Anyone interested in a long-term charter next summer or shared use on the West Coast of Scotland? Ideally 45-80 feet.

[jquin]

I'm looking to do a long-term charter next summer to trial having a boat by our house on the Isle of Mull before committing to buying. It is a stunning cruising area with hundreds of islands and anchorages and amazing scenery and wildlife.

I'm hoping to find a motorboat to charter which can sleep 6 (or 8 with a couple of children on converted saloon seats). In an ideal world something like a Van der Valk 23m but I will obviously be flexible given there aren't many around! I'd like to have the boat from early May to late August (but again am flexible) and would arrange for a very strong mooring in Tobermory harbour. I thought I'd post here in case anyone was interested in sharing usage. i.e. we would split the summer up into 2 or 3-week slots and they could also then cruise this area. I can give lots of recommendations for places to go or full touring itineraries. I'm happy to cover insurance and/or put funds into Escrow with a UK lawyer as security.

I have lots of boating experience (I already own a Sealegs 7.1) and knowledge of the area (I cruised the West coast every summer as a child with my parents).

Any leads/ideas welcome. Thanks...

 

[Seastoke]

Where would you charter from .

 

[BruceK]

Where would you charter from .

From what I understand, you, or share your costs.

 

[jquin]

I'd be happy to collect it it's not too far away or if it's further afield (and is viable cost-wise) I could arrange for it to be professionally skippered.

 

[BruceK]

Worth an enquiry? Yacht Continental II 23.00 Flybridge, a Wim van der Valk Yacht

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Bit of a jump from a Sealegs.

 

[MrB]

How much would it cost for a 23m charter £25-30K pw? 3-4 months? £300k-£480k? How many useable days?? You would only "probably" find one in the south of the UK and It would cost a fortune to get it to Scotland and I don't see anything in Norway (nor in the south for that matter). Better off buying a boat!

 

[jquin]

I'm hoping there's a different cost structure for a 4-month charter, especially if there's someone out there who only uses their boat for a few weeks in the summer and would like to try Scotland and might not be earning anything from it otherwise. I'm aware this is a bit of needle in a haystack but thought I'd try it out and I'm quite flexible on the boat. I did talk to someone before who was up for it (he had a Botnia 46) but he's now sold it.
I'll try messaging the boat on that website. I did try Van der Valk direct and have messaged Elburg who have a few for sale.

This trial (as opposed to buying) is part of extremely delicate negotiations with my wife who is yet to be persuaded of the joys of boat ownership

 

[Sticky Fingers]

You can't just randomly charter someone's boat. It's a charter boat, or not. If it is, then there will be a rate for the period for sure. Call up on that WVdV and see what they can do, that'll give you a benchmark.

You might also find out from them what the level of experience and qualifications for skipper and crew they expect for a bareboat (which is what I think you're after).

 

[jrudge]

in effect you can as they assign you 1/64th of the boat with a signed transfer back. As such they become an owner. This would not be practical or desirable for a short period but for the above would work.

I can see this appealing to someone, possibly someone bringing a decent sized boat back from themed - but Scotland is not the warmest place so I suspect that is the biggest single issue

The bigger issue is a sealegs seems to be a small rib - so in effect any owner would insist on a skipper.

I don’t think this is impossible but the location and lack of experience make this very tricky

 

[Dino]

If negotiations are that delicate with the wife then maybe you need to just buy a boat and head off cruising. After a few weeks sitting around at home with nobody to entertain her, she might be delighted with a few weeks cruising.
Also, very few boats, even at 23m, are designed to sleep 8 adults plus kids. Big Dutch boats usually have 2 staterooms, 3 on a big boat. Buy a boat that suits your needs, not something massive to bring all your mates.

 

[jquin]

Hmmm I could try that approach but I'll try with the collaborative approach first.
I'm happy to put the value of the boat in Escrow if it helps reassure someone.
(Re; berths - sorry - I meant that of the 8, I'm happy that a couple of those are converted saloon seats. i.e. 6 actual berths in 3 cabins). Most of the time it would be 2 adults and 2 children.
I know Scotland is not the warmest but you wouldn't believe how beautiful some of the places we can get to are. I'm much happier wearing an extra fleece and having a deserted anchorage.