Buying a Former Charter Boat... Good or Bad?

So I know someone looking at a boat - it's a former charter. They used it for expensive dinner dates, bachelorette parties - stuff like that where a captain and crew were onboard the whole time. It wasn't for private charter rental. However, the charter no longer owns it. It was purchased a few months ago by a couple who were new to boating and "just wanted a boat." It's bigger than 45' - and it turns out that it was way too much boat for them, so they are now selling it. Note that being new boaters, they bought her without a survey so there's nothing to go on there.

I looked at it with him, and it's a very nice boat for a 40-year-old. The decks are solid - and I mean solid - like concrete. I took the meter to it and could only find two places - both near the bow pulpit - where there was any moisture that would register. The stainless is all nice and shiny, and there are no signs of any rails or stanchions rusting or even slightly loose. No inside water damage I could find anywhere. Nice twin Detroit V71 power plant with less than 2000 hours, Electra-scan and fifty-gallon tank with vacu-flush freshwater heads, commercial fire extinguishers everywhere...etc. The charter company made some mods to it - like removing the helm in the saloon - I'm assuming because that prevents the drunk ladies in the "bachelorette party" from deciding they want to go to the Bahamas and then doing something(s) stupid. And they also hid the electrical panels and disconnected the showers.

So my question is: Given that the current owners haven't used it long enough to do much with it - they only took one trip on it and decided that was enough - does the fact that it was a charter for several years prior to that help it, or hurt it?

My initial thought was that it helped because I would figure they get inspected often enough - seeing as how they're carrying passengers - and that would mean that they're going to keep up with the important stuff. Also, it's making them money, so it behooves them to keep up with all the mechanicals.

However, I'm not super familiar with the charter world and started thinking maybe it was like a lot of other things, where sometimes, they'd just cover things up or gundeck records or whatever, and maybe do a little money-changing with the necessary power-brokers and just keep passing inspections.

I'm sure there are opinions out there, so what do you think?

My first thought is that boats like to be used, and hate to sit dormant. A charter boat get's used! After that, it's all up to the survey!

In Australia, a paying guest charter boat has to be "In Survey", with inspections required. If there too, it might well be a plus. However, a charter company contemplating sale just might defer maintenance where they could, then again so might anyone.
Best to judge it on its merits, but I doubt it`s a negative.

Whether or not it was a charter is immaterial. Current condition is king! Comments like "disconnected the showers" need further investigation. Did they just put in shut off valves? Did they repurpose the shower stalls for something else? What will be required to put them back in service? Removed the lower helm? . . . I for one WANT a lower helm. If your friend also wants one, he/she will have to figure out what it will cost to put one back in . . . But the actual condition of the boat is the deciding factor. How it got in that condition has little to do with whether it was a charter or now, especially a crewed charter.
Best of luck for your friend in finding the boat he wants!

DBG8492 said:

My initial thought was that it helped because I would figure they get inspected often enough - seeing as how they're carrying passengers - and that would mean that they're going to keep up with the important stuff.

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Might depend on size of charters. Boat chartered for 6 pax or under can be (usually are) uninspected.

And then if inspected, that's about safety features... and may or may not have addressed issues new users may want to focus on.

-Chris

I used to drive for a booze cruise charter company on SF Bay (later sold to Hornblower). One of the boats was an older 65-foot Pacemaker motor yacht with twin Detroit's with 15k hours. Was kept immaculately as it was a bread and butter charter boat. It has some quirks for privated use - railings had been raised to 42-inches, and kitchen facilities had been modified as had head, but condition was excellent.

I wouldn't hesitate to look at a professionally chartered boat. It should have a maintenance log, if not then it may not have been maintained to a typical standard

If only the walls could talk.....the company I used to work for had a standing reservation for a swingers group who rented the larger boat (75 foot custom steel) for Halloween each year. I guess it was a pretty impressive party. Lot of DNA afterwards but tips were supposedly excellent.

Peter

slowgoesit said:

Whether or not it was a charter is immaterial. Current condition is king! Comments like "disconnected the showers" need further investigation. Did they just put in shut off valves? Did they repurpose the shower stalls for something else? What will be required to put them back in service? Removed the lower helm? . . . I for one WANT a lower helm. If your friend also wants one, he/she will have to figure out what it will cost to put one back in . . . But the actual condition of the boat is the deciding factor. How it got in that condition has little to do with whether it was a charter or now, especially a crewed charter.
Best of luck for your friend in finding the boat he wants!

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From what I could tell in the time we had aboard, the showers were disabled by disconnecting the water supply lines at the far end - not at the faucet. So reconnecting them would be all that's needed. And probably new discharge pumps on the drain lines.

And we talked about whether or not to replace the lower helm, but both of us agreed that the way the boat was set up, it was probably not needed. I know I drive from the flybridge on my boat about 90% of the time and if I had a pilothouse that nice, I'd probably live up there. It's literally like another saloon, including having a large table, an icemaker, and a fridge.

And I believe that provenance matters. Any time you buy a 40-year-old boat, you're going to have to pay any unpaid debts of the previous owner(s). A boat that was well-kept for thirty-five years but then neglected for five will likely be a project boat - with easter eggs everywhere - while a continuous string of conscientious owners reduces the debt load (and the hidden "prizes") considerably.

Hence my question - Is buying a boat from a charter company that ran her for years more or less advantageous in general because it was a charter company? Or would it be more likely that they'd ride her hard, put her up wet, and then sell her when they thought she was done?

DBG8492 said:

Hence my question - Is buying a boat from a charter company that ran her for years more or less advantageous in general because it was a charter company? Or would it be more likely that they'd ride her hard, put her up wet, and then sell her when they thought she was done?

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If the vessel was indeed used strictly for crewed charters, and if the crew who staffed the trips were also the ones who maintained the boat, then any issues probably received prompt and responsible attention as they came up. A charter skipper wants guests to have a good experience, which is a lot more likely on a boat that is cared for.

OTOH, if the charter crew walked on at the beginning of a trip and walked off afterward, then whoever was maintaining the vessel had less of a stake in keeping it up, and probably had other things to do as well.

The answer to your question is that it depends. As with any boat, I would want to talk to the folks who were its "boat family." Having operated and maintained a number of commercial passenger boats, inspected and uninspected, I will say that a busy schedule of trips can make it hard to do much more than whatever is necessary to get ready for the next trip. Things get deferred, parts don't arrive in time, you grow accustomed to working around a deficiency and the next thing you know there is a maintenance deficit. When a boat has to go out every day, you just make things work and aim to catch up on the niceties later. With a boat that performed luxury custom charters, there may have been more time to keep up with things.

The other side of it is that, as others have noted, the more often a boat runs, the more often it gets some level of attention, so that's a positive.

slowgoesit said:

Whether or not it was a charter is immaterial. Current condition is king!

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the above

What brand and model is the boat. Maybe I missed that. When I bought my boat, the broker and surveyor said it could be used for charter work because it was made in the US. It was never a charter boat, but was well maintained by the original. Not so much from the second owned. When I bought it, it was a victim to poor and deferred maintenance. New engine, trans and much more brought it up to snuff, but I don't recommend that anyone not boat savvy and mechanically incline to get into a boat like that. The topside may look spiffy, but there could be high dollar issues below the decks. Pay for a "good" survey with oil samples analyzed and compressions tested. Lots more money, but best to know going in.

I guess I can say it now because he passed on the deal, and I was light on specifics at his request.

It was a Symbol 51 - nice boat. It seemed like a bit of a steal to me at $59K, but he passed.

Apparently, they had a series of offers because she was under contract the day after he said no, and I heard it passed surveys and closed a few days later.

DBG8492 said:

.....Or would it be more likely that they'd ride her hard, put her up wet, and then sell her when they thought she was done?

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I love that saying, 'ridden hard and put away wet'. Can apply to many scenarios!