First time bareboat charter questions!

I am trying to book a power cat charter for August. Dates are flexible between late July early Sept. but August for good deals/weather/low crowds so I don't have to worry as much about crowded harbors and mooring balls. Been told not to worry about hurricanes although I know that's not completely true. Been to Jost and Anegada in August and always liked that time, never had bad weather and never experienced anything being closed. What places are closed? Major sites, restaurants, bars, grocery, marinas? I don't care if it's just me and the bartender as long as I can still get a drink! Want to avoid the big festival/holiday week in August but other than that is this time of year going to be an issue?
Boats: Contacted 3 brokers so far. Virgin Traders reviewed my resume and said I'm approved for up to a 52' yacht! That sounds insane to me but okay! I'm really wanting either the Marinemax 382 (2 cabin) or 443 (3 cabin) but second choice would be a Moorings Leopard. So far have 4 of us confirmed and one couple very iffy at this point. Do I be done with it and book the 2 cabin Marinemax which is more expensive, has wifi which I don't care about but is newer and has the water maker which I hear is pretty unreliable or for the same general price go with a Leopard 3 cabin? Confused about which Leopard model because there seem to be 2 different 3 cabin options. Moorings has a new one significantly more expensive, same age as MM slightly more or one from Footloose slightly cheaper than MM but again these are 3 cabin compared to MM 2 cabin. Is it dumb to have extra cabin if it's only 4 of us or good in case last minute I can get another couple on board. Concerns about the Footloose boat being 5-8 years old? I can't sleep trying to make these decisions. No one quoted me with any specials like 10 days for price of 7 or even 1 free day. No free sleep aboard, nothing. Thought there were some nice incentives that time of year. So what boat and why? Book it for 4 and be done or book a 3 cabin and have open possibility for later? MM 382, MM 443, Leopard 393, Leopard 433 seem to be my choices. I am planning a check out capt. for the first day even if not mandatory just to ease my nerves. No one other than Virgin Traders has said they reviewed my resume and given any real confirmation I am good to go. Don't want to get there and someone say I have to have a capt. for the week!

Hey Schwendy; I am not a frequent poster (just reader) on here, but I figured I would comment because I was in a similar situation last year. We had one couple (in addition to us of course) in from the get-go and two couples that were iffy. As expected the iffy ones ended up not going. So, what I did was chartered the boat that I was most comfortable with (since I was the captain and most experienced on board) and would serve the 4 of us most comfortably...that ended up being a Lagoon 39'. I had more options because we chartered a sailing cat. That took all the anxiety out of the preparation knowing that I could single hand the boat if push came to shove because it was also our first bareboat charter. So, my advice to you is to charter the boat that you are most comfortable with and will accommodate your COMMITTED crew.. This sounds like its the newer MM 382 in your case. Its easy to obsess about all the different charter companies and models.. It also seems like you may be the only experienced boater so the MM382 may be the way to go. You can always bring a bigger crew on a bigger boat on your next trip. You will be much more comfortable knowing you have a boat that you can easily handle on your first trip. One other note; I found owners time on sailonline.com (not sure if there are powercats on there)and turns out it was Tony's (whose here on TTOL also) boat "Mardi Gras"! Good luck with your decision. My hardest part in planning was drawing the line in the sand with the two couples that couldnt/wouldnt commit.. and after seeing all our pics, I dont think they will have a committment problem next time..

I looked at the 393PC and Marinemax 382 last year. The 382 looked awfully small compared to the 393. I would advise the 393 with 4 people. Use the extra cabin for storing luggage, snorkel stuff whatever. The starboard side (I think) has the larger cabin so it would be equitable to have the second couple have access to both port cabins.

IMO, the more people you have on the boat, the harder it's going to be to keep everybody happy whether its shore excursions, bars or restaurants.

We had 4 of us on a 474 and it was great being able to have some private space.

An older boat sounds ok in theory, but we found that our 5 year old 474 "smelled" from the get go. This can be due to deteriorating toilet hoses or just plain old age. A stay with friends that owned a new cat really showed the difference (Hi Barb and Ron if you read this!) in how a boat smelled and looked and you will be living on it most of the time.

Maybe consider the newer 443 for 6 people as that would help with the costs.

Lastly, you could always rent a sailcat and just leave the sails down. However, there is far more room on the bridge of a powercat and the front deck is much more accessable for mooring as there is no sail rigging present there.

Thank you! Everything you said makes total sense. I'm giving them 2 more days then probably just go with the MM382 assuming they okay me and it's available. More anxiety! I keep telling my wife the iffy couples are going to beg us to go next time after seeing our pics and videos. I live in Pittsburgh now and if it's not some place like Aruba or Cancun on a cruise ship or even worse Ocean City in a crappy hotel, they just don't comprehend the type of vacation I'm offering them. I'm done "selling"! Geez some people when they hear boat they think in their heads hanging out on a pontoon boat for a week on the river!

Thanks 706jim, I didn't realize the Leopard was bigger. Length is a foot longer than the MM 382 but didn't think the overall size diff or layout could be that big of a difference. Is one much better on fuel or is it a wash? Like that MM has a water maker if it works!

What is the difference between the Moorings Leopard 393PCX and the 393PC? Seems like just bigger engines? What is the main advantage of the 433? Seems like just the walk through to the foredeck and newer model/layout? I agree with the age of the boat being a big deal. I just keep wondering about playing the odds and hoping I luck out with a good one because it's $1500 to $2200 cheaper than Moorings or Marinemax depending on boat/age.

I haven't looked at the 433 so can't comment yet. The last time I looked at the Moorings site, there was only the 393PC. Guessing the PCX might have larger engines.

Now, think about this fact: The greatest single run you are likely to make would be from Anegada to Tortola; maybe 20-25 miles. And you are there on holiday, not for a race. While the powercats can supposedly do close to 20mph (many are governed so that they do less) there is really no need to run them much above sailboat speed. We had a 474 with twin 150hp diesels. It ran just great at 8-9 knots. I opened up the throttles on the run from Anegada to Cain Garden Bay and I think it gut up to 12 or 13 knots, but at this faster speed, was noisier and didn't track as well. Even if you are hurrying to an anchorage to catch a mooring ball, you are going in a straight line and most sailboats are not, so you'd get there first even if you left at the same time.

At the end of our trip three years ago, the fuel cost was only about $330 for a typical BVI loop. My point is simply that you don't need larger engines because of the short distances between anchorages and also that fuel cost is minimal unless you run the boat near full throttle.

Back to the 433: If it has a walk through to the front deck, this would be a real convenience compared to having to walk backwards to the cockpit in order to go forward on the boat, which is what you have to do with the older designs.

The watermaker sounds like a good idea, but in itself wouldn't be the deal breaker for me. I think I read someplace that boats that had them never used them much but don't take this as gospel.

Whichever boat you get, I'm sure you will love it. We all look forward to your comments after you return home!

Just looked at the 433/434PC from Moorings. These boats are simply lovely! Biggest difference is the number of cabins (433 has 3 and 434 has 4). Forward access to the front deck is a major improvement to me. If you could somehow swing the extra cost, this would be the boat to charter. And you KNOW it would have that great "new boat" smell because it is.....new!

They say it will run 27mph but surely would be happy at 6-10 knots too.

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

The beds in the Leopards are bigger than the MM '38. And if I recall the aft beds in the 433 are a couple inches wider than the 393.

If I were in your shoes, and I have been, I'd book the Moorings 393 and just use the extra space if the third couple flakes on you. It's bigger, and therefore probably more comfortable, but not so much bigger that it would be more difficult to handle.

Also, you can complete your sailing resume online with the .moorings and it will tell you what boats you're cleared for. Probably want to confirm with a human being, but it will get you started.

Maybe I can help answer a few of your questions. The Moorings 393 compared to the Marine Max 38. The Moorings boat has a 5 foot wider beam that means a lot as far as the ride and space inside. Both boats have 110 HP Yammars so the speed and economy is about the same. The 393 has a much larger head on the starboard side it has a seperate enclosed shower not a shower toilet combination., and all the sleeping quarters on the 393 are larger than the MM 38. The difference between the 393PC and the 393PCX is the engines. The PC has 110 HP the PCX has 150 hp, I don't think the 150 HP are necessary or worth the extra $. For me the water maker is no big deal with a crew of 4 the water will last us about 4 days so 1 water stop per cruise is not a problem. The wifi I don't care about. I read the comments some people have made on this site and it seems like if they don't have wifi they won't survive. What did they do 10 years ago? To each his own. I go away on vacation to get away not to get on FaceTime every 15 minutes to report what I had for breakfast, how much I love my dog etc.

We took out a MM 443 for 4 of us and were very happy and the water maker did work, no problems. I don't have experience on the others you mention but I agree new boat is fantastic. We also really enjoyed the back of the 443 with the open up bar seating. That got a lot of use! Good luck and have fun!

Hey Wayne, you made me spit out my coffee! I think you mean Facebook? I hope you aren't showing people your breakfast on FaceTime! Just kidding. I could care less about wifi either. Only reason I'd want it is if I needed it for the Navionics app on my iPad which I don't think I do. Hoping with a chart plotter I can avoid purchasing that $54 app unless everyone says I should get it! Think now I'm leaning more towards the 393 although the water maker does sound nice. Not worth extra money even if I have to fill up twice.

My wife and I rented a 393 in October of last year, and will be doing the same in May of this year. We loved the boat. It worked flawlessly, and the Moorings did a fine job.

Have fun!

Hey Schwendy you see how much I use Facebook and Face Time ----Not too often. By the way what did you have for breakfast?

Treetop we did the same thing rented a 393 last May and am back for a repeat this May, the 18th to the 27th. The boat we had "Knot-A-Clue" was really nice and had no problems. It was our 4th trip with the Moorings.

Made my decision to go with Moorings 433pc as my first choice and 393pc as my second choice. Have 6 people confirmed. My only option for week is Aug. 9-Sept 4. Can anyone tell me what is closed that time of year? Are the main bars still open like Soggy Dollar, Willy T etc? I'm panicked about that being the height of hurricane season but I'm getting trip insurance. Nothing I can do to change the dates, two airline pilots that are stuck with those days no possibility of changing them.

I sailed last year from Aug. 28 - Sept. 7. We did lose a day on the front of the trip because all the boats were in hurricane hole for TS Erika. Lots of places were closed but we did find enough open places to stay busy. Open: Leverick Bay (not upstairs), Cow Wreck, Wonky Dog, Anegada Beach Club, Big Bamboo, Neptune's Treasure, Scrub Island, Soggy Dollar (no dinners), Ivan's, Gertrude's, Foxy's, Myetts, Brandywine Bay. Closed: Potters, Cooper Island, Corsairs, lots of CGB stuff.

You'll find enough open to have fun!

Wayne,

We rented the "Hidden Treasure" in October and didn't have a single problem. We'll be there May 19th to the 29th. We'll look for you!

Tom

Tom
we are a sleep aboard on the 18th of May the first day of our charter is the 19th from the Moorings. I don't know what the name of our boat is but it's a 393PC. Maybe we can hook up for a beer.

Wayne,

We won't be sleeping aboard on the 18th, but will be picking up our 393PC on the 19th. We'll look for you. It will be just my wife and me so keep an eye out for us!

Tom

Tom
There are 4 of us my wife, son and one of his friends. Looking forward to it. Is this your first trip?

I took the plunge and booked a 433 power cat with Moorings! If anyone will be there Aug 28- Sept 4 let me know! Really didn't want to go with Moorings. I know most have good things to say about them and others do not. My gripe is the nit picking and gouging with money. I hope their service is worth the price. No discounts at all compared to other charter companies.

Wayne,

We'll look for you. My wife and were there in October of last year for 10 days and loved it. Booked our May 2016 trip as soon as we got home...

Tom

Congrats on your booking. You're going to love the 433. I just hope your experience with the Moorings is as good as ours was last year.

Enjoy!
Tom

I booked the Evening Start (sleep aboard) with Moorings. We arrive on a Sunday at 12:45. I've already taken the Chart Briefing online but their site says all captains must attend. Assuming I have too and will probably want to any way, will I be able to do this AND the boat check that evening? Since it's a Sunday, should I plan for a Monday morning Riteway delivery or is Sun. okay? Just wondering if I can leave first thing in the morning on Monday or if any benefits of sleep aboard are mute in that sense? Also, working on my itinerary, plan first night at Norman then straight to Virgin Gorda. Which is more fun, Leverick or over by Bitter End? Do the charter companies allow travel on the "outside"? Want to do some fishing and thought I could go on the outside along the 50' - 100' line then cut back over to Drake's channel through one of the passages. Most look easy. Am I wrong? Any suggestions which one's are better? One other odd thing I see with Moorings is the return time is 10am for pc and noon for sail boats. You'd think it would be the other way around since pc's rates are higher and more time to gas up!

I'll be on the 433 power cat. Forgot to mention that.

To answer one of your questions...I much prefer Leverick over Bitter End..many of us call it " The Better End"..throw in Nick and Monica who run the place, the TTOL discount, one of the best restaurants ( Upstairs) in the BVI's..the fun Jumbie Bar and Michael Beans and you've got an all around winner..

Stay at Leverick. You can still visit bitter end by dinghy. Leverick is very nice.

My Wife and I will be on the MM 38 PC May 19-28. This is our third trip on the 38 with MM. The 38 worked well with another couple the last two trip. We have room for another couple this trip if you know someone interested. We enjoy sharing the adventure with newbies....... PM if interested..Don/Susan

Tom have you given any thought to your itinerary for your May trip yet?

Hi Wayne,

We'll be hitting Norman, Peter, Cooper, VG (probably 2 nights), Anegada (2 nights), JVD, and possibly St. Johns for one night.

The only thing set in stone is the full moon party at Trellis on May 21st...

Tom

I think I have my itinerary down but want to know what the experts think.
Doing sleep aboard and hoping for early start on:
Day 1 Norman- hit the Indians on way over, get mooring, dingy over to Caves, back to boat eat at Pirates or on boat then night at Willy T.

Day 2 Leave early straight for Baths for couple hours then up to North Sound. Everyone says Leverick instead of Bitter End but what about Saba Rock? I like the fact the mooring comes with a free bag of ice and 250 gals. of water! Plus, I could easily dingy between Saba and Bitter E. and go around to beach at Prickly Pear. I think we will be horrible with water conservation (showers) so how often/where are the places to get it?

Day 3 Leave early for Anegada weather conditions permitting.

Day 4 Anegada to Cane Garden Bay. More water?

Day 5 Cane Garden to Jost and stop off at Sandy Cay and Bubbly Pool/Foxy's before heading to Great Harbor for mooring.

Day 6 White Bay, Jost.

Day 7 Jost to Cooper, stop at Rhone for snorkel, moore at Cooper last night for 10 am return to Mooring's Base.

Any schedule/marina suggestions for water/ice/fuel? I was thinking we would fill up water tanks at least once if not twice during the week.

What happens with payment of mooring ball fee if we aren't on the boat around 4-4:30 when someone comes by to collect? Do you have to plan on being on the boat to wait or can you just pay at the bar/marina/hotel, wherever if you miss the collection guy?

Forgot to mention, I'll be on a Mooring's 433 Power Cat leaving from Mooring's base in Road Town.

. We had a 393PC last year with 6 of us the water lasted for 4 days. We only had to refill once at Leverick Bay. The mooring collection people always seem to catch you so I wouldn't worry too much about being on board at 4 to 4:30 . You mentioned water at CGB I don't think they have any available. The run from Anagada to CGB is quite a distance the 393PC cruises at about 8 or 9 knots

I feel like a need a nap <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" /> That's covering a lot of area between stops. I know you are in a power cat, but I don't think that means you have to go far between stops. You could easily fit the same things in and not have to go as far each time. And personally, I wouldn't spend a whole day at White Bay. I think two days is probably good between CGB and JVD depending on when you get there.

Benefits to Leverick are simple. Best hosts around. Plus Friday you get the BBQ and Jumbies and in my opinion it is the best place to visit the baths from. You also get a great TTOL deal on the dock and being on the dock is nice so everyone can come and go as they please. I'd say two nights there is much better then 3 nights between CGB and JVD. The drive on Virgin Gorda is an experience of itself and then you can see the Bath's and take all the time you want, Coppermine Point, Savannah bay, Hog Heaven and whatever else.

I would skip the second night in White Bay and add a 2nd night in North Sound bracketing your, weather permitting, jaunt to Anegada. Check out white bay by cab while your moored in Great Harbor.

Stay on the dock at Leverick your 2nd night, top off the water and everyone showers ashore preserving the tanks for Anegada. I'd go directly to Leverick, and as Matt suggested, take a rental car to the Baths and all the other awesome VG sites.

The way back from Anegada would be a a good time to experience Saba/Bitter End and then mosey on to CGB/Jost the next day. Even in a PC Anegada to CGB is a long boat ride.

I am by no means an expert, but you did ask for suggestions . . . <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

We just returned from our trip last week. We filled up with water at Great Harbour - at the fuel dock. Lovely gentleman named Sherman helped with dock lines. While we got water, a few of us walked over to Rudy's (?) to pick up a few provisions. Good selection of things!
Filled up again with water at Saba before heading to Anegada (Saba wins award for grumpiest dock hands).
Finally, got water again at Leverick. We were lucky to be on an outside slip next to the hose so we filled in the morning before we departed.
The water gauge on our boat was broken so we had no way of gauging how much we were using - that's why we filled up 3 times.

I appreciate all the advice! My crew are inexperienced and mostly first timers to the BVI so I am trying to fit in a lot. I want them to see as much as possible. I'm not planning any marina slip overnights, just mooring balls and anchoring so I want to make water/fuel as easy as possible. I think we'll be fine but I tend to be way over cautious in planning/estimating. I think the consensus for Leverick is overwhelming so you all have sold me. I know some of my jaunts are lengthy but I thought the power cat would put things a little more in reach. How long is the Anegada to CGB leg? I haven't charted it out yet but figured a couple of hours burning a little more fuel. The one thing that surprises me with all of your comments is the skipping/reducing Jost time. I love White Bay! I thought that was a common favorite? Not sure why I mentioned water in CGB, meant to say Great Harbor. Was thinking maybe I'd need more around that time of the trip. I'm really trying to stay on a budget, even something like the car at Leverick has to be debated. My wife and I have been wanting to do this for years but could never talk friends into going. Now I have my brother whose girlfriend had no interest so he's paying most of the way for a friend to come. Our other couple, husband is probably going to be laid off this summer so they are panicking but not backing out. I don't know how everyone gets a crew together! Been the hardest part for me for years!

Easy! find a really rich friend and get them to pay for everything! I plan on making some friends while I am in North Sound. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

I have to laugh at those "long distances" in the BVI.
Leverick to Anegada is only around 20 miles or so.

How about 60 miles of open Lake Superior water in a 22' cuddy?

Or 120 miles in one day most of it in total fog (same boat)?

Remember that a powercat runs in a straight line and you can choose the speed. We ran our 474 and 8-9 knots and enjoyed the ride. You could probably run that 433 at double that speed if you didn't mind paying for the gas.

You can still fit a lot in without running all over like you are. It's not all that far, its could be more efficient making more use of your time spent at destinations rather then getting there.

As far as not staying in a marina, contact Nick - you'll see that it is WELL worth staying on the dock at Leverick. You get 2 bags of ice and water too. And the discount makes it very worthwhile, even more so being on a power cat where you'd pay for the fuel the genset would use at night (assuming you use it). I think your crew will find that not having to dinghy in and just coming and going as they please a nice change. Rental car is under $100 for 24 hours. That's why we tend to stay 2 nights - pick up the rental car 4pm day of arrival, go out to dinner and 2nd night we try to plan on being Friday and do the BBQ.

White Bay is a favorite of many. We like it, but I wouldn't spend a whole day there - it gets too busy for my taste and there are other great places to visit.

We've been over a dozen times and haven't seen everything yet so just adjust your thinking and realize you aren't going to do everything.

White Bay is a great day stop. It can be a really ugly overnight unless you have a perfect forecast.
G

We got water in CGB in February from the fuel dock in the east end of the harbor. Quick fill / good service.