Rich, u remind me of me with the serious addiction to the ocean life. When it bites you... soon become a werewolf or vampire. It is a serious affliction that can't be denied or conjured away.
First question, the old adage of wanting to make a million dollars with your boat is to start with 2million dollars is not really too far from the truth. You have not divulged your cash situation. But since you mentioned investors I will assume that you are looking for someone to help cashier the boat and you pay them some sort of
partnership dividend. The boat you have mentioned is a very nice boat...you have good taste...expensive taste...but it is a good boat for what your plan is. So, first thing is, do you have the financial wherewithal to get a bank to cut the check? If not, then you have to have some serious people behind you like a corporation or some well healed clients to pony up. Those are hard to come by...and for a very good reason. They have
money because they understand
money and how easy it is to lose money on business.
If you have an expensive boat like that you surely must understand that it costs a lot of money for
insurance,
engine repairs, ....some people can quote you what percentage of the
purchase price of a boat it costs per year to maintain...I read it but forgot it.
The best
advice that I read here is this...get you and your lady certified and hire on for a season or two as charter boat team. It will give you a real feel for what you are attempting to do. There must be hundreds of blogs like "zero to cruising" about the life of charter captains/cooks and what they go through on a daily basis. It is no joke how hard they work.
I think that if you will go this
route of becoming a charter team on someone else's dime you can learn the ropes, make good business contacts, see if it really is what you think it is, and see if it fits your wife's expectations. I can tell you are a very open and friendly guy and would work hard. Choosing a
multihull versus a mono
hull works better for a woman. A woman likes her own little private spot like her own toilet and
shower and bedroom that is afforded on a cat. Hard to do charters and have that same level of privacy on a mono.
Many of the posters seem negative for a reason. The business is fraught with serious competition,
weather issues like
hurricane seasons and high heat during the summer months. The Carib season is actually pretty short due to
weather and heat. It takes years to build clients and most
single boat charters (not a fleet) almost never make it. It is a business that needs scale, reputation, experience, and financial acumen to survive. Many posters know this and are really just trying to say you better look at the business model very carefully. Most people here have seen many people like you ask the same question over and over ad nauseum.
Here is a rhetorical question for you? Why do you think all of the big chartering companies like
Mooring, Sunsail, and Tradewinds never own their own boats? They get people like you and me to buy the boats and put them into their charter business for management
fees, tax breaks, and owners to use these boats for 2-4 weeks a year. By the time the boat leaves their
lease in 3-5 years you would vomit to know how much of the boat value was
lost due to depreciation. It literally is a zero sum
game if I understand it correctly.
The last bit of
advice...sorry...I am not trying to rain on your dream. But, honest to heavens, my thinking is to make sure you have thought this through very carefully...all of the other posters are trying to do the same for the same reason....sit down with a representative of a large charter company and tell them you want to buy a boat and put it in their charter business. Study carefully what they are telling you and do the math. Sit with your CPA (if you don't have one...it is worth the 200-300 dollars consultation) and go over the math they are trying to sell you on. See what the CPA has to say about what you would end up by putting a boat you bought into "THEIR"
service. Now...do you think you can compete with their
price structure, advertising, expertise,
maintenance crews, licensing permits, business contacts,
government permits, and on and on? And remember one critical component of their equation for success...they didn't buy the boat so they don't have the capital expenditure like you will. It is truly an upside equation.
Research will tell you that I am pretty close to the truth in what I am stating.
So, start with necessary licenses and then work for a charter company for awhile. Then make your move. Wish you the very best and keep us informed what road you take. You seem to be a great guy...
Re: Plans for a future Charter Business
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