Fairview Sailing, paging owners

[jonjo]

Has anyone here at Scuttlebutt experience of placing their yacht on charter management with Fairview Sailing at Port Hamble? Or did anyone consider Fairview but go elsewhere?

Since selling my previous yacht last year I have a dollop of cash at the bank that I am trying to spend on a replacement. So far I have been getting progressively more disillusioned with the state of second yachts on the market. As the start of the sailing season draws closer the idea of buying a Bavaria off the shelf and placing it with Fairview is starting to look quite attractive. (A year ago I would never thought it possible I would say that!)

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[Mudplugger]

Jonjo... Have no knowledge of your request, but a couple of friends have just had a super deal on a Dufour 40 @ Tichmarsh, Walton. Tamsin is the contact if you are interested. Tony W.

<hr width=100% size=1>Tony W.

 

[boatless]

Jonjo

Have sent you a pm.

<hr width=100% size=1>my opinion is complete rubbish, probably.

 

[jonjo]

Re: Feel free to PM me

> Have no knowledge of your request

A year ago I thought I knew what I wanted but I am now considering a broad range of designs. The next yacht will have to be just small enough to single hand. I won't take offence if anyone PMs me with details of a really tidy second hand boat for sale.

> a super deal on a Dufour 40

Sounds expensive but I did take a liking to the new Dufour 34 on show at the LIB 2004.

I have always been something of a traditional boat snob but I am starting to think that the latest crop of new yachts on the market look right. Designs like the Dufour 34 and Bavaria 35 have snouts with attitude, flatish aft sections to prevent down-wind rolling plus rudders and keels with grip.

Who is the Dufour agent at Tichmarsh?

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[Sailfree]

I contacted fairview as an innocent punter knowing someone had placed the same yacht as mine with them and it had superior sailing characteristics to the much cheaper bavarias (for £ per sailing qualities the Bavarias were still a bargain). Fairview recomended that I charter a Bavaria and that there was no difference!
I contacted fairview again when I was considering buying an bigger yacht (Bavaria). Found out that they owned a number of these themselves and asked myself the question that when an enquiry came in what (say Bavaria 37) do they book first the one that fairview owned or the private owned one?
The specification (boat extras) give a clue to what are privately owned as opposed to minimum (but adequate) spec boat owned by fairview.
fairview can offer large matched fleets to corporate customers which may result in more bookings than a single boat would otherwise get.
If you have never owner a charter boat ask your company to let you test and drive their pool car first to get a realistic picture of how others may treat items that they have not struggled to pay for!
I will now duck.

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[jonjo]

> Found out that they owned a number of these themselves

I am hearing conflicting evidence on this from Fairview themselves, wonder if their accounts will clarify the situation.

> do they book first the one that Fairview owned or the private owned one?

This thought has been troubling me over the last couple of weeks. At least with Sunsail you know you are getting 30% off the price of a yacht up front so of course Sunsail, as part of the deal, are going to work the yacht to get their money back.

Fairview seem really keen for me to buy a yacht and place it with them, saying they already need extra yachts for peak periods this year. However having an extra yacht sitting at Port Hamble and listed in their fleet does not cost them anything. So if I only get 3 x week plus 3 x week-end charters for those few peak charter dates in the year would I be happy?

In year one I would not cover the coding costs but over the next 3 years I would get a useful subsidy toward annual costs and at the end of the day such low charter usage should not hurt resale value. Trouble is, at such low charter usage, running the yacht VAT free would not make sense because in theory I would have to pay VAT on my private use.

A syndicate is beginning to sound simpler!

On the plus side Fairview is a non-flash business that has been growing steadily for 15 years and I know they get repeat business. They also seem to prosper while pitching themselves at the upper end of the Solent charter market price wise. So they must be doing something right?

One thing that entices me is that private usage swaps can be arranged between owners of yachts in the Solent and their new Mallorca base.

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[Peppermint]

Re: Charter in the Solent

My charter contacts in the Solent tell me that the Bav 30-40ft market is a little over supplied.

Are you determined to buy new? You may find a ready coded boat with a track record of earnings. There's a Gib Sea I know of that grosses over 25k p.a. and I think its for sale.


There is really a shortage of 8-10 berth boats in that area.

I've been looking at the charter market in the Solent for sometime so pm me if you want a bit more info.

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[Mudplugger]

Re: Feel free to PM me

Jonjo... Tamsin is the dufour agent @ Titchmarsh..... I think they are the East coast dealers for Dufour.

<hr width=100% size=1>Tony W.

 

[alant]

Having had a lot of skippering experience in the past with Fairview, they certainly look after the charter yachts well.
Each boat is meticulously checked for defects immediately at the end of each charter (& I mean meticulous, almost to the point of paranoia).
As an alternative, you could try Lymington Yacht Charters.

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[racingron]

Yeah, me too. Was very impressed with there level of care. Being Freelance get to work with quite a few and I'm impressed.

A second hand Benny 40.7 is a very good, popular charter boat - worth considering - it can go on race charter as well (round the Island, Cowes etc.) and earn more money (Bavarias don't really work too well for racing). It may last a bit longer as well.

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[jonjo]

> A second hand Benny 40.7 is a very good, popular charter boat

I must admit after the week-end weather I am beginning to question the wisdom of buying a yacht with a < 30% ballast ratio.

Benny 40.7 = too expensive for me unless I get involved with one of those French VAT fiddle schemes where 10% is knocked off the VAT and I think 50% of the cost is delayed 3 years.

Good to hear resident Solent pro’s saying positive things about the way Fairview run their boats day to day.

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[Twister_Ken]

40.7

Sometimes known in the trade as the Bendy 40.7.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.writeforweb.com/twister1>Let's Twist Again</A>

 

[jonjo]

Re: Bendy Beneteau 40.7

> Sometimes known in the trade as the Bendy 40.7

Does this refer to the mast or the hull?

I recall a period in the late eighties when every other week-end a racy Beneteau would limp back into the Hamble with a crumpled mast.

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[Sailfree]

I have sent you a PM

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[qsiv]

Re: Bendy Beneteau 40.7

The hull I believe. I wasnt impressed at the boat show (Earls Court), to be able tos see from below the deck flexing as people walked. Filler had already cracked and fallen out of the hull deck joint - the boat was 4 days old...

There was a very competitive blue 40.7 at Lymington until a year or wto ago. The crew had raced it from new (two seasons), and the boat was now so spongey they couldnt get any forestay tension...

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[tcm]

Nope, not put own boat thru therm, but would do so no probs. Have rented thru fairview a number of times. Big Paul is a good chap. Dilemma of course is getting lots of charter (good) but then the boat is not totally new and shiny (bad).

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[jonjo]

>> do they book first the one that Fairview owned or the private owned one?

> This thought has been troubling me over the last couple of weeks.

I took up this point with Fairview today. They said that to kick start their matched fleet they purchased 6 Bavaria 37's a few years ago but these are now all sold leaving just their own single Bav 44.

The owner at Fairview admitted they had encountered criticism for running in-house boats alongside private boats but it had not been possible to persuade 6 private owners to buy the same model of yacht simultaneously.



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[racingron]

Re: Bendy Beneteau 40.7

Be interested to hear more about this spongey 40.7. Raced on a "blue one out of Lym" last season for Cowes week and liked the boat. Was also out on a good one last Sunday, out on a different one this weekend.

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[qsiv]

Re: Bendy Beneteau 40.7

Not sure of name - I believe one of the guys from Sanders sailed aboard - she was in Berthons 2002 collection from memory...

Although she may not have had much racing life left, that doesnt mean she wouldnt have been suitable for a more cruisy owner.

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