Depending on the type of boating holiday you are looking for you have the choice of both bareboat charters (no skipper or crew - you sail it yourself) and crewed or skippered yacht charters. We recommend a crewed yacht charters for those wanting a relaxing holiday with all the amenities and the feeling of being on a great sailboat without having to do all of the work ... crewed charter yachts generally come with a knowledgeable skipper and hostess who's entire life revolves around the boat. They understand the region and the waters, know how to get the most out of your time with them, and are dedicated to your comfort and satisfaction... checkout this crewed yacht charter directory to review a wide range of crewed yacht charters in Australia.

if you want the thrill of sailing and are willing to skipper yourself, you'll want to organise a bareboat yacht charter... Bareboat charters with 2-3 couples can make for an amazing holiday when you have one qualified sailor in the group and the rest are willing to pitch in. There's no one else to worry about and you are totally in control of your own boating holiday...find and book a Queensland bareboat yacht charter.

For a full discussion about bareboating, please refer to our Free boating articles section.

The ultimate offshore boat is a deep keel yacht which, if she is of sufficient size, should be able to cope with any condition. Large motor cruisers are also designed to withstand heavy seas although, like all power craft, they are not as seaworthy as a deep keel yacht. Obviously, for offshore cruising, the bigger the boat the better...both from the point of view of safety and comfort.

No matter what size is suggested as the minimum suitable size, someone will dispute it...and of course it all depends on how many crew will be on board. However, there are certain basic maxims that relate not only to safety but also to comfort.

What size is right

Once you've decided how many cabins you require, you'll generally find that there are multiple lengths available to you. Obviously, the shorter your charter boat the cheaper it is ...and while 300mm (1 foot) of extra length may not seem a lot, remember it is multiplied in three dimensions within the tight quarters of your boat and it does make significant difference on your overall feeling of space. Often, one foot adds sufficient additional room for an additional head, or more cooking area. If you have just one couple, you'll generally find that a 30 - 38 foot boat will work fine. Two couples are more comfortable on a boat in the 38 - 46 foot range. If you have more than two couples....more and more charter groups select 50 foot charter boats in order to really make everyone comfortable, although many boats in the mid to high 40 foot range are suitable for yacht charter.

Look at the layout (plan) of your charter boat and try to imagine your party there...are the head placements and number ok? Will you be able to comfortably sleep everybody? Are there bunks in a cabin (they work well for kids, the skipper or friends that are not couples), do you like the layout of the galley? 5 extra minutes studying your charter yacht can save you a lot of inconvenience during your boating holiday! If you have any questions please email us even your question is as vague as "we have 2 couples and 3 kids, what boat would you recommend?"

Keel yachts:
Bearing in mind that yachts vary considerably in construction and design, but working on the assumption that all are ballasted, designed and built to survey for offshore conditions.

A keel yacht of around eight to nine metres LOA would be the minimum suitable size for comfort and safety.

Your yacht would need to be totally enclosed with a self-draining cockpit and reefing gear as well as the required safety equipment and will need an auxiliary motor.

Innovations that can make life easy on boating holidays for a cruising family are self tacking headsails and wishbone rigs, which all help reduce the physical work without impairing the boat's performance significantly...All halyards should lead back to the cockpit since this not only brings all the running rigging together close at hand, but also avoids the need for crew to leave the safety of the cockpit in heavy weather... Inexperienced crews trying to handle halyards around the foot of the mast with the boat performing gyrations in a seaway can be a recipe for trouble.

Jiffy reefing is also a good innovation if it is rigged to bring all reefing lines back into the cockpit, and there are other features often incorporated into a charter yacht that can reduce the risks to inexperienced crew and make the work load easier.

Motor cruisers:
A motor cruiser used for offshore cruising must have the hull totally enclosed with a self-draining cockpit. The hull design should preferably be of the moderate to deep-vee or displacement design.

They should be equipped with 'sniffer' gas detectors in the bilge, particularly if the motors are fuelled by petrol, and have sufficient fuel capacity to cover the length of the charter plus 30% reserve.

All craft cruising offshore waters
must be equipped with the full range of safety equipment as described in our web section Essential Safety Equipment.

They need to carry a VHF radio which is capable of transmitting and receiving stations in the cruising area.

• All should be equipped with safety rails enclosing the deck and as much anchor warp as it is possible to conveniently carry.
  
• Headroom becomes important depending on the length of your charter. Apart from the aspect of being stooped over when moving around in the cabin, it is aggravating being cooped below in wet weather unable to stand up and stretch... Is is depressing enough to see your holiday time dissolving in the rain, but when you have to live in cramped quarters all huddled together, even the closest-knit families will tend to get on one another's nerves.

Room to move in a cabin, particularly where children are involved, can make or mar a holiday afloat. If there is plenty of room you can spread out and do your own thing without hassling one another. This is the only way to survive when conditions are poor and to do this you need a boat of reasonable size.

Houseboats for the broadwater and open lakes

The term estuary can be deceptive in that it may describe a small, sheltered river delta with relatively quiet, safe waters. On the other hand, some estuaries can be as wide and as dangerous under strong wind conditions as the open sea... Indeed, such areas can often be deceptive since their shallow waters whip up into short, sharp seas which can be more threatening to small boats and houseboats than do the longer, less turbulent waves in deeper offshore waters.

Fortunately, most estuaries are relatively docile and have reasonable shelter but even so, these can become very rough in windy conditions and therefore charter boats used for cruising estuaries should be of seaworthy design and correctly equipped to cope with such conditions should they arise.

This means, as described earlier, that your charter boat or houseboat should be partially or totally enclosed and have sufficient power, to make headway against the sort of sea that can build up when strong wind conditions. Obviously, you would not head out deliberately into such conditions since a cruising boating holiday is a pleasure and there is no pleasure gained from battering high winds. But you can still get caught out.

Unless your boat is capable of riding out these conditions or, at least, of making a run for shelter then a pleasant boating holiday can very quickly become unpleasant.

For comfortable and safe cruising, particularly in the more open estuaries and lakes, charter boats smaller than seven metres will usually not provide enough comfort and could even be unsafe. Much depends, of course on the design. There are boats offered for charter much larger than seven metres that would have difficulty in coping with and estuary blow. On the other hand, a well designed and decked-in seven metre boat with adequate power should be able to cope with any conditions that may arise.

Boats for rivers and inland waterways

Most of these waters are fairly shallow or studded with shoal paths and therefore accommodate only boats with a relatively shallow draft... for exploring the upper reaches of rivers and particularly in national parks, flat bottomed houseboats will make progress where deeper draft boats will find themselves stranded... checkout the wide range of Queensland houseboats for rent.

Some inland waterways can be quite extensive. Dams, lakes and similar stretches of water can whip up into a nasty chop when the wind gets up and create dangerous conditions for small, open boats. If your cruise takes in such a waterway you will need to watch the weather very closely or, better still, you will need a craft which can handle such conditions with safety.

Open boats can quickly fill with water and swamp and therefore a hull which is totally enclosed or at least partially enclosed will make better weather of it than one which is open and this will also provide some shelter in a blow. A good hull length - say not less then five metres - with at least a half deck will be necessary if you are going to cruise such waters with comfort and safety.