Smart Charter Yacht Ownership - An Owners View

For Megan and Adrian Barnes the journey to charter yacht ownership has clearly been great fun and a challenge they have relished together.

Adrian can't stop smiling when he tells the story...

..."After a fantastic 3 year yacht syndicate with SmartBoating we sat down and reflected.

We'd learned heaps about boating.

We could now sail, anchor and berth with some confidence.

But we still knew so little and there was so much more to learn...

With a Smart syndicate the yacht was just so perfect we never seemed to learn much about it. We wanted to tinker with our boat and become regular customers at Whitworths!

We also realised we were hooked on Bayview. It really is a lovely marina with some fantastic characters. We felt like we belonged.

We decided the world of charter yacht ownership was the next step for us and searched for a short handed yacht we could sail easily together. The Hanse 320 was the obvious choice.

We're delighted with Liquid Leisure. She's great fun to sail and performs really well."

What other factors did you consider?

"We wanted to make yacht charter pleasurable for other people.

We chose to make Liquid Leisure as comfortable as possible for our charter guests.

We went to great pains to ensure everything is labelled and everything is obvious.

We want people to be able to find things they need straightaway and not have to spend 30 minutes looking for them.

We even produced a DVD people can watch beforehand to familiarise themselves with the yacht.

We added little extras like the fold-away steering wheel which adds to overall comfort when you're at anchor. You'd never add touches like this if every decision was financially driven."

And how is Smart charter yacht ownership working out for you?

"We got what we wanted!

We are freely able to sail our own boat and the cost element is removed.

We use Liquid Leisure regularly and love our time out on the water.

We're also hugely happy with David Biddle and his team.

There are 2 words which sum up David for us.

The first is honesty.

When you enter into charter yacht ownership it's a business partnership which requires total honesty.

David was totally honest and up front with figures from day one.

We sat down together and poured over the numbers until we were all happy. Our relationship continues to be based on honesty. This is very important to us.

And the second word we use about David is trust. We can trust David with our boat. We know that if a charterer damages her he will tell us.

We can trust Daivd to sort out repairs - he will arrange the right person to do the right job at the right price. This means we are not constantly being bothered with phone calls when problems arise with the boat.

SmartBoating is continually improving and moving forwards as a company.

David and his team are constantly updating their image, the marketing and website and they are always looking for ways to improve the product range.

This is very important for successful charter yacht ownership.

The horizontal integration at Bayview marina means that everything is in one place and everyone works well side by side. For example when we put the boat through survey we were able to feel we had total faith in Allan at Hanse as we worked together to comply with the regulations.

All we need to make to make Bayview Marina complete is a branch of Whitworths!"

Do you have any advice for anyone considering charter yacht ownership?

"You need to have three things:

The first is plenty of spare time at the start of the business.

Putting a yacht into commercial survey is time consuming. It's a slow process and you need lots of patience.

There are no short cuts.

Secondly you have to get your head round the fact that you are going to share one of the most expensive things you have ever owned with others.

We were already happy with this concept having enjoyed a previous yacht syndicate - so we accept the balance.

We know that all those people we share our boat with help pay the costs involved in keeping her in first class condition!

Finally and most importantly you must have a good agent.

The person taking care of your charter yacht can make the difference between a great experience and a nightmare.

We have talked to people who have less than great managers in place and they have found the whole experience to be a huge hassle.

We would advise anyone considering charter yacht ownership to take plenty of time to choose the right manager."

Here's more about Megan and Adrian's Hanse 320 Liquid Leisure.

More about Smart Charter Yacht Ownership

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