# Sailtime vs Pinnacle vs Windpath



## night0wl (Mar 20, 2006)

Hey Everyone,

I've been researching these fractional yacht programs, mainly as an "owner operator". Does anyone have experience with any of these three company's?

It looks like the following is true:

Sailtime - Hunter
Pinnacle Yachts - Jeauneau
Windpath - Catalina

Which would you use/prefer?

Let the discussion begin!


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## SailinJay (Dec 6, 2002)

The January 2006 issue of Practical Sailor has a good article about Sailtime.


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## JaySlupesky (Aug 6, 2006)

I just joined Windpath in San Francisco. It's too early for me to give them any detailed review yet, but I will be happy to do so in the future.

Before joining Windpath, I tried to contact Sailtime. Amazingly, they did not respond to my inquiries. Not a very good way of doing business.


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## brodgers (Jul 4, 2006)

I'm interested in this as well. We only have sailtime on the lake where I sail and I also had a hard time getting them to return my calls. However, their owner-member program is intriguing. Does anyone have any experience with them? For what it is worth, I couldn't get Pinnacle to return my calls either.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*i love sailtime tampa bay*

[advertising removed by administrator]


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Marty must really love sailtime Tampa...seeing as he posted the message twice.  But it really is probably SPAM, since I doubt that Marty of Sailtime Tampa is not the Marty posting the message.


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## rockDAWG (Sep 6, 2006)

JaySlupesky said:


> I just joined Windpath in San Francisco. It's too early for me to give them any detailed review yet, but I will be happy to do so in the future.
> 
> Before joining Windpath, I tried to contact Sailtime. Amazingly, they did not respond to my inquiries. Not a very good way of doing business.


I have a feeling the quality of the service is dependent on the individual franchise operator. Therefore, it will be difficult for consumer to compare notes between locations.

I am interested signing up one of these next year, but have been busy lately didn't have a chance to investigate. Hope other will continue to post their experience.

Cheers.


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## JaySlupesky (Aug 6, 2006)

*WindPath Impressions*

I now have a few months of experience with WindPath. According to my rough calculations, if you sail two or more days per month, WindPath (and probably SailTime and Pinnacle as well) is less expensive than the daily charter options around San Francisco Bay. Another plus is that the boat (a Catalina 34) is quite a bit newer than the ones I typically see available for charter.

On the negative side, I've been disappointed with the availability of the boat. Saturdays and Sundays are usually booked up two to three months in advance. Fortunately for me, I don't work on Fridays, which are not so heavily booked.

Jay


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## Chuteman (May 23, 2006)

*Crew Comment*

I have crewed along with others on a Hunter in the Sailtime program out of Emeryville (SF Bay). Participant Skipper seems to be happy with administration & availability but his schedule is flexible too. Boat is always in good condition & clean.
I'm not a Hunter fan - no need to debate that..........but fractional ownership has many benefits especially if you have a flexible schedule where you can use it during the week & jump on extra weekend days when they pop up.


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## sailtimeci (Dec 10, 2006)

Hello,
I am a SailTime operator in souther california. You are correct. Some SailTime bases are better at following up inquiries than others. I would be happy to answer any questions about our program available at over 30 sailing locations in the N America.

Chris
SailTime Channel Islands


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## Matc (May 16, 2006)

*In case you don't hear from us...*

Hello, I own the SailTime location in New York and Long Island. I just wanted to let everyone know that sometime our emails get stuck in spam folders. So we might have answered to your inquiry but you never see the email we sent you. As a general rule, if you don't hear from the SailTime base you are inquiring from within 48 hours, you can try our 1-877-SAILTIME number. If this still doesn't work, email me at [email protected] and I'll make sure your request is being forwarded to the appropriate Sailtime base operator.
Finally, always leave your phone number when you fill out the info request form on the website. That way if a base owner can't reach you via email, he can always try to give you a call.
Happy Sailing!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Is this similar to a time-share arrangement ? i.e.: If I wanted to be able to leave the frozen north for a week or two in the winter and go sailing would I be able to do that or is the boat only available for a day at a time ?


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## jmunson2 (Sep 5, 2006)

My experience with WindPath:

My experience is limited to a boat show "interview" with Jon here in Annapolis. I was impressed with the program enough to give it serious consideration. Of course, my brother's purchase of a boat alleviated any need to use the program.

However, the "boat share" (I'm sure they hate that term) program seems like a pretty darn good idea - as long as you bear in mind the SHARE aspect of the program. As an owner-operator you get your boat expenses paid for, but you have to share. Not a bad deal really! 

Of course, after the "time is up" on the program for the boat then you are back to square one in ownership...

From the non-owner perspective it is definitely cheaper than owning a NEW boat. A used boat will change that picture dramatically.

So, if you are looking for the "latest" boat and thus don't want an older boat, the boat share may be suitable for you.

WindPath's other plus (I can't speak for the others) is that you get trained in your first year (if you don't have experience in that size boat or better) as part of the costs - very well worth it.

I'd recommend giving it a shot, at least for the first year!

Peace, Love, and Light,

/s/ Jon C. Munson II


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## Melrna (Apr 6, 2004)

I use Sailtime here in NJ. There are many advantages and disadvantages to the program. I will try to list some of them. 

1. Price - Hits both disadvantage/advantages. In the Northeast boat slips are expensive. My membership fee would barely cover the annual slip and insurance cost. Also the sailing season is shorter here than say the west coast. April 15-Nov 1 (6 1/2 month sailing season.) But this would be true if I owned my own boat here. However, If I wish to travel south, I could charter another Sailtime boat at another base from $100 a day weekday to $350 weekend rates. Bottom line, if you can afford a boat, pay for the upkeep, slip, insurance and everything else to goes into the money pit than fractional sailing isn't for. 
2. Availability - Depends on many factors. The number #1 factor is the 7 members who share the boat with you. If all 7 members want just weekends there is a problem. If you are lucky, like I am, the 7 members have different flexibility in their schedules and we all seem to get the boat when we want it. In addition, 4 of us sail together when each of us have the slot time and one of us wants to go out. We make it work amongst the 7 of us. I believe sailing is a communal activity and believe the more the merrier. The other big advantage that Sailtime has over the other programs is the 24 hour rule. If the boat isn't being used within 24 hours it can be scheduled and not charged to your account for days used NOR ADDTIONAL FEES. I took advantaged of this rule and got 10 additional sailing days at no additional cost. 
3. Bases of Sailtime - Each base has a different manager and like all business, some are run efficiently, some not. National Sailtime is a joke and needs to tighten the reins and rules of their operators. There is no check and balances. Some bases the boats are not well maintained while others are in pristine condition. Some bases let you single handle the boat, some don't. Where I am at, they let me. If I need extra people to help dock the boat, I call the Marina and they gladly send people over to help me. 
4. One big disadvantage I found is hauling all my stuff on and off the boat for each sail. For a day sail it isn't to bad, just my sail-bag. But for overnight stuff it is usually 5 trips to my car. Minor inconvenience but still I would rather not. 

Bottomline. Different strokes for different folks. Fractional sailing fits a niche in the marketplace for some people that don't own a boat for a variety of reasons. Like any expenses, one has to look at how you are going to use a boat, your personal budget and experience. I know for myself I use the boat more than 80% of the boat owners in my marina at a least 50% off of what they are paying and I don't have to worry about maintanance and stuff they worry about in boat ownership. I works for me until I buy my own boat. :>)


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## Bryan53 (Feb 19, 2007)

I'm just getting started as a SailTime member in Atlanta, and so far my impression is a good one. The SailTime model seems to be mostly consistent from base to base, with the biggest variable being the execution of that model by the base owner. But a little web research shows considerable difference in the model in at least one base. For example this base in Houston seems to be very different from most others: http://sailtimehouston.com/club.html

I don't know if the Houston model represents the future direction of SailTime or just a local variation.


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## night0wl (Mar 20, 2006)

Sorry to revive ancient history here, but anyone hear about the changes coming to the Sailtime program where they're not going to pay for the entire bills for the boat...but to the proportion of individual accounts sharing the boat? I hear there's a lot of changes coming due to the management team at Sailtime getting the boot.


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## TejasSailer (Mar 21, 2004)

FYI, Beneteau seems to have gotten into the game with "Fractional Yachting." I have no relationship with Beneteau other than owning one outright. Info on Fractional Yachting is available on www.beneteauusa.com


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## geobone (Aug 12, 2008)

This is George Bonelli, as Founder of SailTime I would like to add some comments here. As a growing program with over 50 locations and over 160 boats on two continents and in multiple languages and continuing to grow we are going to experience growing pains just as any other business will in any other industry. The marine industry is not immune to this reality and we and our base owners all strive to deliver as much value to our members as we possible can each and every day. There is no need to take my word for it either. You can look to our over 1000 members that have elected to pay us their hard earned money for the service we provide. We are continually looking for ways to provide better training to our members, owners, bases, product improvements as well as additional products that are demanded by the market and our existing members. Some other programs have a few bases and claim to provide better service, but again I will let our growing membership base do the talking for us. If you have any questions about the SailTime program my direct phone number is 443-221-4915 x-105 and I am always happy to answer them for you or direct you to a customer or base owner that can answer them for you as opposed to the speculation that may occur by reading posts like this. Thanks and hope your summer sailing seasons continues safely!


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

George-

Welcome to sailnet. I would highly recommend you read this *post* regarding Sailnet's full disclosure policies. I would also recommend that you put information clearly identifying your position and relationship to Sailtime in your signature and or your title.


geobone said:


> This is George Bonelli, as Founder of SailTime I would like to add some comments here. As a growing program with over 50 locations and over 160 boats on two continents and in multiple languages and continuing to grow we are going to experience growing pains just as any other business will in any other industry. The marine industry is not immune to this reality and we and our base owners all strive to deliver as much value to our members as we possible can each and every day. There is no need to take my word for it either. You can look to our over 1000 members that have elected to pay us their hard earned money for the service we provide. We are continually looking for ways to provide better training to our members, owners, bases, product improvements as well as additional products that are demanded by the market and our existing members. Some other programs have a few bases and claim to provide better service, but again I will let our growing membership base do the talking for us. If you have any questions about the SailTime program my direct phone number is 443-221-4915 x-105 and I am always happy to answer them for you or direct you to a customer or base owner that can answer them for you as opposed to the speculation that may occur by reading posts like this. Thanks and hope your summer sailing seasons continues safely!


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