Why We Would Never Charter Our Boat....

[Maine Sail]

This is pretty self explanatory. The owners of this LOVELY Hinckley, LARA entrusted their clients to charter their boat. This is what the poor owner got from the client they allowed to charter this boat..

They did not even know enough to understand basic Maine tides. That dock has about 10"-18" of water at low depending upon the tide.



As we approached the cove at Frenchboro Island, after a long hike, I thought it odd that a sail boat would be tied up to a "working dock" and ezpecially one that nearly flats out at low, but then I noticed it was a Hinckley and guessed they had some "clout" on this remote island and were only there temporarily?

Then something funny happened. I noticed the lack of the fully furled head sail, the poorly flaked main and the errant fender up near the bow hitting nothing. I mentioned to my wife "I am going to guess that's a charter, what a sweet boat to charter."....

A few hours later I looked up towards the head of the harbor:

I then went in for a closer look..

Please take a close look at the back stay. The darn thing is about 4-5 feet out of column and was bending the mast. A lesser boat may have suffered a failure but this was a Hinckley..

The next time I saw her she was back on a mooring.

It is sad that even an owner of a Hinckly can't qualify their own clients.

If anyone knows the owner of LARA please let them know about this as I would guess this is not what he signed up for when agreeing to charter their boat to these folks...

 

[RECESS]

Re: Why I Would Never Charter Our Boat....

That is painful to look at.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Re: Why I Would Never Charter Our Boat....

If that were your boat what would you do next? Shouldn't there be a survey? That backstay put a lot a pressure on all the rigging. Who will know though?

 

[kloudie1]

Having lots of dollars does not necessairly make one have lots of sense..

 

[Fly_H23]

Looks like there were plenty of moorings in the deeper water. And maybe the purpose of the dinghy wasn't understood?

 

[Ross]

The charter company qualified the customer by verifying the validity of the credit card or check. They are in business for the money and it ain't their boat.
I presume that you have sent the owner pictures?

 

[Warren Milberg]

I can't understand why anyone who could afford such a boat would put it up for charter in the first place.

Every charter boat I've ever seen has had a rough life and scars upon which its history can be read.

But man to I love Hinckely. The B-40 especially.

 

[zeehag]

painful to see this...hope it turns out better than looks.

 

[25yearslater]

Cheese and rice, even I remember a cruise to Portland Maine back aboard the Page. There was a Navy ship named Page tied up in front of us, but that's another story. The rise and fall of the tides there was amazing compared to our home port in Virginia. So much for ever considering providing YOT for charter even on the Great Lakes.

 

[zeehag]

in san diego the wannabe yachties furl their jibs like that-- they think is cool..i think is not bright. blows out in winds...purrty boat--i hope it isnt hurt from her experiences ...

 

[Phil Herring]

My first Moorings charter was in the BVI; I'd never sailed outside of Puget Sound and I admit I was nervous. I went down to the docks and watched the charters checking in after their week, only to see a Beneteau 50 come in too fast and hit the dock the dock so hard the bow raised up out of the water. For a second I thought it was going to jump the dock, but it slid back into the slip. At that moment I knew I was going to be okay.

 

[woodster]

Main...there is a great looking Hinkley up the street from Mike Turner down in Fair Hope....the next time i am down there i will try to gat a pic of it and post it here ...it will be on the hard..... but a boat like that looks good even if it was sitting on top of an out house.......

regards

woody

 

[njsail]

What a shame - I bet the people who chartered the boat were from an area without such huge tides. My first time in Maine (actually Casco Bay) decades ago I was amazed and taken by surprise at the 10+ foot tidal swing not to mention the tidal rips through the islands. I was accustom to 2 foot tides in the bays of NJ at that time. I feel for the owners. That is a beautiful boat.

That same week I watched a guy launching his motor boat by backing his brand new pickup back really fast down the stone boat launch....only problem is they were a little too slick and he launched the pickup. I was eating lunch and the guy swimming back to shore provided the entertainment.

 

[Kings Gambit]

I'm always astounded the lack of preparation that people seem to make for their charters and other ventures to sea. I chartered in British Columbia for three straight summers a few years back. I got charts of the area b/f I left, planned my route, and talked to people who had lived and sailed extensively in the region. Living in Florida at the time, I had studied charts only of that area, mostly around St. Petersburg. The charts of BC had new symbols not familiar to me. For example, the various symbols referring to tidal/current races and to rocks at various states of submergence (which are not common along the ICW of central west Florida). I also was warned about the high tidal range, and to beware of the tidal condition at all times.

My qualification to charter was a brief written test, followed by a run to the fuel dock and back. I surmised that the only things (skills) the charter company thought were important were whether or not I could approach a fuel dock without slamming into it, and whether or not I could get back into the slip w/o plowing into other boats (very tight harbors in Vancouver). They did, however, put a diver under the boat to inspect for damage before discharging the contract and returning my deposit. [By the way, the damage deposit is (or was) typically 1% of the value of the boat if it is a sailboat--more if a powerboat].

The last time I went, I was scheduled a boat w/o a working depth sounder. I refused it. The company offered me another, that one w/o a functioning Loran (/GPS). Of the two, I took the one w/the depth sounder but no e-navigation. If you have a tide chart/table, know the depth of the bottom and your draft, there's no excuse for what we have been shown.

And what question can one ask to disqualify such a client? Would you tie your boat to a floating dock at high tide, and leave it there until the tide runs out and it is aground? Uh-no.

 

[sinnettc]

It happens, though that doesn't make these any easier to look at . . . Anybody remember the old USCG 40 footers? They had about 18" of freeboard at the stern, if that. Sometime around 1975 they sent one out from the Jonesport CG base to rescue some moron who went out in bad weather. While towing the boat in they got swamped in following seas. The 40 footer was sent to Boston for a refit (all new electronics, engine overhauled, the works); on the way back up to Jonesport they stopped in Portland and someone tied it to the pier on an incoming tide. It had to go back to Boston again.

 

[Kings Gambit]

.

 

[Tim R.]

It's just one of those deals where one has to stop for a few moments and THINK about what he or she is doing, or about to do.

Agreed, including knowing which Portland you may be in. Portland, Maine.

It was probably my previous boss who was in the CG and was known for sinking boats.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Thanks, it seemed a long stretch from Boston to Portland, OR-- but since the author of that post was in OR---see what happens?

 

[sinnettc]

Thanks, it seemed a long stretch from Boston to Portland, OR-- but since the author of that post was in OR---see what happens?

Haha . . . I'm a cg brat. Dad was stationed at Southwest Harbor, on Mt Desert Island MAINE, at the time. We were transferred out here in 1977 and I ended up staying when they went home in 1980.

 

[Mike Turner]

Woodster and Main Sail - The Hinkley here is a 40' yawl. Story I heard is that the owner had some sort of disagreement with the yacht club over his slip, got angry and pulled the boat. It's been on the hard 6-8 months; has all the ports removed, I assume either for some sort of repair or painting of the deck/cabin sides. I'll see about getting a photo sometime next week after TS Lee finishes blowing through.