Some Advice Needed - Chartering

morvargh

morvargh

New Member
Joined
23 Sep 2006
Messages
17
Location
Plymouth UK
www.morvargh-sailing.co.uk
Dear All

This is my first post within the Scuttlebutt - so please bare with me if it's in the wrong area.

I'm after some advice really...

For the past year i have been in the process of setting up a charter company in Cornwall; my question is two fold.

1.) Has anyone chartered a yacht and what were your experiences with it, e.g. handover, yacht type, state of repair, documentation etc (please don't mention the companies)

2.) And secondly - could anyone give me advice in setting up a charter company? I have been researching the market for over a year but am sure as with any business that there are things that i have missed.

Any help or guidance you all could give would be great.

Thanks

Matt
 
Have chartered over a hundred times between owning, all Solent-based: Etap 26, Sadler 29, Contessa 32, Rival 32, Fulmar 32, Sigma 33, Jeanneau 35, Feeling 37, Bavaria 42, Prout 27 & 31 catamarans, others on the East Coast and in the West Country. Dismasted two of them.

PM me if you dare!
 
Hell! Dismasted Two! Remind me not to let you charter one of my boats! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Thanks for the reply, could you gve me details of how the booking procedures went? What forms etc you had to fill out? How was the hand over? I have only ever experienced very quick walk throughs then left to own devises, is that the norm?
 
If you are buying new boats for charter then make sure they are built with the charter requirement modifications incorporated within the build.

If bareboating (we don't) then you should consider engaging a diver to inspect the hull/keel on the yachts return.

If you are taking on someone elses yacht to manage and charter then make sure the owner is not around for at least 3 days on the return of the yacht so you can clean/fix the broken bits before they see it.

Steve
www.seraph-sailing.com
 
If you are looking for info on booking procedures etc. why not use some of your rivals and charter a few boats with different rivals to see what they do and what they offer.
 
You could benefit from doing some research within the Yacht Charter Association. Get their handbook, ponder their standards, maybe even join the association.

Speaking as someone *not* on the inside of the industry, there are plenty of people who want to charter, who want reliable guidance, and who will come back - and bring friends - if properly treated. Quite a lot of sailing 'newbies' responded positively to a certain now-Plymouth based charter/training company coming to talk to their DS Shorebased class, by booking courses and charters. They were made to feel comfortable about the whole business, and wanted as clients, instead of barely tolerated.....

On t'other hand, I know of a couple of charter operators who tried to work 'flankers' on some not-very-experienced clients. Such as stowing an already-shredded spinnnaker deep inside the sail locker - which was not inspected at outset - then charging the clients for damaging it.
Such as seeking to charge a client for damaging a keel by 'probably running aground during the charter'. The evidence was some 'gouges' in the lead keel bulb. The client sought professional advice through his RYA tutor, who quietly discovered through his contacts that the boat had dragged its mooring aground several times during that summer, and that gouges in the lead bulb keel are common during the 'hot pour' manufacturing process, the holes are typically filled with car body filler, then overpainted. Eventually, the filler falls out..... but unsuspecting charterers can be suckered, one after the other, into relinquishing their damage/security deposit.

There are other scams, on both sides of the agreement, but I can say with some confidence that 'nothing travels faster than bad news', and that the guy who tried to swindle students of mine i.r.o. phony keel damage has lost - to my certain knowledge - at least 11 potential family charters due to the story being told by one original 'victim' in his home town.

There's also a club that does nothing but charter. They go back - time and again, year after year - to the same outfit, 'cos they get treated fair and square.

'Viral marketing' really works in this field.

ps I'm looking for periodic, economic charter of a coastal boat with character, such as a Cornish Crabber 24 or Victoria 30, down west. Ideas?

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Hey

Thanks all for your advice, i have bought the YCA guide to charter and have used that as much as possible in forming my business plan. I have chartered a few boats but am consious that i havn't chartered as many of some you in this forum.

I agree with you all that there are unscrupulous charter companies out there and that it is largely still fairly unacessable to some.

Therefore my ethics will be something that i will be pushing very early on. I want to attract families and groups of people such as Day Skippers that need further experience; i'm hoping to do this by having a customer service strategy that meets or exceeds peoples expectations.

I believe that the handover should take as long as is necessary and that there are NO hidden charges; i'm hoping to include a complete guide to the charter area with things such as pilotage plans, restuarant to visit, facilities etc on board the yacht, of course there is nothing better than having the customers own recomendations!

Not only that but also a history of the area and key places to visit; couple that with a very eco-friendly approach - i will be trying to impact the environment as little as possible by using products such as ecover etc.

I hope it all works! Of course raising funds to start is the biggest challenge!

What do you all think?

(P.S. Thanks for the info so far!)

Matt
 
Bear in mind that every major charter company has gone bust, usually more than once. The basic problem is the capital needed and the poor use of assets i.e. the sailing season is short and the capital isn't earning revenue for most of the year. Hence why many of the big companies' boats are privately owned/funded. It's also why Sunsail moved boats from the Med to Caribean each year, the seasons are complimentary.

Having said that some small oprators do flourish but take a good look at the competition and pricing in your area, there might be more than you think. You might also find that raising bank finance is tricky because many banks have been burned by charter businesses - private finance may be the best route.

Sorry if that all sounds a bit negative but best to know what you're getting into...and good luck!
 
No worries on the negatives, their probably the most usefull lessons of them all!!

The Bank have been very good and are interested after seeing the business plan, of course you are right about banks and charter companies, the interest charges and terms reflect the business. So i'm looking for investors at the moment, hopefully not the Dragons Den!

Joking aside i think that havng a good team to sart with is crucial; have been having meetings with an enterprise agency who are making me look deeper into aspects of the business plan, strong learning curve!

Matt
 
>looking for investors at the moment, hopefully not the Dragons Den!

Given the number of quality yachts that sit in marinas going nowhere it might be worth trying to contact all the owners to see if they would let you manage charters for their boats. Obviously you would need to work out how to fund bringing the boats' equipment up to charter standard but since this should help hold the value of the boat then perhaps that can be taken off the percentage of charter fees you pay the owner, over a period of time. Certainly the successful small operators I've seen don't own more than one or two boats themselves.

By the way, where I'm coming from is I haven't run a charter business but we did charter two or three times a year for over twenty years and we were founder directors/shareholders of www.LateSail.com, the late availability bareboat company - so we got to know the operators side quite well.
 
Have thought about that avenue and agree whole heartedly! - the YCA mentioned it in their guide to charter book, i am planning to own one or two yachts and do that very thing, of course the biggest problem is the waiting list for marinas!

thanks

Matt
 
If you are trying to "set up a Yacht Charter Company" and have to ask the forum for business planning advice I would suggest that you re-examine your business model.Bad advice is free Good advice costs.Let me know when you are closing down down I might be interested.
 
Oh dear. Good business people canvas ideas from all interested parties - the successful ones can sort the wheat from the chaff, but they always ask. I started a Web design business in 1995, the paid professional advisers said don't do it. The unpaid, mainly techies, who were canvassed thought it was a great idea. The company was set up and now I'm cruising full time, enough said really.
 
Fanky,

Thanks for your feedback, but i must disagree! I have a HND in Business and have learnt over time that the people that either use the product or even those selling the product are always willing to give advice.

We are by our very nature willing to help people, i know i certainly am! Why should the lessons have to be learnt more than once? Is it not best to get these lessons out of the way before i have to face them in the 'real' world?

An interesting debate?

Matt
 
raising funds

Why?

The established business model is for yacht owners who can't quite justify (or afford) the expense of ownership, to supply the yacht fully coded, equiped, berthed, insured and ready to go. In return they keep 60% of the charter income, you have 40% for marketing, administering, hand-overs and handling running repairs. Major repairs are down to the deposit and / or the insurers or the owner.

The minute you own your own yachts (unless rather niche), you lose the credibility of independance when the booking enquiries roll in. And the finances go to complete 8o11ox.
 
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