Sunsail Yachts

[redhead78]

Has anyone had any personal experience, or know anything about the Sunsail Yacht Partnerships. Anybody buy a boat with them?? Sounds like a timeshare of sorts. Or any of the other companies of simalar type. You buy a boat and they rent it for you and pay expenses, and you eventually own it. Anyone??? Red

 

[KD3PC]

looked in to the big shops like Sunsail...and went with a small Chesapeake charter for almost two years...worst decision in my life...

The hype is, the charter will pay for the boat payment...it might...but won't come close to paying the required commercial insurance, slippage at a much higher rate than you would get (they want the boat 3 steps from the office and pointed out to the cruising grounds) and 10-15 times the required maintenance - monthly, if not sooner, oil changes (and you can't do it, so it is at $$ shop rates), repair and replacement of required charter gear, cleaning, etc, etc, etc...and I do mean etc...then there is the whole accounting/tax/IRS thing, that costs extra every year and sometimes quarterly..

We had two charters in a row "loose the boats mooring lines" to the tune of $250-300 EACH time...they would not charge the forgetful charterers for the loss, as they did not want to "discourage one of the best charterers for next year". For every charter I could count on at least $100-125 in "lost" gear, plates, linens, lines, etc.

Then there is the boat...within the first year, the interior was trashed. One week someone "threw" vodka all over the bulkhead teak veneer and did not even touch it...I went down just to look at "my" boat...and saw the finish was trashed as were all the floorboards, cockpit and step overs to the cockpit.

If you don't mind getting a "10 year old" boat back after 2 or 3 years, then the program might be to your liking...for me

Not a chance, ever again...

 

[Winkfish]

Here are two posts I found on another forum by googling "Sunsail ownership reviews."

"We did it and we were very happy. At some point, I may do it again. We bought a Beneteau 40 CC with Stardust in 2001. They we acquired by Sunsail shortly thereafter and our boat was outfitted as a Sunsail boat. We had a 5 yr guaranteed income contract. At the end of the contract, they completely refitted the boat - did a great job (thank you Robert!) - and helped us put her in charter with BVI Yacht Charters where she now sits.
I'm not sure if Robert is still with them, bit, if he is, that is a big plus. Our boat was very well maintained.
All in all, it was a very positive experience."

"When you run the numbers on owning a boat with Sunsail the key varible is resale value. Because Moorings/Sunsail have not been known for their great maintenance and because of the sheer number of boats they dump on the market the resale value is often very low. As a example the 4700 Cat sold for as much as 539,000. Most were sold in the 469,000 to 489,000 range. Resale on those boats at the moment is around 260,000 to 290,000 and then you have to pay a 10 percent commission.
I can also tell you as a former owner the so called guarentee trade clause they offer is worthless unless when it comes time to trade your boat it is worth more then the contractual trade value. If it is worth less the Moorings/Sunsail will find ways not to honor the clause. If they do honor the clause they honor it only at full value on the new boat purchase while they are selling new boats with a big discount to new customers.
Those are the downsides. The upside is that the ability to use a boat anywhere in the world is great. The Moorings/Sunsail also has a outstanding owners representive. Not once when I wanted to go sailing did he not fail to find me a boat. He often would bend the rules to make things work out and was always prompt in getting things done.
One last point. The Moorings/Sunsail like to present the contract as a done deal. They want you to think every contract is exactly the same and there are no negotiations allowed. That is not true. In a buyers market like today you can ask for changes to the contract. More recip weeks in a location you really like are possible. Getting your owners per diem charge capped at 1 week is almost the norm so don't forget to demand that. The ability to sell more then 2 owners weeks is possible and the price and the monthly amount they gaurentee can be negotiated. The 384 looks like a nice boat and may be a hot seller but I doubt it in the current hard times. Push them hard for a better deal. Some of the above comments may not apply depending on how the Moorings is writing Sunsail contracts. The Sunsail contract was quite a bit different but I understand they are more alike now. Sunsail owners used to be able to sell all their weeks and did not pay per diem."

If you google, you may find further info. READ THE CONTRACT CAREFULLY if you do it. Good luck!!

 

[HukilauMike]

I remember that Sail or Cruising World did an article on the pros and cons of these deals not too long ago.