I'm under contract to buy a 2011 Azimut 58...

Yeah but ladies love them, and girls adore them, even the girls that never saw them...…………… what's wrong with you?

hahahahaahaha…...

Why are you so hung up on water tight compartments???????? Those old Hatteras' like Pascal's, you could drop that thing from a Port crane onto cement and the hull would still be sound on it. But, seriously, it's a very rare event that something breeches a yachts hull. Can it occur, sure. But, there are many more serious issues to worry about, such as fire from inferior electrical.

What safety? I think you should learn the basics of how to be a proper Captain, because a lot of things you are referring to are non-issues because we have other ways that are more efficient at dealing with them.

Drogue? Are you talking about a sea anchor? You should have a light release line that goes on the end of it that when pulled, deflates the sea anchor......or just motor ahead on it while someone pulls the line in by hand, like a real captain would. Please explain to me how you are going to use a stern winch, to retrieve a sea anchor or even a real anchor that is deployed on the bow of the bow?

I can get a real anchor up, just by using a ring with a polyball on it and driving around on it, can do the same with a sea anchor. They sell just the ring or ring and line that you can put on your own polyball

https://www.amazon.com/Ironwood-Pac...hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584207581360908&psc=1

Dude.... you need to watch some Deepak Chopra videos or something.......

Perhaps there is some sort of language barrier because you are in Sardinia. BUT, this forum is based in the United States and here, in the English language, a drogue IS a sea anchor.

Can you please tell me how you plan on using a stern winch to take in an anchor that is deployed on the bow because your windlass broke? Or even a stern anchor? If the stern anchor and chain is light enough to lift manually, then you lift it manually, if it is not, all a stern winch will do is scrape the hell out of the stern 1/4 of your boat. In order to set a stern anchor in the first place, you let out additional rode on the bow anchor back way down, drop the stern anchor, then come forward on the bow anchor while letting out scope on the stern anchor.....so you'd just do this in reverse order.

And yes, that stupid ring and polyball will easily bring up a 60 lb anchor to the surface, and very quickly at that, you'd be a fool not to have the ring on board in case of an emergency. Sportfish that anchor in very deep water use those all of the time...…the ones that go to the Canyons for Big Eye tuna in the NE......all you do is drive forward on the anchor in a big circle and the ring works it's way down the anchor line/chain and the anchor floats to the surface and stays floating on the surface and you can then easily pull the chain or rode in.

This is not Ego, this is Experience speaking. You somehow go from comparing quality to water tight compartments. As if water tight compartments are a measurement of quality somehow.

I guess if it wasn't too deep you could dive on the anchor, attach a line, pay out ALL the rode and maneuver the stern over it hoist it up. (and then bring all the rode back on board. PITA)..... But, we've all done some interesting McGyvering when needed. Wouldn't call that a routine operation. Having sailed quite a bit I've always had a variety of winches on deck. Used them for all kinds of things other than adjusting sheets and pulling halyards. Have pulled people up in bosun's chairs, hoisted engines off dinghies etc. They can be handy. Are they must have equipment on a power boat? Nope, especially since most 50+ power boats have a crane on deck somewhere. Which, btw one could use to save the anchor too......

Regarding your numbers Makesumwake, in my experience things never turn out as good as they look in an Excel spreadsheet. I have done some chartering myself to offset expenses but what I failed to plan for is the time it takes to manage the business and to maintain the yacht itself. As for the charter business, you're constantly taking calls from prospective clients in addition to managing finances and doing marketing.

Another thing I didn't anticipate was the time it takes to manage a MY. I was a houseboater for about 8 years before making the jump to a yacht. For me, it's been a steep learning curve. There is just so much to learn .... lots of complex systems with something breaking all the time. (My boat is a 2003 so that might not be the case with newer boats.) I spend a lot of time doing preventive maintenance and the "list" of things that need attention is never finished. Much of what I've learned has come from this forum!

The world of yachting has given me some of the most enjoyable, exciting and adventurous days of my life. But it comes at a cost, a pretty hefty one, not the least of which is the time it takes to run a business and properly maintain a big boat. Of course, I wouldn't trade it for the world but I wish I were better prepared going in.

You've decided and won't listen to anything we say, so go do it. Going to charter a yacht with contracting for crew only when needed it seems rather than full time. Good luck. You have friends, you know it all. I don't believe you'll hit any of those numbers with that boat. I've chartered far nicer boats and looked at the finances of putting nicer boats into charter and the averages do not approach the kind of profits you perceive.

And you're going to do it without using a broker? Where do you intend to find customers? Craigslist?

If it was as easy as you think and the numbers worked as well as you think, then I'd have 20 boats that I'd be chartering. It would be a gold mine. It may be for 2-3% of those with boats being chartered but the others just hope to reduce, not eliminate, the costs of their boating.

Me thinks that if you have to hash your business plan here, there's a chance you don't know what you don't know.