Early Termination of Mangement Contract

[tmccaffery]

We own a boat with Moorings / Sunsail and fortunately it is not at one of the bases that was devastated this year, so nothing wrong there. Our intention is to take possession of the boat at the end of the management contract, roughly four years from now, and cruise on the boat thereafter. In the meantime we intend to spend more time on the boat to see if this lifestyle suits us overall while Moorings / Sunsail is responsible for maintenance, insurance & etc. The sanity, or lack thereof in this plan can be discussed some other time. Unfortunately, the contract re-delivery date is is August and I am not wildly enthusiastic about sailing a non-ICW compliant boat (64' mast) north this late in the season.

In reviewing my contract following Irma / Maria I found that there is a clause permitting the owner to cancel the contract on six months notice. Given when our boat would be re-delivered to My question is, has anyone actually done this with Moorings / Sunsail and if so, what was your experience?

Thanks for your assistance.

[Fiveslide]

Good question. Are there any significant penalties set forth in your contract? I don't have a charter boat but there may be one in my future.

The longer you keep it down there the longer you are pressing your luck that a hurricane won't get you. Recent happenings prove that.

Anyway, here's a bump to get this thread some more exposure. And do let us know what you decide.

[rwidman]

1) Why don't you call or visit the company and ask them about early termination?

2) You can take a boat with a 64' mast on the AICW except for a couple of bridges in south Florida. The standard clearance is supposed to be 65' at high tide. In many cases you will have several feet more at low tide.

[Privleoplag]

Originally Posted by Fiveslide

Good question. Are there any significant penalties set forth in your contract? I don't have a charter boat but there may be one in my future.
...

No penalty really, except that your monthly check won't come anymore and if you have it financed with them, you'll have to square up. If it was, say, a $3500 check or whatever, 6 months out early, that's $21,000 out of your pocket and you have to start doing the maintenance, start paying for insurance, start paying for dockage, etc. etc. etc.

Of course, it wouldn't be so costly if you get out a month or two early instead.

[svlamorocha]

You will also lose the "phaseout" work

[svlamorocha]

You will not get the boat in August because the phaseout work will not be done. You can manage the process to get the boat close to the end of hurricane season. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk on the phone.

[PhiSig1071]

Will Moorings insurance continue to cover the boat while it is in phase-out? There might be a problem getting insurance coverage on the boat in a hurricane zone during hurricane season.

[svlamorocha]

Originally Posted by PhiSig1071

Will Moorings insurance continue to cover the boat while it is in phase-out? There might be a problem getting insurance coverage on the boat in a hurricane zone during hurricane season.

Yeap.

[jholder51]

Originally Posted by rwidman

1) Why don't you call or visit the company and ask them about early termination?

2) You can take a boat with a 64' mast on the AICW except for a couple of bridges in south Florida. The standard clearance is supposed to be 65' at high tide. In many cases you will have several feet more at low tide.

This is how the clearance is determined -
The official overhead clearance along the Intracoastal Waterway is 65 feet above mean high water. However, the Julia Tuttle Bridge in Miami (stm 1087.2), with a fixed clearance of 56 feet, is an exception. Southbound vessels taller than 56 feet must exit the Waterway by Port Everglades and re-enter no closer than Government Cut, Miami.

In addition, some of the 65-foot bridges have been reported short, so vessels with heights over 62 feet should use caution or watch the tides. For example, the Wilkerson Bridge in North Carolina (stm 125.9) has a reported fixed clearance of 64 feet.

As boating and land traffic increases, the old low-clearance opening bridges continue to be removed, replaced by fixed 65-foot spans. But there are still more than eighty opening bridges between Hampton Roads and Biscayne Bay. Nearly two-thirds of these are in Florida.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by jholder51

.............. As boating and land traffic increases, the old low-clearance opening bridges continue to be removed, replaced by fixed 65-foot spans. .................

Sort of. In SC, two swing bridges were "replaced" by 65' bridges. However, the communities wanted the swing bridges kept and had them declared "historic" so they couldn't be removed. Now, you pass under the 65' bridge and call the bridge tender to get the low swing bridge opened.

For another one just north of Charleston, SC, the state determined that the swing bridge needed to be replaced. They gave the community the choice of a high rise bridge or replacing the swing bridge. They chose the swing bridge. This is a bridge with a pretty severe schedule for boaters. You can wait about three hours at rush hour.

[Scrimshaw4]

It seems that your contract issue is predicated on the idea that your boat can't transit the ICW. Since that is not the case, other than the Miami to Ft. Lauderdale stretch, then it would appear the contract issue is moot. Unless I'm missing something you're good to go. JMHO

[hellosailor]

If the contract runs for another four years, what is this "re-delivery" that is supposed to happen now? Delivery to or from who or what, or opposed to just letting the contract run?