Anyone charter their boat as a business?

[BuoyCall]

Starting to explore the idea of chartering our boat as a part time business after we purchase it and gain the needed experience of being able to do weekend charters. Does anyone else currently do this to make extra money? We are in central Florida's east coast. Kind of putting together a business plan.

Thanks
Frank

[ItDepends]

Does you business plan include getting a USCG Captain's License?

Do you have the required documented sea time to obtain the license you need?

[Manateeman]

If you hold a Merchant Mariners Credential and have two million dollars in capital and someone in your family is an attorney and you have teriffic boat maintenance skills and you know the market in the oil field and you can speak French...all these must be true...then I can tell you yes...you can make money.
If you think that you can take a yacht and turn it into a business...you will need wealth management advice so please contact my manatee crew for their schedule of consulting fees and opportunities in pizza bazooka military contracts.
They would love to assist you with higher risk investments.
Mark

[skipperpete]

Since you’re in the insurance industry, do a check with the underwriters on what is required of you and your vessel regarding manning and inspection. A lot depends on the type and range of the charter and after the Duckboat and diveboat tragedies there are no shortcuts.
As manateeman points out.... yes you can make money but its a steep learning curve.

[BuoyCall]

Originally Posted by Manateeman

If you hold a Merchant Mariners Credential and have two million dollars in capital and someone in your family is an attorney and you have teriffic boat maintenance skills and you know the market in the oil field and you can speak French...all these must be true...then I can tell you yes...you can make money.
If you think that you can take a yacht and turn it into a business...you will need wealth management advice so please contact my manatee crew for their schedule of consulting fees and opportunities in pizza bazooka military contracts.
They would love to assist you with higher risk investments.
Mark

Now that was good...ill start taking french classes and brush up on my manatee grooming skills. Lol

[BuoyCall]

Originally Posted by skipperpete

Since you’re in the insurance industry, do a check with the underwriters on what is required of you and your vessel regarding manning and inspection. A lot depends on the type and range of the charter and after the Duckboat and diveboat tragedies there are no shortcuts.
As manateeman points out.... yes you can make money but its a steep learning curve.

Def not worried about the insurance part. This is a few years out to flatten out the learning curve. Yes a capt license is a must. Not looking to sail to guam, just simple (i hope) day cruises and work up to overnighters. Plan is to host upto 4 people max. Fig it be a way to supliment my cop pension and working insurance aboard.

[BuoyCall]

Originally Posted by ItDepends

Does you business plan include getting a USCG Captain's License?

Do you have the required documented sea time to obtain the license you need?

Looking for captains license class now, have friends with bigger boats than mine and im no stranger to "boating". Offshore (50 miles) fishing is what im used to the last 20 years. Will def acquire sea time in the yacht before even thinking of chartering. Plan is to do the Great Loop and Bahamas first. Fig baptism by fire will work well

[CSY Man]

I have been chartering my boat the last 6 years: Never got rich from it but the income will offset some of the expense in addition to the tax benefits.
Set un an LLC, transfer ownership of the boat to the LLC, switch registration from recreational to commercial, set up a business account with your bank, get required safety gear like Type 1 life jackets with automatic strobe lights, get a life ring, make emergency check lists, join a drug consortium (for USCG required random drug testa) carry an alcohol tester onboard, carry the latest light list, coastal pilot, rules of the road, paper charts, various forms for accident reporting and a few other bits and pieces. Get commercial insurance, set up a web page, print brochures and cards, get your Merchant Marine Credentials, get a TWIC card.
To make sure you got everything right, invite the USCG over for a UPV Examination.
It has been fun, but shutting down now, will go strictly recreational again.

[ChrisJHC]

Originally Posted by BuoyCall

Def not worried about the insurance part. This is a few years out to flatten out the learning curve. Yes a capt license is a must. Not looking to sail to guam, just simple (i hope) day cruises and work up to overnighters. Plan is to host upto 4 people max. Fig it be a way to supliment my cop pension and working insurance aboard.

Another way to supplement your pension would be to get instructor quals and do some teaching.

[valhalla360]

The problem is to make the numbers work, you really need to make it a full blown business.

Just a stray charter here and there and the expenses exceed the income.

So if you want to start and run a business, sure.
If you think, you will pick up a charter a couple times a month to offset your fuel bill, you are likely going to lose money on the deal.

[mvweebles]

20 years ago I used my trawler to teach close quarter maneuvering classes. Insurance was a killer even back then. Maybe I needed go charge more, I dunno. But sure seemed like my insurance agent was making more than I was. Not many choices either. Might work better outside of US waters. Check out the Neal's at Mahina.com

[BuoyCall]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

20 years ago I used my trawler to teach close quarter maneuvering classes. Insurance was a killer even back then. Maybe I needed go charge more, I dunno. But sure seemed like my insurance agent was making more than I was. Not many choices either. Might work better outside of US waters. Check out the Neal's at Mahina.com

I just checked out his website...wow. They are no joke, i like the map function there where u can see all the boats' ais (i think) locations. Very cool.

Im not looking to teach yachting as a business just a few day trips per month to help with maint costs and rum fund. I need to teach myself and get taught first. I want to be safe and keep the guests safe too. Ive looked around and found a similar service that charges alot...like 4k for 3 days. Im sure its nice making that money but out of my league to take my wife on a short trip for her just to try the experience. Not sure if that is the going rates all around but no way could i charge that much. Id want to be able to give interested folks the experience i would want and make it affordable. Dont have to get rich to enjoy time. Always say you cant buy time.

[BuoyCall]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

The problem is to make the numbers work, you really need to make it a full blown business.

Just a stray charter here and there and the expenses exceed the income.

So if you want to start and run a business, sure.
If you think, you will pick up a charter a couple times a month to offset your fuel bill, you are likely going to lose money on the deal.

For what ive seen another 40' yacht getting...4k for a 3 1/2 day cruise aint bad. 2 cruises a month if i could pull in 5-6k would be more than enough for me. Boat im looking for is a Silverton 453. 2 master staterooms and a forward bunk. Would just take couples, provide meals and a pleasure cruise dwn the ICW.

[BuoyCall]

What type of boat are you chartering? We were just in ft lauderdale for the boat wish i read your post last week. What do you typically charge? Id love to be able to just buy the boat and go but but no way is that feasible, need trained myself first. Been looking around online offering my help in biat deliveries but no bites yet. Ill keep trying, sonething will come up. I take my capt course next week, no stranger to boats just nothing above a 33' centerconsole.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by BuoyCall

What type of boat are you chartering? We were just in ft lauderdale for the boat wish i read your post last week. What do you typically charge? Id love to be able to just buy the boat and go but but no way is that feasible, need trained myself first. Been looking around online offering my help in biat deliveries but no bites yet. Ill keep trying, sonething will come up. I take my capt course next week, no stranger to boats just nothing above a 33' centerconsole.

Courses can be useful, but accumulating creditable sea time for the MMC can be a serious stumbling block.

Just having the MMC won't make customers line up for deliveries. You need a good reputation (track record), both with customers and especially with their insurance companies, and that can be somewhat of a chicken/egg thing.

CSY Man's post #8 covers most of the details you need to solve.

One he didn't mention is about your personality, your tolerance levels for scumbag customers, your ability to make molehills out of mountains, etc. Keelhauling recalcitrant bozos, for example, doesn't build you much repeat business. (And you have to be honest with yourself on this assessment.)

Another is about the boat itself. Some lend themselves to different types of casual chartering, some don't. Example distinction is about whether you can attract business for overnights (ideally need private guest quarters including head/shower) versus dinner or sunset cruises. That would in turn guide your business plan...

A third can be about "other duties as assigned" and possible crew issues. Who's doing the cooking? Who's doing the laundry and./or vacuuming? Who's entertaining the guests (describing the sights, reciting the history, etc.)? Who's handling lines?

And in the meantime, who's doing the maintenance (something will probably need attention even during a charter). Note also that you're best off if you can "fix" something -- at least enough to carry on, do it better back at the dock -- immediately. So as not to interfere with the charter's fun stuff. That's not necessarily going to happen easily with a boat you just bought yesterday. Three or four years down the pike, maybe you'll be familiar enough with it to be able to do that, but from the git-go... maybe not so much.

None of this is intended to put you off; just hoping you have an "eyes wide open" take on how/whether to proceed.

-Chris