Catamaran for sailing and diving skippered charter?

[LuvSun]

Im curious, does anybody else use a sailing cat to get out to dive destinations?


One of the main ones for diving here is a marine reserve made up of islands and its about 20km offshore (I should use NM but cant be bothered sorry).


And 30km south are another set of islands.


I intend to cater for bubble blowers and free divers/spear fishos. Clearly no spearing in the marine reserve, but 500m out of the 1km radius there are big schools of yellow tail kingish. During season there is trolling for albacore, YFT and both marlin.



Im just not sure how I would make a charter out of all this with a Seawind 1000xl.

Also if you run 40nm offshore is Great barrier island which is also a fishing and diving mecca.


I think my logistics are only confused as I dont know which to concentrate on and if a sailing boat is acceptable for getting out to destinations,?

I guess I would focus on diving one charter, whether its bubble blowing or free diving. I would need to consider how many people I can take to keep it safe. Then sail down to the other islands for a dive, so a 2 night charter?

Then sailing out to Great Barrier for the same thing for 2-3 nights as there is a lot to explore there.

Now I just need to figure out what insurances I would require and what dive certificates as I am a free diver I never bubble blow even though my uncles and aunts were all dive instructors.

Im not sure how it works, do I have to dive with the group and keep an eye on those that are struggling, ie novices.



Then during game fishing season, can Sailing Cats make good sport fishing boats? clearly getting sails to the right speeds is a bit more of a hassle., but the up side is wind is free (well not really, but you know).

I have to get my SRL skippers as well.

I could make it easy and just buy a 30ft diesel launch, but Cats are so nice to hang out on when not in the water.

I should be able to fit a compressor to fill my tanks?

[LuvSun]

Who is responsible for a diver, if they have their padi license is it not on the individual diver for their own skill and safety?

[tp12]

Originally Posted by LuvSun

Who is responsible for a diver, if they have their padi license is it not on the individual diver for their own skill and safety?

If you're offering a tour for cash it will be you. You'll need to be a Dive Master. It's actually not that hard to get.

See my PM, that's the least of your required certifications for this plan!

[LuvSun]

Originally Posted by tp12

If you're offering a tour for cash it will be you. You'll need to be a Dive Master. It's actually not that hard to get.

See my PM, that's the least of your required certifications for this plan!

TP dont overwhelm me just yet mate. I know I need my skippers, thats also easy to get.

The 1000xl i looked at today is still under survery and has just had an overhaul with new electronics, engine rebuild etc, $220k NZ. not bad.

If only i could stick twin 25hp yamahas in it.

[tp12]

Originally Posted by LuvSun

TP dont overwhelm me just yet mate. I know I need my skippers, thats also easy to get.

The 1000xl i looked at today is still under survery and has just had an overhaul with new electronics, engine rebuild etc, $220k NZ. not bad.

If only i could stick twin 25hp yamahas in it.

If you want to do charters you really want a boat that's already in survey. It's too expensive to do after the boat has been built, IMO. Here in Aus, anyway. AMSA has some rather lengthy docs on their site about the requirements if you need to get to sleep. The NZ equivalent will have the same.

Weight and size are your enemies when it comes to looking at alternate options for the existing outboards on the 1000XL. If you can find something approx the same size and weight that has more ponies then really the only thing you need to consider is fuel consumption and tankage for same.

Check with someone who knows what they cruise at under power because the number you mentioned in your PM seems pretty high.

[valhalla360]

I think speed is your big issue. Assuming a 10km/hr cruise speed, even the closest location is 4hr round trip.

If the focus is diving/snorkeling, that's a lot of time being killed.

EDIT: Corrected to 10km/hr not 1km/hr

[LuvSun]

Ive seem the seawinds doing 3/4 of real wind speed, admittedly closer to half usually.


But its more often than not blowing 20 knots out there and given that, its about a 1 hour ride, which is what the power cat takes as well due to the swell.


This is the 1100xl in survery TP, looks reasonably tidy.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boa...51968b65b4fd23


Can you upgrade the yanmars on the 1160, I know the 1600 you can go from 57 to 80 turbo charged yanmars. Or the 9.9s to 15hp on the 1100.

But the 30s on the 1160, if I could get more push when the wind isnt blowing that would be great, otherwise I can see me burning through a full fuel tank in a trip lol.

given its under charter, it must be being used for something making money. i think with my idea im going to have to offer something different as its too easy for divers just to jump on the dive boat, im limited to 8 passsengers.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by LuvSun

Ive seem the seawinds doing 3/4 of real wind speed, admittedly closer to half usually.


But its more often than not blowing 20 knots out there and given that, its about a 1 hour ride, which is what the power cat takes as well due to the swell.

So you think you will sail at 12kts (approx 20km/hr) regularly and reliably sailing....can we all say together "wildly optimistic".

You can probably hit that occasionally but not likely consistently and in both directions.

You might be able to upgrade the motors to make 12kts under power but you will be burning a lot of fuel.

Realistically, you are looking at 2hr each way if you are working to a schedule...which is what commercial day charters are.

[LuvSun]

Yeah Im moving away from their business model, as you have pointed out, it doesnt work for that reason, but also for a number of others.

I need to find out what its currently chartered for.

A suggestion from one of the locals is to run a skippered sailing day charter, catered etc, and stop at the marine reserve on the way back for a free dive, to keep things less complicated. leaving at sun up in summer thats 15 hours. The coverage is possible, making 15 hours profitable Im not sure.


Im not really doing this for the money, its to do something I enjoy for the last 10 years of real existence as I don see retirement as much to cheer about.

The other option is just to live off my inbestment properties and sail around the country and pacific.

Or, in the mean time I could start 3rd streams of income. I know blogs etc are overdone. But some of the ultra simple youtubers have been really successful as of late. ie 59 ways to cook an egg got 6 million views.

[clownfishsydney]

I would think the small carrying capacity of the vessel would preclude you making a profit without charging a very high price which would not be sustainable given the boat is not a luxury or large vessel. I have a much bigger boat and I would not even see anyway to make that work as a dive charter liveaboard going much smaller distances.

[valhalla360]

Most sail boats I see do booze cruises or sunset cruises. Basically you head out for half the time and then turn around and return...maybe if the area is conducive, you could do a circle.

Usually they top out at 4-6hr...15hr could be problematic when you get a seasick tourist. That's a long time to either cut it short and get them back to port or force them thru hell for another 10-12hr.

[LuvSun]

Originally Posted by clownfishsydney

I would think the small carrying capacity of the vessel would preclude you making a profit without charging a very high price which would not be sustainable given the boat is not a luxury or large vessel. I have a much bigger boat and I would not even see anyway to make that work as a dive charter liveaboard going much smaller distances.

Yeah I agree. So what is it used for currently I wonder. Self skipper hire? Surely thats slightly risky for the vessel and you would have to charge shed loads?

[LuvSun]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Most sail boats I see do booze cruises or sunset cruises. Basically you head out for half the time and then turn around and return...maybe if the area is conducive, you could do a circle.

Usually they top out at 4-6hr...15hr could be problematic when you get a seasick tourist. That's a long time to either cut it short and get them back to port or force them thru hell for another 10-12hr.

This would be more conducive if I planned to live in the Bay of Islands not Tutukaka.


Which is still an option. Swing moorings are dirt cheap too, like $30 a month with proper 2 tonne concrete slab on chain. Much cheaper than what the Marina charges.

[LuvSun]

Its under Survey in the Whitsundays, which is an area similar to the bay of islands but its more actual islands. Id say it was just pure hireage, must have cost a fortune with insurance included and given how fast the boat would have depreciated.

[Augi]

Originally Posted by LuvSun

Yeah Im moving away from their business model, as you have pointed out, it doesnt work for that reason, but also for a number of others.

I need to find out what its currently chartered for.

A suggestion from one of the locals is to run a skippered sailing day charter, catered etc, and stop at the marine reserve on the way back for a free dive, to keep things less complicated. leaving at sun up in summer thats 15 hours. The coverage is possible, making 15 hours profitable Im not sure.


Im not really doing this for the money, its to do something I enjoy for the last 10 years of real existence as I don see retirement as much to cheer about.

The other option is just to live off my inbestment properties and sail around the country and pacific.

Or, in the mean time I could start 3rd streams of income. I know blogs etc are overdone. But some of the ultra simple youtubers have been really successful as of late. ie 59 ways to cook an egg got 6 million views.

I know little about the specifics, but kind of doing a business, but "not really for the money", as you describe does not sound like a good idea. Sounds like you you would better off setting yourself up to do the diving / exploring you want to do and invite friends that perhaps want to chip in to do the same adventures as you do. If you actually want to sail(not just a means to an ends), then get a sail boat that works for you. If you don't want to sail for the enjoyment of sailing then get a stink pot. Then if by doing exactly what you want to do with like minded friends chipping in for some adventures, and your like minded number of friends naturally expands, then you can think about doing what is necessary to turn it into a profitable business. But don't let "the tail wag the dog". The "dog" in this case being you enjoying life to the max in retirement.