Questions to Ask Charter Companies

[rpoint16]

I am doing my 1st charter in the BVI next April.

I have done a search in the forums and picked up some GREAT info!

I will be in the process of getting info from charter companies, pricing, etc... pretty soon. 37' Mono, 4ppl, 2-cabin.

Some of the questions I will be asking for my needs & comparison:

Time we can pick-up.
Time due back.
Prior night boarding?
Type of GPS/chartplotter

Included ?:
Dinghy
Charts
Cell phone
Bimini
Dodger

Cost of:
Hull ins.
Fuel charge

What am I missing?
THX

[nautical62]

Deductible or co-insurance on insurance.

limits of cruising ground

process if you have a break down - will they swap boats if they can't immediately repair?

Provisioning or other services if you are interested

Is fuel, water and/or ice included in the charter fee?

[boatman61]

Take a camera and photograph all the dings/rips etc.... date and time shots best.

[Vasco]

Most charters are noon to noon. Get first night sleep aboard for free if you can. Most of the companies will dicker a bit. Most if not all charge for fuel now, just like a rental car. Not much use in asking about equipment, when you get there it might be different, might even be a different boat. They all come with a dink. No use asking what type. Often the dinks and motors are swapped from boat to boat. They all have cell phones now. usually free call if you're calling the charter base, other than that pretty costly. Some have mandatory insurance, others will allow a deposit against damage in lieu of insurance. You will have to pay for cruising fee (each person per day) and for National Parks dinghy mooring fees. best place to get up-to-date info is TTOL. Usually water tanks are full when you get the boat (make sure you check this ) if you need more water you'll have to buy it. We always got water at Marina Cay. Another thing ask if snorkeling gear is included. Some companies send you to the dive shop to rent it!
Traveltalkonline: Viewing forum: British Virgin Islands

[Steve W]

In addition to Boatman61's excellent advice, you might want to take a mask and snorkle and dive on the keel and rudder before you accept the boat. Someone told me to do this on our first bareboat charter and the keel had obviously been grounded pretty hard . I shot a few quick pics with a disposable underwater camera to document and sorted out the details with the very "surprised" charter company base manager. Not sure if I dodged a bullet or not, but having it documented means they could not pin it on me after the charter.