TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands new boat

I am seriously considering buying a Dufour 530 and sticking it into the CYOA charter fleet. We currently have a 3 cabin Beneteau 45 which we have been very happy with. But part of the motivation for the larger boat is to be able to bring more people. Not interested in a cat. If I go to a "normal" four cabin mono it will have two pretty cramped cabins up in the bow and no owners cabin at all. So one of the configurations we're interested in is the 3 cabin plus a pullman (with 2 single bunks) plus a crew cabin. Since there is always a compromise that has to be made this configuration only has a single head to be shared with the two double cabins + pullman cabins, i.e., potentially six people sharing that one head. It's a nice sized dry head but only one. Of course there is also a head in the crew cabin and there is a head and shower stall in the master.

I'd love some feedback. If you were looking for a 3+ cabin monohull how would you feel about this configuration? I"d like not to have a boat that is in charter but doesn't appeal to anyone and the same time I'd like to buy what I want to use myself. Thanks!

From a potential client.....

Except for the Moorings, I could not find a 50+ 4 cabin mono for charter, and since Moorings does not put fishing license on their monos, I looked elsewhere.

Lots of options for new 50+ three cabin showing up in the BVI and STT.

The forward cabins are little smaller than rear cabins ( we are taking out a Horizon J49 4 cabin ), but my crews seem to like having there own head when sailing for a week or more.
(CYOA B48 4 cabin a couple years ago)

Make it 4 cabins and 4 heads and sign me up.

Years ago had Beneteau 50 in charter. It had 4 cabins plus a bow crew cabin. The forward two cabins converted into 1 large owners cabin in about 15 minutes. Loved it and surprised no follow on mono’s had that feature. We converted it nearly every time I used the boat.
G

I owned a Jeanneau 52.2 where the forward 2 cabins had a divider panel which could be removed giving a queen bed. We bought extra foam toppers to make it cozy. Worked well.

anders-
We loved Dream Machine for two and would use it again if we weren't planning on sailing our Catalina 425 down for the season. To me the Dufour may not be a good choice because I think most people who want something that large end up on a cat. Just my 2cents.

If this boat is really destined to be your boat and used by you after charter - design it with that in mind - it will generate charter income if managed correctly and marketed to the sailors that will appreciate it. 3 heads on a modern boat is plenty - a crew cabin is an unusual configuration for personal use down the road but sure helpful if you expect bareboat charters to be hiring a Captain for the week - try and establish a good relationship with a local Captain who can do most of your work and the boat will benefit as will you and the guests.
Buy A Boat!! Sail it !!

^^^^ this: If in the right program, it'll charter. Primary importance is it's your boat.

After thinking about this for a while and getting input from various sources I'm going to order the boat the way I'm going to want it. And go from there.

Thanks for the input!

If you intend to keep the boat order it like you want. Even if you don’t intend to keep it the higher resale on a owner configured boat might well offset most or all of the lost charter revenue and your boat gets less wear and tear. The other decision is the keel. Probably best to go with a shoal draft keel in a charter boat but you do take a performance hit.
G

If you intend on using the boat mainly for cruising the Bahamas and the Caribbean the shoal draft is a plus.

Layout 2 on the website(bunks to starboard, port aft 2 singles, master on bow, starboard aft double)??? I think that layout would be awesome. 2 families with 4 kids. Each kid gets a bed. Each couple gets a bed. Just a family perspective. Perfect!!!

4 couples, ok to good if 2 couples will sleep separate
2 couples. 5 friends. good
9 friends. good

And sailing way more fun then a cat.

I’d consider chartering that boat in a few years if I could convince my cat friends to get a mono sometime.

BVI Yacht Charters has 50+ monos as well.....much better pricing than Moorings....just an FYI.

I took a quick look at Charter prices since I never found BVI yacht charters that much less than the Moorings. On a Beneteau 45 the Moorings is slightly cheaper than BVI yacht charters with free fuel. On a 484 Beneteau the Moorings was almost 600 cheaper for a week in Nov.I did not look at big cats. Just the larger monohull.
G

Why compare moorings and BVI pricing? Just use CYOA!!! No ferry hassle or wasted time. Right next to STT airport.

He originally said he was going to buy a monohull from CYOA

My comment was meant to address the post that Moorings was the only charter company with 50+ monos.,,,we have a charter in place with CYOA in three weeks! Can’t wait!

and mine was jovial, have a great trip!!! what boat are you chartering?

I see a couple of Jenneau 54 3 cabin models at BVIYC... no 4 cabin.

Oops! They used to have a Bene 50 - I guess they don’t anymore.

As a long term owner of charterboats I am going to mention a couple of things. If you can’t make the note payment without the boats revenue probably best to rent. If you are going to be emotionally involved with the boat probably best to rent.
G

George,

Anders owns a Beneteau 45 that is currently in our fleet. This is a move up boat for him.