renting instead of buying

[watermanmax]

Hi all,
So the wife and I took about 3 1/2 years to find the perfect boat....she was happy with a 41 foot lagoon.....(she was happy so I was also)....
We found that in January 17....well in 3 weeks we were going down to do final inspection and purchase it.
We were going to live on it and do a few charters a month during the high season.
Well that was at the NE end of Puerto Rico....I have lived there before, and decided that area and the Virgin Islands is where we wanted to be.
NOW......we are starting over.....so we have been in limbo since Irma.....and really don't know what to do ..... wait a year or two...
I am thinking of joining a yacht club...but need info.
Can you buy into a club and rent boats for a few weeks out of the year? (at a cheaper rate than a 1000 bucks a day) At this point if I can get a mono/Cat/Motor boat for a few weeks out of the year....I would be happy with that. I am a OUPV captain....with many years as a instructor of boat courses in the North Sea.
Thanks for any input

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by watermanmax

Can you buy into a club and rent boats for a few weeks out of the year? (at a cheaper rate than a 1000 bucks a day) At this point if I can get a mono/Cat/Motor boat for a few weeks out of the year....I would be happy with that. I am a OUPV captain....with many years as a instructor of boat courses in the North Sea.
Thanks for any input

The short answer AFAIK is no. Some yacht clubs do have "rental" boats in their learn to sail programs but usually these are for day sailing only.

[brownoarsman]

It is heavily dependent on location. In Boston you can do this easily and there are great sailing grounds all over New England. Boston harbor sailing club and Boston sailing center are what you should Google. As a member, you get 1-2 weeks of exclusive boat vacation and can rent additional weeks at added cost depending on availability. The rest of the time it's first come, first serve.

Other cities may have similar programs, but I've never come across any as well-run and situated as the ones out of Boston.

[Macblaze]

A couple of the charter companies here in the PNW have a "lease" type option. It's more of a time share type arrangement but it might work for you. We looked into them briefly but decided that chartering suited us more before we bought. Here's Blue Pacific's for example: https://bluepacificcharters.ca/lease/

Coopers calls theirs a Cruising Club; http://cooperboating.com/cruisingClub/

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by brownoarsman

It is heavily dependent on location. In Boston you can do this easily and there are great sailing grounds all over New England. Boston harbor sailing club and Boston sailing center are what you should Google. As a member, you get 1-2 weeks of exclusive boat vacation and can rent additional weeks at added cost depending on availability. The rest of the time it's first come, first serve.

Other cities may have similar programs, but I've never come across any as well-run and situated as the ones out of Boston.

$9400 for a membership for 1 cruise up to 7 days? But apparently unlimited day sailing. Or for $5575 you get a 7 day cruise in the 30 fleet.Cheaper to charter in the Caribbean. The Boston thing is a time share for sailing.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Vasco

$9400 for a membership for 1 cruise up to 7 days? But apparently unlimited day sailing. Or for $5575 you get a 7 day cruise in the 30 fleet.Cheaper to charter in the Caribbean. The Boston thing is a time share for sailing.

You aren't reading it quite right. A yearly membership gets you a 7 day cruise boat use PLUS any time you book it for a day. When I was a member for 3 months after learning to sail I got a boat both Sat & Sun every weekend for 3 months.

[brownoarsman]

Originally Posted by Vasco

$9400 for a membership for 1 cruise up to 7 days? But apparently unlimited day sailing. Or for $5575 you get a 7 day cruise in the 30 fleet.Cheaper to charter in the Caribbean. The Boston thing is a time share for sailing.

Are those Boston Sailing Center prices? They are a fair bit more expensive than BHSC (they have a large social budget and tend to have newer boats).

2014 BHSC prices for the highest membership (Cal 39) were $4399 (plus $308 for no deductible damage waiver), and only $3599 for seniors. Those prices were if you bought for the season before the end of January and came with two weeks of vacation, I believe. Outside of daysailing, I never had trouble getting a boat for the entire weekend and sleeping out of it, and that was permitted freely, though friends and I had memberships in smaller boats. But, much lower than the OP's $1,000/day requirement, and if you're willing to do more of your sailing in the shoulder (April/May and September/October), BHSC would probably work out a special arrangement with you to guarantee additional vacation weeks.

Other benefit for an OP in North Dakota, Logan airport has a water taxi dock, and it's about a five minute ride to the BHSC dock. Fly in, stow your gear, do a quick shop, and take off for some of New England's best sailing destinations!

Importantly, this is not a timeshare. You don't own any part of the boat and the only cost you'll ever pay beyond your membership is for fuel you take on during your trips (the club keeps the boats fueled up gratis, so it's only if you run your tank dry and need it somewhere else) and maybe something if you trash the boat or break it.

I have no affiliation with any of the Boston sailing centers besides being a super satisfied customer of BHSC, and a lot of regret that I moved away from Boston and the cheapest and best sailing I ever had!

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

You aren't reading it quite right. A yearly membership gets you a 7 day cruise boat use PLUS any time you book it for a day. When I was a member for 3 months after learning to sail I got a boat both Sat & Sun every weekend for 3 months.

Doesn't "unlimited day sailing" in my post cover "any time you book it for a day"? Maybe you're not reading my post right. By the way a three month membership doesn't get you the 7 day cruise. And the OP wanted to rent a boat for " a few weeks out of the year". Here, you can read my first post again.

$9400 for a membership for 1 cruise up to 7 days? But apparently unlimited day sailing. Or for $5575 you get a 7 day cruise in the 30 fleet.Cheaper to charter in the Caribbean. The Boston thing is a time share for sailing.

[sailorboy1]

as a ex-member I see no reason to argue with someone who hasn't been

[brownoarsman]

SB-were you at BSC? Ever wish you still were as you continue your cruise? Just kidding, just kidding ...

[hellosailor]

"a 41 foot lagoon....
...the NE end of Puerto Rico"

PR will be impacted far more heavily for far longer than any of the islands. It has the biggest job of replacing infrastructure, and the biggest burden of being so far in debt before it gets started. To be brutally honest, you might just cross PR off the map for at least six months and possibly a year.

Also on Lagoon or any other large cat? Apparently the charter fleets have been wiped out in most of the Carib, and the bigger charter companies have called the boat builders to politely remind them that "No boat, no business, no customer for you" trying to requisition pretty much all production for the charter companies. But that's still a very limited production stream, and I'd expect every decent used cat that is on the market, may also get snatched to fill the void.

Still, if you are looking to BUY a used one, there should be some about. The trick being to find one and move fast, and accept that it is now a seller's market. Where you will be able to keep it, you'll have to work out on the fly. But all the charter destinations are reliant on tourist dollars for the economy, so they all are trying to get tourism back up ASAP and that means you should be able to dock it someplace and still charter it out by the time you get set up and are ready to start.

I think it is a question of either strike now, or wait another two years for any semblance of normal to really come back in the markets.

Just one man's opinion. (Although a couple of alleged expert brokers can be seen prognosticating on YouTube.)

[Suijin]

The short story is that in some areas there are outfits that are essentially "sailing clubs". You pay an annual membership and for that you can take out one of their boats as much as you like with various limitations. For most, you reserve boats through a website for either day sails or limited 2-3 day "overnighters". Specific opportunities obviously vary widely by company, location etc.

In Annapolis a good example is the Chesapeake Boating Club. I have friends who are members and they love it...they get to sail without the hassle of owning and caring for a boat.

Some charter companies offer a similar arrangement, in limited locales. I have no idea what is available in the area you want to sail.

[watermanmax]

thanks to all you guys/gals for you input.....gives me lots to ponder.... I have been told don't even try to fly to Pr for at least another 7 weeks.
THANKS AGAIN

[BandB]

Unless you live on a boat or use it a lot, it's almost always more economical to rent or charter than to own. The break even point of owning vs. renting is different for every boat. The average boater, however, would save by not owning.

That said, I'm never going to not own.

[jkindredpdx]

A few years ago I shared ownership of a sailboat... 2-3 people worked out about right. My dock neighbor also sold 2 shares of his 38' Mono. It's kind of half way between chartering and owning alone. It definitely reduces cost, but be sure you are compatible with your fellow owners.