The Charter Business Thing Again

All right it’s that time of year again. New 2008 boats are hitting the showroom floors so the 2007 demo’s will be available. If you haven’t read the charter investment plan, here is the deal in a nutshell.

Five partners invest in a 26 foot Panga for a charter business. The Panga which gets nearly four miles to the gallon, rides smooth and dry, drafts only 14”of water and happens to look sharp is a perfect boat for the variety of fishing out of Marathon. The partners get use of the boat two weeks each a year for vacation. The rest of the year the boat runs charters to cover the cost of the boat. Every two years the boat is traded in for a new model, so there is always a reliable boat.

Estimated return on the investment ranges from 15% to 30% per year if the investors do their job. Their job is to promote the heck out of the charter business.

Some investors may want to use the boat more than two weeks per year. Not a problem if properly scheduled. That investor just has to kick some money back in the general fund to make it fair for the other investors, about $700 per week.

Rough estimates of total cost and returns a listed in the charter business link. The cost estimates are a little on the high side because of dockage. With a trailer and/or using my dockage which is not much to look at, initial cost can be reduced.

The contact with Cristal Clear Charters is still open plus there are a few others that can be used on a commission basis to book charters. Cay Clubs may be heading south, but CCC’s is hanging in there.

This past charter season was pretty slow. That means the income estimates might be a little high, but the cost of the charters being extremely competitive, I doubt by much.

Judging from the current boat prices, the cash per investor will be between 10and 15 grand for the Angler and 15 to 20 grand for the Andros Panga. I recommend the Angler for the first two years and rolling profit into the Andros in the third year.

With the two year replacement instead of yearly replacement some extra money will need to be held for maintenance and repair.

If you like to fish the Marathon area here is what this works out to if the cost is fifteen grand per investor:

If you rent a 26 foot boat for two weeks a year that is about $3900.00 per year so over three years that’s $11,700 bucks. So even if the charter income stinks, your not really out of that much money anyway. If the charter business makes half of the estimate, you get back your money while still getting the use of the boat. If the charter meets estimates, you make enough cash to pay for the rest of your vacation expenses. So this is not a get rich investment it is a fun vacation investment.

If you own a vacation home in the Keys and try to maintain a boat during the off season, add up your storage and other costs. Then talk to your accountant about potential tax advantages of this deal.

Oh, don’t forget that a charter boat with captain normally has a few numbers or tricks to improve your fish productiveness. You can enjoy fishing the Florida Keys without dealing with the expense of maintaining a boat.

Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas