Potentially taking 1981 53 my to England

[ian w]

Due to my health and COVID restrictions have not used my boat for its annual Abacos trip for last 2 years.( Boat well looked after by Palm Beach Yacht services in my absence )
Has anyone taken a Hatt to Europe and what were the electrical issues
I have noticed 2 transformers in generator room under the galley.Is on for Europe.
Yacht transport not too bad in cost l hear
Ian W

 

[Pascal]

Ball park cost for shipping to Europe is about $1000 a foot each way. Maybe less if shipping over outside the peak times of April-June

I don’t think the isolation transformers will be able to convert euro 220 to US 220. Completely different type of current as euro use a single 220v hot. And they will not be able to convert frequency so everything will be running 20% slower.

The only way to handle it is to have a transformer/converter. Look at Atlas Systems in FTL. We have one of theirs on the 116 i run and it converts pretty much anything you plug the boat into to 120/240 60hz. Not cheap though.

 

[JuiceClark]

That sounds great. I've always planned to do the Great Loop when I retire - and then work on a loop around the Med.

 

[jmooney]

This is probably a rumor , but I heard that you cannot import a older 2-cycle Detroit into the EU . This doesn’t mean that you couldn’t visit with your own boat . I am pretty sure that you can only stay one year . Then you would have to go to Morocco or somewhere outside the EU before returning. I have heard that you can put the boat on the hard in a yard and the clock stops . I would love to take our boat to Europe too, I can get a EU passport. But if you register the boat in the EU you would have to pay the VAT , I think about 17% . But then the boat would come under EU regs , which might be a headache. I was going to ship in the fall as the ships would probably be empty as they went to pick up boats returning to the US . Friends who have taken their boats to Europe or the UK were very happy with the experience.

 

[Sadey]

Benedetto under a different name spent the first four years of her life cruising the Med. She was shipped from delivery to Greece. I spoke with the second owners son who remembered the extensive work done to bring her back to compatibility with the US electrical requirements. PM me and I can put you in touch with him.

 

[oscarvan]

This is probably a rumor , but I heard that you cannot import a older 2-cycle Detroit into the EU . This doesn’t mean that you couldn’t visit with your own boat . I am pretty sure that you can only stay one year . Then you would have to go to Morocco or somewhere outside the EU before returning. I have heard that you can put the boat on the hard in a yard and the clock stops . I would love to take our boat to Europe too, I can get a EU passport. But if you register the boat in the EU you would have to pay the VAT , I think about 17% . But then the boat would come under EU regs , which might be a headache. I was going to ship in the fall as the ships would probably be empty as they went to pick up boats returning to the US . Friends who have taken their boats to Europe or the UK were very happy with the experience.

No need to go to Morocco..... Neither Norway or (now) the UK are in the EU. In the Med Montenegro and adjoining states. (Although they really want to.....) VAT is as low as 17% and as high as 27% (yes, you read that right) depending on country. DD's MAY make it in under historical vessel rules. Every country is different though.

 

[JLR]

Do a search on Yachting from many years ago (perhaps 1985-1990. My father has his 61 Hatteras MY shipped to Europe. A big article in Yachting on what needed to be done electrically etc. His name was Leonard Rivkin and the boat was the Betty Ann.

 

[Bernd1972]

Croatia actually is EU member, but Montenegro is not and in Montenegro you can buy fuel for dirt cheap (no taxes for transit vessels, so around 60 cent (€-cent) per liter which equals about 3,2 € per US-gallon. You can stay only a limited time in EU waters with a transit-status so you would have to leave EU waters (Clearing in in a non-EU-country) to re-enter the EU states and start the transit status new. If you overstay your transit status you´d have to pay VAT on the current value ofyour vessel which is, depending on country, between 16% and 25%. However, as long as yoou keep your "vessel in transit"-status you don´t have to bother with VAT or CE regulations.

Besides that, Great Britain, Montenegro, Turkey, Slovenia and norway are well worth visiting so if you install additional 230V/50Hz chargers and mostly use the genset without convernting to 230V it´s all doable.

 

[Bernd1972]

This is probably a rumor , but I heard that you cannot import a older 2-cycle Detroit into the EU . This doesn’t mean that you couldn’t visit with your own boat . I am pretty sure that you can only stay one year . Then you would have to go to Morocco or somewhere outside the EU before returning. I have heard that you can put the boat on the hard in a yard and the clock stops . I would love to take our boat to Europe too, I can get a EU passport. But if you register the boat in the EU you would have to pay the VAT , I think about 17% . But then the boat would come under EU regs , which might be a headache. I was going to ship in the fall as the ships would probably be empty as they went to pick up boats returning to the US . Friends who have taken their boats to Europe or the UK were very happy with the experience.

You should not even consider to import your boat to the EU! just make sure that you maintain your "in Transit"-status and keep the vessel US flagged and EU-VAT-free.

 

[jmooney]

Do a search on Yachting from many years ago (perhaps 1985-1990. My father has his 61 Hatteras MY shipped to Europe. A big article in Yachting on what needed to be done electrically etc. His name was Leonard Rivkin and the boat was the Betty Ann.

I have Betty Ann here in Miami, it’s now named Jerrie , the aft sail panels had the flags of the countries he visited, the flags faded so I took them off , but the boat came with a 8 by 10 glossy that has the flags , I will put them back . I think that the factory could have been involved as the main electrical panel is marked 240 Volts 50/60 Hertz . The gray box electrical diagrams also mention removing or changing wires for European use . The boat has 2500 original hours and I am about halfway through the restoration.

 

[Bernd1972]

As an alternative to bringing your boat to Europe I could suggest chartering mine. Will have a Croatian charter license by the end of summer or probably beginning of next year and will be refitted within the next few month. 58 YF with MAN D-2848 engines and koopnautic stabilizers.
But of course it won´t be substantially cheaper than preparing yours and having it shipped to Europe and back...

 

[Pascal]

This is probably a rumor , but I heard that you cannot import a older 2-cycle Detroit into the EU .

There are a lot of rules kicking in. For instance, any boat built after 2000 with diesel over 175hp or so which cruises outside the US (including Canada and Bahamas) has been required to have EIAPP certificates for its engines. Right not it is not enforced but I was told that starting 2022 Customs will require the certificates numbers when returning.

Most people don’t even know what the damn thing is and how to get them. They can be very costly and most maritime attorneys are now requiring them upon closing

 

[ian w]

I should have said that I live in Britain,l am British and the boat was bought in1991 and was British flagged.This has meant going to the Bahamas from Florida every year in order to get a Floridian cruising permit.

 

[Bernd1972]

Well, in that case go for it. England has nice coasts as far as i heard. If the weather was nice it would be great...

 

[JLR]

I have Betty Ann here in Miami, it’s now named Jerrie , the aft sail panels had the flags of the countries he visited, the flags faded so I took them off , but the boat came with a 8 by 10 glossy that has the flags , I will put them back . I think that the factory could have been involved as the main electrical panel is marked 240 Volts 50/60 Hertz . The gray box electrical diagrams also mention removing or changing wires for European use . The boat has 2500 original hours and I am about halfway through the restoration.

Nice to know. My wife and I spent time on her in Rapallo, Italy and in Antigua. She treated my father very well. Best of luck with her.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Pascal, what is an EIAPP certificate? New to me.

 

[SeaEric]

Pascal, what is an EIAPP certificate? New to me.

Engine International Air Pollution Prevention

 

[fixin-to-cruise]

I had my 65MY on the Mediterranean. There is a wide assortment of electrical outlets at the marinas I went to. Bring 2 50 Amp receptacles with a few feet of cable that you can attach a connector compatible with the the marina’s. Bring a voltmeter and check that it’s wired correctly before you plug in.

Check and be sure your AC units, appliances, fans etc. can run on 50Hz without going up in smoke!

You can negotiate a deal on shipping if you are going opposite seasonal shipping like Ft. Lauderdale to Europe in the fall. It might not be exactly where and when you want to go but that’s just another adventure.

A picture of my boat’s marina plug museum..