Well...technically you are in violation of contract if you don’t pay your balance when it’s due. They could ask you to pay the whole charter fee in full at the time of booking but they don’t. They let us put down a “deposit” so we can get the boat we want for the dates we want. We had to do the same thing for our May charter, even though we knew there was no way it was going to go...but...because we were paid in full when the charter company canceled? We could move it with no added fees, etc. The only way to really avoid situations like this? Is to book at the last minute and just hope there are boats you like available - it is what it is - this is just a new scenario.