Short, Authoritative, Useful eBooks
Short, Authoritative, Useful eBooks
$4
Ever considered owning a yacht or simply enjoying the yachting lifestyle? Ever fancied piloting a boat or taking a boat out for a spin, visiting a neighbouring island, going for a transoceanic journey (crossing an ocean), even living on board a yacht?
You’d be in good company. Millions before you have taken the plunge (pun intended). Yes, there are certifications to obtain. Yes, the range and complexity of the tasks required of a boat owner can be overwhelming. Yes, you must be prepared to get your hands dirty. And, most importantly, yes, you must equip yourself with the right mindset.
So you need a guide or mentor, someone ‘who has been there and done that’—the very requirements Learn About Selecting and Maintaining a Yacht in 50 Minutes was written to meet.
This eBook, authored by someone who has made his passion his business, does not just provide a no-holds-barred look at the most important considerations involved in selecting and maintaining a yacht. It also distils the learning and experience of a 26-year veteran of the sea, one who is passionate about sharing his marine experience, good and bad; dispelling myths about the sea; and teaching responsible and sensible boating culture and practices.
Go for functionality and reliability (pertaining to the engines, generator, the hull, etc) over aesthetics (expensive fittings and furnishings). It’s much more important that your yacht reliably bring you to your destination. Upgrade as and when your budget allows and your tastes mature. You can even engage an interior designer when you’re ready to have a second home (or primary place of residence) on water.
Seaworthiness should be another major concern for you. Cheaper boats, like cheap goods in general, are lower priced for a reason: lower quality of material used, poorer structural design employed, etc. For instance, the hulls of expensive yachts have 3 layers: a fibreglass layer, a layer of marine wood in the middle, and another layer of fiberglass. The thickness of each layer also matters. Cheaper boats reduce the thickness of the layers or even employ only a single layer of fibreglass. Clearly, seaworthiness is going to be lower with cheaper boats, especially during stormy weather. (Nevertheless, there is no need to go the other extreme and splurge on pricey European brands; you’re simply paying a premium for the brand.)
Engines brands that are highly regarded include Caterpillar, Cummins, MAN, Volvo Penta, YANMAR, etc. An example of a good, smaller-horsepower (~100) engine would be YANMAR; an example of a mid-range-horsepower (~300) engine would be Caterpillar; a high-horsepower (~500) one would be Cummins; and for a very-high-horsepower (~1,000) engine we have MAN. Well-regarded, rugged generator brands are Northern Lights and Onan.
A common-sensical but important consideration is whether the spare parts for these are readily available locally. There’s no point going for that super-duper new engine if a local supplier does not stock spare parts for it and your mechanic would have to order parts from abroad. Down time for a yacht is a bummer; extended down times are a real pain.
There are no hard-and-fast rules concerning engines and generators. Durability under local conditions and availability of spares locally are the most important factors.
Leisure yachts are a liability and are not good investments: New yachts suffer a steep depreciation curve in their first 3 years.
I’m Capt Q and my life revolves around the sea.
The Fates had a hand in this: In secondary school, I took the plunge and opted for swimming for my extra-curricular activities (ECA) segment. I pursued this hobby passionately until I became a certified lifeguard. My national service (the military service all able-bodied male Singaporeans have to do) was spent in the navy, where I learned boating, fishing, and diving.
My love for the sea had just begun. Although I decided to do civil and structural engineering at university and graduated as an engineer, people who know me understood my priorities: it was a case of my education taking place in the breaks between my sailing, fishing, and diving trips, and not my sailing, fishing, and diving activities happening during my study breaks.
In the construction company I joined, I met an equally ‘sea-struck’ co-worker who became my business partner in all things oceanic. We pooled our savings to buy our first yacht so we could go sailing and fishing whenever we liked (which was very often).
The sea became our second home. Weekends were more often than not spent boating, fishing, diving, and throwing parties for a constantly growing circle of family and friends onboard our little yacht.
With the marketing and business development experience I had acquired in the construction company, I finally plucked up the courage to start my own yacht-charter company in 2015. Since that leap of faith, I’ve never looked back.
I took up business courses from China and bought the franchise of the China Business University for Penang, Malaysia, in 2019. I learned whatever I could about running a business. In four years, my company transformed from a charter company with a single yacht to managing over 50 yachts in four countries: Singapore, Langkawi (Malaysia), Phuket (Thailand), and Sanya (China).
We also expanded ‘vertically’, becoming a yacht-charter platform, a yacht-management company, and a yacht brokerage.
Today, I’m the director of Wanderlust Adventures, principal of a fishing school called My Fishing Frenzy Academy, the president of the Association of Boat Charter Singapore, and principal of China Business University (Penang).
The yacht packages that I’ve developed and curated are based on my most enjoyable experiences: Catch and Cook (fishing and BBQing freshly-caught fish); having a romantic dinner by the beach with loved ones; and cruising to explore islands untouched by humans, with sailing, fishing, and diving thrown in.
Our mission is to share our passion for the sea through adventuring in style, while our vision is that of everyone having the ability and right to enjoy the freedom of being out at sea. These are the life values that I most strongly resonate with.
The boating lifestyle is by no means limited to the rich and abled-bodied. We demonstrate this by regularly sponsoring trips for under-privileged and physically-challenged children and adults.
What has kept me going throughout the years has been the enormous fun and learning I’ve had at sea. I’m passionate about sharing my marine experience, good and bad; dispelling myths about the sea; and teaching responsible boating culture and practices.
There are many life lessons to be learned, both from immersing oneself in this mysterious, misunderstood medium that covers 70% of the surface of our planet in general, and from going sailing, fishing, and diving in particular. I’d like to reach out to as many people as possible around the world, hence this short, easy-to-read book.
A wise person once told me that her purpose in life was to leave the world a better place than when she came into it. I’ve always felt that more people should live by this nugget of wisdom. I have made it mine too.
My way of doing my bit is through what I love the most, and that is by exploring the sea and sharing my experiences. I hope that the ripples created through this book can over time become waves that benefit people’s lives.