Its really hard to answer this because so much of this is subjective.

I like sailing my own boat. I know how she sails and what to expect. I know what hole to put the sheet leads when the wind pipes up. I keep my boat pretty well stocked with blankets and sleeping bags, towels, pots and pans, enough can goods to slip out for overnight if the impulse hits while I am out for a day sail. I also keep spare parts and tools to deal with come what may. I like that she is my boat and I have some history with her and people know me and my boat around the Bay. That''s hard to put a price on. She costs me a couple grand a year to own so I can''t complain. In the days when I paid for a slip and owed on her note she cost me somewhere around $7,000-8000 to own. Still not too bad because a piece of that was principal and now I own the old girl free and clear, and did I say, I like sailing my own boat.

The flip side is a charter boat is not your boat. If you over cook a landing and have a little scrape, it does not chafe at you year in and year out when you wax out the topsides. If something breaks, it''s not your ''boat unit'' that gets peeled out of your wallet. On the other hand if you want to upgrade the sails, slip out for a short sail on a quiet evening, or would prefer bigger winches, you have to live with what you have been given. If you want to stay out an extra day, its a charter boat and it must be back at the dock by closing. It may be less cash out of pocket if you don''t sail much but then again its not tax deductable or building equity. And you are not sailing your own boat!

I seriously don''t think there is really an always correct answer for everyone here. Sorry,

Jeff