Hi Skip- I drank the Kool Aide some years back with CatCo.
The pluses: I visited BVI about 14 times over 2.5 years- back when BWI to EIS was $500 round trip and took about half a day.
The minuses: I grew to resent and hate CatCo. They didn't nickel and dime me- they thousand and 5000 dollared me. It was intolerable. I have never, ever been back to CatCo since- but have chartered on average 2x a year since 1999. Did my last trip with Waypoint October 2023.
My viewpoint (applies to investment/rental real estate as well): don't invest in an asset you cannot visit and personally supervise on a regular basis. If you have to travel more than an hour to view your investment, take a pass. Buy a rental condo in your home town and use the cash flow to rent a charter week.
I have owned more boats than I care to count. I live in Annapolis, Maryland. For most enjoyable charter yacht experience- write a check for the week(s) you want- and walk away when the charter is done.
The 1/3 down stroke for a $600,000 boat is $200,000. Put that $200,000 in 5% CDs and vacation on the interest.
No disrespect to the good folks who do choose to purchase- I was one of them, myself. It didn't work for me, might work for others.
See you all at the Wille T or Soggy-
JAM, Annapolis, Md
