Ship or Sell

Hi all,

I live in Austin, TX and might be moving to Auckland, New Zealand soon for a job opportunity. I have a 2004 worlds edition boat from the mexico competition and keep it in great racing condition. I LOVE my hobie 16 and I know it's going to be hard to find another one that's in the good condition it's in and the year it is.

It costs about $5000 to ship to New Zealand. I bought the boat for $5000 a year ago and if I sell it I'm sure I could easily get $4000 for it because another similar boat recently sold on the forums quickly for $4000. The market is just smaller down there and I have a feeling I'm going to be browsing mainly old almost dilapidated boats. I would like some practical advice, ship it or sell it (and later buy another H16 in New Zealand)?

There is the possibility that the company that hires me will ship it for me, but let's assume that they don't.

Any thoughts guys?

All dollar amounts in USD.

what are you planning do do with your other possessions when you move (I'm assuming sell a bunch, but also keep a bunch)? Have you thought about getting an entire shipping container? Depending on other belongings, maybe you could fully disassemble (or not) and fit it in with your other items?

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2014 T2
past: 1974 H14

Really, I'm not sure how it will all work out. I'm a 23 yr old single male, no family, no girlfriend (unless her name is Hobie). So, really moving won't be much. Only other items I'll be taking will be my camping gear, some wall decorations, my dresser/closet of clothes, guitar, and my digital piano which is light and the size of a small desk. I'll probably leave my furniture here. So the only large item I'm thinking, other than the digital piano, is my boat.

I bet all my possessions that I would be taking would fit in your typical office cubical, if not half that size. Most of the nickel/dime (kitchen items, etc.) items I can just sell in a garage sale and repurchase after the move.

ah, yeah young and not many possessions, so that probably wouldn't make sense without company assistance. If it were me, I'd wait and see what sort of relocation assistance (if any) you get. But I can understand trying to figure out your options. Enjoy NZ if you get/take the job. I spent my final semester in college (2004) down on the south island in Christchurch (mostly snowboarding in the mountains). It's an amazing place.

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2014 T2
past: 1974 H14

Yeah, I had an internship in Chch in May-Aug 2014 doing tsunami modelling during college. Sadly, didn't get a chance to go skiing.

Christchurch was a very depressing place to live though. Must've been much prettier when you were there. Ever since the earthquake in 2011, it's been hard on them.

I'm pretty excited to go back, assuming I get the job.

A disassembled 16 isn't a bad item to ship in a twenty-foot container. Mast needs to go along a side and split between the comp-tip and the rest of the mast, but the hulls aren't that bad and the frame even less. Rarely are containers stuffed to the brim. So the first place I'd look is to see if I had a buddy who works for a company with international shipping.

There's also this company -- http://upakweship.com/shipping-containers/shared/ I know nothing about them, but I'd investigate them in your situation. Your weight isn't high, but the items are bulky. Cost should not be too bad on a space-available basis. I would suggest wrapping everything in bubble wrap.

I'll also check with a sailing buddy in Auckland. He might have some ideas. Understand that the bigger the port the cheaper the rate, but the harder it is to get to wherever you end up living. You know all those big pickup trucks in Texas? The ones that you could easily load a 16 on? They're not as common in the rest of the world.

You might also want to contact the people at https://www.facebook.com/Hobie-Sailing- ... 128612732/ They might be able to give you some good ideas.

Jim Clark-Dawe

Shhh, don't talk about my other girlfriend. Can't let my hobie know I'm cheating on her.

I'll be giving up my Ram 1500. The largest truck I ever saw while living in NZ was a Toyota Hilux, which is a wee bit smaller than your standard Tacoma. Still, I'll be downgrading to something much smaller after the move, to what I'm unsure as of right now.

Down here in NZ we have a buy and sell page called trademe - there are a few hobies on there,
We did have an arrangement if sellers on ebay etc to ship to a NZ Post depot in the states and then they ship from there to NZ- might be worth a call to them

I'm familiar with Trademe, I just have a feeling that to find another boat in great racing condition and of a rather recent year (and avoid paying high price for a new boat) is going to be hard to find.

Think of it this way, you spent 5000 on your boat, if you spend 5000 shipping, you have spent 10,000 on your boat. Is there a dealer down there? I'd think for 9-10000 you could find a pretty nice, recent used boat, or close to a new one.

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Well I think that last comment settles the debate. I'm going to sell it if I get the job.

Final job interview scheduled for Monday all. Wish me luck!

-Evan

Ah, but the $5000 you spent on it is sunk cost. The real cost of having your boat there is the shipping cost plus what you could sell it for. Can you get $5000 for it? And what do boats sell for there? I did a 3 minute google search for "Hobie cats for sale New Zealand" and prices look pretty high.

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Icebirds" - 1974 Skeeter iceboat
Too many canoes and kayaks

Ah, but the $5000 you spent on it is sunk cost. The real cost of having your boat there is the shipping cost plus what you could sell it for. Can you get $5000 for it? And what do boats sell for there? I did a 3 minute google search for "Hobie cats for sale New Zealand" and prices look pretty high.
Can you buy a boat in Australia and have it shipped? I presume it would be a lot lower shipping cost.

_________________
Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Icebirds" - 1974 Skeeter iceboat
Too many canoes and kayaks

Evan - I'm not sure if it really matters, but do they sell & race Hobie 16s in Australia & New Zealand with comp-tip masts?
Would you consider selling your 2004 Hobie 16 with a comp-tip mast over here in the USA; Buying another Hobie 16 with an all aluminum mast over there; and, Some day, selling your Hobie over there and buying another Hobie 16 with a comp-tip mast over here in order to race here again???
I'm sorry if this makes things more complicated, but you really should look into this & give it some thought.

My son, who is an ex-pat, has things in storage with us that he couldn't bear to part with, wants if and when he returns to the US, but were too expensive to ship. Depending upon how long you anticipate being in New Zealand that's an option you might want to look at.

As far as I know, Australia and New Zealand do not use the comp-tip. Only place that I know of is the US.

Getting shipping prices on a Hobie 16 involves being very careful in describing it. If you describe it without taking it apart, it's a problem. For example, if you say a 27' mast, that means a forty-foot container (about $5K). Take the mast apart, and you can use a twenty-foot container at $3k. If the width is really 7-11, that's fine, but if it goes over eight feet, that's an oversize container.

I'd also send an email to Matt Miller to find someone in Hobie's shipping department. Those guys know how to ship these boats, and can probably give you some good leads.

Cheap shipping is all about doing some looking and doing some thinking. For instance, LAX to Hong Kong to Auckland might be very cheap. Why? Because a lot of empty containers go LAX to Hong Kong. Drive you truck with the boat to Los Angeles, unload the boat, and sell your truck through someone who does consignment car sales. Hobie might be willing to stick it on one of their containers going to Auckland. My guess is they rarely max out the container. How about your classmates in school? Anybody working for a company that does shipping to that part of the world?

There's a dealer in Auckland -- http://www.nzwatershed.co.nz. Contact them. They have to have these boats shipped to them. I bet they have some good ideas. Also, a new Hobie 16 is $14,500 approximately in US dollars. That's going to be the starting point for used prices.

Jim