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CYOA trip report April, 2013 (Mahe 36) #19856
05/09/2013 08:06 PM
05/09/2013 08:06 PM
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 643
Ft. Worth, TX
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Lcrich Offline OP
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Lcrich  Offline OP
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Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 643
Ft. Worth, TX

My husband and I planned our first solo sailing trip for 4 months. We thought we had everything planned out and knew the area where we wanted to sail. We had previously been to the BVI in Oct., 2012 with 3 other couples, aboard a Lagoon 450 with Dream Yacht Charter.

This time we wanted to try a St. Thomas company and not have to bother with the ferries. We chartered a Mahe 36' with AC from CYOA.
Our "plan" was to spend a sleep aboard and then take off to the BVI. Ha, not so fast!

Flight from DFW-MIA-STT was perfect, arrived on time at 1:00 pm. Taxi to CYOA, boat was clean and ready early to board and start putting things away. The staff at CYOA are nice. Barbara, Jay, Chris and Weeks were very helpful on everything that we needed. Jay was our check out guy, he went overboard telling us simple things and making us count everything onboard. A bit tedious but we understand that he is only doing his job. (see Problems with boat below) Probably should have taken an hour, not almost 3 hours!!

Starving and needing groceries, we stopped for a quick sandwich at the Frenchtown Deli. What a super place, friendly, good food, good prices. We walked to Pueblo Market and taxied back. The Market left a lot to be desired. Later in the week we shopped at Dolphin Market on St. John and it was 10x the store of Pueblo.

My husband had been sick 2 days before we left and he was on antibiotics. He still felt pretty bad on Saturday. We tried sailing but the winds were crazy and the swells were 7-9 ft. We were going to just get to Christmas Cove but our lazy jack busted so we turned around and went back to base. Chris climbed up and fixed it. By then it was lunch time and my husband was exhausted so we stayed on a mooring ball at CYOA again that night. No problem, came in for a nice shower at CYOA and dinner at Hook, Line and Sinker. Nice place, good food and very friendly people.

Took off Sunday morning, wind and swells were still crazy so we motored to Christmas cove and spent the night. The next morning still gusting to 25 knots and both of us not feeling well, we motored to Francis Bay via Red Hook. St. John looked amazing and we made a quick decision to just stay there instead of going to the BVI. Of course, I ended up with the same bug/infection that my husband had by Monday. We did a lot of napping and pampering each other. wink

Our favorite mooring area was Maho Bay/Francis Bay. Wow, just beautiful beach, hills, and very peaceful. The turtles were amazing to watch every day and swimming was very comfortable.
We did dinghy in one day to Cruz Bay and we loved it. Had a delicious lunch at Deli Grotto in Mongoose Junction. Cute place for shopping and watching people. We walked up to Dolphin Market. Fresh vege's, fruit. Nice place.

Thursday we had a wonderful, full day of sailing. Blue skies, nice wind, no swells. Full moon!!! What a great end to a great day.

Planned on doing the same on Friday but when we started the engines to motor out of the mooring fields, the port engine was pouring white smoke. We motored with just one to Christmas cove and called home base. Talked to Nancy and she said we “should” be ok. Well, we weren't about to chance the other motor going out too so we motored back to CYOA. Jay said that they could get us going again in maybe an hour but we decided to pack it up. We moved to Emerald Beach hotel for our last night. A nice comfortable big bed with quiet AC and a shower head that you can move sounded pretty dang good to us.

We were not too pleased with the Mahe. The owner of this boat needs to spend some money on it and do some general maintenance. He was the previous occupant before us so he is well aware of the problems. The rate that they charge is for a premium catamaran and this is far from it.

The weather was beautiful a few nights and we tried to go without AC. The generator was so noisy, it vibrated the starboard side of the boat. The windows do not have screens. Even followed Jay's suggestions of ventilation but it was way too hot. By the 4th night, we moved mattresses upstairs to the galley.
The fuel AND water gauges were not working. Jay said that we should have enough fuel until mid week but it was very nerve racking not knowing for sure. Plus the only place on St. John to get fuel is in Cruz Bay BUT we are not allowed to bring the boat into that harbor! Had to go to Red Hook twice.

The refrigerator and freezer kicked butt. It was really nice to have a full freezer for ice. The pots/pans, kitchenware were updated and adequate since we cooked a lot on this trip. Jay was sweet enough to find a coffee pot for me to use. I ended up not even taking it out of the box since I am now hooked on the Starbucks Via instant. But I really appreciated it, Jay!

We had a wonderful time regardless of the boat. We’ve been married and have worked together for 34 years and are great at adapting to any situation. Sailing with just the two of us was an experience. My husband is the sailor and I am not. Although I did learn a ton on this trip, I am ready to go back in October with other couples and be a hood ornament. wink
PROBLEMS WITH THE BOAT:
Shower hoses in both heads were inadequate. This is a design flaw and had existed from the beginning. Hoses are too short causing them to kink when they are extended from the sink to the shower.
Port side waste tank was completely full and plugged. It was never cleaned out or checked. We discovered this on the second day. What is amazing, according to CYOA the owner of the boat had used it the week before. This explained the smell of sewer.

Dinghy davits are too short for the size of dinghy. When raising the dinghy it ends up partially under the stern of the boat. Someone has to push it out with their legs as it is being raised. The pulley system for the dinghy is inadequate for the weight. We had to take the line from the motor end of the dinghy davit and feed it up under the seat and through the throttles at the helm to reach the winch.
Zero ventilation in both berths. The only good ventilating openings in the lower areas are the escape hatches in either head. These are positioned in the center of the shower area waist high with no way of covering them. If you shower at night with the light on you can be seen from the outside. The windows in both berths and the main salon do not stay open because of loose hinges. We had to tie them open with line or find something to prop them open. No screens on any windows and the salon windows have sun screens on them so visibility looking out is poor. These were installed because this boat gets hot.
Starboard side shower sump pump was extremely slow, about a one to one ratio, one minute shower one minute pushing the sump pump button.
No brakes or cleats for the jib sheets. They had to be left on the winches or left to fly when we used one of the winches to adjust the main sheet.
CYOA Checkout:
When we arrived on the boat we did a check out with Jay which we believe is critical. Understanding the boat at the beginning creates a comfort level for the user. The first thing they give you is a list of things that are on the boat, everything from how many towels to the number of maintenance tools, screw driver hammer etc.. The only problem is they want you to locate and count everything on the list and check it off. This as I understand it is for two reasons: if something is missing when we get back we are responsible, and this lets CYOA know we have located these things. My thought here is that if I am paying $714.00 a day PLUS a deposit for a boat which was paid for up front, show me the respect that I will return this boat undamaged and that I am responsible enough to familiarize myself with its contents.
The user’s manual was helpful but it mentions negligence so many times that you’re afraid to use anything. I would have them send you a copy of the check out documents before you send them any money.
CYOA an interesting philosophy:
We noticed that there wasn’t a broom or mop on board. (they did find a broom for us) It was explained to us that they do not provide these things because people use them as boat hooks and break them. They said that it’s sad that 10% of the renters do 90% of the damage to their boats. They also said that this is why they do not have electric winches on their boats and if they come with electric winches they disable them. Again, for the amount of money that I paid to charter this boat don’t treat me like that 10%.
CYOA does not provide a chase boat in the USVI. You break down you’re on your own. They do have boat service brokers in the BVI.

In summary:
The folks at CYOA were great, professional and courteous. Their hands are somewhat tied to the company policies. The Mahe 36 is not a top tier boat or a second tier boat, it’s a weekend/day sailor at best and certainly not worth what we paid. We booked our trip with Joann at viyachts.com like we did last Oct. She made everything easy and I highly recommend using this broker.

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Re: CYOA trip report April, 2013 (Mahe 36) [Re: Lcrich] #19857
05/10/2013 09:11 AM
05/10/2013 09:11 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 969
NC, USA
capndar Offline
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capndar  Offline
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Posts: 969
NC, USA
Wow - I am really sorry you had a less than ideal vacation, with illness and boat issues.

We have chartered the sister cat from CYOA (no air) and I couldn't agree more - the ventillation is weak.
http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/s...rue#Post1353536

That said, we had a very nice November cruise with the cat. We found it sails very well (see our report) We also found the Dinghy davits short and the need to take the line to reach the winch on deck. We did not find this a significant issue, but we had three men aboard. I can see where double handed this might be tougher. I also agree that their check out (not the sail part) can be a bit over the top.

Overall, we were satisfied with the CYOA experience, and have reserved the same cat again this November.

We also love Maho Bay/Francis Bay. It is, as you say, beautiful and very peaceful.


Capndar
Masters 50 GT Sail/Power/Towing
3rd generation sailor
Re: CYOA trip report April, 2013 (Mahe 36) [Re: capndar] #19858
05/10/2013 09:53 AM
05/10/2013 09:53 AM
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 292
Fajardo
cruzan1 Offline
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cruzan1  Offline
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Posts: 292
Fajardo
Fully agree with everything you said. We used to use CYOA but switched for a variety of reasons including the check out/check in process. The concept of being able to fly into STT, get to your boat and start your vacation quickly is nice but its not the reality. Add up the time spent doing the "homework" and the voyage time from CA round the bend and I think your better off on the ferry.

I can step off the dock onto one of Brent's (Capt Compass) boats and be ready to leave in about 90 minutes. Plus, if a little operation like Brent can afford to send a mechanic out to me, so should CYOA.

We all have our favorites and I completely understand the loyalty on this board to CYOA, especially when they have people like Jay on staff.

Re: CYOA trip report April, 2013 (Mahe 36) [Re: cruzan1] #19859
05/10/2013 10:44 AM
05/10/2013 10:44 AM
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,100
Maryland
Twanger Offline
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Twanger  Offline
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Posts: 6,100
Maryland
Sounds like a bit of a perfect-storm of problems. Hard to deal with when you're not feeling well to begin with.

While CYOA does not have a chase boat, they do have contacts throughout the islands and can generally have minor problems serviced with little delay.

Example: We had a generator problem in St. John on our first evening last trip (we put on too much load and toasted a connector.) They asked us where we were going next (the BVI) so CYOA directed us to Soapers/Tortola where a technician met us the next morning and fixed the problem in about 20 minutes. We checked into the BVI, had lunch at Pussers, the ladies did a little shopping, and off we went to Jost. Pretty painless.

Every single boat from every charter company I have ever chartered from in the last 30 years (Moorings, CYOA, Sunsail, Barefoot) has had some kind of problem. It appears to be inevitable. Boats are complicated beasts.

What differentiated the best from the rest of the companies is the people and the care in which they treat their boats and the attention they pay to you. In this regard, CYOA is tops in my book.

Re: CYOA trip report April, 2013 (Mahe 36) [Re: Twanger] #19860
05/16/2013 07:45 AM
05/16/2013 07:45 AM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,493
VIRGINIA
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BEERMAN Offline
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BEERMAN  Offline
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VIRGINIA
Sounds like a few hiccups along the way, BUT at least you made it to St John, especially on Maho Bay with good weather <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" /> Having both of you sick during the week was unfortunate.

We have considered the Mahe36 and your comments about fuel consumption got me curious. It only holds 55 gal. and has 2x18hp, but that's still a lot of fuel to burn up by "mid-week". Capndar, did you refuel during your trip?

Thanks for the report <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />

Re: CYOA trip report April, 2013 (Mahe 36) [Re: BEERMAN] #19861
05/16/2013 08:38 AM
05/16/2013 08:38 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 969
NC, USA
capndar Offline
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capndar  Offline
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Posts: 969
NC, USA
@Beerman. We started with full tanks, we did sail a lot, and had an $80 fuel bill at week's end. No mid week re fuel

We went all the way to north sound but not Anegada


Capndar
Masters 50 GT Sail/Power/Towing
3rd generation sailor
Re: CYOA trip report April, 2013 (Mahe 36) [Re: capndar] #19862
05/16/2013 09:06 AM
05/16/2013 09:06 AM
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 643
Ft. Worth, TX
L
Lcrich Offline OP
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Lcrich  Offline OP
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Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 643
Ft. Worth, TX
Beer, we loved St. John and all the beaches. Francis/Maho Bay was definitely our favorite. I had your trip reports in my head and remembered all your faves too.
We used $200.00 of fuel. Who knows if the tanks were full when we got it though. I would reconsider the Mahe unless they could show you some maintenance reports.

Re: CYOA trip report April, 2013 (Mahe 36) [Re: Lcrich] #19863
05/16/2013 09:34 AM
05/16/2013 09:34 AM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,493
VIRGINIA
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BEERMAN Offline
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BEERMAN  Offline
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Capndar thanks, sounds right, we used about 20 gallons on our last 10 day trip on a Sunsail384, 2x29hp Yanmars. That left us 70 gallons just incase <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Lcrich, we'll be down in July and I'll try to swing by CYOA to check it out. We once found one water tank almost empty before leaving the dock, they said everything was topped off. Those marinas can be very busy and double checking is the way to go. BTW, the Sunsail 384 is very nice for a couple or small group. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />

Re: CYOA trip report April, 2013 (Mahe 36) [Re: BEERMAN] #19864
05/16/2013 01:13 PM
05/16/2013 01:13 PM
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,100
Maryland
Twanger Offline
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Twanger  Offline
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Posts: 6,100
Maryland
On a 40-ish foot cat Gen/AC for 12-hours a day and the average amount of motoring will usually run you through 60-70 gallons of Diesel in a 10-day charter.

Yah, on water we ALWAYS check before we leave the dock, doesn't matter who we're chartering from. And we never trust the gauges. Ever!

Re: CYOA trip report April, 2013 (Mahe 36) [Re: Twanger] #19865
05/16/2013 02:11 PM
05/16/2013 02:11 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 969
NC, USA
capndar Offline
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capndar  Offline
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 969
NC, USA
And I should have stated we had the no generator sister cat


Capndar
Masters 50 GT Sail/Power/Towing
3rd generation sailor
Re: CYOA trip report April, 2013 (Mahe 36) [Re: capndar] #19866
05/17/2013 01:54 PM
05/17/2013 01:54 PM
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 302
stevemac Offline
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stevemac  Offline
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Posts: 302
IMHO - You live and learn from design issues like the ventilation but a full holding tank and uncertainty in fuel level is unacceptable.

Re: CYOA trip report April, 2013 (Mahe 36) [Re: stevemac] #19867
05/17/2013 03:58 PM
05/17/2013 03:58 PM
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,213
GJ, CO S/V Long Overdue
sail2wind Offline
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sail2wind  Offline
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GJ, CO S/V Long Overdue
it's not rocket science or expensive, either fix the fuel gauge or not

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/sto...10#.UZaLT7WPOSo

Re: CYOA trip report April, 2013 (Mahe 36) [Re: sail2wind] #19868
05/22/2013 04:12 PM
05/22/2013 04:12 PM
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,336
Port St Lucie, FL
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Richieg1g Offline
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Richieg1g  Offline
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Port St Lucie, FL
Yeah Evan. My vehicles have a working fuel gauge (even the almost 50 year old car has one that works) and unless someone puts sea water into the fuel tank, there is no reason for a non-functioning fuel gauge.


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Re: CYOA trip report April, 2013 (Mahe 36) [Re: Lcrich] #19869
05/22/2013 08:23 PM
05/22/2013 08:23 PM
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 514
Pewaukee, WI/St. Thomas VI
goozee Offline
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goozee  Offline
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Pewaukee, WI/St. Thomas VI
was the boat Azura?

Re: CYOA trip report April, 2013 (Mahe 36) [Re: goozee] #19870
05/23/2013 08:55 AM
05/23/2013 08:55 AM
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 643
Ft. Worth, TX
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Lcrich Offline OP
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Lcrich  Offline OP
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Ft. Worth, TX
Goozee, yes, the boat's name is Azura.


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