Charter your boat?

Mike Denest · February 13, 2009, 08:28:45 AM

Have you as an owner ever offered your boat to a charter company? I'd like to know your experiences both good and bad. We are considering the idea to see if there is a benefit as we don't get on the boat as often as we like.

Ron Hill · February 14, 2009, 06:56:46 PM

Mike : I thought about it and made an offer to the chartering company, but never did get a reply. The offer required the Charterer to use his home as collateral and indenturing his family for 20 years for the least amount of damage!
Guess no one liked my terms!

RV61 · February 15, 2009, 06:14:40 AM

Mike,
While I have never offered my boat to a charter company I did have a great experience sharing a boat. Prior to purchasing our C34 my wife and I along with to two other couples shared a boat. At the time we entered the agreement One couple was the owner of the boat my wife and I along with the other couple were "charterers". The owners had put the Tanzer 27 up for sale at the time. I was interested in possibly purchasing but was hesitant due to I just married Linda and was not sure wether she liked sailing or loved it as well I was not sure about owning a boat over two hours away from home. I asked why the owner why he was selling and he said the work and time commitment after 20 years of sailing was keeping him from doing other things he wanted to do and he would simply charter when he wanted to go sailing. I told him my dilemma and let him know I would be interested in chartering several weekends that summer or until the boat sold and would like to help and learn about the work it took to keep up a boat of this size. He called several days later and said he had a proposal. The deal was we would make a group weekend in the spring and fall for commissioning and decommissioning, An agreement was signed spelling out responsibilities and liability during the time the boat was in our possession. We also had a check in and checkout list of the chores to be done. The owner had kept good records of the cost of ownership and the costs were divided out among the charterers. The weekends were split three ways and this was never a scheduling problem.. The boat did no sell that first season and the owner asked if we would be interested in continuing our agreement and said if we were he would take it off the market as this worked well for him. We jumped at the opportunity. This went on for 5 seasons until the owner decided it was time to sell and Linda and I decided we wanted our own boat as we wanted or shall I say needed more time sailing. We also wanted a larger boat and we found our C34.
Looking back why it worked only one owner vs shared ownership , those involved became great friends to this day and the charterers took care of the boat like it was theirs.
Possibly an option to consider?

tommyt · February 15, 2009, 07:18:01 PM

Mike,

I have had my 2004 in a charter fleet in the Great Lakes for a few years. Experiences both good and bad. Depends on your personality, control issues, and the charter company. The chareter company is the critical issue in my opinion. Send me a private message if you want to talk.

It can offset your expenses, but is not a business unless you have other passive income to offset. The day that I sell the boat I collect a lot of tax dollars. Until then, the charter fee's just offset expenses, which it sounds like you might be interested in.

Tom

Stu Jackson · February 15, 2009, 08:19:01 PM

Given, the times, it might be a very good year to use the boat more often.

Just goofin' but a bit serious...

Stu Jackson · February 18, 2009, 09:17:14 PM

Read reply #10 here: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4785.0.html

(Tommyt's comments in the damaged keel thread)

Craig Illman · February 19, 2009, 06:40:26 AM

Mike - I had my boat in charter the first two years I had it. It was also in charter with the PO for quite some time, I believe.

1. Talk to an accountant about the state and federal tax ramifications.

2. Its going to get more use, the sails, the engine, systems, etc., all by users who probably aren't as knowledgeable as a long time owner. For example, the only reason my engine oil got changed as often as it did was that I kept an eye on the hour meter. Otherwise, the charter base would, at best, only have changed it twice a year. If all the charterers were as thorough and cautious as the couple I still trade sail dates with, it would be fine.

My boat was popular, because for it's size, it was a good value compared to the newer boats in the charter fleet that went for almost double my rate. I got two thirds of the gross, but paid for EVERYTHING, moorage, insurance, all the maintenance. Well, everything but fuel. It wasn't the customer that put it on the rock that changed my mind, because the insurance was great about getting it repaired, it was all the little things that got broken and no one reported them to the charter base. I had to notice things. It did give me two years to learn how to take care of the boat, my first. It made me appreciate what a deal a person gets as a renter versus owner.

If I was a better writer, this could be a longer story. You could send me a note offline and I'd send you my phone number.

Craig

Mike Denest · February 23, 2009, 10:17:57 AM

Thanks guys, all of your responses have been very informative. We wanted to look at chartering as a way to offset expenses as we don't get the boat out as often as we would like to do. I have to talk with the charter outfit but from what I have heard, they have a good reputation and are responsible operators. As Craig mentioned, we have to keep a close eye on it. We don't expect it to become a business, we want to try to offset some of the cost.

joe · February 23, 2009, 10:39:03 AM

when you put it in charter, you might post contact info on this board.i've chartered on multiple occasions in different places,with different boats, never a c-34. it would be fun to charter a boat that i'm already very familiar with. joe

Braxton · February 25, 2009, 03:41:31 PM

Quote from: Craig Illman on February 19, 2009, 06:40:26 AM
My boat was popular, because for it's size, it was a good value compared to the newer boats in the charter fleet that went for almost double my rate. I got two thirds of the gross, but paid for EVERYTHING, moorage, insurance, all the maintenance. Well, everything but fuel. It wasn't the customer that put it on the rock that changed my mind, because the insurance was great about getting it repaired, it was all the little things that got broken and no one reported them to the charter base. I had to notice things. It did give me two years to learn how to take care of the boat, my first. It made me appreciate what a deal a person gets as a renter versus owner.

Craig's boat was so popular that I chartered it twice. That experience was actually a prime motivator behind us purchasing a C34. And for the record, I was not the person who put it up on a rock.

Craig Illman · February 25, 2009, 04:26:04 PM

Braxton - Did you charter it while in the AYC or the Windworks fleet?

Craig

Braxton · February 26, 2009, 08:31:54 AM

At AYC.

Craig Illman · February 26, 2009, 08:43:58 AM

Ah, I've done a mod or two since I bought it out of the AYC fleet four years ago. This forum can be a bad influence to the wallet.

Craig