How is the business going - a year later

It has been just over 12 months since I purchased Rumaway and put her in charter with TMM Yacht Charters in the BVI's. I thought this would be a good time to look back and understand if putting a boat in charter was a good idea financially and for the boat. The good news I can say without a doubt that it has been a good decision to put my boat in charter with TMM.

I cannot review the last year without saying how happy I have been with TMM as a partner. They have done a nice job with bookings, they have been very responsive to any requests I have had, and the boat is in amazing shape due to their disciplined approach to repair and maintenance.

Let's start with bookings. Keep in mind I have a 3 cabin owners version of a Lagoon 42. The three cabins limits the group size that books my boat and thereby bookings. That is why if I did it all over I would have purchased a 4 cabin Lagoon 46. Having said that I still managed to bring in about $165,000 in revenue over the last 12 months between TMM and my friends / family bookings. The other half of the equation is expenses (Dockage, charter turnover, repairs, insurance, etc.). Over the same 12 months I had about $141,000 in expenses resulting in a profit of about $24,000. It is not the best ROI but I was happy with a small profit and I also managed to use the boat for 3-4 weeks over that 12 months which has value to my family and friends.

One of the benefits of TMM is that I can customize my boat as I see fit through requests I make of them. TMM has been amazing in this space and I love the flexibility of being able to do what I want to the boat. What are some examples, I added solar panels, a better dingy, a clothes washing machine, foam pads for the beds and I added a upgraded anchor for a good nights sleep. Those are a few of the many requests I have made. TMM always does high quality work and charges very reasonable prices for it.

Finally and very important is repair and maintenance. This is where TMM really shines. They proactively address every issue after every charter no matter how big or small. They also did a great job managing all the warranty items that come with a new boat and there were a number of them!. While it was not cheap (Nearly $30,000 in R&M and that is with the boat under Warranty) I do know that my boat is in as good of shape as they day I bought it. Sure there is wear and tear but they keep all the system and boat itself in amazing shape. I have heard so many stories of boats coming out of charter with huge repair bills I am 100% confident my boat will be ready to go when I leave in 4 years. I would without a doubt but any used boat that TMM is selling after having worked with them over the last year.

When I started this journey my goal was to figure out how to buy a boat that Sue and I could sail with friends and family for a few months a year and still make it affordable. While I recognize there is significant deprecation every year I am optimistic that the boat will cover it's ongoing expenses over the next few years and hopefully deliver a small profit. In summary I feel like we made the right decision putting the boat in charter with TMM but to maximize the revenue/ comfort equation I should have purchased a 4 cabin Lagoon 46 as we would have had lots of space and greater revenue & profit.