I am sure you have your reasons…but I will be sad to see you go. You both have been so helpful with the information and inside looks you have provided. Probably the most useful of anybody I watch. Best of luck to you both for your future endeavors. Unfortunately I am not quite ready yet for my own boat…this is a missed opportunity that I think I will regret for years to come.
A few years too soon for me - I'm still saving up :-) Good luck with the sale. thank you for all the fantastic videos - I watched them all with great interest about all the features nooks and crannies of the Exploration 45. All the best for getting home safe and spending time with the family!
So sad to hear about you leaving Snow Gum. You have both been excellent brand ambassadors for Garcia and the next owner will surely be the luckiest sailor(s) on the water. Best of luck to you both!
Hi Billy. Thank you for your kind words. You’ve reminded me of a funny meeting. I was walking along a pontoon in a UK marina when I heard Carolyn’s voice. I stopped and turned my head, a bit confused. A guy sitting in his boat’s cockpit looked up, nodded hello, turned his eyes back to his tablet, then looked up again and started pointing at his screen and me. Then I heard a voice like mine on his tablet. We both realised at the same time - a classic RUclips moment. LOL! I enjoyed a good chat with the guy and his wife and listened to get some local knowledge on tides and currents. His wife said something curious, when we were talking about their plans for a new boat. ‘It would be lovely to be sponsored like you guys are.’ I had to think for a second - what does she mean? ‘Ah, no, no, were not sponsored. We have no deal with Garcia at all. We just like showing people around the boat on videos. We know how useful it is to see this stuff when you’re boat shopping. And it’s fun.’ It took some doing to convince her and I’m not sure I actually did. 😄 Meeting people has been the best part, as expected. 🙂
Surprised, but can understand how the last couple of years changed expectations of “smooth” sailing. I wish I was ready for the purchase! All the best!. Will keep in touch. Cheers!
Ha! 🙂 No, we always thought three years would be our minimum time, possibly more, 6 months on, 6 months off. There have been many factors in our decision, all the usual ones; family, needing to be at home, other things we need and want to do. Covid and Australia’s lockdown has meant we’ve compressed three years of ownership into 16+ months of living aboard, a very comfortable and capable yacht. It’s been stimulating and fun and our relationship is better than ever. And then there’s the timing. Let me paste in some words I just wrote on Facebook - There’s no mystery about it. It’s exactly as I say in the video. Now is the most perfect time for us to keep the boat, which also makes it the perfect time to sell the boat, and the perfect time for someone to buy the boat. We’ve had a great time doing this sailing thing, in an amazing boat. An adventure such as our short journey with Snow Gum after a long career of seriousness is like eating a delightful, creamy, sponge cake after a big meal of steak and vegetables. It’s lovely, but you don’t have to keep eating cake for ever!
Que pena amigos. Pero lo aprovecharon a concho y ahora hará felices a unos nuevos muy afortunados propietarios. Gracias por los videos y el cariño. Buen Viaje.
WOw... well kinda saw it coming of could have just been seeing things.. she was struggling and didn't see the sparkle anymore in her eyes as i saw in the beginning.. Hope all the best for you.
Hi Kaliber. We are not European citizens and took our new build yacht out of the EU, thereby avoiding French VAT. Our boat was registered in Australia as required by Australian law but Australian import duty and GST does not become payable until actual import of the boat to Australia. BTW, for any Australians reading this, it is possible to stop in at Australian ports as you sail past, for shelter from a storm or other safety related reasons (food, fuel), without needing to pay tax, but don’t linger. 🙂
Hi Jock. I looked closely at an OceanVolt system while speccing the boat. It looked to be an excellent solution but the cost was more we wanted to spend. And we intended to use the motor, whether diesel or electric, as little as possible. So a simple Volvo D2-75 emerged as the best choice. The work to get us going again is progressing and the engine appears to be in very good shape from all the tests done. The flywheel has been replaced, along with the coupling, coupling bolts, flywheel housing and gearbox. Next week Volvo and I will install the prop shaft, the shaft seal and cutlass bearing. Garcia will do the Gori folding propeller installation. Then it’s back into the water for some testing, which I expect to go well. Regards, Rick.
@@DNN88 LOL! Hi John. Hi Daan. The first thing we’re going to do is get the engine problem sorted out, with full cooperation from Garcia and Volvo. But I know you meant once we’re not Snow Gum sailors anymore. Well, now that it’s legal to go back to Australia, we’ll go home and give our lovely children a hug and do some house maintenance. After that, the world is our oyster. 🙂
Sorry to hear that. I am hearing quite many people having problems with Volvo engines, not sure why they are still proposed by top brands such as Gracia as their default engine. I would think that Yanmar is a better option.
Hi Bernard. When we were assessing boats I was happy with Volvo Penta as Garcia’s choice. The D2-75 is a simple, straightforward and usually reliable engine. An owner with reasonable skills can maintain it, given availability of parts. That was a plus for me. The trouble we have had is bothersome, no doubt. What I will also say is that the response and support from Volvo, their service agent and Garcia has been superb. An owner couldn’t ask for better. We are working together on a solution, carefully and prudently. Any propulsion system can have problems; what matters is the support you get. 🙂
@@SailingSnowGum “great customer service” for a transport engine is an oxymoron. The correct term is “damage control”. I’ve been the beneficiary of two brilliant Honda car engines and two brilliant Toyota engines that I depended upon with my life. The Garcia 45 is a defective product due to use of the unreliable Volvo engines. I would literally give up sailing rather than deal with a yacht that left me stranded more than once. I also heard sister company Allures having issues with the centerboard cracking and in some cases falling off in middle of ocean. I believe Garcia can rectify these issues with time if motivated.
Hi Dr Lv. Thanks for asking this question. No, we’re not getting a Boreal now. For the moment we are enjoying being on land after 18 months living aboard, during the worst of Covid, in Europe. We learnt a lot, about yachts, about sailing, about the sailing lifestyle. We’re mulling over options, with this greater knowledge. Re Boreal, I did look closely at their models in 2018, along with Amel, Hallberg-Rassy, Najad, X-Yachts and Bestevaer. For crossing big oceans or circumnavigating or extreme exploration sailing I see big pluses in a strong, safe aluminium hull such as with a Garcia or Boreal. However, undertaking those kinds of journeys isn’t mandatory or necessarily sensible, considering all that can go wrong, boat-wise, health-wise, hassle-wise. We’re presently of the view that if we buy a new boat it will primarily be for fun, recreation and enjoyment, more-so than adventure and challenge. As such, a fibreglass boat that’s oriented towards performance cruising comes back into contention. I’d be happy to get into detail about these choices and sailing lifestyle issues with folks who are tossing around their ideas. Regards, Rick.
Hi dwk. Our weirdo Aussie accents are the clue. The boat was built in France for non-EU buyers (us, Australian citizens), so EU VAT is not payable provided the boat is exported from France/the EU, which it was. While I could have applied for Dutch citizenship, to make staying in the EU easier, we would have been liable for VAT immediately, so I didn't do that. UK sales tax was not paid, as we are not UK citizens and only visited there. The Australian import tariff of 5% and GST of 10% would only become payable if we landed in an Australian port for longer than refueling/water/food or taking shelter from a storm. So, no tax was paid, which made the boat attractive to EU or UK folk, especially if they are sailing away from their home straight away. Let me know if I can provide more info. Regards, Rick.
Thanks for all of the great technical walk throughs over the past year and a half. I'm outfitting our new (used) 15 meter sailboat now and would really appreciate some pointers From someone with a technical mindset, I'd love to hear what tools you found most useful during your time onboard. Did I see a box of Wera tools in the Webasto video? Anything still unused in the box? Thanks for the wonderful distraction over the past months. It's made this screen bound employee a little happier.
Hi Douglas. Buying this boat was just an excuse to get some good tools. 😄 Being in Europe, German tools were my primary target. Wera for three socket sets. Knipex for sets of electrically safe pliers, water-pipe pliers and long nose/long handle pliers. Tired, old hands need these. Wera Joker wrenches and Wera screwdrivers. Some cheap flatheads for levering, where needed. And the piece de résistance - a full set of amazing Metabo power tools. Love those. With these tools, I love it when something needs to be adjusted. 😊 A suggestion - I bought a long, four claw, push button grabby thing with magnet. It’s a flexible, non-springy gooseneck one. It’s handy, but I also need one that is stiff; still somewhat flexible, but springy. The stiff version would be great for swishing around a sponge or paper towel deep in the bilge and hard to reach places. I am a dusting, cleaning, polishing demon after all! I also have a bridge I can sell to you. Please ask if you have any tool queries. The only tool that didn’t get used was the Metabo circular saw. It came with a large kit buy, I did have plans for it - cutting ply for some custom epoxy covered storage boxes, etc.
@@SailingSnowGum Perfect and very much appreciated. I too like a good maintenance procedure or re-torquing. With the exception of the springy claw and pipe pliers, most of those I already own but CLEARLY I need a dedicated boat set as well. Thanks again for sharing your experience. Great stuff!
@@douglasaverill9972 Douglas, if you need a formal certificate authorising the necessary acquisition of essential boat tools, Carolyn will be happy to sign one for you. She’s always the approver for my purchases. 😳 I do make a very good case though, every time. ‘Darling, the boat could sink if I don’t have this tool. Just letting you know.’
Hello. I follow you and to be honest, what disappointed you? I dream of buying this boat, but the secondary market has become active... Pete Goss, Chloe... a question...
Hi lurii. Rest assured. The hardest part in our decision to offer this magnificent boat for sale was how sad we will be to leave it. I will be crying and I think Carolyn will be too. We have had such a wonderful and exciting retirement adventure. However, I am looking forward to seeing our beautiful children and my elderly father. We originally planned to spend a minimum of three years sailing, with six months on the boat then six months back in Australia. Covid has meant that this became 15 months on the boat so far and zero months back in Australia. By the time we get home, after about 18 months on the boat, we will have matched our original timeline, just in a different way. The high level of comfort and the wonderful view through the windows has made living on this boat enjoyable and interesting. We are retired Defence civil servants, not actors. What you see in our videos is the real thing! 🙂 Did you have a question? Regards, Rick.
Just found your channel. Question, so if you are Australian, why would you pay EU or UK tax? Unless you flag your boat there I see no reason. Hope you get this wonderful boat sold. Personally I am looking at either a Garcia 52 or a St Francis 50.
Hello Magnus. We didn't pay either EU or UK VAT. And, because we hadn't sailed Snow Gum back to Australia, we didn't pay Aussie import duty and GST either. This is what made our boat attractive to people who would not be bringing the yacht to their home country, or don't have tax on yachts to pay there. Thanks for your good wishes. Snow Gum was sold very soon after this video was uploaded. :-) These are good boats! Regards, Rick.
Hi Brett. We bought a 45 because we wanted a big, safe boat. But not too big. It’s really in the Baby Bear zone, size wise. Just right. Also, thanks for implying we’re senior sailors. Or did you just mean ‘old’? 😄 Regards, Rick.
@@brettharrison2237 Nice escape. 😉 It is the comfort of this boat and the enjoyment of being in this boat that has not only kept us sane over the last 15 months of confinement, but has lifted our long and loving relationship to a new level. I’m not sure this would have happened if we didn’t feel safe and if we didn’t have such a good view of the world going on around us. 🤗
@@SailingSnowGum half your luck! Many of us have enjoyed following your journey whilst stuck at the mercy of state premiers, so it’s helped us too. Enjoy what’s next!
Hello. You said in the video that you would leave contacts for communication if you are interested in buying. I'm interested in buying, but there are no contacts under the video. They themselves said that someone would come with a bag of money and say that this is already my boat ...) How to contact you? Best regards, Paul.
@@sailingfinexplorer We’ve had a ton of emails, so the About page must be there. 🙂 Please have another look, but do get back to me if you can’t find it.
Hi Barry. Firstly, Snow Gum has been sold to a lucky new owner. Our decision to sell was both easy and difficult. Easy because we knew that this excellent boat would be easy to sell. Difficult because it's an excellent boat and we knew we would miss the ongoing adventure. However, Covid really messed up our plans, such that we were unable to follow the six months on/six months off schedule we originally intended. As such, we spent an uninterrupted 18 months on Snow Gum, in one hit and without interruption. We realised we'd spent the amount of time living on a sail boat that we'd intended and it was the perfect time to sell - so we did. A point we want to make is that we're glad the Garcia Exploration 45 is such a good boat to live on. The view from the galley and saloon is wonderful and makes life onboard so much more enjoyable, in harbour and out at sea. The boat is comfortable and quiet, with excellent facilities - for a boat. In summary, our decision to sell was not about the boat (other than it being easy to sell!) but was about having spent enough time living on a boat and needing to get home for family reasons. Regards, Rick.
Thank you for your feedback. I am a real Russian and at the moment I remember everything and why I am .... Slavic mentality, sorry. I communicate with you through an interpreter. Sorry one more time. In the morning I will study your answer because "balalaika, bear, matryoshka")))))
I have put 350,000 miles each on two different Japanese made Honda Civic cars and currently 250,000 miles on the original engine and transmission of my South Korean made Kia Soul. We Americans - many who heavily rely upon our cars to keep us from going homeless or crazy - know we can *ONLY DEPEND* upon East Asian made engines and to a lesser degree, American made Ford engines. We know European made engines are absolute rubbish. Go down the whole list from England to Russia and everything made in between. Trash as far as reliability is concerned. In a Blue water sail yacht you need a 100% reliable motor to keep off the rocks, motor when no wind, etc. I pray that by 2032 (when I might be able to afford a small yacht) that Garcia, Allures, Amel etc have all switched to using Yanmars, or other reliable engines. BTW, I heard an Amel rep say in a recent RUclips video that they are considering switching over to Yanmar engines.
There’s a lot to be said of living in a land based home in a peaceful and clean community of like minded people. Also these new yacht interiors let in too way much sunlight. It’s like living outdoors all day. Get your funds. Put it on Tesla stock for five years. Do Not watch the stock price daily. In meantime rent a cheap apartment in developing country and do some backpacking together from your home base. Cash out your Tesla in five years and get an Amel 50 or small 40 footer for the Bahamas and med
You could charge for providing advice Andre. Friends of ours are on an Explo 45 in the Bahamas right now. These boats certainly do not let in too much sunlight. I think the bus has been missed on Tesla stock. 🙂
@@SailingSnowGum I said the same thing to a colleague in 2007 regarding Apple stock when she asked my opinion. (I told her the train had left the station, no more good returns because Apple sales can’t grow substantially, etc.) Fortunately she ignored me. The $10,000 she placed in AAPL would be worth $340,000 today had she not withdrawn. She did withdraw and still has $80,000 from her original investment. Musk will prove to be one of the great industrialists in American history. Tesla earnings will grow exponentially over the next 15 years, and investors willing to pay high price for such guaranteed returns. PE ratio will come down as Earnings grow. The risk will be seen as low and stock price increase will be steady and substantial.
Hi David. Your statement is rather a sweeping one. It could be that you’re seeing exactly what you’re meant to see, which is some owners who are quite open and public with their Garcia experiences doing exactly what they intended - selling them after a couple of years when they are highly sought after. Aventura IV, Pearl of Penzance, French Kiss, Chloe, Snow Gum. All were visible online in one way or another, as the owners intended. Here’s a hint for you - if you ever buy a new boat and think you might sell it after a couple of years, firstly, buy one that is going to be easy to sell because it’s a great design and secondly, make sure people get to see how good it is with videos that show it off. 🙂
@@SailingSnowGum Jimmy kept his Garcia for 2 or 3 years, then sold it on, the next owners only kept it for a couple of years. The folks at Sailing Chole didn't seem to keep theirs for long either. Likewise Pete Goss. I'm intrigued, is all. People tend to buy the Boreal's and keep them much longer. I know you'll have no problem selling the boat just a shame to see an end to your videos.
@@davidwass9996 As mentioned, one factor in selling a boat is how easy it is to sell. These boats are easy to sell. Perhaps others aren’t? Pete’s Garcia sold within six hours of being listed. We were determined to sell ours within six seconds of announcing our price in a scheduled video, but it sold before we were ready to release that. So we say it sold in zero seconds. 🙂 A major factor in choosing this boat was my judgement that it would be easy to sell and so it has proven to be. Keep in mind that most owners keep their boats for a long time. You just don’t hear from them. We met the owners of Exploration 45 No 2 a few months ago. They’ve had it since new and are very happy. 😄
It boggles the mind that Garcia Yachts and Amel Yachts and many other high end yacht makers are still using crap Volvo engines in these million dollar blue water yachts. The Volvo sales rep must be one pretty lady! 👩🦰
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you both for providing so much valuable information on the Garcia Exploration 45.
Wow ! Didn’t see that coming… Thanks for all of the great information in the videos, and good luck with whatever the future holds for you both…
I am sure you have your reasons…but I will be sad to see you go. You both have been so helpful with the information and inside looks you have provided. Probably the most useful of anybody I watch. Best of luck to you both for your future endeavors. Unfortunately I am not quite ready yet for my own boat…this is a missed opportunity that I think I will regret for years to come.
All the best and thank you .
A few years too soon for me - I'm still saving up :-) Good luck with the sale. thank you for all the fantastic videos - I watched them all with great interest about all the features nooks and crannies of the Exploration 45. All the best for getting home safe and spending time with the family!
Thanks Pieter. Of misschien moet ik u hartelijk bedanken en het allerbeste voor u.
Would be great if you could post some video of the engine replacement.
So sad to hear about you leaving Snow Gum. You have both been excellent brand ambassadors for Garcia and the next owner will surely be the luckiest sailor(s) on the water. Best of luck to you both!
Hi Billy. Thank you for your kind words. You’ve reminded me of a funny meeting. I was walking along a pontoon in a UK marina when I heard Carolyn’s voice. I stopped and turned my head, a bit confused. A guy sitting in his boat’s cockpit looked up, nodded hello, turned his eyes back to his tablet, then looked up again and started pointing at his screen and me. Then I heard a voice like mine on his tablet. We both realised at the same time - a classic RUclips moment. LOL! I enjoyed a good chat with the guy and his wife and listened to get some local knowledge on tides and currents. His wife said something curious, when we were talking about their plans for a new boat. ‘It would be lovely to be sponsored like you guys are.’ I had to think for a second - what does she mean? ‘Ah, no, no, were not sponsored. We have no deal with Garcia at all. We just like showing people around the boat on videos. We know how useful it is to see this stuff when you’re boat shopping. And it’s fun.’ It took some doing to convince her and I’m not sure I actually did. 😄 Meeting people has been the best part, as expected. 🙂
Surprised, but can understand how the last couple of years changed expectations of “smooth” sailing. I wish I was ready for the purchase! All the best!. Will keep in touch. Cheers!
You have pretty well nailed it Paulo.
Beautiful boat. I hope the new owners film their adventures and bring us along.
That’s sad really 😢 I was hoping to see you guys sailing around the world 😊
Lol so I’ve been subscribed to an elaborate long-run guerilla ad this whole time
Ha! 🙂 No, we always thought three years would be our minimum time, possibly more, 6 months on, 6 months off. There have been many factors in our decision, all the usual ones; family, needing to be at home, other things we need and want to do. Covid and Australia’s lockdown has meant we’ve compressed three years of ownership into 16+ months of living aboard, a very comfortable and capable yacht. It’s been stimulating and fun and our relationship is better than ever. And then there’s the timing. Let me paste in some words I just wrote on Facebook - There’s no mystery about it. It’s exactly as I say in the video. Now is the most perfect time for us to keep the boat, which also makes it the perfect time to sell the boat, and the perfect time for someone to buy the boat. We’ve had a great time doing this sailing thing, in an amazing boat. An adventure such as our short journey with Snow Gum after a long career of seriousness is like eating a delightful, creamy, sponge cake after a big meal of steak and vegetables. It’s lovely, but you don’t have to keep eating cake for ever!
Que pena amigos.
Pero lo aprovecharon a concho y ahora hará felices a unos nuevos muy afortunados propietarios.
Gracias por los videos y el cariño.
Buen Viaje.
WOw... well kinda saw it coming of could have just been seeing things.. she was struggling and didn't see the sparkle anymore in her eyes as i saw in the beginning.. Hope all the best for you.
Ha ha ha! Carolyn says, in her best impression of Dori from the Hobbit, ‘Don’t blame me!’ LOL!
Can you please explain how you were able to not pay tax? This is very interesting and people would like to do the same.
Hi Kaliber. We are not European citizens and took our new build yacht out of the EU, thereby avoiding French VAT. Our boat was registered in Australia as required by Australian law but Australian import duty and GST does not become payable until actual import of the boat to Australia. BTW, for any Australians reading this, it is possible to stop in at Australian ports as you sail past, for shelter from a storm or other safety related reasons (food, fuel), without needing to pay tax, but don’t linger. 🙂
@@SailingSnowGum Thank you.
Have you thought of replacing the Volvo engine, perhaps with a Beta Marine hybrid diesel/electric drive system, run silent when necessary?
Hi Jock. I looked closely at an OceanVolt system while speccing the boat. It looked to be an excellent solution but the cost was more we wanted to spend. And we intended to use the motor, whether diesel or electric, as little as possible. So a simple Volvo D2-75 emerged as the best choice. The work to get us going again is progressing and the engine appears to be in very good shape from all the tests done. The flywheel has been replaced, along with the coupling, coupling bolts, flywheel housing and gearbox. Next week Volvo and I will install the prop shaft, the shaft seal and cutlass bearing. Garcia will do the Gori folding propeller installation. Then it’s back into the water for some testing, which I expect to go well. Regards, Rick.
What are you both going to do now? Will you buy another boat?
I think they secretly bought an Explocat 😎
@@DNN88 LOL! Hi John. Hi Daan. The first thing we’re going to do is get the engine problem sorted out, with full cooperation from Garcia and Volvo. But I know you meant once we’re not Snow Gum sailors anymore. Well, now that it’s legal to go back to Australia, we’ll go home and give our lovely children a hug and do some house maintenance. After that, the world is our oyster. 🙂
@@SailingSnowGum I wish you both the very best; it's been wonderful to tag along on your adventure! 😊⛵️
@@johnratcliffe6438 Thanks John. There’ll be more videos so stick around for a while. Regards, Rick.
@@SailingSnowGum ah an Oyster 😉
Sorry to hear that. I am hearing quite many people having problems with Volvo engines, not sure why they are still proposed by top brands such as Gracia as their default engine. I would think that Yanmar is a better option.
What sort of problems are you hearing?
Garcia & Volvo are not enjoying this PR, one assumes
Hi Bernard. When we were assessing boats I was happy with Volvo Penta as Garcia’s choice. The D2-75 is a simple, straightforward and usually reliable engine. An owner with reasonable skills can maintain it, given availability of parts. That was a plus for me. The trouble we have had is bothersome, no doubt. What I will also say is that the response and support from Volvo, their service agent and Garcia has been superb. An owner couldn’t ask for better. We are working together on a solution, carefully and prudently. Any propulsion system can have problems; what matters is the support you get. 🙂
@@SailingSnowGum “great customer service” for a transport engine is an oxymoron. The correct term is “damage control”. I’ve been the beneficiary of two brilliant Honda car engines and two brilliant Toyota engines that I depended upon with my life. The Garcia 45 is a defective product due to use of the unreliable Volvo engines. I would literally give up sailing rather than deal with a yacht that left me stranded more than once. I also heard sister company Allures having issues with the centerboard cracking and in some cases falling off in middle of ocean. I believe Garcia can rectify these issues with time if motivated.
@@andre1987eph If an engine by Toyota was on offer, I think a lot people would go for that. My old Landcruiser hasn’t missed a beat in 29 years.
Are you getting a Boreal now?
Hi Dr Lv. Thanks for asking this question. No, we’re not getting a Boreal now. For the moment we are enjoying being on land after 18 months living aboard, during the worst of Covid, in Europe.
We learnt a lot, about yachts, about sailing, about the sailing lifestyle. We’re mulling over options, with this greater knowledge.
Re Boreal, I did look closely at their models in 2018, along with Amel, Hallberg-Rassy, Najad, X-Yachts and Bestevaer. For crossing big oceans or circumnavigating or extreme exploration sailing I see big pluses in a strong, safe aluminium hull such as with a Garcia or Boreal. However, undertaking those kinds of journeys isn’t mandatory or necessarily sensible, considering all that can go wrong, boat-wise, health-wise, hassle-wise. We’re presently of the view that if we buy a new boat it will primarily be for fun, recreation and enjoyment, more-so than adventure and challenge. As such, a fibreglass boat that’s oriented towards performance cruising comes back into contention.
I’d be happy to get into detail about these choices and sailing lifestyle issues with folks who are tossing around their ideas.
Regards, Rick.
what are you asking for your sail boat?
Money.
How did you manage to mitigate the tax element?
Hi dwk. Our weirdo Aussie accents are the clue. The boat was built in France for non-EU buyers (us, Australian citizens), so EU VAT is not payable provided the boat is exported from France/the EU, which it was. While I could have applied for Dutch citizenship, to make staying in the EU easier, we would have been liable for VAT immediately, so I didn't do that. UK sales tax was not paid, as we are not UK citizens and only visited there. The Australian import tariff of 5% and GST of 10% would only become payable if we landed in an Australian port for longer than refueling/water/food or taking shelter from a storm. So, no tax was paid, which made the boat attractive to EU or UK folk, especially if they are sailing away from their home straight away. Let me know if I can provide more info. Regards, Rick.
Thanks for all of the great technical walk throughs over the past year and a half. I'm outfitting our new (used) 15 meter sailboat now and would really appreciate some pointers From someone with a technical mindset, I'd love to hear what tools you found most useful during your time onboard. Did I see a box of Wera tools in the Webasto video? Anything still unused in the box? Thanks for the wonderful distraction over the past months. It's made this screen bound employee a little happier.
Hi Douglas. Buying this boat was just an excuse to get some good tools. 😄 Being in Europe, German tools were my primary target. Wera for three socket sets. Knipex for sets of electrically safe pliers, water-pipe pliers and long nose/long handle pliers. Tired, old hands need these. Wera Joker wrenches and Wera screwdrivers. Some cheap flatheads for levering, where needed. And the piece de résistance - a full set of amazing Metabo power tools. Love those. With these tools, I love it when something needs to be adjusted. 😊 A suggestion - I bought a long, four claw, push button grabby thing with magnet. It’s a flexible, non-springy gooseneck one. It’s handy, but I also need one that is stiff; still somewhat flexible, but springy. The stiff version would be great for swishing around a sponge or paper towel deep in the bilge and hard to reach places. I am a dusting, cleaning, polishing demon after all! I also have a bridge I can sell to you. Please ask if you have any tool queries. The only tool that didn’t get used was the Metabo circular saw. It came with a large kit buy, I did have plans for it - cutting ply for some custom epoxy covered storage boxes, etc.
@@SailingSnowGum Perfect and very much appreciated. I too like a good maintenance procedure or re-torquing. With the exception of the springy claw and pipe pliers, most of those I already own but CLEARLY I need a dedicated boat set as well. Thanks again for sharing your experience. Great stuff!
@@douglasaverill9972 Douglas, if you need a formal certificate authorising the necessary acquisition of essential boat tools, Carolyn will be happy to sign one for you. She’s always the approver for my purchases. 😳 I do make a very good case though, every time. ‘Darling, the boat could sink if I don’t have this tool. Just letting you know.’
Hello. I follow you and to be honest, what disappointed you? I dream of buying this boat, but the secondary market has become active... Pete Goss, Chloe... a question...
Hi lurii. Rest assured. The hardest part in our decision to offer this magnificent boat for sale was how sad we will be to leave it. I will be crying and I think Carolyn will be too. We have had such a wonderful and exciting retirement adventure. However, I am looking forward to seeing our beautiful children and my elderly father. We originally planned to spend a minimum of three years sailing, with six months on the boat then six months back in Australia. Covid has meant that this became 15 months on the boat so far and zero months back in Australia. By the time we get home, after about 18 months on the boat, we will have matched our original timeline, just in a different way. The high level of comfort and the wonderful view through the windows has made living on this boat enjoyable and interesting. We are retired Defence civil servants, not actors. What you see in our videos is the real thing! 🙂 Did you have a question? Regards, Rick.
Just found your channel.
Question, so if you are Australian, why would you pay EU or UK tax? Unless you flag your boat there I see no reason.
Hope you get this wonderful boat sold. Personally I am looking at either a Garcia 52 or a St Francis 50.
Hello Magnus. We didn't pay either EU or UK VAT. And, because we hadn't sailed Snow Gum back to Australia, we didn't pay Aussie import duty and GST either. This is what made our boat attractive to people who would not be bringing the yacht to their home country, or don't have tax on yachts to pay there. Thanks for your good wishes. Snow Gum was sold very soon after this video was uploaded. :-) These are good boats! Regards, Rick.
Pete Goss has sold his GE45, Chloe has sold now Snow Gum….is the GE45 just that little bit too small for “senior sailors”?
Hi Brett. We bought a 45 because we wanted a big, safe boat. But not too big. It’s really in the Baby Bear zone, size wise. Just right. Also, thanks for implying we’re senior sailors. Or did you just mean ‘old’? 😄 Regards, Rick.
@@SailingSnowGum senior, as in comfort is important……I consider myself approaching that…..
@@brettharrison2237 Nice escape. 😉 It is the comfort of this boat and the enjoyment of being in this boat that has not only kept us sane over the last 15 months of confinement, but has lifted our long and loving relationship to a new level. I’m not sure this would have happened if we didn’t feel safe and if we didn’t have such a good view of the world going on around us. 🤗
@@SailingSnowGum half your luck! Many of us have enjoyed following your journey whilst stuck at the mercy of state premiers, so it’s helped us too. Enjoy what’s next!
Hello. You said in the video that you would leave contacts for communication if you are interested in buying. I'm interested in buying, but there are no contacts under the video. They themselves said that someone would come with a bag of money and say that this is already my boat ...) How to contact you?
Best regards, Paul.
@ 0:17 & @ 2:56 . 😁
Likewise! Where is the ‘about’ page? We are interested!! ⛵️
@@sailingfinexplorer We’ve had a ton of emails, so the About page must be there. 🙂 Please have another look, but do get back to me if you can’t find it.
Very curious what price you are looking for? Sorry didn’t see the email to ask
Hi Sara. I’m guessing you’ll be sending us an email. Standing by. 🙂 Regards, Rick.
@@SailingSnowGum you are right! I found it and just sent it! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Absolutely amazing vessel. I am about 800 k short 😂
Good luck selling it. I hope the replacement engine will be another brand.
What is the next step? Catamaran?
Hi Andrew. The only next step we have is to visit our family back in Australia, now that we’re actually allowed to get in there again.
But Why are you guys selling her.
Hi Barry. Firstly, Snow Gum has been sold to a lucky new owner. Our decision to sell was both easy and difficult. Easy because we knew that this excellent boat would be easy to sell. Difficult because it's an excellent boat and we knew we would miss the ongoing adventure. However, Covid really messed up our plans, such that we were unable to follow the six months on/six months off schedule we originally intended. As such, we spent an uninterrupted 18 months on Snow Gum, in one hit and without interruption. We realised we'd spent the amount of time living on a sail boat that we'd intended and it was the perfect time to sell - so we did. A point we want to make is that we're glad the Garcia Exploration 45 is such a good boat to live on. The view from the galley and saloon is wonderful and makes life onboard so much more enjoyable, in harbour and out at sea. The boat is comfortable and quiet, with excellent facilities - for a boat. In summary, our decision to sell was not about the boat (other than it being easy to sell!) but was about having spent enough time living on a boat and needing to get home for family reasons. Regards, Rick.
Thank you for your feedback. I am a real Russian and at the moment I remember everything and why I am .... Slavic mentality, sorry. I communicate with you through an interpreter. Sorry one more time. In the morning I will study your answer because "balalaika, bear, matryoshka")))))
I have put 350,000 miles each on two different Japanese made Honda Civic cars and currently 250,000 miles on the original engine and transmission of my South Korean made Kia Soul. We Americans - many who heavily rely upon our cars to keep us from going homeless or crazy - know we can *ONLY DEPEND* upon East Asian made engines and to a lesser degree, American made Ford engines. We know European made engines are absolute rubbish. Go down the whole list from England to Russia and everything made in between. Trash as far as reliability is concerned.
In a Blue water sail yacht you need a 100% reliable motor to keep off the rocks, motor when no wind, etc. I pray that by 2032 (when I might be able to afford a small yacht) that Garcia, Allures, Amel etc have all switched to using Yanmars, or other reliable engines.
BTW, I heard an Amel rep say in a recent RUclips video that they are considering switching over to Yanmar engines.
There’s a lot to be said of living in a land based home in a peaceful and clean community of like minded people. Also these new yacht interiors let in too way much sunlight. It’s like living outdoors all day. Get your funds. Put it on Tesla stock for five years. Do Not watch the stock price daily. In meantime rent a cheap apartment in developing country and do some backpacking together from your home base. Cash out your Tesla in five years and get an Amel 50 or small 40 footer for the Bahamas and med
You could charge for providing advice Andre. Friends of ours are on an Explo 45 in the Bahamas right now. These boats certainly do not let in too much sunlight. I think the bus has been missed on Tesla stock. 🙂
@@SailingSnowGum I said the same thing to a colleague in 2007 regarding Apple stock when she asked my opinion. (I told her the train had left the station, no more good returns because Apple sales can’t grow substantially, etc.) Fortunately she ignored me. The $10,000 she placed in AAPL would be worth $340,000 today had she not withdrawn. She did withdraw and still has $80,000 from her original investment. Musk will prove to be one of the great industrialists in American history. Tesla earnings will grow exponentially over the next 15 years, and investors willing to pay high price for such guaranteed returns. PE ratio will come down as Earnings grow. The risk will be seen as low and stock price increase will be steady and substantial.
No one seems to hang onto these yachts for long, even Jimmy didn't keep his long.
Hi David. Your statement is rather a sweeping one. It could be that you’re seeing exactly what you’re meant to see, which is some owners who are quite open and public with their Garcia experiences doing exactly what they intended - selling them after a couple of years when they are highly sought after. Aventura IV, Pearl of Penzance, French Kiss, Chloe, Snow Gum. All were visible online in one way or another, as the owners intended. Here’s a hint for you - if you ever buy a new boat and think you might sell it after a couple of years, firstly, buy one that is going to be easy to sell because it’s a great design and secondly, make sure people get to see how good it is with videos that show it off. 🙂
@@SailingSnowGum Jimmy kept his Garcia for 2 or 3 years, then sold it on, the next owners only kept it for a couple of years. The folks at Sailing Chole didn't seem to keep theirs for long either. Likewise Pete Goss. I'm intrigued, is all. People tend to buy the Boreal's and keep them much longer. I know you'll have no problem selling the boat just a shame to see an end to your videos.
@@davidwass9996 As mentioned, one factor in selling a boat is how easy it is to sell. These boats are easy to sell. Perhaps others aren’t? Pete’s Garcia sold within six hours of being listed. We were determined to sell ours within six seconds of announcing our price in a scheduled video, but it sold before we were ready to release that. So we say it sold in zero seconds. 🙂 A major factor in choosing this boat was my judgement that it would be easy to sell and so it has proven to be. Keep in mind that most owners keep their boats for a long time. You just don’t hear from them. We met the owners of Exploration 45 No 2 a few months ago. They’ve had it since new and are very happy. 😄
О боже, лодка уже продана?
예. 이들은 인기있는 보트입니다. 그것은 매우 빨리 팔렸습니다.
It boggles the mind that Garcia Yachts and Amel Yachts and many other high end yacht makers are still using crap Volvo engines in these million dollar blue water yachts. The Volvo sales rep must be one pretty lady! 👩🦰
Hi Andre. Your first version of this thought - the longer one - was an interesting read. Can you put it back? 🙂
@@SailingSnowGum ok I will try. RUclips deleting my longer comment.
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Wow ! Didn’t see that coming… Thanks for all of the great information in the videos, and good luck with whatever the future holds for you both…
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