Starting up a Yacht Charter in Australia

[Reefmagnet]

You need a coxswains cert for 12m or less. Bigger than that and you'll be looking at dual master and engineer certs.

[brianlara 3]

Originally Posted by mickelsen

All you need is a six pack. Take the exam and do it on your own not one of the expensive so called schools. You can find sample tests on line. Must also document 360 days of sea time. Could be as a passenger or guest or deck hand. For the betterment of all know your stuff.

A U S T R A L I A !!!!.....

[tp12]

The Yachtmaster has commercial endorsement in Australia now so you can go that route if you want to offer a crewed charter boat under 24m. Ass others have said, AMSA is your ruling authority and off the top of my head, I looked into this earlier this year, 2C is the survey you'll likely need.

Are you talking a crewed charter under 24m boat length?

[dadinabarrel]

Haha, thanks guys, it feels like we're getting somewhere.

Charter Yacht - 51' Steel Ketch doing Whale watching Daytrips out of Dampier (Survey 3B), maybe Adventure trips to the Montebellos (Survey 2B)

[Olddave]

Day trips Whale watching out of Dampier would be 1C, 3b is a fishing boat. I presume you are talking more than 12 pax.
Montebellos is 2B because you will have less than 13 pax., and be more than 30nm from the coast.
It's a good idea and Dampier is a great spot. But make no mistake it is an expensive game to play.
You will need to develop a Safety Managment System. It is compulsory with all vessels these days and a good way to formalise how a safety culture can be developed and maintained on board. You can do this yourself if you are good at that sort of thing or you might want to pay someone like Ocean Time Marine. They seem to be active in filling that niche at the moment. I don't know them, so can't comment on their product.
Dave

[dadinabarrel]

Thanks Dave, I got this from AMSA:

Up to 200nm Seaward:
– 12 passengers or less (Class 2B) Montibellos

Up to 60nm Seaward:
– 12 passengers or less (Class 2C)

Sorry mate, got my numbers mixed up, lots of details to keep track of.

S & S 34 was the yacht I learned to sail on trips to Rotto back in the 80's still a great boat, a real classic

I sail on Pegasus II out of FSC these days when I get the chance

[Olddave]

AMSA keep moving the goal posts! I thought 2C was 30nm but with areas like the Abrolhos now accessible.
You would be well advised to go for 2B straight off, so you are not restricted when moving up and down the coast. I hope the boat is already in survey because it is very difficult to satisfy the NSCV requirements otherwise. They specify fire retardant engine space linings etc.
I will be at FSC most of this week, pulling the motor for a major service
Dave

[Crocboy]

All commercial coastal boating (surveys & licensing) now comes under a national system in Australia administered by AMSA.
They should be your first port of call and should be able to answer your queries.
Good luck with your venture.

[Shooze]

You have had some good advice to date.

Question is what is the current survey status of the vessel ? Is it already in survey in WA or anywhere in Aus ?

FYI I bought a vessel in Qld 2C survey and brought her around the top end under the auspices of AMSA, assuming that a reciprocal 2C survey would be issued in WA. Didn't happen and I had a very tough time trying to re-instigate the 2C classification, which cost me many $,000s

This is 9 years ago now but at the time AMSA were a nightmare to deal with regarding the relocation of the vessel. They wanted me to rent and install satellite communications equip (sat phone wasn't good enough and satcoms were bloody expensive then) board up all the windows, medical exams for all crew making the passage, change all through hull hoses, buy every single chart etc etc.

Hopefully your situation is a lot more straightforward.

[dadinabarrel]

Bugger Shooze, that sounds bad, the current owners had it surveyed for insurance last year and I have a copy of that, I'm going to run it past AMSA to see what they say. Are there any non passenger carrying businesses that people are aware of that I can run from a yacht?

[StuM]

Originally Posted by dadinabarrel

Bugger Shooze, that sounds bad, the current owners had it surveyed for insurance last year and I have a copy of that, I'm going to run it past AMSA to see what they say. Are there any non passenger carrying businesses that people are aware of that I can run from a yacht?

A survey for commercial use is nothing like an insurance survey. AMSA won't be interested.

There are a few non-passenger businesses for a yacht, but I can't think of a legal one off-hand

[dadinabarrel]

Gold yeah, I can think of a few. I guess I'll just have to see what they say

[Jim Cate]

A survey for commercial use is nothing like an insurance survey. AMSA won't be interested.

DIAB, the above sentence is the crux of the situation. Your prospect boat is NOT in commercial survey (if it was the seller would be proudly proclaiming such), and to achieve that status is VERY expensive, requires significant modifications to most production yachts and is in general a big PITA. Watched a friend do this to a very nice Cheoy Lee 50 that he salvaged and rebuilt from a holed hull up. By the time he finally got the survey requirements satisfied, he had grossly overspent his budget, his plans for a commercial day-charter business were fiscally unachievable, and he bitterly regretted the whole process.

These requirements scuttle a lot of naive plans to make one's hobby pay for itself!

Jim

[dadinabarrel]

Well that really sucks man, but that's why I started the tread, I'll keep everyone posted so the information is complete

[Toph]

Have you done any research into the market yet? What about competitors? It is very seasonal up there. Most of the current charter outfits come down south over the wet season (even the big ones) while I know of a few outfits down south that go north in the winter.

Are you looking for a career change, or a way to recoup costs for your boat? If it is the former, then keep researching. If it is the later, then just stop now.