Show of hands: who actually chartered boats before buying?

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

It's a Myth that Chartering prepares you for Cruising.

Sure it can be fun, but vacation mode is totally different than Living Aboard Cruising Mode.

True, it doesnt prepare you for cruising, but if you've never spent extended time aboard a boat before it is one way to do that...which is WAY less expensive than buying a boat and only then discovering its not for you.

Ive run several classes/charters where the couples involved discovered it was not for them...good move. Ive also delivered a few brand new yachts to couples for whom I expect it did not work out. In one case, the wife who had never sailed got sea sick at the dock...oops.


We also had friends join us for about 10 days aboard our boat last year...they are NOT going cruising...unless the husband goes solo.

[Fernao]

Your commentas echo my thought process as my wife has never sailred befpre

[CatNewBee]

Originally Posted by Fernao

Your commentas echo my thought process as my wife has never sailred befpre

Makes sense if the question is, is sailing for you or not.

But chartering all different models first to find out which brand you want for cruising is waste of money IMHO.

[Fbfisher]

Originally Posted by Jammer

In another thread, there was advice given to someone new to cruising boats to go out and charter various boats to learn the market and determine their tastes.


This is all good in theory but I don't think anyone does it.


My experience is that people who buy sailboats figure out what they want either by sailing as crew with friends, or through articles, forum discussions, etc. The main reason being that chartering is a very, very, expensive activity and the range of boats you can experience that way is limited.

Well, it turns out that about 30% do.

Now that we know, what now?

Cheers!

[CatNewBee]

Originally Posted by Fbfisher

Well, it turns out that about 30% do.

Now that we know, what now?

Cheers!

Do what you need to do and what fits in your time schedule and budget. Either way can become a success story or a fail.

[MicHughV]

...you could always build your own boat, like I did.
Cost about 1/5 the price of buying a new one, but you have to figure in several years of labor.
But the end result will be a boat that you will know inside out!

Finally, without question, a good " used" boat is a better deal than a brand new one. It will likely be loaded with equipment and have had all the bugs worked out. Get a good surveyor before you buy !!! There is just a plethora of used boats on the market right now and you can spend a lot of time " looking"....while you size up what size, type, etc, suits your needs best. Probably piss of the broker...but hey...you are the one buying...
'jes sayin'.....

[NINJA PIRATE]

We had an amazing opportunity and a wonderful experience where we got to sail for 8 days in the BVI. I feel like our test was one of size and level of comfort and options and eventual livability. We had 3 boats in the end in mind but eventually wound up purchasing the exact boat that we chartered. We honestly did not ever sail the other 2 but did exhaustive research at various sail shows and walked on all of them but went off of price and options and we are confident that we have an amazing boat on the way and cannot wait till we close on her in September.

[HereAndNow]

We chartered 2 catamarans and spent a week training on a third.. One of the cats that we chartered was a Lagoon 450. We were very pleased with the Lagoon and ended up purchasing one.. With that being said, there were other cats on our list that we were willing to purchase based on feedback from others (without first chartering).. But a Lagoon 450 that met most of our criteria was the first boat to become available at the time that we had cash in hand and were ready to purchase..

[Saleen411]

Chartering cats over the years has DEFINITELY helped us decide which cats we won't buy.

[HereAndNow]

Originally Posted by Saleen411

Chartering cats over the years has DEFINITELY helped us decide which cats we won't buy.

Couldn't agree more!! There was one cat in particular that was a beautiful new design and seemed like a great spec.. So new that there was very little feedback from anyone but the brokers.. But after a week on the water, we knew FOR SURE that it was not for us!

[Caravela1986]

Charterring is very important to determine if you , your spouse, and possibly other family members really want to enjoy the cruising lifestyle. It is not for everyone. Cooking, bathing, sleeping arrangements, allocating water, .........etc are all issues to learn to live with. Some people can do it, others simply can not make adjustments to the lifestyle.

My wife and I chartered sailboats in Virgin Islands, Florida, and Chesepeake before buying a bluewater boat which we enjoyed 14 years in the Caribbean as liveaboards.

Many other cruisers lasted 2 years or less. Some of them had no idea differences between a 'bluewater boat" and a cruising boat suitable for protected waterways only.

The actual purchase of a boat is very, very expensive if you must sell it soon after purchase. It is not for everyone.

Charterring gives you time to consider your options. I recommend it.

[CatNewBee]

Charter boats and cruising boats are equipped very different. Also the layout is different, cruisers are more the owners versions, optimized for living, with reasonable storage, while charter boats are dessigned to put as many people as possible on board, many berths / cabins, many heads, no storage, no technology like watermaker, no radar, AIS, at least in Europe... They are designed for short coastal cruises under engine and marinas. Some even have the forward sail locker transformed into skipper | crew "cabins" and "heads" , awfull tight and unliveable places.

If you put your pets in such a cage PETA will sue you, I guess, crew has less rights / lobby.

[Caravela1986]

CatNewBee

Couldn't agree more with your post regarding charter boats and cruising boats. They are very, very different.

They are not the same. My tashiba 36 has many times more storage than a 50 ft charter boat : monohull or catamaran.

If you are new to cruising life style : your only choice is to charter a charter boat.
You can learn by chartering if you can adjust to the live aboard cruising lifestyle or not buy a one week or two charter. Life style, not boat.

If you want to learn about a cruising boat.............you must introduce yourself when chartering to a live aboard cruising couple on a cruising boat. If you are an extrovert, this can be easily accomplished. Just motor your dinghy along side, knock on the hull, and introduce yourself.

Many, many such charterers introduced themselves to us as we were live aboard cruisers in the Caribbean. You could recognize us when we flew the Commodores flag of the Seven Seas Cruising Association. There were others who were Rear Commodores or Full Commodores who flew their flags and welcomed Charterers.
We were not the only ones. We welcomed them aboard and showed them what constitutes a "bluewater boat" suitable for live aboard cruising lifestyle.

I'm sure there are many live aboard cruisers on the "Cruisers Forum" who could also welcome charterers in the same way as above. I encourage all to be as
welcoming.

Some but not all Brokers can show prospective buyers the difference between a cruising 'bluewater" boat and one that is not.

[Mickeyrouse]

We chartered a Hinckley Bermuda 40 in Maine. We bought one 4 months later.

[Indecenseas]

Originally Posted by Jammer

In another thread, there was advice given to someone new to cruising boats to go out and charter various boats to learn the market and determine their tastes.


This is all good in theory but I don't think anyone does it.


My experience is that people who buy sailboats figure out what they want either by sailing as crew with friends, or through articles, forum discussions, etc. The main reason being that chartering is a very, very, expensive activity and the range of boats you can experience that way is limited.

Yea I would agree.

Not sure if this helps but here's our take on things mid search...maybe a helpful thought for some. We've chartered recently and will likely do so maybe once more at max...but we certainly decided to look persistently for crew opportunities and spend more time sailing smaller dinghies and keel boats to really try and refine our skills, knowledge and understanding of sailing dynamics, relationship between, wind, sail, hull, swell etc. Even went out on a friends long keel boat for comparison even though we aren't in the market for a long keel vessel.

Everyone's desires and needs and situation is different. Getting to know boats of interest via chartering I can see being helpful, however for us personally it was too high of a cost to benefit ratio. Ultimately we decided a deeper understanding of sailboat design and features as a whole would help guide us even better. It may not be everyone's cup of tea to go about it this way as it is more time consuming but for those looking to not hire crew and do all their own repairs & upkeep, hopefully its helpful food for thought in terms of making an all around informed decision.

Still on the hunt though, so take whatever I say with a grain of salt.


Edit: Omigoodness! second post today that I've commented on that was several years old haha.

Also, we joined a sailboat club with everything from a group of sailing dinghies to some keel boats and even a larger O'day cruiser. And taking lessons on ASA fleet to be able to bareboat some more options other places as well...Then I think we will pull the trigger on something for full time cruising.