First Time Yacht Buyer

If you're a first-time yacht buyer the choice of used yachts available for purchase can be overwhelming. How do you make sense of all the models and styles out there?

The first time yacht buyer needs to avoid buying on emotion and take a hard look at what they intend on doing with the boat. Making the wrong choice will be a major disappointment in the long run and perhaps cost you thousands.

To start, are you a sailor or a motor cruiser? Some like the romance of a sailboat with the image of tropical islands in the picture; some don't want the hassle of the sails, rigging etc. But a sailboat is very inexpensive to operate if your plans include traveling to far-away places. Still, power boating is not expensive if you choose the right boat. Powerboats generally come well designed with all of the creature comforts you could every need; generally more so than all but the largest of sailboats. And you don't need to learn all of the sailing techniques either.

Once you have assessed your yachting preference you can then decide on what you intend on doing with it. Are you going to sail, cruise or fish from it? Of course, you could fish from anything if you wish, but yachts made for fishing are much different than those built for cruising.

How often will you use your new yacht? I always say that there are "boaters" and "boat owners". Boaters use their boats; boat owners just like to say they own a yacht as their boats rarely leave the dock. Some boaters may be full-time liveaboards using their boats as their home every day. Others may just use their boats on nice weekends when time permits.

Next is the cost of yacht ownership. You must take this into consideration. The purchase price is almost like a down payment. Boating has its costs that you need to be aware of. If you are mechanically inclined, you will find that the costs are not substantial. Most boat owners do the majority of work themselves. I have posting at my Cruising Center website about the specifics of boating costs that breaks it down into each expense. Feel free to take a look.

So thus far we have determined what type of boater we are, so we know what style of yacht generally appeals to us, we know how much we expect to use it and about what to expect in the upkeep of her. So far so good!

Now comes the hard part; how to choose just the right one? I have developed a purchase checklist that I use with my customers to let them specify the critical features of a boat. This allows them to choose features that they can live without and those that are features that are must-haves. That checklist then becomes the basis for the perfect boat search. When I am working with customers, I then look for used yachts that best meet the customer's wants recognizing that boat purchases usually involve some compromise. Rarely do I find a boat with all of the desired features.

In the looking phase, I always say that you'll know it when the right boat comes along; it will "talk" to you. Any potential boat will have the lines, the feel and the character that appeals to you. Don't settle for anything less than that pleases you.

But what about the cost of that used yacht? How do you know you are getting a fair deal? Borrowing from another posting at the Cruising Center about the True Value of Boats, good boats always command higher prices, always! A newer boat in poor condition will bring less than an older boat in good condition always! Never buy a yacht based upon the price alone or you'll be selling it within 6 months.

And should you complete a survey, yes it's always recommended. Choose a knowledgeable surveyor that has experience with your desired boat. Ask him for references too. If you are working with a reputable Yacht Broker, he will recommend several top-shelf surveyors but will insist you choose the one you want.

And lastly, locate a Buyer's Broker to represent you in your search, selection and purchase. It will save you lots of time, money and a lot of disappointment.

The author, Mike Dickens is a veteran liveaboard boat owner, Yacht Broker and owner/operator of Paradise Yachts.

Enjoy Fishing Or a Leisurely Cruise on a Pontoon Boat

You can avail various kinds of boats in Florida. All boating agencies in Florida have a fair number of pontoon boats. This is because these boats are easy to own and are always high on demand.

What is a pontoon boat?

A pontoon is a flat-bottomed boat which is built to support a structure while afloat. It has a base made of cylindrical objects such as barrels or pipes or even boxes made of metal. This base supports a simple platform, on which a structure resembling a house or an open frame with a roof is built. Such boats are usually used for leisure fishing.

Why use a pontoon boat?

Pontoon boats are the most user friendly boats for fishing or a gentle cruise. These boats offer you the flexibility of covering great distance. With them you don't have to bother of manoeuvring and hauling like you have to do with a canoe or small boat. These boats are simple to operate and rarely sink.

From an owner's perspective, these boats, even when equipped with engines of over 200hp, are less expensive to insure than a normal boats. Their shallow draft minimizes damages due to under water collisions and being run aground. In terms of capacity to price these boats offer a lot.

Because of its high demand, used pontoon boats are bought and sold by both agencies and individuals. Before buying one from a person or agency you must ensure that he is a member of national boating industry association. S a member has to abide by industry code of practice; you can get pontoons which have not been roughly handled.

If the pontoon is on a trailer you need to inspect it minutely and make sure they are in sound condition. Try to learn more about all the work done on the boat, including steering maintenance, engine repairs, and other works. If possible you should take it out for a sea trial.

If you love, boating or fishing, try to own a personal pontoon boat, as a part of your boating gear.

Richard Thompson a Florida boat club member writes articles on boat clubs and oat rental agencies for http://www.adventureboatclub.net

Cruising the British Virgin Islands on a Sailing Yacht Charter - 4 Spots Not to Miss!

British Virgin Islands (BVI's) is a group of approximately fifty islands and outcroppings. The BVI's are considered an easy sailing area as the islands are all within sight of one another so that navigation can be done by Dead Reckoning. And, The Sir Francis Drake Channel, which in right in the middle of these islands, is well protected for comfortable sailing. The 4 spots in this article, not to be missed, are easily included in a one week sailing yacht charter in the BVI's.

Spot #1; The Baths

Situated on the southern tip of Virgin Gorda, the Baths is one of the most well known and popular landmarks to visit in the BVI's. Gigantic granite boulders and half submerged rocks line the southern seashore of Virgin Gorda, creating grottos, tunnels, and arches. Sandy beaches are lined with coconut palms and the area offers a dramatic and lovely place to swim, snorkel and explore.
A second beach in the area, called Devil's Bay, is reached through a maze-like passage through the boulders and shallower grottos. The path is lined with ladders and ropes to ease the hike along steeper rocks.

Spend time exploring the area, with tidal pools of pristine clear waters, and white sand. Snorkeling is great, however more for the marine life, than coral, as this is not a reef area. Due to the various inlets and pools created by the landscape, marine life is caught here in the pools with each tidal change. Be sure to pay attention to the safety flags as certain weather can cause currents with heavy undertows in this area. However, even if swimming is cautioned against, there are always the rocks to climb and the white sandy beaches for sunning.

Spot #2; Bitter End Yacht Club

In the North Sound, located at the northern end of Virgin Gorda, is the home of the well known Bitter End Yacht Club.

The North Sound, once home to pirates Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins, was a remote quiet anchorage, rarely visited for centuries. In the early 60's, a rustic bar and cottages existed clinging to the point of land on the north end of North Sound, which was a destination intended for adventurous sailors. The Hokins Family arrived, fell in love with the area, and built the resort into what it is today, which while offering resort style accommodations and services, still runs in true Caribbean style, using generators for electricity and cisterns for collecting rainwater.

The North Sound is still an attractive anchorage, made more attractive by shoreside establishments like the Bitter End Yacht Club. While in the anchorage, take advantage of the shoreside services offered at the Bitter End Yacht Club, which include a marina, pool, beach, water sports, restaurants and bars, and even a spa. The Clubhouse Steak and Seafood Grille has been a yachting landmark for years. This open air restaurant sports the burgees from hundreds of yachts and yacht clubs from all over the world. These flags flutter gently from the rafters in the breeze made from the numerous ceiling paddle fans, evoking a colonial Caribbean feel. The Clubhouse Steak and Seafood Grille buffet is well known for homemade soups, and breads, and if you have not tried a grilled Caribbean lobster, basted with butter, this would be the time and place for this uniquely Caribbean treat.

Spot #3: Jost Van Dyke

Jost Van Dyke is a four mile-long barefoot paradise known for its casual lifestyle, fine beaches and beachfront restaurants and bars. The Painkiller, a drink made from the Tortola local rum called Pusser's Rum was created here at the world famous yachtsman's bar named "Foxy's", named after Foxy, the long time Owner of this bar and restaurant.

Perhaps Foxy's is best known as the spot to celebrate New Year's Eve. Yachtsmen started congregating in Great Harbor several decades ago to ring in the New Year at Foxy's. This has now become such a tradition, that it is wise to get to Great Harbor a day in advance for a good spot to anchor. As the New Year draws near, the harbor erupts with activity and the buzz of dinghies heading here and there, throughout the harbor, as everyone visits friends, and ultimately heads ashore for Foxy's, to hail in the new year, dancing on the beach under the stars.

Although Jost measures just four by three miles, the island is rich in history. It's been home to Arawak Indians, Caribs, Dutch, Africans and English. Jost was the birth place of William Thorton, architect of the US Capitol, and John Coakley Lettsome, founder of the London Medical Society, was born on nearby Little Jost.

Great Harbour is sheltered by small mountains and offers moorings. In White Bay, just around the corner from Great Harbour, is the Soggy Dollar Bar, so named as generally patrons must swim ashore for the cool Caribbean cocktails. All patrons lined up on the bar stools are usually dripping wet, including, as you probably guessed, the money in their pockets.

Jost Van Dyke has other offerings. Trace the old trails that connect the island. Explore the overgrown ruins of sugar mills. In the fall and winter, watch whales and dolphins from a hilltop. Or visit the bubbling pot at the East End, where the foaming sea forms a natural Jacuzzi. And you can stop by Foxy's newest watering hole, Foxy's Taboo, on Diamond Cay, at East End. You could walk across to Little Jost or take the dinghy to deserted Sandy Cay, the perfect castaway island for your own beach barbeque.

Stop #4: Soper's Hole

Tucked away, on the western tip of Tortola, is Soper's Hole and Soper's Hole Marina. This area, also called the West End, is home as well to a British Virgin Islands customs clearance office with a dock that is used by ferries and yachtsmen alike. Across the harbor from the customs clearance office, on the other side of a small anchorage is Soper's Hole Marina. The pirate Blackbeard, who real name was Edward Teach, once made his home in Soper's Hole from 1715 to 1718. Called a "Hole" because of the protection offered by the deep cut of the anchorage into the surrounding hills, the harbor allows yachts to anchor with good weather protection. Soper's Hole is a nice spot to stop while on charter in the British Virgin Islands as the same protection and calm anchorage that made Soper's Hole attractive to Blackbeard, is attractive to yachtsmen today.

Surrounding the dock area are a series of brightly painted Caribbean style buildings creating a sense of a traditional Caribbean marketplace. Browse the shops for artwork, crafts and jewelry made from a stone local to the British Virgin Islands, or stop for a bite to eat at the Pusser's Landing Restaurant and store.

Pusser's Rum was the original rum of the British royal Navy and for over 300 years, the seamen on board a Royal Navy ship were issued a tot of rum, each day with a double tot of rum issued just prior to battle. The on board Royal Navy rum was doled out by the Purser on board, and so eventually the Purser's rum became known as Pusser's rum. In 1970, the daily rum tot tradition was abolished in the British Royal Navy and the recipe of the blend of 5 different West Indian rums was sold privately to the Owner of Pusser's Ltd. This company was established in Tortola and the same rum served for over 300 years to the British Royal Navy was bottled and has now been sold to the public since 1980

Pusser's Rum quickly became a favorite of visiting yachtsmen when cruising in the British Virgin Islands. A percentage of the proceeds from each bottle sold now go to the Royal British Navy Sailors Fund, known commonly as the Tots Fund. Soon after 1980, the now infamous drink, The Painkiller was born, only properly made with Pusser's Rum. The Painkiller is now served in a variety of locations in the BVI's. The best Painkillers, however, are claimed to be served at the Pusser's restaurants, including Pusser's Landing Restaurant in Soper's Hole, where the Pusser's Painkiller is ordered by number according to the number of shots of rum poured in each drink.

Attached to the Pusser's Landing Restaurant is a Pusser's Rum store selling products branded with the Pusser's official label. In addition to Pusser's Rum, Pusser's Rum drink mixes are sold along with Caribbean spices and condiments, for a taste of the British Virgin Islands.

Missy Johnston was a charter crew on charter yachts for a number of years, has sailed in the British Virgin Islands as charter crew on yacht charters many times, and has personally visited each location included. Missy Johnston has been a crewed yacht charter broker for over 20 years and has organized many crewed yacht charters, including the itineraries, in the BVI's,. For more destination information on the British Virgin Islands, please access http://www.njcharters.com/destinations/bvi.asp To read more about Missy Johnston and her background in crewed yacht charter, please access http://www.njcharters.com/people.asp

Crewed Yacht Charter in Alaska - When is the Best Time to Go?

Summer cruising in Alaska starts in mid May, and ends in mid September. However within those months, your choice of what dates to pick for crewed yacht charter should depend more on what you want to see and do rather than what the weather does. In online weather information, you might see that August and July are supposed to be drier than June. And, most people think that August will be warmer than June.

In actuality, this all varies from summer to summer in Alaska, with no rhyme or reason. The dates you choose for yacht charter in Alaska should not be based on the weather. Your dates for crewed yacht charter in Alaska during the summer charter season should be based on the wild and marine life that you might want to see, and the activities you might want to do, as the migration patterns of wild and marine life are far more predictable than the weather

Weather in Alaska from mid May to mid September can change from 50 degrees Fahrenheit to 80 degrees Fahrenheit at any time, and does so on a daily basis, not on a monthly basis. At anytime during the summer cruising season in Alaska it may be cooler, warmer, drier or wetter, and again, all in the same day. And, your activity can create a weather change, such as if you are up under the calving face of a glacier, it may feel colder as the glacier ice slices through the air into the water below, sending a rush of cooler air and water your way.

If you don't like the current weather during your crewed yacht charter in Alaska, stick around 10 minutes and the weather will change. On a side note, dressing for Alaska summer weather does require thought. Recommendations are to dress in a series of layers that can easily be peeled off or put back on as the weather changes minute by minute throughout the day.

What is more predictable than the weather in Alaska is the migration of the wild and marine life, which should influence your charter date choice if you have particular wild or marine life that you want to see, or if you have particular activities you want to do. For the summer cruising season in Alaska, the wise person picks charter dates and charters around their interests, not the weather.

The summer salmon run in Alaska is famous. Salmon are anadromous, which means that they are birthed in fresh water, make their way to salt water to live and return to fresh water to spawn and die. At the end of their life span, salmon return from salt water to their natal stream, which is the stream in which they were born, to fight up that stream to spawn dozens of eggs for new life. Both males and females return to their natal stream, as the female carries the eggs, which the male fertilizes. This ritual marks the life span of each salmon, which is ended spawning in the natal stream from whence that salmon emerged.

This ritual of returning up the natal stream for spawning follows a general summer schedule, which starts in the beginning of the summer cruising season, with the salmon gathering in the salt waters off of the mouths of many fresh water streams in Alaska. At this point, in May and June, there are plenty of salmon for salt water trolling for fishing, and the bears and sea lions that dine on this fish are patrolling the beaches and shorelines for dinner. As the salmon enter their natal stream in July and August to fight upstream, the bears will move up stream with them inland, and away from the shoreline.

If one of your purposes for charter in Alaska is to see bears, it is better to go in May and June, while the bears are along the coast. For in May and June, bears are often seen patrolling the shoreline, fishing for the salmon in salt water. As the salmon move upstream later in the summer, the bears move inland and upstream and are harder to see.

Fly fishing is a great sport in Alaska; however the species fished for in Alaska when fly fishing varies throughout the summer, based on the migration patterns of the fish. In June the Steelhead and Cutthroat Trout will pack the streams heading up river for excellent fly fishing, while in July and August, the fly fishing will be for salmon. Some trout species are able to survive this fight upstream for spawning and return again to salt water, however for salmon, this is the end of the line, and they show it. July and August are great for fly fishing for salmon, but those salmon caught, are not the best for eating, as they have begun to deteriorate pending the end of their lives. Eating salmon are better if caught in salt water, and there are always salmon in the salt waters of Alaska in various stages of life.

For salt water fishing, there is no place better for Halibut fishing than Alaska, where catching a Barn Door Halibut, which is what the fish are called if over 200 pounds, is a real possibility. Halibut fishing is from April through October, however if your heart is set on catching a Barn Door Halibut, the best chance is in mid July.

Even as the bears retreat up the stream banks inland to fish for salmon in July and August, the moose, wild goats, and deer come down from the mountains closer to shore as the ice and snow melt as summer progresses. In August, moose, wild goats and deer can more readily be seen closer to shore.

Whales are back in Alaska beginning in mid May to June, and stay in Alaskan waters feeding throughout the summer, in pods, with a bubble net feeding pattern, that must be seen to be believed. Grey Whales return first and can only be seen in May, just passing through to their summer home in the Bering Sea. Humpback Whales begin to appear in Alaska in May. A good charter yacht captain will be keeping track of the various pods of Humpback Whales as they move throughout the summer, to be sure to cruise in whale areas for each charter.

The famous American Bald Eagle returns to Alaska as early as April and stays around all summer nesting. There can be as many as 100 or more Bald Eagles in any given anchorage, and watching these magnificent birds fly is a treat.

And of course, no matter when during the summer season, you choose to charter, there are always virgin forests to visit, which are only a myth in most locations, and shoreside towns to visit, each with their history, culture, and gift shops.

So, whenever you do a crewed yacht charter in Alaska during the summer season, there is plenty to see and do. However, if you have a particular must do activity, time your charter, not for the weather, but for the migration and various activities of wild and marine life.

Missy Johnston is a crewed Yacht Charter Broker and has been booking charters in Alaska for the last 20 years. Missy has also been there several differnet times during the summer on charter and seen firsthand the differences in marine and wild life movements throughout the summer season. For more information on Alaska and a suggested charter itinerary, please see: http://www.njcharters.com/destinations/alaska.asp