A guidance on buying a sailboat from A to Z, preparing the boat for passage and journey to the Mediterranean Sea, the book

VIDEO COURSE "A SMALL SAILBOAT CAPTAIN"
THE BOOK “BUYING A SAILBOAT FROM A TO Z"
WEBINAR
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Buying a sailboat from A to Z and sailing
to the Mediterranean Sea on it

PRACTICAL GUIDANCE WITH STEP-BY-STEP PLAN AND FAQ

Who am I?

My name is Vadim, my girlfriend and I are travelling on a sailboat and by land.

As of 2023 I’ve been to 24 countries, part of which I have visited on a sailboat, others were by land. On the whole my continuous journey has been more than 7 years. I’ve had 4 boats, now I have extra renewed Albin Vega (take a look at the photo above), I base myself in Tunisia.

I’ve been interested in sailboats for more than 10 years, studied a lot of information during this time and collected bits and pieces of my experience in order to fulfill the dream about a sailboat and subsequently the dream of travelling on a sailboat across warm seas.

From 2014 to 2016 I was scaling the Baltic Sea as well as travelling to Aland Islands. In 2017 I planned to sail at the Mediterranean Sea, however, due to several reasons this plan was postponed to 2018.

In 2018 we bought a new boat, did the groundwork and started our trip around Europe to the Mediterranean Sea, we ended up in Tunisia to be precise. Throughout our journey, which took us 70 days, we visited 8 countries and covered 5500 kilometers or 3000 nautical miles

In 2019-2022 we were travelling in the Mediterranean Sea in the regions of Italy, France, Malta, Montenegro, etc. We got a lot of new experience, including the experience of week-long passages (7 days non-stop in the sea!)

In April, 2019 I released the guidance “How to buy a sailboat from € 1000 and sail to the Mediterranean Sea on it”. Below I’ll tell you about it.

GET THE BOOK

I change the book to 1 guest mooring fee for my boat — 35 euro.

I will answer all the questions you have after you've read the book for free. I will also help you to buy a sailboat and arrange your sail route.

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MY JOURNEY ROUTE

PASSAGE FROM NORTH EUROPE (SWEDEN) TO AFRICA (TUNISIA), 70 DAYS, JULY 2018 - SEPTEMBER 2018

THE BOOK IS BASED ON MY OWN EXPERIENCE AND PRACTICE

BOOK SIZE IS 350
BOOK PAGES

FREE CONSULTATION TO ALL
MY READERS

What happens after you finish reading?

You’ll receive 90% of the information and experience you’ll need to go to Sweden or Holland, to buy a good sailboat, and to successfully reach Tunisia (or the Mediterranean Sea as a whole) in 2-3 months.

Fears

The book will help you to overcome your fears and doubts which initially bother you. It will kick your objections out and help you to finally achieve your ambition.

In what format is the guide: is it paper book or e-book?

The book is electronic, it works on any device with browser, both online and offline (after the first download). Due to this solution you receive the book as soon as you purchased it and I can update it and add some more details (I'm doing it rather often).

To sum up: buying the book now you're getting all the future updates for free.

GET THE BOOK

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THE LIST OF THEMES AND POINTS (BOOK CONTENT)

Click "+" to see more

It has taken a huge amount of work to finish this book. I have been writing it for 1 year, while the information for it was gathered throughout 10 years of my sailing life.

All the themes and questions are answered with comments, I tried to tell everything I know from A to Z. Besides, after you read the book, you can ask me any questions you have — the consultation for my readers is totally free.

The book are translated to: Dansk, Deutsch, Eesti, English, Español, Français, Hrvatski, Italiano, Latviešu, Lietuvių, Magyar, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, Română, Slovenski, Slovenčina, Suomi, Svenska, Türkçe, Čeština, Ελληνικά, Български, Русский, Українська, العربية, 中文, 日本語, 한국어.

Common questions about sailboats and yachting

Introduction
Yachtsmen are like a big family
What goals can you have when buying a boat?
What is the average speed of a typical cruiser sailboat?
Types of sailboats
Skills required and how to acquire them quickly and easily
Voyage charter or personal boat?
Centreboard boat at sea
Catamaran or a ketch-sailboat (ordinary keel-built boat)?
Steering wheel or tiller?
Ability to control a boat single-handedly
About the English language
Kids on a saiboat
Technologies that were used in the 70s and 80s
What happened to sailboats after the 80s?
Are Scandinavian boats suitable for the Mediterranean Sea and why do some people doubt that?
A hatch on a boat as the most important component for a boat in the Mediterranean Sea (If there is none it is extremely hot even in the summer in the Baltic Sea)
Teak or no teak – that is the question
Why are most sailboats white?
Blue water boats (boats that you are not scared to sail in on the ocean)
Manufacturer support
Technical moments, the hull
Age of an engine: the new one or the old one? Risks you take if buying an old-engine sailboat
Hammock on a sailboat
Other questions

Regions for yachting (Mediterranean Sea, Baltic Sea and so on)

The Mediterranean Sea and northern regions (Baltic Sea, North Sea)
Advantages of northern regions (Baltic Sea, North Sea)
Disadvantages of northern regions (Baltic Sea, North Sea)
Advantages of the Mediterranean Sea
Disadvantages of the Mediterranean Sea
Asia as a region for yachting
The Caribbean as a region for yachting
USA as a region for yachting
Other regions

Regions for purchasing a sailboat

Buying a sailboat in Finland
Buying a sailboat in Sweden
Buying a sailboat in Holland
Buying a sailboat in Great Britain
Buying a sailboat in France
Why buying a sailboat in the Mediterranean Sea is a bad idea
Can you buy a sailboat in northern countries and transport the sailboat with a trailer?
Buying a sailboatin Mediterranean countries
Buying a sailboat in Japan, Thailand and other Asian countries
Common concepts when buying a sailboat in any region

What can you buy for €1000-3000, €3000-5000, €5000-10000, €10000+. Purchase of a modern sailboat

What can you buy for €500-1500?
What can you buy for €1500-2500?
What can you buy for €2500-5000?
What can you buy for €5000-10000?
What can you buy for €10000-20000?
Big and cheap sailboats with old engines (e.g., 10 metres long sailboat for €10000-15000)
What should you remember before buying a sailboat?
Buying a modern sailboat (the price starts usually from €30000, optimised configuration will be from €50000)
Sport sailboats, big and cheap
Buying a sailboat produced in the 70-80s for €20000-70000

Money aspects: maintaining a sailboat and living on a sailboat

What costs will you have?
Dismountable sailing catamaran with inflatable balloons
Trailer sailboats (transported on a trailer behind your car)
What annual income is required to buy a sailboat?
Can you live on a sailboat and earn money on it?
What sailboat is the best option for your annual income?
How much money do you need for constant living on a sailboat?
You can calculate your budget on you own, and here’s the formula
What safety cushion (how much money in stock) should a yachtsman have?
How to choose the right size of the boat. What things are important and what are not
The mooring fee and why a small boat may be a better solution than the large one

Comfort level depending on a boat’s size

What should you expect from a 6.5 - 7.5 metres cruise sailboat?
Little big sailboats (7 metres outside feels like 9 metres inside)
What should you expect from a 7.5 - 8.5 metres sailboat?
What should you expect from an 8.5 - 10 metres sailboat?
What should you expect from a modern 9.5+ metres sailboat?
Financial concept

Mooring costs (guest, monthly, yearly, depending on regions and so on)

Approximate mooring fee 2021 (the prices in Europe change very slowly)
Several examples of mooring fees in different regions for a sailboat with length of 8 meters
Specific sites where you can find the marinas (Sweden, all the rest of the Baltics, France, Mediterranean)
How to save money on marinas? (5 ways that would really help you to save up to €200 on marinas)
Pricing in marinas (just for understanding)

Equipment on a sailboat

Outboard gasoline motors
Inboard diesel motors (gasoline is not always used on the sailboats)
Oven in galley (kitchen)
Spirit stove
Gas stove
Oven
Gimbals for the stove
Electric stove
Shower. Its availability. How critical is its absence on a sailboat?
Toilet
What table is comfortable to use on a sailboat?
Chart table: modern usage and how necessary it is now
Fridge
Thermoelectric fridge
Compressor fridge
Bimini (solar tent)
Cockpit tent
Swimming platform
How to make home-like comfort on a boat
Webasto (diesel heater) and electric heater
About laundry and washing machines
Other equipment

Technical parts

Keel types (fin and long) and why is it so important?
Types of rigging
Age of rigging
Age of sails
LED lamps: warm yellow lights
Installation and usage of solar panels (what to choose, how to install, how much does it cost)
Equipment with 12-volt chargers
How many batteries will you need and how to use them
Inverter: its necessity on a sailboat and usage
12-volt electric wiring
Thoughts about wind generators
Seacocks (lock valves)

Sailboat service

Sailboat service
Inboard motor service
Approximate list of must-do things
Outboard motor, its service and operational nuances
Batteries service
What should you do to the water tank if you’re leaving for a long time?
What should you do to the septic tank if you’re leaving for a long time?
What should you do to the seacocks if you’re leaving for a long time?
External lights and other valuable items outside the boat
Antifouling paint
What should you do about the sailboat service?

The procedure of purchasing a sailboat

Choosing a sailboat
Buying a sailboat in winter
Buying a sailboat in spring (March - May)
Buying a sailboat in summer (June - July)
Buying a sailboat in autumn (August - November)
How to explore the sites with sailboat offers
Shared sailboats (e.g. 1/10)
What questions should you ask the seller?
How to communicate with the sellers, how to chat in blocket messages, how to communicate via email, via mobile phone, what difficulties you may have and what to do if blocket hides the owner’s phone number.
About the agents who are supposed to help you
What should you do if you don’t know the terms in English?
Purchase (a journey to Sweden)
Transport in Sweden
Car rental in Sweden, driving style, convenient way to move around
Internet in Sweden, convenient format to use in whole Europe
Currency exchange: how to change money to krona
How to pay the seller (cash, bank transfer, PayPal or even cryptocurrency)
What’s it worth taking with you before purchase? Things that need to be done before the trip.
Where to leave a sailboat after purchase and how much this may cost
Other nuances

Registration and insurance for the sailboat. Juridical aspects

Registration options
VAT rules
Insurance

Preparing a sailboat for sea passage

Preparing the boat for sailing (step-by-step plan)
The list of staff and equipment for sailing along the shore and at a distance from the shore (up to 20 miles, coasting)
The list of equipment and other important aspects for sea sailing
The list of staff and equipment for ocean sailing
The boat for coming ashore
The list of tools and repair parts which you should have
FAQ
Do you need radar on a boat?
Is AIS necessary?
Is a radio station necessary (VHF)?
Is a sat-phone necessary?
Is EPIRB necessary?
Is a life-saving raft necessary?
What life vests will you need?
Is an echo sounder necessary?
Will you need pyrotechnics on the sailboat?
My thoughts about rafts, AIS, radar, echo sounders, pyrotechnics and so on.
Other details on preparing the boat for sailing

Navigation (the weather, cooperation, map, navigators and so on)

Route planning
COLREGs
Paper maps (and what I think about them)
Reading paper maps
Code flags
Navionics in Europe, Africa and Asia. Navigator
Weather forecast, decision whether to come out to sea
What data to pay attention to while looking at the weather forecast
Wind force and wind direction
Important warnings
Wind flows
Waves direction
Thunder
Example of checking the weather forecast before sailing
Accuracy of weather forecasts and whether you can trust them
Mistakes in the forecasts
Meteorology
Some nuances from meteorology which you should know
Types of wind
Katabatic wind
White squall
Visual observation
Rules of the road with big vessels
Fog
2 nuances of tidal zones
Nuances with marinas
Nuances with currents
Sailing in tidal zones
Other navigational nuances

Anchorage

Anchorage
Some advice about anchorage
Anchor chamber and anchor winch: how to go without it
Why chain, not anchor rope?
How much chain should you drop for safe anchorage?
How to choose a place for anchorage
How to find good place for anchorage
What anchor to choose?
Anchorage in tidal zones
Other details

Earnings on a sailboat, receiving income distantly

Earnings on a sailboat (mini business-plan)
Remote income, working on the internet (the list of real options of internet jobs which you can cope with if you want to)

The journey. Route from Sweden to Tunisia

Fears (what I was afraid of and what really happened)
Preparing and timelines (or is it realistic to cast off within 5 days of the purchase?)
Route planning
Best time of the year for sailing in the Baltic and North Sea
Captain’s responsibility, relations between captain and crew
Logbook
Divers and people in the water
Nets and other fishery equipment
70% under the motor, 30% under sails or the other way around?
Weather priority depending on goals
What to do if the sailboat is grounded (2 ways)
Heel
Sea-watch
Food and cooking while sailing
Night sailing
Lifting and taking down the mast, is it difficult, how long does it take and how to lie it down. How much can it cost?
Autopilot aspects
Is genoa furler necessary?
Sails set. Are storm jibs necessary?
Sailing in Sweden
Kiel Canal, sailing through it. The nuances
Germany
Amsterdam
Belgium
The Channel
Normandy
Guernsey
Biscay
French canals and sloops
Why we chose not to sail in inner waters directly from Amsterdam or Normandy
French Riviera
Big sea sailing
Sardinia
Tunisia
Monastir

Mooring, entering marinas, mooring types (stern, force, on moorings, on buoy, on mooring finger, mooring nuances and so on)

Mooring, entering the marina
Sternway for long-keel sailboats
Mooring process
Mooring with a force to the pier
Mooring with a stern to the pier
Mooring alongside
Mooring with a stern to the dock
How many people are needed for mooring?
What speed is optimal for mooring?
Mooring under the sails
Last mile before the marina, preparing for the mooring
What lines will you need?
How many fenders will you need and how should you hang them?
Turning around in a narrow marina
What to do if the current is strong (e.g. 3-4 knots)?
What to do if the wind is strong?
Think about mooring strategy beforehand
Oars for mooring small boats
Problems during mooring
Mooring on a buoy
Pier with mooring fingers
Moorings
Mooring with casting on anchor
Mooring on columns
Springs
Thoughts on preparing to enter the marina
Must-know knots
Mooring ropes wheeze: what should I do?
What if ropes hit the mast?
Can I leave the sailboat for foreshore in a tidal zone?

Borders: opening and closure

Can I close the border in Europe and open it in Europe right after?
Common rules on the borders
Borders closure in Sardinia (before leaving for Tunisia)
Opening the borders in Tunisia, Bizerta
Opening the borders in Tunisia, Monastir
Malta and borders opening and closure
Opening and closing the borders in Italy (Licata and Siracusa)
Opening and closing the borders in Greece (Zakynthos)
Opening and closing the borders in Turkey
Formal procedures in France and Spain
Formal procedures in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Germany, Estonia, Latvia
Guest flags
Flag Q

Bureaucracy in different countries

Transit logs
Constituto
Blue card
Port clearance
Crew list
Insurances, minimal coverage
Other documents

Links

The list of important and useful sites
Yachting blogs
Yachting practice for €250-500 per week

Checklists

CHECKLIST: choosing a sailboat model
CHECKLIST: checking the sailboat before purchase

Important things that will save you a couple of thousand euro

Which offer is good, which offer is average and which one is so-so (how not to buy non-liquid goods)
How to buy a sailboat with consequential cash in big or even with revenue
How to bargain with the owner
How not to buy the equipment you may not ever need (the lists of equipment for sailing along the shore, for sea and for ocean sailing)
How to save money for marinas (2 days for the price of one), free staging posts, bargaining with marinas
Cheap yearly staging post contracts for your sailboat and where to find them
More lifehacks to save some money

The book contains info on all these themes and a short conclusion at the end of each theme.

GET THE BOOK

I change the book to 1 guest mooring fee for my boat — 35 euro.
I will answer all your questions for free after you read the book. I will also help you to buy a sailboat and arrange your sail route.

Email *

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