Should Your Buy Your Own Boat, or Charter?

There is nothing better than the feeling of setting out on a voyage in your own cruising boat, with all preparations made to your liking and a new adventure ahead. One feeling that comes close is the feeling of taking such a trip and then just leaving the boat for someone else to handle until you are ready to use it again. To own a boat, or to charter? That is the question.

The Joys of Boat Ownership

With ownership come rewards that are difficult if not impossible to get from a charter experience. Perhaps the most important one is the fundamental feeling of ownership itself. This is not some company boat that different yahoos take for the same trip every week of the year, this is MY boat. Owning a boat is a wonderful feeling of independence and of control, which cannot be matched by any rental.

Another important aspect is the customization that owners do to their own boats, whether it be cosmetic things such as personal pictures, or custom electronics, or just a pad on that spot where you always seem to bump your head. Owners change their boats over time as they find out what works and what needs improvement. A rental boat may have accessories that are in poor condition or do not work as well as the ones you might choose yourself, and there's nothing you can do about it. Any accessories on a boat you own are also yours, and if you don't like them, you can change them.

Over time, the feeling of ownership and the many customizations and shared adventures over the years lead to a bond between boat and owner. Setting out on a new cruise has a certain familiar feel that is comforting. If there is a little nick in the trim wood, you might look at it as a sign of abuse on a rental boat, but on your own boat, it might conjure up an interesting memory of just how that nick got there.

Last but not least, there is a certain amount of vulnerability inherent in leaving the care of your boat in someone else's hands. Many boaters do work on their boats which they are not really well qualified to do, just because they are not ready to trust someone else to do it to high enough standards. It is nice to set out on a trip knowing that all routine maintenance has been done properly, and the best way to know that is to do it yourself. It is nice to know how things were put together, and the location and condition of tools and spare parts. Those are things owners know, but renters must discover and/or wonder about.

The Joys of Boat Chartering

Chartering a boat has its own set of rewards. It is nice to set out on your own boat, but there is also an element of stress, especially if things start to go wrong. If your boat breaks or is damaged, you may learn why cruising is referred to as repairing your boat in various exotic locations. It is awfully nice if the damage has happened to someone else's boat, and you can just ask them to give you a different boat, or you can just get on a plane and fly home. I sleep like a rock on anyone else's boat, but on my own boats, I sleep very light, always listening and feeling for anything out of the ordinary.

A charter boat may not have all the custom accessories you would choose, but there is some value in keeping those boats simple and clean. More equipment means more things which can break. Life on a charter boat may be more austere than life on your own boat, but it will also be more trouble-free. With less focus on the boat and its amenities, your attention is focused on your surroundings, which is why you went out to sea in the first place.

With a charter boat, you are relying on a professional maintenance staff to maintain the boat between trips. You give up the comfort of knowing what was done and when, but you are also relying on people who are in the business of doing those things in a satisfactory way. Some charter companies are first tier, with newer boats and a very skilled staff, while others make do with older boats and less experienced maintenance personnel. Regardless, they have the same fundamental mission: to make sure the boats do not fail while out on a charter. Over time, the ones who cannot do that job properly will go out of business. If your charter company has been around for a while, there's a very good chance that they will have done what needs to be done to prepare the boat for service. Also, one of the biggest enemies of any boat is neglect, and many boats that are individually owned are not used for long stretches of time. Most charter boats are used frequently, and can be more reliable than a boat that has been neglected.

Time-Share Boating

In recent years, time-share boating has emerged as a viable compromise between ownership and chartering a boat. Sailtime and Windpath are two of the major players in that market, which allow you to own a part of a boat and entitles you to a set amount of guaranteed usage per year, with other times available by special arrangement. The managing owners and the companies take care of all maintenance expenses, including insurance, cleaning, and dockage, as well as routine mechanical service and paint. Members of the ownership group simply pay their bills and they can use the boat, hose it off when done, and leave. Because they are owners of the boat, it is presumed they may take a bit better care of it than renters might, and they can be relied upon to make sure that the managing owner and the company are upholding their end of the contract.

Making Your Choice

The choice between buying a boat and chartering a boat boils down to how much time and money you are willing to spend on boating, and how important it is to you that the experience be very personal. For the avid boater, nothing can replace the experience of cruising his own boat, but it will involve a sacrifice of time and money between trips that the charterer need not make. If it is important that your boat be part of your life, you'll want to own a boat. If it is only important that boating be part of your life, and you don't care so much about the boat itself, but the places it takes you and the experiences that await, chartering or using a boat time share program may fit you best.