Apparently, the average boat owner gets to use his boat for only three weeks of each year. That’s total sailing time, including day sails and short weekends. The rest of the time, it is either afloat with him hoping nothing has happened to it, or stored on shore. And he’s paying for it all the time.
To make matters worse, usage probably follows the usual 80-20 curve, with a very small number of owners getting out every weekend and four full weeks, while the vast majority barely manage a one-week cruise and a few scrambled days or weekends.
If you live in a big city like London, there is quite a good case for not owning a car. The risks of damage and theft are high, and insurance premiums reflect this. Traffic is so slow that driving around isn’t necessarily more effective than using public transport, and by taking advantage of weekend and off-season deals you can get the use of a brand new rental car when you need it, for less annual outlay than owning, and with guaranteed availability. You can also rent whatever type of vehicle fits your current need.
Chartering a yacht has similar advantages, plus the fact that you can cruise different waters at will, some of which would be out of reach of your boat unless you habitually pay a professional crew to move it around for you. You don’t have to scour the Web and the yachting magazines to find the boat you want, where and when you want it, either. Companies such as BoatBookings act in much the same way as yacht sales brokers – they are agents for charterers of all types of recreational vessel all over the world, and will even do a search on your behalf if they don’t have what you want on their books. Take a look at the Croatia Charter page on this blog for a bit more information, and an enquiry form.
The charter industry performs a useful service for yacht owners, too. Unlike the car rental business, – which works because manufacturers offer heavily-discounted deals to major rental franchises, with guaranteed buyback after a specified time or mileage – a large fraction of the charter fleet consists of privately-owned craft. The owners offer them for charter when they are not using them, to help defray the costs of ownership.
Most charter companies are interested in acquiring new craft that they can charter out, but not every owner is well-placed to take advantage of this. You need to own a fairly new boat, of a type that the charter companies have found reliable and economical to operate. You are also requred to equip and maintain the boat to a high standard – but the prospect of earning revenue from charter allows you to do so, to your own advantage when it’s your turn to go crusing. Just don’t expect to make money at it, or even get anywhere near breaking even.
