Sweden Yachts 36 For Sale

This isn't our boat, but I saw it listed this week. It's interesting looking at all the little differences between this and ours.

SWEDEN YACHTS SWEDEN 36 - Listed at £68,000 GBP (31/09/2011)
"Stainless steel standing rigging renewed 2003 - 2005 Running backstays Furlex 300s roller reefing system 2008. Excellent sailing characteristics combined with comfort, high quality of finish and a classic style make the Sweden Yachts 36 a fast cruiser and a capable racer. Great accommodation with a very spacious saloon where you can easily seat 10 around the dining table, forward and aft double cabins and a well laid out, clean deck space. This boat has been well maintained and is an ideal yacht whether you want to race or cruise in comfort."

Sweden Yachts... back again?

The website recently changed to the above image. There's also the following article published on IBI News:

Sweden Yachts reconstruction on its way

By IBI Magazine/Lars-Åke Redéen

After filing for bankruptcy last year, Sweden Yachts is under reconstruction with three well-known persons in the lead. The goal is to keep production in Sweden and continue to produce high-quality boats with top handicraft.

"We will not make any official information about our plans until everything is set for the new company. For the moment we're going through a capitalising and reconstruction phase," says Lars Åhrén, marine consultant and chairman of the newly established company 'Europa till sjöss' (Europe at sea). This name will change to Sweden Yachts if everything goes according to plans.

"We will start production again with the strategy to keep our base at Stenungsund in Bohuslän on the Swedish west coast and build high quality boats with good craftsmanship."

Besides Lars Åhrén, the trio behind Sweden Yachts' future includes yacht designer Peter Norlin and Sven Enoch, former owner and managing director of the yard.

Sweden Yachts was founded in 1976 with the construction of Sverige for the America's Cup. Since then, the company has become one of the world's leading producers of high quality sailing yachts.

Before the bankruptcy, which involved one of the group's companies, Sweden Yachts built boats from 12m-24m (40ft-80ft).

Another argument for smaller boats

I was marina shopping at Southampton boat show this weekend. On the stand of one marina chain they were advertising a berth for a 10 meter yacht at £3700 per year. When we got the quote for our 10.9 meter yacht it was over £5100. Talking about this discrepancy revealed that it's because there's a tiered pricing structure. One rate for boats less than 10 metres and another for boats over 10 metres. This is standard practice and on the face of it is reasonable on the grounds that bigger boats tend to need deeper water and wider berths than smaller ones. 

However this presents a case for those considering buying for the first time or thinking of changing their boat that it's worth considering this difference when weighing up the options. For example: a buyer choosing between these two cruiser racers should consider the extra annual running costs even before a single mile has passed under their keels

Model	Sigma 33	Fastnet 34
Year	1985	1977
Asking Price	£22,000	£22,000
LOA:	9.88M	LOA: 10.4M
Marina Fees	£3,700 per annum	£5,100 per annum

That's a difference of £1400 every year, which you could think of in terms of taking a pay cut of £2200 per annum from your salary.

I'm clearly not advocating a buying a boat like buying a bag of veg ("I'll have 10M of of generic boat please") rather than selecting based on rich set of criteria (and emotions). I'm merely suggesting  to add it into the mix as another cost to consider.