Is this a thing?!

[Hobie_ind]

Originally Posted by Pete17C

Don't people buy boats and then charter them out?

Wouldn't this just be an extended charter?

It's quite rare as others have suggested. In three years of cruising the Caribbean and South Pacific, we only met one boat that was on an extended charter somewhat like you describe. It was French boat on a Caribbean cruiser for one year. Unfortunately for the owner it was written-off in the San Blas about 6 months into their cruise. I have no idea how the owner did with the insurance company.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...as-138463.html

In addition to the risks, given the logistical challenges (and costs) of supporting a one-off 'charterer' even in marginally remote locations, I can't see this being that attractive to many owners as a way to offset their costs in the way that you envision.

Just my thoughts. You might get lucky though so it doesn't hurt to put it out there.

[Time2Go]

Don’t overthink this
I’d start in the spring in New England
cruise around for a bit then head south for the winter.
Dollars to Donuts if you wandered around boatyards
in the Northeast US you could find something in the
50,000 range to do your year very nicely.
The idea to buy a new boat and sell it in a year
doesn’t make any sense to me.
Even if you had to Ebay or give it away at the end of your
year You Had Your Fun
Cheers
Neil

[CdS2 Roland]

Here in French Polynesia, if you sell a catamaran it can go very fast. Lot of people living on board and do just little trips between islands. I know friends trying to sell monohulls since years. Cat or mono make a big difference when you sell it.

[Allied39]

Just out of curiousity, what number would you expect to pay for the charter of a blue water cruiser in good condition for 12 months? Would the insurance be part of that number?

[bill99]

FWIW my understanding is the average time to sell a yacht is 1 year. Average

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Sorry, bella sailor, but I'm going to rain on your parade.

People who have desirable sailboats like them, they do not like to hand them over to strangers, because strangers may disregard the value and nature of their property. When that happens, basically the boat gets trashed, and the owner cops woes.

That is what the insurance would be for. Just like when hiring a car. Renting a property or anything else. Just a case of drawing up the right contracts and finding the right insurance.

[Augi]

Originally Posted by Time2Go

Don’t overthink this
I’d start in the spring in New England
cruise around for a bit then head south for the winter.
Dollars to Donuts if you wandered around boatyards
in the Northeast US you could find something in the
50,000 range to do your year very nicely.
The idea to buy a new boat and sell it in a year
doesn’t make any sense to me.
Even if you had to Ebay or give it away at the end of your
year You Had Your Fun
Cheers
Neil

The above approach can work. But will you be happy living on a boat that costs $50K? How much time and money will you need to spend to get it in shape to for your adventure eating into your 12 months. It depends how much money you have for the upfront costs plus any refit and the luck of the draw on the boat you can find. Since you are asking about renting for 12 months it does not sound like you want to mess with the variability of a boat that costs 50K.

It involves a boat. Therefore, pick your poison.

[mikereed100]

I seem to recall an article in Latitude 38 in recent years in which a family chartered a catamaran for a year, sailing from Europe to the Caribbean and back. Worked out very well for them. Similar situation to your own. Might be worth some research.

[bellasailor]

Wow, I didn't expect quite so many replies!

Thank you for all views either way... it looks like whilst in theory there's no preclusion to that type of arrangement, it is fairly unlikely.

Probably purchasing a boat is the way to go; thank you to all those who suggested makes/models etc. To be clear, we would have capital to purchase but certainly not a new cat at nearing $500k - especially as we own property that we won't be giving up/need to return to and want to ensure enough liquid cash for unexpected events and general enjoyment!

I think an older monohull but ideally well maintained and well kitted out by former liveaboards will be our best shout and we're more likely looking at $100-$200k. We are both fairly handy and not against hard work but don't want to spend the first of the 12 months in a boat yard grafting so more inclined to go to the top of the budget and minimise work needed. We will need to do our research on the schools of thought around the merits of "solid built" boats from the good ol' days (c25-30 years old) that are refitted and upgraded vs boats in the 5-10 year old space...

Well aware that boats take a long time to sell so we would likely, given we'd have a set end date for the trip, put it into sale a few months in and if we had a buyer good to go then be prepared to shave a month or two off the trip/alter plans and do something landbased.

We also spend 2-5 weeks a year chartering currently, and my brother is an avid sailor who would make use of our boat as well, so if whilst we were waiting for it to sell it had ~4 weeks use/PA and annual berthing (at some very preliminary research!) was under $10k; then even with boat upkeep costs as well (we have looked into rough haul out costs and maintenance etc, albeit we don't have boat specifics in mind yet), we're not in much different territory for "boating related outlay" compared to multiple charter holidays.

[Augi]

Originally Posted by bellasailor

Wow, I didn't expect quite so many replies!

Thank you for all views either way... it looks like whilst in theory there's no preclusion to that type of arrangement, it is fairly unlikely.

Probably purchasing a boat is the way to go; thank you to all those who suggested makes/models etc. To be clear, we would have capital to purchase but certainly not a new cat at nearing $500k - especially as we own property that we won't be giving up/need to return to and want to ensure enough liquid cash for unexpected events and general enjoyment!

I think an older monohull but ideally well maintained and well kitted out by former liveaboards will be our best shout and we're more likely looking at $100-$200k. We are both fairly handy and not against hard work but don't want to spend the first of the 12 months in a boat yard grafting so more inclined to go to the top of the budget and minimise work needed. We will need to do our research on the schools of thought around the merits of "solid built" boats from the good ol' days (c25-30 years old) that are refitted and upgraded vs boats in the 5-10 year old space...

Well aware that boats take a long time to sell so we would likely, given we'd have a set end date for the trip, put it into sale a few months in and if we had a buyer good to go then be prepared to shave a month or two off the trip/alter plans and do something landbased.

We also spend 2-5 weeks a year chartering currently, and my brother is an avid sailor who would make use of our boat as well, so if whilst we were waiting for it to sell it had ~4 weeks use/PA and annual berthing (at some very preliminary research!) was under $10k; then even with boat upkeep costs as well (we have looked into rough haul out costs and maintenance etc, albeit we don't have boat specifics in mind yet), we're not in much different territory for "boating related outlay" compared to multiple charter holidays.

Sounds like an excellent approach.

You have a lot of time before your planned 12m sabbatical and as you mentioned the running costs of owning are not that much different than the cost of the chartering that you are doing. So if you find the right boat for the right price and if it is a 1,2 or 3 years before the sabbatical, and you have the funds available you can pull the trigger. By the same token with time you can hold out for the right boat for the right price. As you mentioned same things goes for when you are selling towards the end of 12 months and beyond the 12 months. You can hold out for the right price.

If you find a type of boat that has a good name for being well built, is older so it has experienced a lot of it's depreciation and has already been fitted out by the current owner to live aboard and then the current owner changed plans, that would be ideal.

Something like at the link below would do the trick if they will come down in price to your price range:

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/199...ck-44-2807440/

OR

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/199...owse%20listing

If a Pacific Seacraft 44' or 40' that fits your other parameters is more than you want to spend drop down in LOA and find a smaller Pacific Seacraft on the East Coast of the US, Florida, Bahamas, US Gulf Coast, or Caribbean. There are quite a few 36'-37' examples on Yachtworld at the moment well within your price range.

Pacific Seacraft / Crealock are known to be very well built and high quality. New versions of the above are going for 2-3 times as used. After a used Pacific Seacraft is at 50% of it's new price and if it is well maintained it won't deprecate much based on the year the boat was built.

At another level or two down in terms of perception of quality, but still decent quality, are Island Packets. The right used Island Paket would work well for your intended use and if you buy a good boat at the right price you potentially will come out as well or better than with a Pacific Seacraft all in, after the dust settles.

Have fun and good luck.

[Bathdave]

I met a French family in CApe Verde Islands during our TransAt this time last year who had chartered a cat in France to do the Atlantic circuit, France to the Caribbean, winter there then back, 9 month trip

The French have a completely different philosophy to chartering, and a well supplied market of boats and options, so you might want to explore better availability of boats for long term charter in France for your trip.

I know you said you didn't want to do the crossing, but it can be part of the adventure and a good thing to have on your personal and sailing log.

I'd also echo the point made previously, that the lead time for a sale transcation can be huge, so you'd need to factor in owning the boat and paying for it for a year after the year you've used it on the 'buy and sell' option you are pondering.

[Bourne]

Well we llent our caravan for a year and it came back with all sorts of natty improvements and we were glad the couple had such a good time. I think it would work well. Definarely a thing. It is with houses. Perhaps you could start a trend.

[SEALEVEL skipp]

...in 2005 I overtook a boat in Grenada, the caribbean island and sailed it for 30 month, wanted to find out whether I am a skipper...
Ten years ago I bought my Jeanneau Sun Oddyssey 49 foot. Still sailing the Caribbean waters, right now in Bocas del Toro, Panama and plan to sail to the SanBlas before xmas... you could join me, in a double cabin with your own head...
I could just be the supervisor and you could skipper. I would love to travel on land again ... lets see what and how it could fit together...skipper axel

[Siwhi]

I know a family that found someone willing to lease their boat for a season and it worked well for everyone. They drew up a contract and sorted out a good agreement.

But I don’t think there is an established market for this that you can go to.

Try to establish contacts in the area first and see if there are interested owners out there. More Likely to work with well used old style well equipped live aboard boats (ie not charter market type models).