Buying Ex-Charter Boat

[sparefinder]

hi everyone , happy new year wherever you are, i would welcome any comments on the pitfalls or benefits of buying of an ex charter boat from the major yacht charter companies in the Caribbean.

I owned my last yacht 10 years ago which was a jeanneau sunshine 38 and at long last am returning to sea. I have been looking at ex charter fleet, purely because of price . The boat would be used as a liveaboard.

Thank you in advance

[dcstrng]

Originally Posted by sparefinder

[A]ny comments on the pitfalls or benefits of buying of an ex charter boat from the major yacht charter companies in the Caribbean.... The boat would be used as a liveaboard...

It’s still a boat on boat decision I think… more recently experienced folks hopefully will add their knowledge, but my forty-something foot live-aboard of a quarter a century ago was a former Caribbean (or somewhere with lots of sunshine) charter boat and nothing much of its past had any detrimental effect – to the contrary any strengths and weaknesses were peculiar to the boat, not its commercial history… the downside is that charter boats may not have all the techno-gizmos a private owner might pass along at time of sale, but then for technologically-adverse folks like me the advantage may be that it wouldn’t have all those techno-gizmos of unknown trustworthiness needing repair or replacement…

[James S]

Welcome to the forum ....
We have an active member (however not so active the last week or so) who did just that.
He and his mate have been pretty happy with her as far as I can tell.
Do a search for our member MarkJ and read some of his posts.
I think you will find some very informative.

[sailvayu]

Get a good survey and expect to replace equipment like pumps and AC units. When you buy a ex charter boat you are buying a working boat one that has seen a lot of use and in many cases has not been properly repaired. Most I have looked at had repairs that you could tell were done just to get the next charter in. When companies retire these boats it is because they are getting too expensive to maintain. I know some companies are better than others and would think the bigger well established one may take very good care of there boats. Guess you have to ask yourself would you but a used car from Avis? Sort of the same thing. Deals are pretty good these days You might find a nice private owned boat for a bit more but has only been used a few weekends a year vers every week for most of the season. Check engine and generator hours this will give some clues as well. On the other hand if the price is right it might be worth it I read folks here all the time that seem to have done ok guess you have to be very careful.

Fair Winds

[ub1]

I purchased an ex charter vessel from a private owner though. It was a crewed charter for 4 years, they tend to be in better condition than bareboats. spend a week down here, it's scary to see the people and things they do to a boat, think rental car. The crewed ones seem to be a little more responsible, and maintenance is alot better. Inspect it good, you can tell when a boat has been properly maintained. hull especially for grounding damage, dock damage, prop damage. The crewed ones have a maintenance log from day one , by whoever runs it, get it and read it, you can tell if they new what they were doing and major problems. I heard some of the big companies, swap out sails, hour meters and other stuff when going up for resale, mine were not original, inspect everything now and on day of purchase. If vessel gets a (recondition) make sure they do all the windows. After sale they are not very helpful and builders don't deal with private owners. If your thinking of getting one with all the toys you may want to rethink it and put quality equipment in new yourself. within 6 months I replaced westerbeke gen and all ac units. GOODLUCK