Daysail / overnight charter as retirement gig?

[capt jgw]

Originally Posted by dalepo

Since you are taking paying customers the vessel must pass a Coast Guard inspection

I know the requirements for CG inspection are tough to meet, so I'd been thinking of a smaller-scale operation. My understanding is that with a six-pack license, you can take up to six paying passengers out on an uninspected vessel, which hopefully would reduce the paperwork burden.

There are still extra requirements for Uninspected Vessels, just nobody inspects up front for compliance. You're still required to comply, and if you didn't and had an incident it would come back to bite you. If you're here in Michigan, the DNR does inspect and they add their own additional requirements. I've never explored that but the charter fishing guys here say the requirements are pretty restrictive. You would also need a Captains License (actually called an MMD), at least at OUPV level.

[JPA Cate]

I am thinking that due to the high operating costs associated with old timber boats in most places, and the huge hours of work that would involve, that it would be very difficult for a non-sailor to make a go of it.

If you are a pleasure sailor now, with years of experience, that would be different in some ways, but for dealing with the public, etc., there are, as noted in above posts, a number of hoops for you to jump through.

The idea of being a paid instructor on someone else's boat, that sounds a heck of a lot more do-able, and sustainable with a normally aging body.

Ann