Bavaria 31 Cruiser | Achi

All hatches were leaking (it rained once and water dripped in everywhere). The 12-volt internal sockets didn't work (but they did work externally).

The sailboat is good for its age and price. The problem is that it is not regularly maintained, especially the electrical installation, cables and contacts, oxidized, or the wire in the air is completely uninsulated. Due to their negligence, on the first day of leaving the marina, they touched the wire on the control unit for the anchor winch, which resulted in the fuses, relays and the winch motor burning out. The next day we had to return to the marina, they spent 4 hours repairing it. The next day, we started getting electrocuted when we went into the water and held on to the metal parts of the sailboat. We called their office and the next day the manager himself came to us with a toolbox without any electrical instruments. He found nothing. The problem arose when we checked out and this same manager exaggerated the event so much that we didn't know whether we were talking to a child or an adult. The manager's rant made the lady next to him so embarrassed that she kept looking at the floor out of shame and stopped breathing for a while. He charged us €85.00 for 5NM to come to us. We paid him in cash and therefore did not receive any receipt. We believe that the person who runs the business in this company is not at all up to his profession, so we advise against doing business with them.

Information about additional costs in the event of an earlier departure time. In our case: We were kindly offered an earlier checkout, but the additional costs were only deducted afterward. A technical detail was broken, but it was repaired on the second day. However, it cost us half a day of sailing. A small compensation would have been nice. But it was fine for us anyway, as everything else was very well organized. Thanks for the time with ValYachting Charter. Highly recommended. Otherwise, the service was very friendly and helpful.

The supplement for departure on Friday, but I understand the logic of the additional cost, the problem is that you can only rent from Saturday to Saturday while the cheapest flights are on Friday. The transit log is always more and more expensive (200€ for cleaning and papers compared to a rental of 600€), perhaps because Boataround does not take a percentage on it? The marina is too big, you have to walk for km and there is not even public transport (unlike Dubrovnik for example).

During our holiday, we had two small issues that were quickly resolved.

The furlex was a little broken and needed running repairs by me, it became inoperable in a fresh wind and others may have struggled with it. Anyway it worked fine after I’d lubed it with suncream and reconfigured it. DO switch fridge off overnight to conserve power - the battery is new but will drain in a day of moderate use.

The barge is older and it can be seen that it is intended for a carter. The bottom is moldy and hasn't been cleaned in a while. The service battery is bad and the engine had to run for a good part of the day to charge the battery. When picked up, the dock was in the marina and the battery was full. After about 6 hours, the low voltage alarm was already lit. The rudder is airy and it is difficult to follow the direction because the boat jumps left and right. Same on autopilot at speeds above 4 knots. The steering wheel is not foldable as it is in the photo and it is difficult to move from the cockpit to the stern. To properly set the mainsail, it is necessary to knock down the sprayhod and part of the awning so that the boom can be lowered enough. Otherwise, the sail along the edge of the flap. The marina is large and looks like a typical ship port. No tree plantings, lots of macadam. Impersonal, industrial.

The barge is older and it can be seen that it is intended for a carter. The bottom is moldy and hasn't been cleaned in a while. The service battery is bad and the engine had to run for a good part of the day to charge the battery. When picked up, the dock was in the marina and the battery was full. After about 6 hours, the low voltage alarm was already lit. The rudder is airy and it is difficult to follow the direction because the boat jumps left and right. Same on autopilot at speeds above 4 knots. The steering wheel is not foldable as it is in the photo and it is difficult to move from the cockpit to the stern. To properly set the mainsail, it is necessary to knock down the sprayhod and part of the awning so that the boom can be lowered enough. Otherwise, the sail along the edge of the flap. The marina is large and looks like a typical ship port. No tree plantings, lots of macadam. Impersonal, industrial.

The charter company should be added to Boataround's blacklist, as other comparison portals have already done. The pictures do not match the condition of the yacht. Unfortunately, we read the reviews on Google too late, but they describe how the charter company systematically acts fraudulently. New reasons are constantly being sought as to how damage might have occurred, but this is more likely to be due to the poor condition of the boats and the lack of regular maintenance/repairs. In our case, we are said to have driven into rocks, so that 3 of the 6 rotor blades of the bow thruster should have broken. This would plausibly have also damaged the hull, which was not the case. When we denied this, we were told that we had sucked in a rock, which is physically impossible when you press the buttons for 2-3 seconds when the bottom is more than 3 meters below the waterline. Next we would have sucked in a rope. The damage to the propeller is undisputed, but not understandable, as Val Yachting did not want to show any photos taken before or after the checkout. 1000 euros of the deposit was withheld in full. The reason given was that the part including the gearbox costs 958 euros and the repair time 500 euros. The boat would also have to be brought offshore. But that is not true, as it was chartered out again straight away. The next skipper will probably have to pay for the gearbox again. We are not an isolated case. At Pier 11, only 2 out of 12 got their deposit back, all of them Croatians. The rest had to argue for a long time. Despite all the caution, we were hit the hardest and, in our view, unjustified. Perhaps it is because the skipper's license was still quite young (<2 years) and there was no experience at check-in. The entire Val Yachting crew is also involved. The nice lady at reception had to leave in shame and also shook her head and gave us a regretful look. The rudder of the boat wobbled extremely, the outside shower didn't work at all, the water in the bathroom didn't drain from the start, the outboard motor could only be started with a lot of gas, so you immediately picked up speed and couldn't let it idle, the tools in the toolbox were also broken, the ladder on the bathing platform couldn't be pushed together completely. Some things couldn't be checked at check-in. Mr. Josip Dilber, the base manager, told everyone that as soon as they set off the boat and damage occurs (which is not foreseeable without a test), the skipper is responsible. A group from Berlin/Potsdam who took over a boat on our check-out day can confirm the scam, as they tried to help us with their experience. Val Yachting insisted on everything... so... NEVER EVER Val Yachting. However, we are now afraid of falling for this scam the next time we charter with Adventure Yachting. We have already reserved the boat Janis through boataround, but the same thing happened with Adventure Yachting and the Google reviews confirm it. If it is possible to switch to Kroki Charter in Sukošan, because everything went great here last year, then you can contact me directly.

yacht service

Val Yachting is definitely not recommended. The company is sloppy and unreliable. The yacht Achi is old, but above all neglected. Compared to other old boats, you get the impression that nothing is invested here anymore. The toilet was clogged, the shower pump didn't work, the displays no longer corresponded to reality: when the water tank was full, 25% was displayed. The radio had not stored an MMSI, there was no GPS connection to the navigation, the navigation of the ship differed from reality by several degrees (we were sailing over land according to the boat navigation system). Neither the call sign nor the MMSI were stored in the boot. The rudder was more than worn out. According to the office, a lighter for the stove or matches were not allowed to be handed out so that the boat could not be set on fire!!! The filling of the duvets was clumped. The yacht was not clean when handed over. The handover itself was very short and superficial, but the return was extremely precise, errors were looked for so that money could apparently be made. The dinghy was full of holes and the engine was so old that it didn't even have a safety plug. Our complaint about the toilet and dinghy was addressed but we have to return to the marina for that. When we complained about the broken shower pump the next day, there was no response. We will no longer be chartering from ValYachting.