FEB 2024 UPDATE. I’ve agreed a sale on Zen Dog so if it goes through as planned, I’m afraid I won’t be offering my charter trips. Here’s a page of other boat ideas.
I offer 6-hour charter trips on Zen Dog for £750 (or £850 with an overnight stay afterwards).
Sadly if you are reading this from a link I’ve sent you, it probably means that Zen Dog is booked for your chosen dates
Are there any other dates that you can do?
I offer overnight stays from Monday to Saturday nights. There’s a 2 night minimum stay requirement from Easter to October half term. You can book an optional charter trip.
I can offer charter trips by themselves Sunday to Thursday.
Have a look at Zen Dog’s Live Availability
If you can’t look at other dates, here are some alternative boat and transport ideas. In all cases, please do tell them ‘Zen Dog Mike’ recommended them.
Staying on a Boat
Friends of mine have a bigger motor yacht in Lymington’ Berthon Marina called Sea E O – it is available for charter too. I’m their regular skipper.
For other boats as well as more conventional places to stay, try airbnb and booking.com.
If you want a longer stay, New Forest Escapes have fantastic houses in and around Lymington
Getting to The Hut
Whilst it is great to arrive in front of The Hut on a nice boat, you can still get there on public transport. You just need to get to Yarmouth – the Hut then offers a complimentary transfer to and from in their vintage military Land Rover – just call them a couple of days before to book it.
Getting to Yarmouth
If you can’t or don’t want to charter a boat, you can catch the Wightlink ferry from Lymington Pier. That’s a long walk from Lymington so the locals’ trick is to catch the train from Lymington Town to Lymington Pier station.
Better still, book seats on the wonderful Coral Star, a wooden vintage trip boat that operates a few times per day between Lymington Town Quay and Yarmouth. Tim the owner and skipper is a lovely guy and there’s even a small bar on board. You need to call him to book.
Book a Water Bus/Taxi
There’s a new water bus/taxi service called Fluid operating from Lymington this season. The water bus service intends to sail twice a day to and from Lymington with timings appropriate for The Hut’s early lunchtime and late afternoon sittings. You can book single seats or the whole boat.
Fluid is run by Urban Truant, a very well respected & long established marine training and charter business. They will be using a brand new 12-seat fully covered fast motor boat and have plans to ‘go electric’ next season. Fully details on their website – https://fluid.taxi/
Charter a Motor Yacht
Zen Dog, at 40ft long and worth about £150k, is at the smaller end of the charter boat scale in terms of size, price and therefore charter costs. Most other charter motor yachts are bigger and more glamorous. They often operate with a crew member to serve the drinks and “do the ropes”, offering a much more up-market experience. The snag is that you’ll pay a lot more – often at least double my rates.
There are several Motor Yachts for charter in and around the Solent. The Professional Charter Association website is a good place to look – all the best operators are members.
Friends of mine have a beautiful motor yacht in Lymington’s Berthon Marina called Sea E O . I’m the regular skipper.
Another friend runs a wonderful charter boat called Ramoseas from Southampton and will happily pick up in Lymington.
Both of these offer the full ‘Below Deck’ experience – so that’s free flowing Prosecco and staff to serve it.
Charter a RIB boat with or without a skipper
Rigid Inflatable Boats offer a wholly different experience. They are great fun for a fast transfer or a sightseeing blast.
I do skipper work for Solent RIB Charter . They have a large fleet of RIBs and offer all sorts of good value trips for all sizes of group – I’ve worked on several trips comprising 10 RIBs and 100+ guests as well as small family trips. If you have an RYA Powerboat Level 2 qualification, you may well be able to take one of their boats out by yourself. Chat to Jakob, Jack or Theo on 01590 607101.