Buying a charter boat(Moorings)

[rwakelam]

Hi<My wife and I are retiring in 4-5 years and are planning on living aboard a sailboat after retirement. We are rookies but have been reading lots of books and magazines and have seen that there are 2 sides to almost every option of buying a boat. used or new, production or custom. So here is my question .We have recived info from the Moorings on a Beneteau 473 where a 25% dnpmnt would be required on $280,000.00 which would give us a guaranteed income of $2,240 through chartering with a POS cash flow of $600.00 per month. If we paid another $1800.00 a month for 5 years it would be paid off plus we would receive 6-8 weeks sailing per year and they pay all maintenance cost. I would have approximatly 173,000.00 invested on a 280,000.00 5 year old boat.or another option is to wait 5 years and buy a 2 or three year old boat for about the same ($175,000.00-$200,000.00)Does any one have an opinion or advice, it would be very much appreciated. We will have enough pension and 401k at this time where living exspenses should not be a problem....Thanks

[DuaneIsing]

If you want to read some detailed information from someone who bought a boat to put into a charter program (and is happy with the experience), try here:
http://www.usual-suspects-sailing.com/boat.htm

I have corresponded with the owner many times and he really seems like a great guy. The rest of the website is pretty informative and very entertaining, too.

Good luck with your decision.

Duane

[tsenator]

Just be very wary of purchasing a Charter boat. These boats make buying a rental car seem like a good idea. Unless you get it for a song and plan on putting alot of money and effort into replacing a lot of abused on board systems.

Personally, I would go for a very lightly used 3-5 year old sailboat. Where the previous owner (for one reason or another) needs to sell it. Typically these are well taken care of and upgraded nicely with relatively newer stuff.