purchase out of charter?

[atlroofman]

I would like to know from the very extensive pool of knowledge I find here, what are the adventages and disadvantages of purchasing a crusing catamaran out of a charter fleet? And are there any charter fleets that use daggerboard cats?

[Emmalina]

Charter companies use KISS very unlikely to find a cat with daggerboards in any charter fleet. Only advantage is price but that will be against the abuse the thing has had in its charter life. Would you buy an ex rental car ?

[mark_morwood]

Though they are less common, there are many places around the world that charter daggerboard cats like Catana's. Try the French islands like Martinique as a starting point. The fleets are definitely smaller than for Lagoons etc, so there will be much less choice if you are looking for one coming out of charter.

[gcraney]

We purchased a boat that gets chartered in SoCal (so, not a huge company like Dream Yachts or Moorings). I think the inspector said it best, "This boat is very used but clearly very well maintained." Basically, it has more superficial wear and tear on it, but the core systems were in better condition than privately operated boats with a similar number of days sailing on them.

I know it's run aground at least once and has had other abuses done to it, I'm sure. But I also know the fleet managers (since it is still in the charter program) don't let even the slightest bit of damage or wear on a critical system go long without being fixed properly. The boat generates revenue that makes it easier to pay to fix things quickly and properly, and it's way more expensive to fix something that failed while chartered than to fix it when we notice it in one of the routine inspections.

I'll conclude with the caveat that this is for a small, local charter fleet in SoCal....

[TheOffice]

This subject has been raised numerous time. High engine hours, beat up sails and probalby 3-5 years of wear and tear for every year in charter vs. cost savings.

[Montanan]

Charter boats layouts typically have many cabins and equal number of heads. So if you bring in lots of friends and family and desire lots of toilets and showers then a charter layout boat may be an appropriate choice. If you don't have lots of passengers then a different layout would be more suitable.

E.g., a cruising couple does not need four heads, that is at least two too many.

The hours on the engine can give you a bit of a measure of the extent of the use of the vessel and comparativeness to non-charter equivalency / age.

[Montanan]

FYI a useful reference:

Buying A Pre-Owned Charter Boat

https://www.sailonline.com/boat-owne...d-charter-boat

[Snore]

As in any used boat, you buy the use of the owners and the quality of repairs done by the various folks who worked on the boat.

Now for a charter boat- the more she worked, the more wear and maintenance she needed. Add to that many who charter “sail it like they stole it”. And you have the potential for a mess.

All that said, if the price is right; and you are motivated- it could be a good deal.

[Sand crab]

You will find many Catanas for sale from Dream Yacht Charters. Maybe they are well used but sometimes the lowered price is worth a look.

[atlroofman]

Thank You for all of your responces, just as I thought, vast wealth of knowledge here.

[yeloya]

Originally Posted by atlroofman

I would like to know from the very extensive pool of knowledge I find here, what are the adventages and disadvantages of purchasing a crusing catamaran out of a charter fleet? And are there any charter fleets that use daggerboard cats?

We have one Catana 47 in Charter in Turkey, but she's not for sale.. I am sailing her when she's not chartered, excellent boat
Buying a boat from charter is risky..some companies look well after their boats, some not at all.

Cheers

Yeloya

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Emmalina

Would you buy an ex rental car ?

Actually, I HAVE bought an ex rental car, and it turned out to be a very good purchase. Yes, they get a lot of abuse. But they also get their tires and oil checked, and a good cleaning inside and out, pretty much every week. In other words, they get a level of attention and maintenance that far exceeds the average privately-owned car.


My expectation is that a charter boat would be pretty similar. Used harder than a non-charter boat, but also maintained much better. It's a trade-off that can (DID, in my case, with the rental car) work out quite well.

[jmschmidt]

Did it twice, got two good boats. Would not deal with private sellers. Get ahold of Jim Adams and Moorings brokerage. They will treat you right. No, I don't work for them and I have my ex-Moorings charter boat with a different company. Dream is another good company.

Would not have dagger boards.

[Mithril Bham]

Different charter companies have different maintenance contracts and schedules. The small company I worked for had strict maintenance agreements. That being said some owners spared no expense while others did the minimum. I would speak with the owner and required all maintenance receipts. Also the maintenance log of course.

[Captain Scott]

I too bought a boat from Sunsail and Jim Adams was the broker. Straight forward guy, I would use him again, but here is what I did:

I bought a boat with 6 months left in charter ...after Jim gave me a run down on the mainetenance log. The boat had a total of $2500 of repairs (outside of maintenance), pretty low, so now major damage.

I sailed her for a week's vacation and made a big list of all that was not right. Then I had my own private surveyor do his thing. The "Phase Out" requires that Sunsail/Moorings return the boat undamaged. The only thing I missed were the batteries. Did not have them load tested but should have. I would do the same thing again, BUT, not a Robertson Caine, (or possilby anything built after 2008. Loved my 2002, also a charter boat, but my 2012... that's another story).
Good Luck!