Putting a Boat in Charter-Sunsail or Moorings?

[Cruising Couple]

My husband and I have been rethinking some life goals and a timeline. To that end, we are thinking of putting a cat into charter. Could those of you who've had experience with Sunsail and/or The Morrings share your experience(s) with us? Would you do a charter again? Would you work with the same company again? Have some of you worked with other companies and had a good experience? Other advice/suggestions?

Thanks all!
Darby

[maytrix]

Our boat is currently in the Moorings program. Given the right circumstances, we would do it again. In our case though, we are planning on taking possession of our boat when it reaches the end of its contract. We then plan to do some cruising.

I think they keys to making the program work are really dependent on how you plan to use it and what you plan to do at the end. Most Cat's require a decent down payment, so it pays to look at the math of that down payment vs. simply paying for the charters. I also think its good to plan on breaking even at the end of the contract at best - anything better would be a bonus. So I think it pays to do it if A) You use a LOT of time B) You take advantage of short notice and upgrade to more expensive boats (we've done a lot of this so far) and C) You plan on keeping the boat at the end of the contract.

Doesn't necessarily have to be all 3 of the above, but could be a combination. Bottom line is that owning a boat in charter is not a cheaper way to go sailing a couple times a year.

Have any specific questions or anything, feel free to send me a PM.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Cruising Couple

My husband and I have been rethinking some life goals and a timeline. To that end, we are thinking of putting a cat into charter. Could those of you who've had experience with Sunsail and/or The Morrings share your experience(s) with us? Would you do a charter again? Would you work with the same company again? Have some of you worked with other companies and had a good experience? Other advice/suggestions?

Thanks all!
Darby

We did the Moorings program 10 years ago. 5 years at Moorings Belize, 2 at Footloose Tortola, and 3 with Barefoot in SVG. This year we plan to move on board and start to travel. We are very happy with the cat that we chose and overall had a very positive experience with everyone involved along the way.

If you like the current Leopards, then certainly Moorings/Sunsail are a solid charter choice. As an alternative, consider getting the cat of your choice and placing it with a charter company that is brand independant. If it's a bigger cat then perhaps make it crewed and assure yourself of hands-on attention and maintenance. Of course, the revenue stream won't be guaranteed so there is more financial risk, but if you choose well then It can work out just fine.

There are plenty of horror stories, but plenty of success stories as well.

Dave L38 #38

[Cruising Couple]

Thanks Dave and Maytrix!

[CaptainBrad]

Originally Posted by maytrix

Our boat is currently in the Moorings program. Given the right circumstances, we would do it again. In our case though, we are planning on taking possession of our boat when it reaches the end of its contract. We then plan to do some cruising.

I think they keys to making the program work are really dependent on how you plan to use it and what you plan to do at the end. Most Cat's require a decent down payment, so it pays to look at the math of that down payment vs. simply paying for the charters. I also think its good to plan on breaking even at the end of the contract at best - anything better would be a bonus. So I think it pays to do it if A) You use a LOT of time B) You take advantage of short notice and upgrade to more expensive boats (we've done a lot of this so far) and C) You plan on keeping the boat at the end of the contract.

Doesn't necessarily have to be all 3 of the above, but could be a combination. Bottom line is that owning a boat in charter is not a cheaper way to go sailing a couple times a year.

Have any specific questions or anything, feel free to send me a PM.

Hello
We are considering a Sunsail owner program. Seeing your thread is a few years old, and that you were in the program, I am curious if you are still happy.
Thanks
Brad
Bsurfnut@cox.net

[Navegante1105]

Hello Darby and Falco:
I have a boat (Oceanis 393) chartered in Mallorca. The company I have the boat with, is called Cruesa. I have been 10 years with them since new. I use to block the boat for Me at the beginning of the season and at the end of i,t to check for the boat´s condition and also beacause Balearics is a nice place to enjoy sailing by. Normally the season starts in April and ends in September. I can say the final balance is positive, because You can earn some money( although, we have had a very bad time the last years due to the crisis in Europe) and at the same time, You can have a boat to enjoy in this place.
The important thing for Me is that You keep an eye on your boat and try to keep it in the best possible conditions; although maybe it is a bit expensive to try to mantain it like new, but at the end, your boat degradation is slower as the years pass by.
See some pictures of my boat after 10 years chartered: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...-a-107027.html

Regards, Agustín.

[maytrix]

Originally Posted by bsurfnut

Hello
We are considering a Sunsail owner program. Seeing your thread is a few years old, and that you were in the program, I am curious if you are still happy.
Thanks
Brad
Bsurfnut@cox.net

We're very happy. I'm actually sitting on a Moorings 4800 right now that we booked using our short notice time and was previously on their 5800 a week ago. It's been great for us as we not only use our boat occasionally but upgrade when we can to try out other boats - mainly Catamarans.