Testimonial: registering a Swedish boat in France

Searching for a cruising sailboat to sail across Europe, Victor and Guilhem found the sailboat of their dreams in Sweden. In early 2023, before delivering their boat to France, they trusted the teams at Bateau-immatriculation.com to handle the various administrative formalities for the vessel.

"We had been looking for a cruising boat for some time, and Guilhem and I became interested in **Sweden**," says Victor.

"Like **Norway**, **Sweden** is a territory known for the market of used 25 to 31-foot boats, generally very well maintained and much cheaper than in France. We saw several boats, particularly on social media, and we 'stumbled' upon one in particular that we really liked. Given its superb condition and all the equipment available on board, it was a very good deal."

In January 2023, the two Parisian friends traveled to **Sweden**, to the town of Smögen, to visit the vessel. Convinced, they purchased the sailboat, a Compis 28, for the sum of €4,000.

"In France, we would probably have had to pay €10,000 to €12,000 for a used boat like this, which surely would not have been as well maintained," Victor explains.

When purchasing the sailboat, Victor and Guilhem learned about Swedish boat registration regulations: within the territory, sailboats under 10 meters in hull length are not required to be registered.

Its owner is also not required to have specific equipment on board. And their Compis 28, named La vilaine fée, fits these specifications perfectly.

"For us, obtaining French registration for the vessel was absolutely essential. We absolutely had to obtain the French flag to be able to moor our boat year-round at the port of Le Havre. It would have been a "no-go" for us not to be able to register the vessel in France."

Wishing to offload a rather large administrative file, Victor and Guilhem decided to call upon our marine administrative professionals:

"We decided to contact the agents at Bateau-immatriculation.com and, in the end, all the formalities only took two weeks. They took care of everything, from A to Z: we simply bought the boat, then provided the bill of sale, the vessel model, some technical specifications, and a copy of the seller's ID card.

The Bateau-immatriculation.com team contacted all the administrative bodies and managed to obtain the boat's French registration, as well as new official documents. The payment of the Quitus fiscal and the TAEMUP was made through them, and we didn't encounter any particular problems during the import."

After the formalities were completed by our team of experts, Victor and Guilhem embarked on their grand journey.
Having returned to France in the meantime, they rejoined La vilaine fée in Smögen in May 2023. They then undertook the delivery trip from Sweden to France, with the port of Le Havre as their final destination:

"We had a tight schedule, with only 15 days to make the trip across the Baltic Sea, the Limfjord Canal in Denmark, the North Sea, and the English Channel.

Ultimately, it took us 13 days, sailing an average of 17 hours a day, with just the two of us."

Victor confides:

"As 'La vilaine fée' had always been very well maintained, we didn't experience any mechanical problems.

But if we had to do it again, we would plan for a minimum of one month and better equip ourselves. It would have been more comfortable to have an autopilot on board and a receiving AIS. Especially near the very large Dutch ports of Rotterdam and Bruges, where boat traffic is very heavy!"

He explains that the sailing conditions were sometimes very difficult:

"One of the most striking moments will remain the descent from Denmark, in a North Sea with short and breaking swells. We had chosen to sail along the Danish coast in one go but, halfway there, we lost all communication with land.

As for the weather, it turned out to be much stronger than expected: instead of 25 knots of wind, we sailed in 38 knots, with an offshore wind pushing us towards the open sea, into a wind farm.

The whole thing lasted 2 nights and 1 day, during which we wondered whether the mast or the rudder would give out first. We congratulated ourselves several times on having bought a 'Viking boat', capable of withstanding these conditions!"

Victor and Guilhem also, fortunately, experienced exceptional moments. During their crossing from the German archipelago of Heligoland to the islands of the Netherlands, for example, they recount that they enjoyed an incredible night, where they were able to sail with only 10 knots of wind, on a flat sea:

"The stars were reflected in the water and, thanks to the plankton, the boat left a photoluminescent wake behind us..."

Finally, the arrival in Le Havre with the French flag was easy, with no administrative problems for the sailboat's crew. Since then, with 'La vilaine fée' afloat near their home, they enjoy pleasant sails as often as possible.

Like Victor and Guilhem, would you like assistance with one or more administrative procedures for your boat?

Contact the Bateau-immatriculation.com crew without further delay!