Almost every charter boat in the Adriatic comes from a handful of yards. Knowing which is which tells you more about your week than the brochure will.
Charter fleets are built from a narrow set of production builders, chosen for durability, parts availability and the ability to survive twenty turnarounds a season. Here is what is actually under you, and what each is like to live on.
Monohulls
- Bavaria
- German, robust, volume-built. Not the prettiest boat afloat and among the most sensible in a charter fleet — simple systems, generous interior, parts everywhere.
- Hanse
- Also German, with self-tacking headsails that make short-handed sailing genuinely easy. Fast for a production cruiser, and popular with owners who sail themselves.
- Beneteau and Jeanneau
- The French volume builders and the backbone of the world charter fleet. Well-sorted, familiar, and easy to find crew who already know the layout.
- Elan
- Slovenian, built an hour from this coast, and noticeably better to sail than the volume boats. A local favourite for a reason.
- Dufour and Grand Soleil
- A step up in finish and sailing quality, and correspondingly less common in charter.
Catamarans
- Lagoon
- The dominant name in charter catamarans. Enormous interior volume, flybridge models, and the boat most guests picture when they picture a catamaran.
- Fountaine Pajot
- Better sailing performance than the volume competition, with a lighter feel on the helm and a more nautical interior.
- Bali
- Distinctive for the solid foredeck and the tilting garage door between saloon and cockpit. Divisive among sailors, extremely popular with guests.
- Nautitech
- The sailor’s catamaran — aft helms, better performance, less volume. Rare in charter and worth asking for.
Between a newer small boat and an older large one, take the newer one. Systems fail on tired boats, and a week is short.
What matters more than the badge
Age, maintenance and equipment, in that order. A three-year-old Bavaria that has been properly serviced will give you a better week than a ten-year-old boat from a more prestigious yard that has done a hundred charters and had its sails replaced never.
Ask the age, ask when the sails were last replaced, ask whether there is a watermaker and a generator, and ask who serviced her at the end of last season. The answers tell you everything the brand name does not.