Costs to upgrade Ex-charter

[Liam Wald]

When I look at the lists of items that others have added to their ex-charter boats it isn't all that different from the list of items that I added to my boat after buying her new.
Although I haven't really itemized it and added it up, I am quite sure that I easily spent another $30-40K adding all the gear that I now have for cruising.
That being said, if you buy an ex-charter boat for 50% less than a new boat it appears that you really are saving a lot of $$$.

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by Liam Wald

That being said, if you buy an ex-charter boat for 50% less than a new boat it appears that you really are saving a lot of $$$.

Yes, 50% less on a five year old boat that has been used and abused.
If you are not a handy person, then a charter boat will cost you dearly.

[Liam Wald]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

Yes, 50% less on a five year old boat that has been used and abused.
If you are not a handy person, then a charter boat will cost you dearly.

You are probably right.
Personally I wouldn't buy an ex-charter. I wouldn't buy a car from Hertz either.
But some people do and are perfectly happy doing so.

"No one has ever washed a rented car."

[FLLCatsailor]

I got a quote from sun power diesel in Fort Lauderdale to do two yanmar 75hp turbo's installed for 12k a piece. Is straight forward install. I thought this quote was quite a bit on the low side... IMO

[Liam Wald]

Originally Posted by FLLCatsailor

I got a quote from sun power diesel in Fort Lauderdale to do two yanmar 75hp turbo's installed for 12k a piece.

Those can't be new. Sounds too cheap.

[Privleoplag]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

Yes, 50% less on a five year old boat that has been used and abused.
If you are not a handy person, then a charter boat will cost you dearly.

I wonder, do you mean all charter boats?.. even the ones that have gone through phase out with the owners, or were in charter years before but have been privately owned for sometime now? Or do you mean charter boats in general, just with charter in their history?

I know what I saw when looking at used boats.. a lot of the private boats looked a lot worse than most of the charter boats. When I visit a Moorings base.. the < 5 year old boats need very little to bring them up to snuff... and when I've had trouble with a boat I've chartered, bingo, it's fixed. Haven't had to limp it to some base for the work to get done.. a tender shows up, sometimes within minutes..

And if you start talking engine hours and generator hours.. if during the survey/phase out those motors check out, what would be the problem? I'd take a motor that is sound with 4000 hrs on it over one that's been neglected or barely used and 5 years old with 250 hours on it any day.

I do believe that the better charter boats are going to be the ones where the owner has been active during the phase out and tended to the needed fixes. Completely in my plans...

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by FLLCatsailor

I got a quote from sun power diesel in Fort Lauderdale to do two yanmar 75hp turbo's installed for 12k a piece. Is straight forward install. I thought this quote was quite a bit on the low side... IMO

I had a US price list on my other computer but it screwed the pooch. So here's a Yanmar list from the UK. The 75 horse are going for 12.5K Pounds. Do the math. Are those a rebuild?
http://www.ribsmarine.co.uk/pdfs/yanmar-rrp-2011.pdf

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by Privleoplag

I do believe that the better charter boats are going to be the ones where the owner has been active during the phase out and tended to the needed fixes. Completely in my plans...

Some will tell you that a marine diesel engines life is around 5000 hours. I believe that a properly cared for diesel will last much longer. At 4000 hours you have to be ready for anything as you do not know the history good or bad of the rookies that used and abused it. Transmissions get slammed forward and reverse thousands of times.

Phase out does not take care of the nicks, dents, scratches and blems throughout the boat. The cleaning crews use abrasive cleaners on the lexan windows which makes them blurry and hard to view out of. They use bleach on the wooden laminates which permanently stains them. Most switches would need replacing. A lot of things will be very sun baked in the full time Caribbean sun and will break or unstitch at the slightest touch

As I said, you have to be very handy to fix things on the fly as your first few years will be a big surprise

[Privleoplag]

@ Cotemar -
My question was: I wonder, do you mean all charter boats?.. even the ones that have gone through phase out with the owners, or were in charter years before but have been privately owned for sometime now? Or do you mean charter boats in general, just with charter in their history?

[MarkJ]

I did it for about $617 including an EPIRB.

we didnt eat all that well for a while.

Got a new genoa the other day ( ok its second hand) so my ex Sunsail genoa did 35,000 nms! And the main sail did about 20,000 miles.

[Liam Wald]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

I did it for about $617 including an EPIRB.

we didnt eat all that well for a while.

Got a new genoa the other day ( ok its second hand) so my ex Sunsail genoa did 35,000 nms! And the main sail did about 20,000 miles.

That's fantastic! Way to go.
You are a great example of someone who jumped right in, did it, and are living the life!
Lots of props your way mate.

[FLLCatsailor]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

I had a US price list on my other computer but it screwed the pooch. So here's a Yanmar list from the UK. The 75 horse are going for 12.5K Pounds. Do the math. Are those a rebuild?
http://www.ribsmarine.co.uk/pdfs/yanmar-rrp-2011.pdf

I made a mistake... It was for 54hp engines... Quite a difference there... I'm trying to find a copy of the actual estimate... Sorry about that guys!!

[smj]

I don't know if charter boats are like houses but my homeowners insurance agent summed it up well. An owner has pride of ownership and will probably take good care of their home. A long term renter has pride of home so will probably take descent care of your home. A weekly renter has no pride at all so cares not what shape they leave it in. Now if you look at the rental agents of homes. For the weekly rentals they do crappy cosmetic patches just to get it ready for the next renter. Where does a charter boat fit in in this scenario?

[Sand crab]

There's charter boats and then there's charter boats.
At the top are crewed charter where the owner is the captain. These boats are usually well taken care of and far better equipped for blue water because the owner might cruise in the off season and it's his boat, dammit.
Then there's the regular crewed charter and then bareboat with declining care and extras.
Exceptions as always to these rules.

[ArtM]

Very often in life, the people who keep saying "it will never work", "it can't be done", "you're a fool to try" are the people who have not tried. You can find out when this is true by asking the people who have tried it.

In addition to being cheaper, customized to your own needs, and widely available, have you also been able to sail the boat at your leisure since the day you bought it?

This has been my (much-derided) theory from the start, and I appreciate the confirmations from the people who have tried it.