New member, looking to start a charter business in the Grenadines

[Lajos]

Hello everyone! I am looking for any helpful info I can get about chartering your own boat...
Here's where I started: my friend owns a Fontaine Pajot Bahia 46 and I spent a month on it as a first mate (with no prior sailing experience whatsoever) and I fell in love with THE life!
Here is my plan: first; training, I registered for navigation courses, beginner and intermediate, VHF license, diesel mechanic, electricity, first aid, this should be done in about 6 months, then I want to go on a catamaran and take SAS courses, I think I need 103 and 104, also 114 that is specific to the catamaran...

I found a nice Lagoon 41 that I might make an offer on, the boat will be paid off so I won't have the stress of meeting monthly payments. I figure I can get by with a minimum of paying guests while I set up the business?...

I want to live on it 9 months a year and charter it for up to 6 people, I plan on getting a high end web site and getting it positioned on Google, I do have an elaborate social network so that will also help.

I have been in sales most of my life and I am a giving person so I don't think I would mind having 6 clients that I have to cater to....

I went to the Annapolis boat show and asked around with the charter companies, asking them if they would be interested in a charter boat with the owner/captain on board and they seem to all run in the other direction... My understanding is that they want to be able to fire the skipper if he's not up to the task... Any thoughts on that??...

I heard of a "show for brokers" in the Carabians, anyone has info on that?


Any info, help, recommendation would be welcome at this stage.... :-)

[Suijin]

I'm going to suggest that you get a job with an existing charter company and get some experience in the business of chartering first. While having a sales and marketing background gives you skills you can leverage, there is a lot more to running a successful charter business than just knowing how to sell your services.

It's great to want to jump right in, but there are issues and pitfalls that you don't even know about that could scuttle your venture. If you work at a charter company for a season or two you'll learn a tremendous amount that you can apply directly to developing your business.

I think a little research will prove to you that the vast majority of successful entrepreneurs in a given industry have made it the first point of order to get some actual experience working in the industry itself.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Lajos.


Check out anything by Robert Charuk, including:

Charter Boat Ownership ➥ http://www.usual-suspects-sailing.co...r%20Report.pdf

And ➥ http://www.usual-suspects-sailing.co...nes-bequia.htm

And ➥ http://www.usual-suspects-sailing.co...grenadines.htm

etc ...

[FSMike]

Gord -

That's well written stuff, but a little dated (2004). Wonder how much or how little has changed?

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by FSMike

Gord -

That's well written stuff, but a little dated (2004). Wonder how much or how little has changed?

I have no idea.
I only offer Charuk's information as a single, informed, data point.
If you know of a more current opinion/data, please proffer it.

[FSMike]

I certainly don't have any alternatives to offer lol.
Actually I don't recall ever having seen any similar guide in the past, with such an emphasis on the individuals a cruiser might meet in various ports.
That's a type of information rarely seen in such quantity.

[Lajos]

Thanks for the info guys, some very interesting reads!

Update: I have taken diesel and navigation courses, I will start a weather course next month, still need electricity, my plan is taking shape: I will be taking ASA classes with barefoot in the Grenadines around September, Ilan to buy a cat in 2014, then sail her for a year, taking in friends and family to get comfortable with the boat and the life, at the same time setting up the business locally, so official charters would start in 2015....

[Gpolar]

Lajos. How is your planning going!
I have some of your idea too. But seam difficult to start.

[Lajos]

G, send me a pm, we'll compare notes, I'm about 18 months away from buying the boat and leaving it all behind...

[Santana 11]

Where did you go to get Diesel and Nav classes? I'm interested in doing something similar.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Santana 11.

[Tingum]

I am going to second the idea of first getting a job on a charter yacht. It is unlikely that with no experience you will be able to start off on a sailboat, best chance will be a large motor yacht. You would have a better chance starting as a steward/ deck hand. There you will be exposed to seamanship and a good Captain will teach you what you need to know. The best skill to offer a charter operation is the ability to make their guest happy! Give Crew finders in Ft. Lauderdale a call. Good Luck.

[Santana 11]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Santana 11.

Thank you!

Interesting thread here. I have thoughts of moving to a boat with thoughts of taking a charter now and then. Possibly also doing installations of Nav/entertainment systems on boats as a side business. Any thoughts on that would be appreciated. Don't see a need for a new thread.

Thanks

[Lajos]

Originally Posted by Santana 11

Where did you go to get Diesel and Nav classes? I'm interested in doing something similar.

In Montreal, it's only 30 hours but if you are mechanically inclined its a good start but its in French, all the courses I found locally are in French...

[Sailor_Hutch]

Seems like caribbean charter competition is pretty strong. I think a lot of single charters are "catch as catch can" sort of operations. Maybe you could slide into it that way ...