Cat lover...

[Dave]

We are in year 2 of a 5 year Moorings charter contract with S/V Alexian, a Leopard 3800 Catamaran in Belize (Cover: Cruising World Aug 2002 and Page 12: Moorings 2003 Bareboat Vacations brockure). Love that Pic you chose for this forum!!!! We're looking forward to 2006 when Moorings will "force" us to take possession. Till then, we're learn'n the ropes and getting warm for a couple of weeks a year. Many thanks for a place to expand the knowledge base.

Dave n' Deb

[Gisle]

Yes thank you, I'm pleased with the photo. I took it on Anse Lazio in the Seychelles in October 2002.

My cat (the Belize 43 above) is in charter with Sunsail until March 2005 (3,5 years contract)

My feancée and I are really looking forward to the release, too. We're going to the Red Sea and the Med first before continuing into your waters.



Gisle

[Gisle]

Yes thank you, I'm pleased with the photo. I took it on Anse Lazio in the Seychelles in October 2002.

My cat (the Belize 43 above) is in charter with Sunsail until March 2005 (3,5 years contract)

My feancée and I are really looking forward to the release, too. We're going to the Red Sea and the Med first before continuing into your waters.



Gisle

[Anonymous]

Gisle, Dave,
Mind if I ask how that charter/ownership thing is working out for you? I've loosely considered it, but had a hard time buying what the salesperson was saying and devining the truth (as in: sounds too good to be true).
Do the charter fees really end up covering the mortgage payments? Is the boat getting trashed? Do the companies really maintain the boats and keep things in working order? Do you get nickled and dimed in the process?
I've got six years before my kids head off to college, and we've already told them that once they're packed and out the door on the first day, so are we. I'm sure by then our current boat will need replacing and we'd like to go with a cat. So it lingers in the back of my mind...if I go the charter/ownership route, and time it right, we could take ownership at the right time.
I understand this might be considered a personal/business thing, but if you have anything to share, we'd love to hear it.

Thanks, Don

[Gisle]

Hi Anonymous
Your questions are very relevant. I save a lot by having the boat in charter for 3,5 years, but I'm very glad I didn't go for a 5,5 years contract concerning all the different people using the boat. It gets worn, but most of it is easy to fix.

Buying such a boat new without a charter contract would be unrealistic for me, so I'm very pleased with the deal.

The boat still looks great after 1,5 years in charter, but I've told Sunsail to fix different things after each of the 4 cruising holidays I've had with the boat. One of their arguments is that they will fix everything before the takeover, but I want everything to work 100% every time I use it.

I've been using both Sunsail and Moorings for sail charter, and it seems to me that Moorings take more care of the boat - with better routines of checking it after charters.

[Dave]

Hi Don,

So far I think the Charter thing has been great, but its all in the "fit".

You mention, "I've got six years before my kids head off to college, and we've already told them that once they're packed and out the door on the first day, so are we." That was our inspiration a couple of years ago. We also, were less than impressed with the math that charter companies, as well as land based properties, were pitching. It always seemed that the charter revenue was enough to cover either the mortgage or the depreciation, but never both, and there seemed to be too many variables that could go sour.

Added to that, finding the right boat, the right location, and a well respected charter company with an opening, is a lot to ask.

For us, when the "fit" came along, we couldn't say no.

The Moorings 3800 Cat is our #1 Choice of boat for a zillion reasons. (different thread...)

With a down payment, that was affordable to us, we struck a deal where the guaranteed revenue matched the monthly costs and a preset trade in value put a bottom depreciation.

Moorings just happened to be planning a new base, using Cats, in the Carribean, just down the coast from where my cousin just bought a condo.

We chartered with Moorings in Tortola and got a look at boats in Footloose (Mooring's 2nd tier) that had already been through a full charter cycle and were impressed with their condition.

We spoke to as many people as we could find with both charter and ownership experience, regardless of company, and found a healthy respect for Moorings.

We are relatively new to big boat sailing and need the experience before "going it alone" and currently don't have more than a couple of weeks a year to sail anyway.

If you factor in expense alternatives like the cost of beach front accomodation for the annual family holiday (without a boat), then things start to look really good...

Dave

[Anonymous]

The 3800 is the boat we like as well. I've requested some real figures from them, so we'll see.

We currently sail a Beneteau, which we enjoy, but we know we'll need more elbow room for longer cruises.

Thanks for your feedback guys!