this might help ...
A business friend with an MBA did an extensive study into investing in a new 40' Beneteau charter boat. He had his corporate CPA run the numbers presented by Moorings, Sunsail and others. It all boiled down to the fact that he would have a worn-out, paid-for boat in 5 years, with about 6,000 hours on the engine. There was no real-world financial model that showed a profit, especially if the engine lets go, etc. Personal use was a nice plus, but when the airfare was factored in, and lack of revenue for those weeks, again, weak numbers. His survey of owners indicated the boat being chartered an average of 20 weeks annually. Last week I heard of a Hunter 42 Passage owner that spent $30,000 putting the boat back in shape after it came out of charter service in Miami, though I have no idea what that included. We've chartered in the BVI's twice, for a total of 4 weeks. The Moorings docks in Tortola were full both trips...lot's of boats sitting idle, though May/June is not their high season. Personally, I could not take the stress of worrying about what was happening to my boat, but you might find a way to make the numbers work, especially if you are an airline employee and can fly for free. Hope this helps.
