Don't Charter - Or - I am not that fond of charter ownership
I come at this from the other side.
I have a friend with a 2008 Beneteau Moorings 35.2, and I have a hunter H40
In a tough economic year, all of the charter companies had to swing deals up here to get the customers to come in . In her case, the charter company lowered the charter costs to the customers by 30%, the net result was still fewer charters, and 80% were only 3 or 4 days instead of the usual 7 days, this resulted in a over a 50% decrease in charter income, while all the associated costs for each charter were kept the same to the owner, insurance, moorage, turnaround fees, diving the boat, inspections etc.....not to mention the fact that their (the charter company) quality of repairs is non-existant and unwarrantied. (charter company says they had a good year.....dollarwise)
in 18 months..... she put in over 22K of her money, on top of paying full cash money for the boat, just so other people had the privelege of driving her boat. We have a short charter season up here, And with this company, that boat would need to be out 85 days a year at full price to break even with the summer fees, let alone what happened last year. The owner is a senior woman who does not do her own maintenance, Guess who was charged for everything. If I had known that it took 80 dollars and 2 people to turn a boat around in a slip, I would have set up a business doing that up there.
Look at it this way, She can only use the boat a week or 2 in our short summer and still stand a chance of getting enough income for a season. IF she left it in charter for a full five years, there would be 5,000 on the engine, significant chips, cracks, blisters and interior wear and tear that the charter company doesn't feel is their responsibility, and she would have 5 summers of no long cruises...... A serious issue for a senior.
Lets call it what it really is......
If she had just bought the boat new, left it in the slip, and only used it when she wanted it, She would be about 15,000 ahead in the game, her boat would be in pristine shape, she would still enjoy boating, and her boat would have higher value when she wants to sell it.
IF charter ownership covered all the expenses and purchase financing of a boat, then anyone could do it. We all know better. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
If you think that Charter is going to pay for your boat, and you are going to just sit their and collect the cheques............ forget it.
The system is rigged for the charter company.
Look at it his way, his fees cover everything that has to be done to a boat, he gets paid first, he gets paid most, and you are the bloke that put that money iin his pocket financing a boat dream. He has no capital outlay, everything is run at expense, and he is at your boat and you are at his mercy 1000 miles away, where you cannot check the workmanship, competetively bid a repair, or compel repair to your standards.
IF this is what you want to do..... great. have at it.
But you could just sign a 6K-12K check every year to a charter company, not show up to use the boat and still be money ahead.
I am not telling anyone to not go enjoy their boat, But if you really need to keep the boat systems checked and working, making a friend and familiarizing them with your boat, and letting them go out and use it every month or two......is thousands of dollars cheaper and better in the long run.
JMHO (just my humble opinion) Maybe its because I still work for a living (and am searching for a job right now) that this system bothers me so much. I am very glad that I do not keep my H40 in Charter.
Don't get me wrong. I beleive that some charters and most partnerships are great methods to ease the cost of ownerships.
But dont fall for the "free lunch" make all your expenses mentality. (if it was that easy, people with a lot of money would be doing it all the time......and they are not.) And when all is said and done, there is a lot of use on your boat.. and it is in worse shape and worth much less..... is that really what you want.
fair winds.
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