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Originally Posted by sevent
Hey there. IN a former thread you mentioned "...We are fully aware of the "cost" side of production boats operating on charter, but effectively deferring running costs for 5 years works for us financially and, above all, gives us the opportunity to advance our life(style) plans by at least 5-10 years."
I am in the early stages of considering this route. Can you discribe/explain what you meant by "cost side of production boats operating on charter"?
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Well I guess there are 3 aspects:
1. It depends on the type of sailing you want to do. If you're going to spend all your time in the Southern Oceans, a production boat may not be the first boat you would choose. OTOH they are clearly cost-effective and relatively easy to maintain, or the charter companies wouldn't use them, and they are fine for the sunnier climes that I want to be sailing in these days
Do your research on your boat, know what you're getting and decide if it's the boat for you.
2. They will naturally get more wear and tear from 30 weeks a year use than a private boat would in say 3 weeks (barring accidents)
3. You do not have unlimited usage of your boat.
It's horses for courses. If you are going cruising around the world next year, then you wouldn't use a charter company scheme to buy your boat or want their standard spec. But for us, with limited time available in the next little while, the scheme has allowed us to buy a boat long before we thought we would be able to - it made it a reality instead of a dream - and gives us 5 years to plan the finances to allow us to spend more time on the boat and to up the spec when we take her over. For some people, the limited access and the wear would be deal-breakers - for us they are a price well worth paying taking the long view.
As with anything, do your homework and know what you're getting into.
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How has the first season of chartering been going? Do you see the wear and tear more than you expected?
By the way, great choice in boat. I charter jeannes and really enjoy the (39i 44i and 49DS).
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We've not been on our boat yet but have had a couple of weeks on two identical sister boats. We are absolutely made up about how they sail - they are fast yet comfortable and we can handle them perfectly well with two of us. We have been pleased with the level of maintenance on the boats we've sailed and more than pleased with the attitude of the base staff at the 2 bases we've been to. At this stage it's a case of so far so good
Hope that helps
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