Does a hired skipper take a guest cabin on a bareboat charter?

Yes, a hired skipper takes a guest cabin on most bareboat charters, so a four-cabin catamaran sleeps six guests in three cabins once the skipper is aboard. The big BVI bareboat operators write it into the hire: a cabin of the skipper’s own plus meals, on top of the $250 to $330 nightly fee. A few larger catamarans carry a forepeak crew berth in the bow, and some freelance skippers will use it. Ask before counting on it. Small and reached through a deck hatch, it is a berth many skippers decline for a full week. A family of four loses nothing on a four-cabin boat. Four couples do. Crewed yachts avoid the problem entirely, because their listings count guest cabins separately from crew quarters, and the captain and chef sleep forward. Choosing the right yacht size for a group shows how cabin counts translate into guests.