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View Full Version : Importing a S/H jap boat



trev1
16-10-2008, 09:30 PM
I'm a long way from ready to buy but have any of you out there looked at the imported S/H japanese boat market? I realise I'd be buying basically sight unseen and without proper inspection but when you could get into a 26 footer for the price of a new 17 foot tinny you gotta wonder if it'd work out OK. I have a friend who's done it -- he bought a Bayliner and got it landed for around $35k in Australia and managed to not get burned. Most of the boats I have seen advertised are glass with Volvo Penta, Mercruiser or Yamaha in/out drives and from the pictures look to be in at least as good condition as some of the Aussie boats ( similar style) I've looked at.
So I'm wondering --- anybody done it themselves, or know someone who has and how did the deal go?

PinHead
17-10-2008, 04:46 AM
I know 2 people that have done it..one is an auto electrician and the other a marine mechanic so both had the skills to do a lot of the work themselves once the boats arrived. One boat was good..the other looked good in the pics but the other side had the gelcoat gouged in a few places and one of the motors was shot. Depends on what you are prepared to risk and spend on it once it arrives here.

TimiBoy
17-10-2008, 06:18 AM
If you're saving that much, it might be worth spending a little of that saving going over there to check the boat/s you want to look at.

I bought a second hand excavator - 1500 hours on the clock - out of Japan (early, had no $ for a new one) and it looked good when I received it. But when things started to go wrong which were consistent with a 5000 hour machine...

Different trade, but watch out for the same scam. Clocks can be changed, and sh!t can look pretty with the right paint job - you have to smell it to spot it!

Cheers and good luck,

Tim

Noelm
17-10-2008, 07:09 AM
be very careful with Boats from Asia, I know they are even cheaper than in the US, but most are very neglected and run down, but the biggest worry is Quarrantine from that region, I fellow I know has done it, and almost had to remove every piece of timber and furnishings from the Boat to get it cleared, then fumigation and some other odds and ends, I think the best bet would be to try to find a "start to finish" person that will take care of all that for you.

goldfish
17-10-2008, 08:35 AM
I looked seriously into importing one from the US (got to within 12 hours of signing the contract when i found one local) it all sounded very good at the start but then the ferther you get along the chain the more prices seem to add up & new things get added on. both from here & over there. it seems when you ask someone something you get a price then you find something else that is needed so you call the first back & get told ohh you want that aswell then that is $$$ extra. no-one seems to be able to say it will cost this amount of $ its all maybe or about ect. i was looking at doing it all myself as it seems so much cheaper that the organitions that do it. & ohh it is very very time consuming. when i first looked into it i was advised to forget it & buy localy (but i knew better. lol ) so in short i would say look localy & save yourself the head aches. but the savings that you think you will save at first glance do seem good but at the end of the day the savings arn't as big as you first think. if you go ahead with it tread very very carfully as you could end up with a $10k boat that costed you $40k.
cheers
rick.

Noelm
17-10-2008, 08:48 AM
thats what I was saying, there is shipping companies that will do everything including picking the Boat/Car up for you, loading, shipping, customs and delivery at this end, but of course they know how to charge, and you have no control over any of it!

Dirtysanchez
17-10-2008, 09:41 AM
[quote=Noelm;913837]be very careful with Boats from Asia, I know they are even cheaper than in the US, but most are very neglected and run down...


Amen to that Noel, a mate of mine was looking at one, and got someone on the ground to go and take more detailed pics inside and out.. The interior was thread bear in many places, and one of the legs on the sterndrive was close to falling off. Interestingly the pics they selectively put on the web showed none of this.

Sufficed to say he pulled out and bore the costs of a few hundred to have the local bloke check it over. Far better than the 20 odd grand he would have had to pay to get the boat back to working condition!! >:(

jimbo59
17-10-2008, 12:42 PM
Dont let all the negatives put you off , my mate got a pc26 out of japan and it was a good thing, tau have cheaper boats that the other mobs but you have to act quik to get the bargins they are only on the net for a few hours or even minutes,just look for ones that are low hour,clean ,serviced no bent props, legs nice and tidy ect ect.You can pick the best from the crap if you do your homework.

Noelm
17-10-2008, 01:13 PM
of course you can, but it is fraught with danger, unlike from the US it is far easier to get one from there, try getting a wooden item from Bali into Australia, that's what you are up against, I have checked it out for myself, and seen first hand a Boat cost a lot more than bargained for after clearance from Hong Kong!

wayneoro
17-10-2008, 02:27 PM
zillions get imported to nz cant be two bad a deal reason boats are so cheap there . had a look couldnt work the yen out . plus with our dollar so low might be a bad time anyway . they are mostly inboards which are pretty much poison here .

trev1
17-10-2008, 07:37 PM
As I said, I know I'd be buying basically sight unseen. The mechanicals aren't a problem , nor is the wiring but to get a good hull that is basically sound and well built for the sort of money they're asking, I find that hard to look past.
I know and accept that there will be a lot of work involved in making some of these boats reliable and seaworthy but for roughly half of the prices asked for S/H Australian boats its hard to not at least seriously look into them.