| |
A businessman who hails from the Midwest took a friend's advice a few years ago and booked his first-ever time afloat: a charter aboard a 122-foot motoryacht. The businessman's goal was to spend some quality time with his family and friends, so he took the $45,000-per-week yacht for an entire month and cruised up the Intracoastal Waterway . “We thought, ‘This was a great experience,'” he recalls. “Step two was, ‘Should we build a boat?'”
|
|
| |
At one time or another, all of us have ended a fine cruise with a cool drink and dreamy notions about owning our own megayacht. But few of us actually do it—and even fewer do it as smartly as this businessman did. He used the charter industry to help him find the perfect boat for his needs.
|
|
| |
 |
|
The lesson is important for anyone considering a yacht purchase, even more important than choosing helm electronics or glossy interior woodwork or surround-sound systems. The truth is, you won't be happy with any of those things if you put them on the wrong kind of yacht. And the only way to find out what kind of yacht is best for you is to sample as many as you can.
|
| |
Charter—especially a few trips aboard a few different boats—in many ways demystifies the yachting experience, and that is a huge asset for anyone trying to make a smart buying decision. “When you start a charter, at first you're in awe; My God, what's not to like here?” the Midwestern businessman explains. “But then you settle in and think, Okay, how do I really want to use this boat? That's the big thing that we learned.”
|
|
| |
Some sales brokers don't recommend charter for the simple reason that if you have a bad charter on a yacht they're trying to sell you, they will have to do more work to find you another yacht.
|
|
| |
But that's the whole point of using the charter experience to your benefit as a buyer.
|
|
| |
“You can't tell from a sea trial about the noises and sounds and feel of a boat,” says Mark, a charter and sales broker. “Listen to how the laundry is backed up against a bulkhead. Hear how the crew walks around. See how the boat swings on the hook. Launch the toys. Just a multitude of things that you'd never find out on a sea trial.”
|
|
| Our Midwestern businessman learned several things during his charter. First, he figured out that a crew with the same level of formality (or informality) as the owner is paramount for a happy megayacht experience—something he never would have figured out during a few hours' sea trial. |
|
 |
|
| |
Second, he learned he was comfortable with a boat in the same size range as his chartered yacht. So he started looking at boats with similar LOAs—first a few, then several dozen. Only after months of comparing each yacht against his charter experience did he purchase the 118-foot Trinity Time for Us.
|
|
| |
During the past two years, he has kept Time for Us in the charter market as he gets to know her—and boating—better. He not only makes note of his own preferences, but he listens to his charter clients' opinions, as well, as he decides what kind of boat he might buy next.
|
|
| |
He says he is happy that he didn't make the leap from a single charter into a new build, though he now plans to commission a 154-footer with even more crew space, charter amenities, and a private office for himself: “It made more sense to move from charter, where you learn about it, to buying an existing boat, where you learn more about it, to building a boat.”
|
|
| |
 |
|
This idea that using yacht charter as a tool first can help you make better yacht-buying decisions later, says Bruce a broker. “Try before You Buy” that in some cases lets people deduct the full charter fee they pay (minus food, fuel and expenses) as a credit toward the purchase of the yacht being chartered. In many cases, at least a percentage of the charter fee can be deducted from a final sale price.
Bruce says a charter client can use such credits even if he splits the cost of the charter with several other couples. This means the client gets a great vacation as well as an education about what kind of yacht might be best for him to buy.
|
| |
In Bruce's experience, chartering first saves the client money later on. “We've had clients who buy a Sea Ray because they want to get into boating,” he explains. “Then, because of the size of their family, they step up to something like a 70-foot Hatteras. And in a few months, that's too small. So many people do a rapid succession of boat purchases, and it's like buying a car. Every time, you lose money. You don't need to buy boats and find out they're too small or not fast enough. You can do it through chartering. Smart money rents first.” |
|
Mark agrees. He says anyone looking to buy a specific yacht should charter it for at least three nights to get a real feel for what it offers.
If you've never bought a boat before, Mark and Bruce both recommend chartering multiple yachts before deciding which one to purchase. “They should charter the style of boat they think they're interested in,” Elliott says, “and then charter something else so they can see a difference.”
|
|
 |
|
| |
Like Bruce, Mark says it is common for him to make purchase agreements subject to charter. In his case, contracts can be arranged so that as much as half the charter fee is credited to the charter client should he decide to buy the boat after experiencing it in action.
|
|
| |
“We feel it's best to deal with a client who has that kind of experience,” Bruce says. “They're armed with this knowledge and they have a lot better chance of finding a yacht that they're going to be happy with.”
|
|
Kim Kavin, editor of www.CharterWave.com
|
Web Masters and Bloggers, feel free to link to any of our articles.
Did you enjoy this article?
Please post your comments, suggestions or additions by submitting the form below.
Please note that we will not use your email address for any other purposes.
|  2216 Lakeshore Drive Nokomis FL 34275 USA Phone: (800) 382-9666 • (941) 966-9387 Toll Free Secure Fax: (866) 813-1230 • Secure Fax: (212) 500-0028 Yachts with crews brought to you by Virgin Island Sailing, Ltd. It is our pleasure to serve you. Tom DeMartine Proprietor We are Members of:  Copyright © Virgin Island Sailing Ltd. | |
|---|
|
