Why Only Beneteau / Jeanneau in Charter Fleets?

[Ex-Calif]

There are only a couple of airplane manufacturers at the big end of the market (Boeing/Airbus) - the smaller end a few more (Bombardier, Embraer). The largest airlines get lots of input on Boeing and Airbus' next design.

I reckon Moorings and Sunsail have a lot of influence, buy in bulk and for the maker they know that 5 years on the "new" boats will enter the secondary market where spare parts will continue to be sold.

And economies of scale, pricing and the fact that Moorings and Sunsail probably pretty much know what charterers want in a boat.

[marty9876]

The basis of my question really is would it be a mistake to charter a different boat than a Beneteau or Jeanneau.

I can't image it would be but... and I've already sailed those. I have not sailed on a Catalina and was thinking of chartering one as I'd love to try one. I just got to thinking why is it 95% of the charter fleets in this part of the world comprised of basically one type of boat. As the reasons cited make sense. Kicker was even in the smaller charter companies where private individuals own the boats (TMM etc) they are still almost all Ben/Jen's too.

[Ex-Calif]

The bonus of chartering is to try other boats. Shop around try a lot of different boats. Don't just sail them but make sure you take time to spend a little time below decks.

As the joke goes, "Unlike women, beer and boats don't mind if you try another beer/boat."

[Reality Check]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

As the joke goes, "Unlike women, beer and boats don't mind if you try another beer/boat."

I know two long term cruisers who will swear that their boats Know when they have been out on a younger sportier boat!!! They say when they do, that very next day "things" start not working and continue for a week or more until "she" gets over it and they have made the appropriate apologies to "her".

[bigpuff]

I,v had 6 year old ben, in hard charter for 3 years now in sth. island nz. No breakages,easy mainenance,good resale &easy to sail;that says it all.Its been to tonga twice,has now clocked up 55000 miles & still looks like new (except sails)

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by marty9876

The basis of my question really is would it be a mistake to charter a different boat than a Beneteau or Jeanneau.

I can't image it would be but... and I've already sailed those. I have not sailed on a Catalina and was thinking of chartering one as I'd love to try one. I just got to thinking why is it 95% of the charter fleets in this part of the world comprised of basically one type of boat. As the reasons cited make sense. Kicker was even in the smaller charter companies where private individuals own the boats (TMM etc) they are still almost all Ben/Jen's too.

Well, another reason is that Beneteaus and Jenneaus are pretty much perfectly designed for the kind of sailing one does on charter -- a week of short coastal hops. They are light and fun to sail in those conditions, and have a lot of interior volume for their size. They are cheap, and I suppose even more so when you buy a bunch of them. And I would guess that the charter companies get really good support for their standardized fleet, from a big company like Beneteau.

[Steve W]

We've bareboat chartered in the BVI's 6 times, all on Beneteaus. I like the commonality of the systems between the different boats. Makes checkout easier when you already know about the shower filters, valves, windlass, etc. I remember one particular difference between a boat built specifically for charter by Beneteau vs a private model in charter: The private 331 carried only about 50 gallons of water and the 332 (Moorings version) had two tanks for a total of 90 gallons, which really made a difference during a 2 week charter. The 332 had bigger house batteries than the 331, which helped with refrigeration. Not to bash Hunters, but I asked the base manager at the charter dock why they did not have any Hunters. He said they had tried several Hunters, but too many things broke that never fail on other boats and they had to be able to count on turning the boat around for the next charter. Didn;t ask about Catalinas.