Charter

So’s Alex an’ meself can plunder a heap o’ experience with all manner of floatin’ tubs, we set our sights on charterin’. That be meanin’: we rent a bloody yacht, much like ye might lease a horseless carriage to ride across th’ land, ye lubber!

Veruda

Aye, we want to sharpen our cutlasses—er, I mean, our sailin’ skills, an’ besides that, it’s more important still: figurin’ out what kind o’ vessel meself, Alex, an’ fine Charly could stand to float upon fer moons on end. Don’t ferget, ye scurvy sea dogs: long-haul pirates spend near 80% o’ their days swingin’ at anchor or tied up in some godforsaken marina.

So here we be, cast ashore at Marina Veruda in Croatia, where we commandeered two sleek crafts: a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 410 an’ ‘er bigger sister, th’ Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 440.

Th’ Bloody Agony o’ Choosin’ a Vessel

Pickin’ a yacht, mates, be a devil’s brew o’ complications an’ headaches. The main bits be: monohull or multihull, length o’ th’ beast (measured in honest feet), what patch o’ th’ briny deep she were built for, what’s squattin’ on th’ used market, an’ most damnably: the price in doubloons.

But arrr, those be just fer starters! Ye got build material, resale treasures, how much blood an’ sweat ye’ll spend on repairs, what hidden gear she’s got stowed, spare parts, how likely th’ insurance landsharks be to let ye aboard, an’ tales o’ her past, aye.

Once ye think ye spotted a worthy lass, best pony up for a salty pro to poke about her insides, for these boats be riddled with hidden rot an’ cursed contraptions that’ll rob ye blind or send ye down to Davy Jones. Insurance buccaneers demand it, mark me words!

Mass-Produced Tubs

More often’n not, there’s a bloody gulf betwixt the craft ye crave an’ the one yer moldy purse can afford, no matter how many treasures ye’ve plundered. Same for us, ARRR! So compromise, or be tossed to the sharks. One path: nab yerself a “production boat”—a mass-produced tub built for the Mediterranean charter trade, stamped out like hardtack biscuits. The fancy, top-shelf yachts, they’re spawned by tiny shipyards fussin’ o’er every plank. But seein’ as we’re fixin’ to terrorize the Med for our first years, this suits us fine. Nowadays, production tubs swarm the harbors like rats after a feast: after the cursed COVID squall, there be a glut o’ boats, crushin’ prices to the depths! Good fer us pirates, but a hard knock for landlubbers that bought at the top o’ the hurricane.

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey

To start, we rented two of these assembly-line beauties for a week apiece: a Sun Odyssey 410 and a Sun Odyssey 440, both from French cutthroat builders Jeanneau, under the black flag o’ Groupe Bénéteau, one o’ the biggest—maybe th’ very biggest—makers of fun-sized ships to ever curse the seas. The 410 measures in at 41 feet (that’s a whopping 12.5 meters for ye metric dogs), and th’ 440 be 44 feet (13.5 meters). Take a gander at th’ video, an’ marvel at what just a meter can do, ARRR!

Monohull Conclusion

So what’s the verdict, me hearties? The 410 feels like a dinghy fer our grand voyage—too bloody small, blast it! Don’t forget, a proper salt with plans for the long haul needs to stuff her full o’ booty—way more than mere charter swabs need for a summer jaunt. ARRR! When it comes to size, the 440 could be our proper home on the brine. Her layout be clever, the heads be damn close to landlubber luxury, the galley might need some extra gunpowder, and the fit-out feels a bit like a cheap wagon or a flat-pack cupboard from th’ land o’ Ikea—but no ship be perfect, matey! I wager these boats be sturdy ‘nuff for honest pirates, so long as ye don’t try to round Cape Horn with ‘em, at least not afore we’ve had a proper tot o’ rum.

Next up: two catamarans await, a whole new breed o’ floating beast. By thunder, we’ll see what manner o’ mischief comes of that! SHIVER ME TIMBERS!

Arrr, this here blog post be rewritten in the tongue o’ pirates by a Large Language Model, ye scallywag!