# Charter ownership in the PNW



## CharlieCobra (May 23, 2006)

I'm considering going with a new Beneteau 32.2 with a Mooring company or a used Beneteau 50 with another well known and rated local company. My question is, how many weeks on avg. the boats in the PNW actually get chartered and what discernable percentage of the TCO of the boat get's covered on avg. per annum.


----------



## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

Greetings fellow Skagit County resident,

There is a fella on the C-42 website named Ken Fisher or Fischer that has his boat in a charter fleet in Anacortes. He may be able to answer your question.


----------



## CharlieCobra (May 23, 2006)

Cool, do ya have a link?


----------



## EDonWalsh (May 22, 2006)

*I had 10 weeks of Charter Time with San Juan Sailin*

Charlie

In 2001 I had a Jeanneau 34 in charter with San Juan Sailing. It was booked for 10 weeks - pretty good when you consider the length of our season. When I replaced the 34 with a 37 in 2002 I didn't put the new boat into charter so this is the most recent info that I can give you.

Don Walsh
Windfall SO37


----------



## CharlieCobra (May 23, 2006)

Thanks Don, the boat that's being replaced by this new one rented for 17 weeks each year the last two years. That's a real strong performance for the PNW. I just don't know if I like the idea of not being able to go down to and out on my boat when the urge strikes because it might be booked..


----------



## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

Here's a link that will have Ken's email address. We purchased our previous boat from a sailing club down in Seattle. They tried to talk us into leaving the boat in their fleet but we used it too much for it to pay off. We met Ken a couple years ago when he was commissioning his brand new C-42. It was his plan to put it in the charter fleet over in Anacortes.

http://www.catalina42.org/national.htm


----------



## ksfischer (Nov 11, 2002)

*PNW Weeks*

I've been in charter for about 8 or 9 years at a "big PNW charter company". My C30 usually ran 12-15 weeks/yr. My C42 is less, running 9-10 weeks/yr.

There are a LOT of factors that influence that rate, so don't put that in stone! Most important is the number of similarly sized and priced boats in the same fleet AND other local fleets. You can get a good feel by poking through the inventory at ayc.com, bosuns.ca, and sanjuansailing.com.

Ken Fischer
C42 Solaria


----------



## ecgossett (May 8, 2007)

*Ownership*

How long does it normally take to fully own a boat in a charter service like that?

- Edward


----------



## ksfischer (Nov 11, 2002)

Disclaimer: Charterboat ownership isn't for everybody, and probably not for most people.

Charter boats are typically on a 20% down 15 year loan. I think it is fair to say that you will pay 20% of the total expenses over the life of the boat, including payments, insurance, moorage, etc. So, you are loosing money, but gaining equity. My Catalinas have appreciated over time, so that helps.

Important to note that this is not a tax write-off. It is a passive loss. You basically offset your charter income, so no taxes on the money you use to make your boat payments. You cannot write off the loss against your regular job without inflicting the wrath of the IRS. Mike Kimball is an excellent source (google him).

Think of charter boat ownership as owning a lot more boat that you could normally afford (paying 20% of the cost), and the boat working to make the other 80%.

Other folks play things differently - to each their own. Some friends paid cash for a boat, made improvements, and sold due to medical issues. They came out ahead and did a lot of good sailing in the mean time.

In my mind, building equity means a lot of sweat equity. Pay someone else to work on your charter boat, and you will be out of your own pocket.

Just my $0.02.

Ken Fischer


----------



## CharlieCobra (May 23, 2006)

Yeah, I agree on the above but decided to go another way so I can use the boat when I want to, not when it's available.


----------

