Beginning June 2024, TLSS will offer families who do not have a Butterfly the ability to charter one for the summer.
Chartering Details
- Use of the boat during all sailing school classes and activities for which your racer is registered. TLSS reserves the right to use the boat during class times for which your race is not registered as these boats are critical to instruction of children of all ages.
- The ability to sail the boat anytime outside of class instruction and racing hours
- Right of first refusal during Butterfly races (both midweek and weekend). Should your family not be present 20-minutes prior to a race, TLSS will have the option to rig and use the boat for another sailor.
- Cost: $300 for the summer (~$5/day between June 15 and August 15) along with a refundable deposit of $250 to cover potential damage beyond normal wear and tear
Chartering Expectations
- As a summer Butterfly charterer we expect you and your sailor to take care of the boat as if it were your own. This includes understanding how to rig the boat without help from TLSS staff as well as rolling the sail and covering the boat immediately after each use.
- Should parts on the boat break or become unusable you are to alert TLSS staff in order to get parts ordered, as necessary
- While you are the chartering captain, the boat remains property of TLSS. It is our expectation that others will be able to use the boat when you are not.
BOAT PURCHASING OPTIONS
Your best option, and the one TLSS would prefer you pursue, is to buy a family boat. Used Butterflies in sailable condition can typically be acquired for ~$500 to $800. (Replacing missing parts may cost an extra couple hundred dollars depending on the parts needed.)
Used Butterflys hold their resale value well when reasonably well cared for and you will be able to recoup most of that outlay should you decide it’s time to graduate to a larger boat in the future.
We strongly urge you to acquire a used Butterfly (resources below), borrow a trailer or transport the boat on the roof of your car to get the boat to the yacht club, and throw down some old carpet on the beach on which to store your boat.
Butterfly Resources
Windward Boatworks (Butterfly manufacturer if you’re looking to buy new)