilled labor.
You can find some good deals on world-cruising boats in Langkawi, Malaysia, but they tend to be big heavy ocean-crossers that reached Malaysia and didn't want to continue westward. You won't want to sail them Westward for the same reasons. I don't think they're in demand in the Chesapeake and they aren't the best boats for enjoying coastal cruising in the light tropical winds you'll find in SE Asia. I think they make sense for someone who wants to cross oceans on a limited budget or someone looking for a live-aboard yacht. I wouldn't plan to sell one for a profit, but you could probably break even.
Since you said you're going to be living in Thailand, I would suggest getting a smaller, lighter yacht and doing as much coastal cruising and island hopping around SE Asia as you can. Then sell the boat and buy another in the next place you want to cruise. Explore the nice places and avoid spending all your time planning for difficult passages, unless that's what you're into.
About the only way I think you could make a profit is to pick up an older, sought-after yacht and restore it in Thailand, taking advantage of the available services and cheap labor. Think Halberg-Rassey, Hans Christian, Amel. If you go that route, whatever you do, DON"T HAVE ANY WORK DONE IN THAILAND WITHOUT YOU THERE OBSERVING AT ALL TIMES.
dwkfym@reddit
First of all, are boats actually cheaper in Thailand? My experience is the only places where boats are cheap are cruising terminal destinations, where people are beat up and tired. They don't wanna do an off season upwind journey back home, so they'd rather sell the boat.
Other than that, my experience is that any item primarily sold in the US and Europe is way more expensive in other parts of the world. For example, I remember gawking at how much my flagship model HJC motorcycle helmet cost in Korea, where its manufactured, versus what I paid for it in the USA.
bitchpigeonsuperfan@reddit
How easy is it to go through the import and registration process for an internationally registered (or unregistered?) boat?
CandleTiger@reddit (OP)
I have no idea. I'll need to be researching that.
Nibron@reddit
It's not easy in Thailand. Look at Langkawi instead
fluoruranus@reddit
Sign up as an unpaid plucky adventurer on an Atlantic (or other) crossing on some other first time owner's boat. If you find you like unplugging the head in the middle of the night while the boat is at a 30° heel and the cabin is flooding while the owner's head is spinning because the autopilot and instruments are down, you might have a career ahead of you.
Did a 4 week stint on a million dollar cat where the fist time, newly retired owner thought he could make some money chartering in the Bahamas. Autopilot went down immediately. Watermaker followed. Lost port engine halfway there; blew through a couple of B&G screens and the Maretron. Broke the gennaker halyard (improperly rigged). Electronics went down during the charter and we had no refrigeration.
Everything breaks, so you better have some idea on how to fix it or at least plug the hole.
Note that the owner also had done a couple of bareboat charters in the Chesapeake, had somehow gotten a 50 ton mates license, and still managed to run the boat aground. So getting certified or licensed or whatever won't help if you don't have the common sense to get experience first.
Not trying to tell you not follow your dreams. Just trying to disabuse you of the idea that it could be profitable.
xxSpeedsterxx@reddit
Look up "Sailing with phoenix"
rthille@reddit
10%, barring a miracle seems incredibly low. Buying a boat for about $150k, I’d expect that you might be able to sell it for some high fraction (~80%+), but over 3-5 years of sailing you’re likely to spend ~$15k/ year.
IanSan5653@reddit
No boat you purchase will ever be completely ready to cross an ocean. Doesn't matter how good your inspection is or how careful you are. You will inevitably spend a significant amount of money on upgrades, fitting out, safety gear, spares, repairs, And six months is a very ambitious schedule on which to do so. Even if it's a brand new boat!
Then when you finally make it to Annapolis or wherever, you'll have to spend a bunch of money again to get it ready to sell after you just wore out the sails/rigging/everything else. That's assuming you do make it to Annapolis, a huge assumption.
I'm not telling you not to do it. By all means follow your dreams! But don't depend on any sort of plan for making your money back. If you can't afford to throw the money away, don't do it.
Ambitious_Poet_8792@reddit
You don’t have the skills. Which is fine. But don’t endanger anyone else too. Get crew that is experienced, or single-hand. Don’t get a group of newbies together. You are responsible for them.
noknockers@reddit
We found a yacht in Thailand. Sailed to Malaysia to do the actual purchase,.
We've been cruising this part of the world for 1.5 years and we're currently in Indonesia for 6 months, then back to Langkawi.
There are certainly a lot of yachts for sale however you won't make much money. The cost of getting her fit for such a large passage will outweigh any potential profits you may make.
If you sailed to Australia you will have a better chance of making money.
anteup@reddit
You do realize that buying the boat in Thailand and sailing it to Annapolis (or anywhere in North America) IS world cruising, right? On the cheap is up to you.
BTW, the Westabout route is going to be much easier as others have said.
Try getting on a Bermuda or Caribbean delivery and you'll learn a lot, fast.
mckenzie_keith@reddit
There is no doubt that the value of a boat depends on where she lies. Thailand is supposedly one of the places where people give up on their cruising dream, so maybe it is not totally unrealistic to expect to buy a distressed asset there and that it would be slightly more valuable in the US. But I think you need to have a lot of good luck, too. Nothing major can be wrong with the boat that you have to fix before you cross an ocean. Nothing major can break on the boat before you sell it.
All in all, if you are going to be in Thailand anyway, it could not hurt to look at a few boats.
And like you say, you are going to have to be VERY lucky to make money. But if you are just looking to offset some costs, maybe it will work.
Stock_Captain_5888@reddit
I’m 63 now. I gave that same advice to my sons. I’m still out there getting stuff done. I’ll be in Bangkok in September. If you’re there I’ll buy you a round. I’d love to sign on for low wages, high danger and accolades, but next stop Bhutan and the Himalayas !!
thebemusedmuse@reddit
I think what you're missing on your math is a boat costs 10% maintenance a year. So let's say you buy a $500k boat which is 15 years old. Let's say it's $150k in Langkawi and worth $200k in Annapolis. It still needs up to $50k a year spending on it.
The problem is someone selling a boat failed to do great maintenance for the last 3 years and you have a potential $150k repair bill as you make your way 15,000nm through the Pacific.
Stock_Captain_5888@reddit
What an epic adventure!! Send it!! I asked my Dad, when I was 17, Dad what is it you hope for me?” My hope for you is that you lead an experiential life
I’ve done my level best and don’t regret a second of it.
hifromtheloo@reddit
It’s insanely hard to get insurance on a boat if you yourself have never owned one.
seamus_mc@reddit
It can be even if you have owned one. When i got my 52 nobody would touch insuring me because of how many covid captains thought they needed 50+ footers and operated them so poorly that most of the common insurers wont touch 49+ anymore. Even having a 50 ton master didnt matter to them because my last boat was more than 10 feet shorter. After a couple of years my rates are back from the stratosphere because my only option was a “last resort” insurer but i wanted the insurance.
tiggeronline@reddit
We actually went quite a long way down the track of doing exactly this. And viewed and trialled in Phuket. We also looked at boats in Langkawi and Hong Kong. The biggest issue with boats in that part of the world is the heat and humidity of the tropics plays havoc with the electrical, mechanical systems which is of course the hardest and most expensive part of the boat to maintain. Also tropical sun on rig, hull etc. We bought in New Zealand in the end.
PckMan@reddit
You're making too many assumptions. You're assuming that people looking for adventure are ok with essentially being used for unpaid labor and sailing for weeks to get dropped off on the other side of the world. You're so underestimating running costs and how much such trips cost. Margins, if any, are tight, and anything not going perfectly puts you in the red. If this was viable companies would be doing it en masse, sailing entire flotillas over and flipping them. You're overestimating the demand for this. Look at used boat listings. Most of them stay up for months or even years before they actually sell and usually not at listed price.
You're overcomplicating things. You can rent a sailboat for a couple of weeks each summer instead of doing all this.
PvtJoker_@reddit
Boats depreciate, houses do not.... Better just flying to destinations and chartering.
MongolianCluster@reddit
I would do this. I wouldn't expect a profit, but consider the spend to be just the price of a hell of a journey.
I don't know what the inventory of boats in Thailand would be. My biggest concern in Thailand would be finding a suitable boat in 120 vs. 220 volts. The wiring for a European/ foreign boat will be different and trying to sell it in the US could be difficult. It's not impossible, but you'll have fewer buyers who will be willing to accept the added requirements to make it work.
frodosbitch@reddit
Langkawi, Malaysia Nextdoor to Phuket is a duty free port. You can avoid import duties buying there instead.
EddieVedderIsMyDad@reddit
What you’re proposing is to do the worst and hardest section of an entire circumnavigation. Your boat will need to be in absolute tip top condition, which will likely cost tens of thousands to accomplish in Thailand, almost regardless of the type/age/size of the boat. And by the time you get to Annapolis she’ll probably be due for at least another partial refit.
There’s no profit to be had and you won’t have enjoyed much of the postcard perfect cruising that I’m sure you’re imagining. If you just want a hardcore adventure, then go for it.
kerberos824@reddit
Thailand is such a massive sailing destination that I can't imagine boats are that much cheaper there?
But hey, in my book if you come out 50% ahead it's an absolute victory and I hope you do it! This sounds amazing, and even then, the "cheapest" way to do it.
me_too_999@reddit
You could probably pick up a used boat from a charter company.
Or someone that completed a Pacific Crossing and can't finish circumnavigation.
black_tootherson@reddit
Don’t expect to make profit off the boat lmao
Zyj@reddit
The boats are cheaper, but not that cheap. But yeah, it can make such a voyage cheaper than usual! Go for it!