Questions and answers
Most frequently asked questions about yacht charters and answers on them.
Yes. All boats offered by professional charter companies have hull and third party liability insurance.
Damage Deposit (refundable) is the amount you are liable for in case of any damages to the boat. This deposit should be paid on the spot before embarkation and will be refunded at the end of the charter if no damages were done to the boat.
Damage Waiver is an additional insurance that allows you to reduce amount of Damage Deposit to a smaller amount. Damage Waiver will reduce the amount of your liability.
Usually price for damage deposit insurance as around 8-10% of the damage deposit. But this insurance will be valid for the whole year, so if you plan several charters during the year, it make sense to buy this insurance.
For the regions like the Caribbean, South-East Asia, Oceania, no special sailing documents are needed. Sailing or boating license are required for the bareboat charters in Mediterranean. To charter the boat in Europe you will need Day Skipper license, ICC and VHF.
12 Knots offer free cancellation within 4 days after the on-line reservation. During this time the boat will be on hold for you free of charge. Once you confirm the booking you are liable for 30% down payment.
All necessary equipment for the coastal navigation. In most of the companies dinghy and outboard engine is also included in the price. Fuel, marinas, moorings, provisioning services of skipper and hostess should be paid separately, on top of the boat charter price.
Most of the charter companies offer their boats for not less than 4 days. During the high season – summer in Mediterranean and New Year in the Caribbean minimum charter period is one week 7 days.
Majority of charter companies offer check-in of the boats after 5pm and check out at 10am. But this time may vary from company to company.
Once the booking is confirmed you will receive file with Base details – location of the boat and contacts of the base manager. This manager will be your main contact person when you arrive to the marina. Base manager will help you to get acquainted with the boat and will be responsible for the check-in / out procedure. He may also check you sailing qualification if needed.
It depends on the navigation area and charter terms and conditions. Many companies restrict navigation to the day light, so we recommend to get in touch with your booking manager and get approval for the night navigation if needed beforehand.
During check-out procedure base manager will check all equipment of the boat, look for any damages and also check fuel level in the tanks. If tanks are not full you’ll be charged price of the fuel plus extra fee for the service.
At the end of the charter you should ask base manager for the signed check out list (this is your confirmation that there are no damages to the boat and no charges can be made). If there are any damages to the boat (in case company is not able to give you estimations right away), you should still get the sighed check list with indicated damages and date when the company will provide you estimate for the repairs. We strongly recommend to buy Damage Waiver or Damage Deposit insurance.
APA (Advanced provisioning). APA is a deposit that should be paid on top of the charter price and usually is about 20-30% of the yacht charter price. From this amount Captain will cover expenses for fuel, marinas, provisioning. At the end of the charter Captain will provide detailed report and the rest of the amount will be refunded to the charterers account. Applicable only for large crewed yachts.
If you charter the boat with skipper / captain – he will be in FULL command, and shall comply with initial itinerary considering wind, weather and other circumstances permitting. The Captain shall not, however, be bound to itinerary if it may result in the Vessel moving to any port or place that is not safe and proper, or might result in failing to re-deliver the Vessel upon the expiration of the Charter Period.
Failure to return the yacht at the designated check-in time and place will result in extra charges. These extra charges will be indicated and charged by the Local partner. Usually these charges are much higher than the standard charter rate per day.