Boat for rent, would you do it?

[Solittle]

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

Why don't you hire yourself out with the boat? That way you get to look after the boat and be on the water. Another plus is you could charge a little as an experienced boater.

Just a thought....

Not legal to hire yourself unless you are licensed. Lawayers love these situations.

 

[salty87]

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

^ not only not legal but even if something 'minor' happens like someone falling boarding and a claim is made on your insurance, your insurance company won't pay if you're for hire...commercial. prepare to forfeit your own *****ets.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

Yeah, this is why I specifically refused to accept money for the ride. Suddenly it's a commercial venture and that's a whole other universe of liability.

Private pilots have a real issue in this regard as it can cost hundreds of dollars an hour to keep even a relatively small aircraft in the air but accepting donations just to cover costs is verboten.

 

[444]

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

Too much can go wrong on a boat too easy for me to ever be comfortable renting one out, even if you set the legal/liability issues aside. I just don't need my stuff coming back buggered up.

 

[Aquaman-PSD]

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

my answer would be well sure! Its that really nice 76 starcraft layin in the back yard... the paddles are in the shed. no need to pay me anything just make sure you sink it and don't bring it back

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

Nope never and any true friend knows better than to ask such a silly ? That's why in 30 years of boating it has never happened. Anyone who knows enough about boats knows that's a stupid idea to begin with!

Really? I let all my boating friends and family know they are welcome to ask to borrow mine (but not rent). I am not stupid, either.

Like everything in boats, it's all situational.

But one situation that will not occur is criminal charges against the owner who rents out his boat. Civil liability will be unlikely, too, although they may take a poke at you--until they learn there's no insurance coverage. The only way the boat owner could be civilly liable is if he does something negligent in the renting itself: rent to a visibly drunk guy, rent to an underage person, rent a boat that has something wrong with it AND that problem is the cause of the accident (example: no running lights. Wreck at night, you have a problem; wreck in broad daylight, probably not.)
But still, we can all agree that it is not worth the risk to rent to a stranger; you shouldn't rent to a friend/family; loaning a boat to someone you know is situational.

Here's a work-around: let's say you have a boat you seldom use and a friend wants to use it for an extended time--like a summer. You sell him the boat with an agreement that you will buy it back for some lesser amount and if it's in as good a condition. You could also finance the sale with a lien on the title but that's more complicated and increases the risk.
A friend did that with a car: his broke down 6 hours from home on the first day of a 10 day family car trip. So he left his with a dealer/mechanic to get a new engine, bought a used one from him (with a large family he needed a Suburban), sold it back to the mechanic on his way home and picked up his repaired vehicle. win win.
My wife and I have talked about renting a larger boat someday for a trip down the intercoastal but other than boat clubs it's hard to charter one around here (sailboats aren't so hard), so if we did it, I'd go for the sale/buy back, or just buy it and sell it open market on return.
None of that applies to the small boat/half day situation of course. But if someone asked you about renting, propose that to put it all in perspective for him.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

Here's a work-around: let's say you have a boat you seldom use and a friend wants to use it for an extended time--like a summer. You sell him the boat with an agreement that you will buy it back for some lesser amount and if it's in as good a condition. You could also finance the sale with a lien on the title but that's more complicated and increases the risk.
A friend did that with a car: his broke down 6 hours from home on the first day of a 10 day family car trip. So he left his with a dealer/mechanic to get a new engine, bought a used one from him (with a large family he needed a Suburban), sold it back to the mechanic on his way home and picked up his repaired vehicle. win win.

Sales tax could make that very expensive.

 

[64osby]

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

In Michigan it requires renter to be licensed by the state as a livery. Boat inspections and insurance are required to be legal.

I've let one of my brothers use the boat, he is a boater and his kid and my two were on it. He can be hard on things, but with the kids on board it was all good. I don't know anyone else I would trust with launch, operating and loading the boat.

 

[spyder9179]

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

Having said that my Best Friend, all he has to do is ask, he has borrowed my Harley, Truck, Guns and Chain Saw, and in every single instance the things he has borrowed have come back in better condition then when he picked them up

That would make it tempting to let him borrow the wife too!

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

That would make it tempting to let him borrow the wife too!

that's just wrong

 

[shrew]

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

Why don't you hire yourself out with the boat? That way you get to look after the boat and be on the water. Another plus is you could charge a little as an experienced boater.

Just a thought....

That is called a Charter and requires a USCG charter captains license and would also needs to be insured as a charter vessel. An Operator of Uninspected Vessel (OUPV) license, also called a "6-pack" license will allow you to carry up to 6 paying passengers, on an uninspected vessel. Otherwise you'll need an LML (Limited Masters License) for an inspected vessel under 100 tons.

 

[ShawnG]

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

I guess again, 4th of July, and lots of people asking if they can rent a boat.

Would any of you even consider this? I mean, even if it is an older boat, most probably don't have the knowledge how to operate a boat properly. And every boat is different.

And how would you know if they are using the right fuel, or mixture? Or pay attention when something just does not feel or sound right?

I would never do that. I mean, to a good buddy who is a boater, yes. But otherwise, no way. How about you?

Owning boats and jet skis are expensive, making monthly payments, buying gas, paying for storage and maintenance, sometimes these toys seem like money pits. To me owning a vessel makes complete sense if the owner uses more than 20 times in a year, and what to do about the other 345 days.

I am the founder of a company that allows owners to rent out their vessels with insurance. The owners, the vessel and the renters are all insured. The concept is "Boat Rental By Owner With Insurance". It is a web based platform, not consignment rentals, the owners keep possession and control of their rental and can easily reduce the expense of ownership through renting out.

I think it is a joke how many people just watch their RV/Boat/Quad etc. just sit in the garage or driveway and depreciate and or deteriorate. The expense of ownership is just too much for the average person. If you have extra disposable income and can pay cash, then it's not a problem, however why not realize some income from your asset? Unless your a control freak, one would ask why not reduce the expense of owning a boat if there was a safe and insured way to do so.

 

[theteacher]

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

Owning boats and jet skis are expensive, making monthly payments, buying gas, paying for storage and maintenance, sometimes these toys seem like money pits. To me owning a vessel makes complete sense if the owner uses more than 20 times in a year, and what to do about the other 345 days.

I am the founder of a company that allows owners to rent out their vessels with insurance. The owners, the vessel and the renters are all insured. The concept is "Boat Rental By Owner With Insurance". It is a web based platform, not consignment rentals, the owners keep possession and control of their rental and can easily reduce the expense of ownership through renting out.

I think it is a joke how many people just watch their RV/Boat/Quad etc. just sit in the garage or driveway and depreciate and or deteriorate. The expense of ownership is just too much for the average person. If you have extra disposable income and can pay cash, then it's not a problem, however why not realize some income from your asset? Unless your a control freak, one would ask why not reduce the expense of owning a boat if there was a safe and insured way to do so.

I would LOVE to survey your "owners" after a year of them "renting" their boat out and see how many are happy they did. I would wager that these owners are tight for $$$ and this is the ONLY way possible for them to own a toy that they have NO business owning if they can't afford it. How many of them end up bankrupt, I wonder. Of course, you're making $$$ off this venture for doing very little work and with very little investment, so I expect a bunch of B.S. from you on this and maybe even some fake numbers to support your money making idea off people that have little or no choice but to do this.
But hey, that's just my opinion.

 

[1899]

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

One time I was at the lake, I let some friends who came with me borrow my jetski, 30 minutes later im getting nervous, they are nowhere in sight, suddenly they get pulled back by a guy who said "you better be careful, they took a hard turn and fell off and your jetski kept on going and stopped at a wall." Turns out the drivers lanyard came off somehow. I said never again....

I woudnt let anyone borrow anything with an engine attached except a lawnmower for liability reasons. Besides, If they cant afford it they probably cant replace it. If get married i might have to loosen up a little lol

 

[Vankaye]

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

I looked into to doing this as I have a small waterfront house that I rent out as a vacation rental. I thought that by offering a boat with the house I could attract more renters. I looked into commercial boat insurance that would allow me to rent the boat legally and be fully covered. The insurance was gonna cost me about $3k per year. Which in turn meant the boat would need to generate that income plus enough to cover maintenance and fuel. It seemed like it could work. The kicker for me is that boating so often gets mixed with alcohol. I just couldn't live with myself if some yahoo was drinking and operating MY boat and somebody got hurt... We decided boating was an expense that we should eat and enjoy all by ourselves. : )

 

[aspeck]

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

Only people allowed to operate our boat without me being there are as follows.
My son (1 of them only)
My best friend (also a boater with a very similar boat and the favour works both ways)
My Dad (who taught me all I know about boating and is now 89 years old)

People allowed to operate our boat with me on board are as follows.
The rest of the immediate family.

That's it.

I crack up every time I read this post ... if he only knew how many of us destroy, er, um, I mean, use, his boat everytime he is out of the country. But shhhhhhh, don't tell him!

 

[JB]

Re: Boat for rent, would you do it?

I would sooner rent my toothbrush.:facepalm: