Elan 45 | Betelgeuse

The boat had been chartered by a friend together with 2 other yachts and I was the skipper. The charter base refused to let me pay the deposit by credit card and demanded either a cash payment of €2500 or an immediate bank transfer. In the end I agreed to the bank transfer and made it in the presence of the charterer. We have chartered many yachts like this before but this was the first time that a charterer did not accept credit card payment in this case because they only wanted to accept it from the charterer. I also did not like the fact that there were no descriptions or instructions for use for technical equipment on the boat. There was also no place on this Elan 45 to store the fenders; the lockers were full of life rafts, ropes and other accessories. A problem with the outboard motor could not be fixed for days due to the Easter holidays because no tradesmen were working from Sunday to Tuesday. A defective lock on the front toilet door meant that a Cew member was locked in there for about 30 minutes until a non-destructive rescue operation was successful. The furling mainsail had also not been checked by the base beforehand to ensure it was set without any problems (when it was taken over, the wind was unfavourable so it could not be pulled out). It was only with great effort and several people that it was possible to roll the sail, which was rolled up in folds in the mast, out of the mast on the second day.

They charged us €120 for cleaning the propeller from the fishing silo with a diver. We wanted to do it ourselves, but they wouldn't let us. They also didn't show us any photos of whether there really was something small in the propeller.