Crew & advice Wanted

[TimM]

I am new to this game and need advice. I am buying a 29 metre (under 24 m load line) 4 year old steel Motor Cruiser, with 7 double cabins plus crew. Having had a big heart attack and stroke by the age of 45 I am now planning what I always wanted to do and sail the Med and Carribean whilst I can. I have sailed on a tall ship in the ARC and will be taking exams in the next few months. I have the option of keeping the captain and crew on, but would prefer to share the good life with freinds or (freinds to be). I know this yacht is a bit larger than avarage, but I really wanted a yacht with loads of space both inside and out.

Question... The yacht is chartered for circa 40 days in July / August in Turkey which helps me with the running costs but not all, however for the rest of the year I can sail were I want. Is it reasonable for me to cover my costs to charge anyone for 3 / 6 / 9 months live aboard at say £ 500 per month?

If anyone one would like further information on the yacht and cunning plan to live life to the full, then this is a good time to get involved.

Tim

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[snowleopard]

if you make a charge you become a commercial operator and will need to have the boat coded, i.e. brought up to statutory safety standards and inspected. you as skipper will also need a commercial licence.

the exact rules depend on the country of registry but if you register in one country and operate in another's waters the latter country may force you to change.

you might get away with it in a little cruiser but you would be very much in-your-face to the authorities.

With a boat that size a good business is possible but you will need to do the homework before starting.

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[tcm]

hi tim

On a large boat like this that, you need a "together" skipper and crew, and on that boat (with charter) it would need to be a knowledgable skipper, plus hostess/cook (usually a girl) and perhaps a deckhand. It should be possible with a quite-to-very active couple as the crew.

The idea of you doing the skippering AND keeping the charter is not really on - unless you know what a motor boat charter looks like - and it is mostly cleaning, cooking, more cooking, getting drinks, getting more drinks, cleaning and making beds, policing the guests from wrecking the place, preventing them from using illegal drugs, getting breakfast for the early riser guests from 7:30 ish, being available till perhaps after midnight, or even anytime if at anchor, and handling the entire boat whilst they watch a video/collapse/have sex whilst you berth the thing.

If they have a skipper who has been with the boat for more than a season - then he'll know the boat. You will lose all this knowledge if he clears off. He may also be the key to the charter as well- cos if charter is re-booked from a previous season , then they obviously liked the way it ran last time.

if you fire the skipper, then you must factor in the idea that maintence, cleaning and so on will be a part of the good life. But for the charter you need a skipper and crew and since you focus on your heart attack, it sounds as though you might be better suited to being a charter guest, not the owner, and not the skipper.

I wd choose a smaller boat than you don't need 40 days (or any days) charter to cover the costs . 40 days charter is a lot!

all imho.

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[AndrewB]

TCM has answered in terms of running this boat as a chartering operation, but if I understand your question correctly, you are asking what might be reasonable to charge friends and guests for extended liveaboard cruising outside of a charter operation.

It is quite normal practice for guests acting as crew to pay for the costs of their keep, though obviously they need to know in advance. If you charge anything more than a straight, non-profit making contribution to the actual running (not maintenance) costs, then you count as a commercial operator, and as Snowleopard says, would have to conform accordingly. It may be that £500 per month is not unrealistic for monthly running costs per person, depending rather on the size of your fuel bills and your life-style generally. I think though you could only suggest this as a ball-park figure, and would have to charge pro-rata based on what it actually costs. It is advisable to let people know whether they are expected to pay for repairs and losses (below insurance excess) as well as food, moorings and fuel.

You might consider contacting a crewing agency such as <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.crewseekers.co.uk/>Crewseekers</A> who specialise in bringing together owners seeking crew and those wishing to sail.

£500 is of course much lower than the cost of a typical 'adventure holiday' blue-water skippered charter, which start at about £2,500 per person per month. For that reason I am assuming this is not a commercial advert in disguise!

 

[TimM]

Many thanks for your advice, whilst the yacht is in Turkey for July and August it can be chartered with the present crew, but I really only want new crew to join me on cruising the Med and Carribean for the remaing 9 / 10 months of the year. I think from the replies sent I should keep the Captain on. Regarding the sharing of costs (rather than charge) I think £500 per person per month for say 4 new sharing crew would work out at less than 50% of the running expenses which I would be happy with. Whilst chartering in Turkey should be a business, I am doing this because it has an existing cliantle, I really want to just share the experiance elsewhere with a good group and have a very relaxing time. I would much prefer to have the same people all of the time and not change after 3 months.

Tim

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[TimM]

Many thanks, I think you understand just what I intend doing, and my thoughts on £500 per month would only cover 50% of the actual running costs if that when not chartered.

As for the last sentence (which I fully understand) some people might like to use this forum for charter crew. I really just want to find people for the longest period possible to share a great experiance with. I just wanted to know what was reasonable to ask as a contribution. She is truley a lovely Motor Sailor and if anyone knows of a position where I could join a similar yacht and contribute costs before my imminant purchase of my yacht I would very much like to know the details.

Tim

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[charles_reed]

You might like to follow

this lead story and then re-consider your plans.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/3784647.stm

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