For much of the past decade, my wife Sally and I have been dreaming, planning and saving up to sail off on an adventure, together with our friends of the last 25 years, Nigel and Catherine Langhorn. Like many, the long and sometimes painful process of searching for a boat began online, before talking to brokers and finally, going and looking at boats.
We encountered several challenges in the second-hand market, the first among these being availability. Since the UK left the EU, purchasing a boat in Europe (whatever your cruising plans) and bringing it back to sail in the UK makes you liable for 20% VAT on the purchase price. Unless you can stretch your budget, that leaves you searching in the UK; a fairly small pool as we were to discover.
The internet is a
