Advice for starting a delivery boat business

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by fish53

I'm not sure I'd want someone delivering my boat that was viewing it as a vacation. I would want a serious professional that paid attention to getting the boat where it's supposed to be when it's supposed to be there with no screw ups. You want to relax on a boat buy your own.

True.. as my last Owner assist said to me on arrival in Greece.. "I never realised how intense and exhausting a delivery can be" this with a 9 day break in the Algarve when one of the rudders nearly fell out.
It was only 2.5Knm..

[fish53]

Originally Posted by boatman61

True.. as my last Owner assist said to me on arrival in Greece.. "I never realised how intense and exhausting a delivery can be" this with a 9 day break in the Algarve when one of the rudders nearly fell out.
It was only 2.5Knm..

I did one delivery of a 45' Hatteras sport fishing boat with the owner, having the owner only ups the required effort making it more tiring at least in that instance.

[Captain Ivan]

Originally Posted by DEAN2140

"The LLC is not just for taxes, it also provides a degree of liability protection. All contracts should be in the name of the LLC and all client payments should be made to the LLC...not you personally."

An LLC will not protect you against liability for negligence, which is the most obvious cause for a lawsuit. It will protect you from some financial liability if you borrow money or incur debts to vendors and the like in the name of the LLC. Your best protection is your own insurance or being named as an additional insured on the boat owner's policy.

I have a friend with a policy that covers her when delivering other people’s boats, but when I tried to get the same policy the company no longer offered it to new clients. I also reached out to other companies, including the one that insured my boat and a friend’s sailing school, and nobody would write a policy that covered me operating other people’s boats. The only way to have coverage in the states is to be added on the boat owner’s policy as an additional insured.

Best of luck captain!

[boatpoker]

Sharon and I refuse deliveries with owners onboard.
Learned that one the hardway ..... twice.
What can I say, I'm a slow learner

[fish53]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Sharon and I refuse deliveries with owners onboard.
Learned that one the hardway ..... twice.
What can I say, I'm a slow learner

It only took me once, he got drunk and fell overboard, fortunately it was just as I was coming to the dock at Southport Marina on Cape Fear. I had to leap down from the flybridge and grabbed his hair as he was going under, fortunately the boat had a tuna door to drag his 300lbs aboard, no gaff required.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Sharon and I refuse deliveries with owners onboard.
Learned that one the hardway ..... twice.
What can I say, I'm a slow learner

Ah, you deliver power boats only right? There is a notable correlation of personality of owners and whether they own power or sail. [emoji849]

Ive done a lot of "instructional deliveries" with owners aboard sail. Never any issues, in fact they have all been fun. I think the instructional aspect may help with that.

[valhalla360]

Make sure to talk to a tax adviser. Lots of potential complications.
- Money made overseas
- IRS Hobby Rules (assuming you are from the USA).
- Etc...

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by fish53

I did one delivery of a 45' Hatteras sport fishing boat with the owner, having the owner only ups the required effort making it more tiring at least in that instance.

He was talking about himself..
I flew to Miami six days later to start a July Transat to Gibraltar.

[Palarran]

Lotta chest thumping here. In the 10+ years I've been on the CF when ever there is a thread about "Captains", whether delivery or personal, it always seems that there are a large group that say "I wouldn't do ...." or "I make ... and if they don't want to pay me - tough", "I insist that ....." except from Phil and Atoll. I'm personally beyond hiring a captain to help me when I'm on the boat, but for sure if the thought came out that if I was on the boat, you wouldn't be, well, you wouldn't be. Total BS IMO. I also sense that a lot of these so called delivery captains think they are delivery captains because they have done one. Or maybe 4. I wouldn't call that a delivery captain. Real sailors doing deliveries put hundreds of thousands of miles on boats getting them from A to B. Not across the Chesapeake Bay or from St. Maarten to Antiqua.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Palarran

Lotta chest thumping here. In the 10+ years I've been on the CF when ever there is a thread about "Captains", whether delivery or personal, it always seems that there are a large group that say "I wouldn't do ...." or "I make ... and if they don't want to pay me - tough", "I insist that ....." except from Phil and Atoll. I'm personally beyond hiring a captain to help me when I'm on the boat, but for sure if the thought came out that if I was on the boat, you wouldn't be, well, you wouldn't be. Total BS IMO. I also sense that a lot of these so called delivery captains think they are delivery captains because they have done one. Or maybe 4. I wouldn't call that a delivery captain. Real sailors doing deliveries put hundreds of thousands of miles on boats getting them from A to B. Not across the Chesapeake Bay or from St. Maarten to Antiqua.

You're a pretty good chest thumper yourself

[LuvSun]

Originally Posted by Captain Graham

Thank you for the offer but I am not ready for ocean trips, yet.

No worries, I asked him anyway, its all word of mouth and he has set rates that have extra charges for things like size, conditions etc. Its all very above board but its also not something he lives off, he puts it into his main business which is completely non nautical related.

Best of luck with the endeavour.

[fish53]

Originally Posted by Palarran

Lotta chest thumping here. In the 10+ years I've been on the CF when ever there is a thread about "Captains", whether delivery or personal, it always seems that there are a large group that say "I wouldn't do ...." or "I make ... and if they don't want to pay me - tough", "I insist that ....." except from Phil and Atoll. I'm personally beyond hiring a captain to help me when I'm on the boat, but for sure if the thought came out that if I was on the boat, you wouldn't be, well, you wouldn't be. Total BS IMO. I also sense that a lot of these so called delivery captains think they are delivery captains because they have done one. Or maybe 4. I wouldn't call that a delivery captain. Real sailors doing deliveries put hundreds of thousands of miles on boats getting them from A to B. Not across the Chesapeake Bay or from St. Maarten to Antiqua.

I hope you like "chest thumping" because here's some more. I've been going to sea since I was fourteen and I'm sixty five now. That's going to sea not wandering leisurely up a coast or drinking martini's in some swank Caribbean harbor. I only did a handful of deliveries mostly just to try it and see what the "real sailors" do, and it turns out it's not much. I may not be well educated and I come from a poor background but I'll stack my seamanship skills and ability to work hard against anyone's. Thanks for letting me vent, I didn't care much for your post but I'm OK now.

[Palarran]

Well, if bragging about my daughter is chest thumping - ok - I did it. It's pretty cool that a gal of 22 can travel by herself overseas, attend a sailing school for 14 weeks, and then be committed to not coming home for a very long time.

Other than that, the only comment about me was that I don't need to hire a "Captain" any more. Maybe more like a pat on the heart verses the full on Tarzan.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Palarran

Lotta chest thumping here. I'm personally beyond hiring a captain to help me when I'm on the boat, but for sure if the thought came out that if I was on the boat, you wouldn't be, well, you wouldn't be.

Total BS IMO.

I also sense that a lot of these so called delivery captains think they are delivery captains because they have done one. Or maybe 4. I wouldn't call that a delivery captain.

Real sailors doing deliveries put hundreds of thousands of miles on boats getting them from A to B. Not across the Chesapeake Bay or from St. Maarten to Antiqua.

I don't see anything about your daughter in this chest thumping rant

[fish53]

Originally Posted by Palarran

Well, if bragging about my daughter is chest thumping - ok - I did it. It's pretty cool that a gal of 22 can travel by herself overseas, attend a sailing school for 14 weeks, and then be committed to not coming home for a very long time.

Other than that, the only comment about me was that I don't need to hire a "Captain" any more. Maybe more like a pat on the heart verses the full on Tarzan.

That is cool and you're right to be proud of her, I wish the best for her. When I was 22 I had my first site as mate on an eastern rig trawler headed for the Grand Banks with a pregnant wife at home. My father was too busy being drunk to be proud of me so I did it for him.