Clément, a nautical expert with GlobeSailor for the past 10 years and a member of our CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) committee, considers the question of the lifespan of a rental boat. Many sailors opt for recent models, less than 5 years old, for their yacht charter, but isn’t there a benefit to chartering an older boat?
Boat Maintenance and Refitting
The most important aspect of a boat’s lifespan is its upkeep and the quality of its maintenance by the owner or charter company. Maintenance between each yacht charter is important, but so is upkeep during winter storage.
Refitting is a growing trend in the boating industry. It refers to the process of renovating, restoring and modernising a boat. It is done for various reasons, particularly to extend the boat’s lifespan, improve its performance, update its equipment or give it a fresh new appearance.
Why is refitting so popular?
1. Economic Reasons
The first reason is obviously economic. As you may have heard, we’re in a time of inflation and “everything is going up”! 😊
The price of new boats is no exception! This is due to rising prices for energy, raw materials, equipment, interest rates for credit and the order books of shipyards, most of which are full. According to the French Nautical Industries Federation, the price of houseboats has risen by between 20% and 35% on average over the past two years.
Boat rental bases, which in the past felt pressure to remove boats more than 5 years old from their fleets, are now extending their use cycle through refitting. So today, you can confidently rent beautiful boats that left the boatyard more than a decade ago.
Testimonial from our partner Set Sail, a boat rental company in Toulon:
“Renovating a boat means extending the life of the hulls without losing its comfort or feel at the helm. We review every part of the boat to ensure reliability and maintain the highest standards of quality and safety”.
For charterers, the choice of a refitted boat enables them to sail with more cost-effectively than on very recent boats. For the same size boat, a refitted boat can be up to 50% cheaper than a new one!
If we take the opposite reasoning, it can often make sense to opt for a larger refitted boat rather than a very recent but smaller one.
2. The Environmental Dimension
Even though refitting older boats has an impact on the environment, it will always be more environmentally friendly than the production of a new boat. The greatest waste is the waste that isn’t produced!
The fleet of boats is already substantial. In France alone, there are over a million registered pleasure boats! The boat dismantling and recycling industry is still in its infancy and even if progress is expected, boats will always be difficult to recycle due to the materials used and their diversity.
We met with the Passe Coque association, which applies the principles of the circular economy to social and community action in the yachting sector. Over the past 5 years, the association has built up a fleet of 25 boats, primarily made up of boats from the 70s built from composite materials (fiberglass and resin), many of which would have been abandoned or fallen into disrepair due to the social and economic evolution of the sector.
For the association, the only way to reduce the environmental impact of these boats is to extend their lifespan. The association’s aim is to raise awareness among as many people as possible and this spring it is launching a boat club open to all: the Passe-Coque Club!
Naturally, economic and ecological constraints will increase the number of older rental boats. This boom is likely to boost the second-hand market in the long term.
If you would like to sail on an older boat, contact our expert advisors for advice or search directly below.
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