There were 10 in the bed and the little one said “roll over”…..well, they did and they moved out!

Our aim, at the end of the contract with Dream Yacht Charters, is to keep “No Shoes” and sail around the world – or at least use our cat for many years to come. So even if I count all our friends and family who might like to visit at some point in time, this yacht is primarily for us to live on. And, as one gets older, elbow-room and a decent sized bathroom become more important than we like to admit.

Now this totally contradicts with DYC “Dream Easy Program” requirements of maximum cabin configuration. Naturally, they want the maximum number of beds on the yacht so the charterer can spread the cost of renting among as many people as possible. Why they all need a toilet each is still beyond me.

Which brings me to the real point of this post: Reconciling our ideas with the reality of the presence.

The original boat might not be 100% what we want, but we will most likely end up doing some retrofitting and renovations after the contract period anyway. Changing the current double cabin layout in the port hull back to a master suite fit-out is a round US$20k.  But that’s money I could spend cruising – yes, can’t argue with that, but we see it as a means to an end.

There is a reason why all the charter yachts have the same, basic layout and configuration: ease of maintenance (still don’t get the 4 toilets concept…). Here are some examples:

#me: We want light coloured, soft cushions. Don’t really like this PVC stuff.
#them: They wear quickly, stain easy and if we have all different colours and materials, if one gets lost or broken, we can’t just replace it with a stock item.

#me: we really like the teak deck. It gives the boat such a warm, yachty feel!
#them: It gets stained with red wine which may or may not come out.

#me: I like to sail. We want to put on a screecher pole, I can use more sails.
#them: The less sail the better. Stick to the basics, not everyone is capable of responsibly
managing a lot of sail in varying weather conditions. The more people motor,
the less stress will be placed on the rig… and engines are easy to maintain.

#me: We want a full cockpit enclosure with flyscreens.
#them: Cockpit clears will be ruined by sunscreen, zips will break by many hands.

#me: We want a generator, aircon and a decent sized watermaker.
#them:So do we.

Which brings me to the last one:
#me: We want additional solar panels. Factory option isn’t really enough, I don’t like using the Genset if I don’t have to, especially if the sun con provide energy for free. Lets talk about this some more…. (but I am already thinking: what type of powerful panels will we have in 5 years time? If we put semi flexible panels on the roof top, people will walk all over them, get caught on connectors etc)

Note: #them isn’t necessarily DYC’s response but also other operators and maintenance people I talked to over the years.

The way I see it, the boat will be used over a period of time, but DYC has worked out what works and what doesn’t. Of course I hope that my yacht comes out of the contract looking good, I hope charterers do have some pride and care about the equipment they rent. But its most important that my yacht remains technically and structurally well maintained, above average I would hope!

So yes, you miss out drooling over the manufacturer’s brochure, picking colors and layout option, extras and “wouldn’t that be nice” options but when you take control of your yacht after 66 months, and you really think all these options are still important to you (you are now 66 months richer in sailing experience and you now know what works and what doesn’t), then you install them….. and all will be new and shiny.