# Suggestions for a cheap bareboat charter in the Fl Keys?



## cdsnyder83 (Jun 25, 2015)

Hey Everyone, can any of you recommend a cheap bare boat charter in the florida keys area? It looks like I'll be changing jobs in the next 3-5 weeks and I figure I'll take a week off between companies to do a little sailing. I'm looking for a sailboat in the 25 ft - 32 ft for about 3-5 days. I currently own a 27' Catalina and have done a fair amount of solo long distance sailing on Lake Erie, so I'm assuming I should have no problem with having a boat rented to me. Thanks for any info!


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## Jammer Six (Apr 2, 2015)

If such a thing existed, I'd never use a cheap bareboat charter.

Would you buy a parachute from a factory seconds outlet?


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

If you're in OH, why limit to the FL keys? Call Ed Hamilton Yacht Charter Agents and see what last minute deals they might get for you. I used them once and they were very helpful. They are wired into most bareboat companies, although, the Virgin Islands may be the closest to your requested destination. You can get flight to St Thomas pretty cheap. Sailing the VIs, is always within sight of land and generally protected. Easy peasy.

Caribbean Charters, charter boats caribbean, caribbean vacations sailing by Ed Hamilton Yacht Charters

Or, give a couple of the bareboat companies a call to see if they have an unrented boat or cancellation.

Length is correlated to price, but age, condition and general desirability are as much a factor in price. A brand new shorter boat can cost as much as an older longer one. You generally get what you pay for.

I dare say, however. There is no such thing as a cheap bareboat vacation, once it all adds up.


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

Minnewaska said:


> I dare say, however. There is no such thing as a cheap bareboat vacation, once it all adds up.


Boy, that sure is the truth. I'm doing one there in two weeks. I can give you feedback after that. The bareboat charter operators seem to have taken lessons from the airlines by offering attractive-looking base prices and then adding various fees and surcharges.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

I've never seen a bareboat operator add any significant fees, other than fuel and insurance. It's food and booze and moorings and airline tickets, etc. that add up. We usually have one hotel room on either end of the charter. This time we had one on both ends. All in, the trip is 2-3x the cost of the boat for two people.


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## Minnesail (Feb 19, 2013)

I looked at this place, but ended up deciding on the other coast for this winter. They have boats in the size you're talking about:
Florida Keys Sailing


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Go to sailboatlistings and find some people selling 10k boats in that area...and offer them $1k to rent it for a week.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

RegisteredUser said:


> Go to sailboatlistings and find some people selling 10k boats in that area...and offer them $1k to rent it for a week.


No one would be insured in that arrangement.


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Minnewaska said:


> No one would be insured in that arrangement.


The renter is added as a user, not a charter.
Want 'cheap'...then go cheap...
And in that type of situation, maybe nobody cares....


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## Jammer Six (Apr 2, 2015)

Someone would care if they pile the boat up.

That's the worst workaround I've heard about.


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

Minnesail said:


> I looked at this place, but ended up deciding on the other coast for this winter. They have boats in the size you're talking about:
> Florida Keys Sailing


At Florida Keys Sailing, he requires that you purchase your own towing insurance ($150 for one year's coverage with BoatUS). He also does not supply a tender so you must rent a sea kayak for the week from another vendor. Stoves on his boats do not have large propane tanks so you must purchase your own disposable Coleman type tanks, estimating how many you might need for your trip. He may forget to tell you some of these until after he has quoted you a price or after you have paid.

Figure these costs into total.


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

midwesterner said:


> At Florida Keys Sailing,.....


But hey, you get free dockage where the boat is kept docked...

If I ran a bareboat charter company I would charge enough so that nobody ever made a reservation, and I never had to deal with all the BS.

If it was easy, we would see them all over the place.


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

RegisteredUser said:


> midwesterner said:
> 
> 
> > At Florida Keys Sailing,.....
> ...


I hadn't thought about that, that's a neat trick! As long as I don't sail the boat anywhere I'll have no mooring or marina charges!



RegisteredUser said:


> If I ran a bareboat charter company I would charge enough so that nobody ever made a reservation, and I never had to deal with all the BS.
> 
> If it was easy, we would see them all over the place.


I know that's the truth. We all know lots of stories of damage to things like rental apartments, rental cars, rental beach houses and rental boats.

One charter company owner told me he has no autopilot on any of his boats because it increases the number of grounding incidents. He wants people forced to be at the helm when underway.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

RegisteredUser said:


> The renter is added as a user, not a charter.
> .......


I understand this isn't meant to be all that serious. But, for what it's worth, just because one is added as an authorized operator (user), does not mean the authorized operator is covered. Just the owner is still covered, while the operator is using. In fact, after the insurance company pays the owner for the damages, they can sue the operator for causing the loss. It's called subrogation. The user would need to be added as an additional insured party, which of course requires the insurance company to identify the insurable interest, such as whether they are an owner. A renter is a commercial operation, which is excluded under every recreational policy I've ever had. No insurance for you!..... said the soup nazi.


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## Minnesail (Feb 19, 2013)

midwesterner said:


> One charter company owner told me he has no autopilot on any of his boats because it increases the number of grounding incidents. He wants people forced to be at the helm when underway.


Interesting.

The place I'm chartering from (one week from today!), Harbor Yacht Clubs of Long Beach, doesn't have auto on any of their boats. I wonder if that's their thinking.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Minnesail said:


> .....The place I'm chartering from (one week from today!), Harbor Yacht Clubs of Long Beach, doesn't have auto on any of their boats. I wonder if that's their thinking.


Sounds like a good excuse, but I don't buy it. No AP increases fatigue, which is the leading cause of all errors. For that matter, an AP may help one take 30 seconds to study the chart. I'm not suggesting it needs to be used all the time. Hand steering is fun....... until it's not.


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## Minnesail (Feb 19, 2013)

I have not had good luck with autopilots on charter boats. They often don't work, and when they do work they sometimes flake out.

I usually test the auto while motoring, and if it can hold a course for a good length of time without any weird behavior I *may* trust it under sail. If conditions are benign. I really don't want an autopilot-assisted accidental jibe.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Never fully trust an auto-pilot on any boat (or plane). They are, however, critical workload management technology and a good one will work 90% of the time.


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

Minnewaska said:


> Minnesail said:
> 
> 
> > .....The place I'm chartering from (one week from today!), Harbor Yacht Clubs of Long Beach, doesn't have auto on any of their boats. I wonder if that's their thinking.
> ...


I wonder if the idea of not having AP on charter boats is to discourage people from trying to do night sailing. I wonder, are there any charter operations that allow charterees to sail at night?


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

midwesterner said:


> I wonder if the idea of not having AP on charter boats is to discourage people from trying to do night sailing.....


It's most probably a simple cost and maintenance issue/reason.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

midwesterner said:


> I wonder if the idea of not having AP on charter boats is to discourage people from trying to do night sailing. I wonder, are there any charter operations that allow charterees to sail at night?


I haven't come across any. It's probably an insurance restriction. At night, you are at greater risk of impact with debris, or catching a line, etc.


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## Minnesail (Feb 19, 2013)

Sailing Florida out of St. Petersburg allows night sailing. One of their suggested itineraries is an overnight sail to Key West.


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## ianjoub (Aug 3, 2014)

Minnesail said:


> Sailing Florida out of St. Petersburg allows night sailing. One of their suggested itineraries is an overnight sail to Key West.


They always tell me no overnight sailing... :grin:Luxury:


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## Minnesail (Feb 19, 2013)

ianjoub said:


> They always tell me no overnight sailing... :grin:Luxury:


Bummer. I love night sailing.

On their website one of their suggested destinations is:


> Longboat Pass to Venice Inlet 26NM
> It requires prior experience with overnight passages and a capable crew.


Destinations


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