Jupiter Sunsation

You have a point but there is a liability limit in Florida (old maritime law), if you loan a boat to a friend and they kill someone you are not liable. However if you loan your car to the same friend, same result you are liable....Weird for sure but I don't know if that translates to a business/rental boats.

Also note, places like Broward county are pretty much all no wake zones on the weekend so idling the ICW puts hours on the boat but not high stress hours and these boats might be better off running 100-200 hours a year than sitting long periods with sporatic usage (also consider these aren't high HP stuff, not 1075's )

Jupiter Sunsation

Boat swap maybe. Boat dies, run another one out to them and have seatow bring the broken boat back.

scarab63

iTrader: (5)

I know when I rent cars I take a certain pride and get my moneys worth by beating the ever living piss out of it. I'm sure I'm not in the minority on that.

Boats in general, never mind performance boats are a lot more vulnerable than a altima, or 6 banger mustang!!!!

risky

Jupiter Sunsation

From a rough pro forma:

5 boats to start- 200K
Dually wrapped as ad vehicle/tow vehicle- 40K
Insurance- 5k per boat per year, high deductible (total guess) 25K
Warehouse to store boats- rack would probably kill you unless you worked a deal with a local marina- 2-3K month
Maintenance guess- 2-3k month guesstimate for the 5 boats
seatow- 1k yr

265K instant hit, 35K for taxes/registration/legal set up is 300K
Monthly is 7K (rent, insurance, maintenance)- 100K set aside
400K you are in business, at $1000 daily rentals you need to rent 400 boats a year to get your money back/ each boat 80 times a year. So figure 1.5 X per week per boat and you get all your money back in the first year. Re-evaluate which boats are the most profitable at the end of the year, least breakdowns, highest rental days, etc. Consider investing in more of the better rentals, get rid of the headache boats (which might be all of them! ).

Year 2-
Fleet/truck paid for just have 100K annual expenses.
Rent the same 5 boats just once a week, 50K per boat per year in revenue = 250K
150K a year net income..........12.5K per month, $3125 week.....

Pismo10

The definition of performance boat is the question here. It would have to be a relatively low performance, bone stock, most bullet proof boat you could find that could be run full throttle all day and fly waves constantly and still hold up. Fractional ownership would imply more owner responsibility than a straight rental, which would get more beat on no doubt.

Jupiter Sunsation

I rented a 414 HP 5.0 Mustang last year.....wow it was fast and burnt rubber for blocks......

You clearly would be selective on who gets to leave with what. In S. Florida theft, illegal activities would be a real problem so GPS with shutoff capability would be required if you see your boat heading to Cuba or miraculously moving on land (stealing it via trailer). Spring break with 6 dudes and 4 cases of beer would probably be a no go! This would be a niche business, yes you need high net worth clients but you also need to be selective on who gets the keys. By keeping things moderate high performance you should be able to make the equipment survive the operators!

Jupiter Sunsation

From Post #1....... So now the boats......obviously the boats would be used, light on power so your fantasy of a 47 Apache with triple 1000's is out.

30 Mystique/ 35 Café Racer/ 38 TG/ 31/35/42 Sonic type stuff - Old School straight bottom Vees, Big dockside impression, safe enough vessel to handle (no step bottoms, no superfast Fountains ). Would you pay $1500 a day to run one of these rigs? Spend $3000-4500 to run it on a poker run (Cheaper than hauling a boat out of the Midwest)?


I had a small block 32 Sunsation that planed very quick, ran low 70's and never blew a drive in 300 hours of hard use. Motors were great for the first 200 hours then Merc replaced under warranty and less reliable than the original two in my opinion but still manageable.

Matt Trulio

Wow. I didn't mean to get you thinking this hard—but I love it. Of course, there would be hurdles to overcome—my mind goes first to liability, insurance and rental operator qualification—but there are always hurdles like that in a new business. If you could work out the big issues and the numbers made sense, why not? It's an intriguing idea, at the very least. Though not all ideas pan out, without them nothing ever moves and nothing ever changes.

soldier4402

No I agree and thats why I said long run renting hardly ever makes sense. For the guy that does something 1-2 times a year its a way better deal. In the long run Im talking using something consistently and for multiple years. use that toy hauler 15-20 times a year for 4-5 years, you probably lose renting.

ICDEDPPL

iTrader: (1)

I would like to open up a parts place right next to this rental place. Bravo upper gears would fly off the shelf!

I can see this working for fair weather boaters and tourists, a real boater want his own personal rig.