Bad Review of Dream Yacht Charters

[Rumrace]

I know there are 3 boats down on Queens Quay in Toronto for time share and rental. I think the smaller one is a 38 Dufour and the other 2 41 Beneteau. They are mint look new

[jim King]

I've considered DYC a few times but always went with Sunsail/Moorings. Comparing their bases it always looked like DYC had boats in disrepair and lacking base facilities. "Stuff" does happen but anytime I had an issue with a Sunsail boat they had a chase boat out within 30 minutes to help with any repairs.
I've had over a dozen charters with Sunsail/Moorings and would highly recomend them.
I have heard good things about the DYC in Lapaz but they also have had issues with their aging fleet.

[frantzjoe]

Have chartered with Moorings and Sunsail many times BVI, Tahiti, Belize, Bahamas, Sea if Cortez, St. Martin, et cetera.
Some bases better than others but always decent.
Recently in BVI with BVI Yacht Charters. I think they are the best. You know which specific boat you will get.
Great mechanics.
You will start the outboard before leaving, check the propane. Two of them also.

[jmschmidt]

I would only charter from Mooring-Sunsail or some small company where I knew the management and employees.

[frantzjoe]

I agree that it’s always safe to go with Sunsail or Moorings. They are kind of anonymous and you don’t know in advance the specific boat you will get. Have used them also because of my Commodores Discount. Recently have used smaller companies like Catamaran Company and BVI Yacht Charters which is our favorite. We’ve chartered in the BVI at least once a year since 1978 as well as elsewhere.

First, I don’t think it’s wise to skimp on the boat. That’s the most important thing. Save money by self provisioning, inexpensive flights, eating out less or whatever.

It’s a vacation and you don’t want the precious 2 weeks you have ruined.

My viewpoint comes from the fact that there are 6-8 of us per boat, some family, most friends and usually some kids, usually 2 or 3 boats, some regulars, some newbies, some sailors, some who don’t care about sailing., some who SCUBA, others snorkel, etcetera. We have toys like kayaks and SUP.

I like small companies like BVI Yacht Charters. You know in advance which boat is yours. Most are privately owned so they are unique and tend to have extra equipment that is not the standard for charter boats. With the company you have access to their head mechanic, Anthony. They give you a cellphone programmed with his number available 24 hours.

[bstreep]

I'll jump in again on this. My understanding: When you see a charter company that offers "guaranteed payments" to "owners", realize that in many/most cases, the charter company picks up the costs for all repairs to the boat. Conversely, many companies (Like BVI Yacht Charters), the maintenance is paid for by the owner of the boat.

You tell me. Which boat is more likely to be well maintained? The boat where the management company has to eat the repairs, or the boat where the management company bills the owner for all of the repairs? Yup. BEST maintained boats we've ever had were from BVI Yacht Charters. Worst? By far: DYC. The boat was about 9 months old and in not-great shape. There was probably 2 rolls of duct tape in use on the boat, for repairs.

As a business owner, I've always said that the difference between good companies and great companies is how they handle things when the excrement hits the fan. DYC is a classic example of how NOT to handle things. Just horrible people. At some point, they will run out of charterers to screw over.

As for the good reviews: Certainly, one would expect most charters to be mostly trouble free. But a company that pays off guests to NOT post a negative review...

[CdS2 Roland]

Hello,
We spent 30 months in the FP.
In Raiatea, I saw many times Charter Cats with well damaged bottoms (i.e. visible balsa core) and rudders, after grounding on corals...
They never stayed for a long time in the yard, quickly repaired and splashed down in the water. I saw one off these Cats (Catana) twice in a few months.
So you never know and what was the chaterlife of a used catamaran. Only way the see is removing antifouling and primer IMO.