Buy Used Charter Boats

[sguerrero1971]

I have spent the last several years researching, planning and preparing to live-aboard. Now it is time. We are finishing up on a few projects around the house before we put it up for sell. My wife has put in her retirement letter, and I have made arrangements to transition into a consulting role for a firm that I have had a working relationship with for the last 10 yrs.

The only thing we haven't figured out is what boat we are going to live on. We're waiting to purchase it with the money we will make on the sell of the house. This will allow us to buy something outright and not have to worry about that one payment.

Which brings me to my questions: Is buying a used charter boat a good choice for a live aboard? Am I being naive in thinking that these boats although used more than most boats would also be better maintained since they would have paying customers aboard? I realize that they will have wear and tear on them that a similar boat that wasn't chartered doesn't, but because they have a maintenance crew to support them would this be a non issue or less of an issue? I know that one thing they won't likely have is a lot of add-ons these boats are pretty bare, but as I see it this is a bonus, because most electronics become outdated quickly, and as I have bought smaller used boats before I've come to realize there are a lot of wrong ways to install just about anything.

What I am looking for is a 40' or less 2000 or newer monohull that is less than a $100k. I know there are boats out there that fit this bill, but what I am looking for is what I am sure everyone is looking for, the best bang for my buck.

I'd love to hear from someone that has purchased an ex charter boat to hear what to look out for, and to tell me if I am on the right track or out in left field.

Thanks

[RickG]

We bought a 2009 Beneteau 40 that was out of the Moorings charter fleet in Tortola. The boats in the major fleets are outfitted to minimize cost and maximize volume. $/head or $/cabin are key. So, you end up with more cabins and more heads than you want on a liveaboard. You'll get a better deal for a privately owned boat that has fewer hours and a lot less abuse. We bought a 2003 Beneteau 423 in December 2016 for our liveaboard.

Cheers, RickG

[sguerrero1971]

Originally Posted by RickG

We bought a 2009 Beneteau 40 that was out of the Moorings charter fleet in Tortola. The boats in the major fleets are outfitted to minimize cost and maximize volume. $/head or $/cabin are key. So, you end up with more cabins and more heads than you want on a liveaboard. You'll get a better deal for a privately owned boat that has fewer hours and a lot less abuse. We bought a 2003 Beneteau 423 in December 2016 for our liveaboard.

Cheers, RickG

So did you decide to go from your 40' to the 423 for space utilization or because of the condition of the 40'?

The Moorings fleet were some of the boats I've been looking at.

Thanks

[wsmac]

Hope the OP doesn't mind me adding a couple of questions here... for my potential future upsize...
.
I, too, have looked at Charter Boats on the market.
I'm curious about a couple of things...

1. Do some Charter companies use independent contractors who use their own boats? Or... does every Charter company own their own boats?

2. When operating a Charter business... are there some areas of the world they have to meet more or less stringent rules/guidelines/laws pertaining to the maintenance of the boats? I realize there would be specific safety rules pretty much anywhere. I'm interested in which areas might require better maintenance/upgrades and which ones are pretty slack.. possibly letting a lesser well run outfit to cut corners more often?

[RickG]

Originally Posted by sguerrero1971

So did you decide to go from your 40' to the 423 for space utilization or because of the condition of the 40'?

The Moorings fleet were some of the boats I've been looking at.

Thanks

The Beneteau 40 has three cabins and a port galley. Workflow means that whoever is in the galley is blocking access to the forward cabin. That is the big one. Having three cabins and not enough storage is touch. We call the port aft cabin "the garage" and only use it when we have six aboard. Not the best idea. We still own our half share of this boat and continue to use it for holidays. It just lacks the storage needed to liveaboard.

The Beneteau 423 has a much larger forward berth and head and a single aft cabin with galley to starboard tucked back of the companionway steps. It as great workflow and access.

Moorings will address all issues from a phase out survey for a buyer. We got a basically new genoa, I wish we had gotten a main as well. We also got new spars based on survey. Issues we had after purchase/survey were transmission and damper, swim ladder and batteries. We have replaced the forestay, genoa furler and are replacing the main now.

Cheers, RickG