Ever thought of renting out your boat?
 

My company rents video equipment to productions, studios, concerts, conventions, and we take clients out on the cigarette sometimes, but i was thinking about why not rent it out direct if someone wants to take their crew out. Doesn't really matter where in the USA they want to go, just ship it like we do video equipment, they pay for all expenses, not just giving them it to run but have a driver included


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...75b31007d.jpeg

insurance coverage would or WILL be the challenge, unless owned by a company and insured for renting purposes... but i am sure the rate would be sky high !

and... all the other surprises that would come with it would kill me... people walking with shoes on seats, dropping beverages on / in upholstery...

You would have to really not care about your boat .
Everyone would drive it like they stole it , you`be rebuilding engines and drive quite often I`d imagine.

different story if you buy one that you don't love officially, and it's only purpose is to get ''used'' by renters, even with driver included...
than what happens happens, and move forward !

Nope you don't let them drive it, just like our video equipment we don't just give them the stuff and say go ahead we have some one operating it,

this isn't going to be for every joe blow wanting to use a boat for vacation just a very limited few

Yep its not going to be cheap and for most people out of the price range, my led screens cost way more than the boat and lost and damage are expected

Nobody takes care of a boat as well as the owner does.

I cringe when I see how people treat boats they don’t own. The inexperienced boaters are obviously the worst, not knowing how much time and money goes into keeping a boat in top shape. Even with a qualified driver/captain in charge, sh** still happens.

Ever have a party and see someone spill a beer, drop some food on a rug, slam a door, break a glass, drop rubbish on the floor, miss the ash tray, miss the target slightly in the toilet etc, etc? Yes, all these things can be cleaned up but if your boat is a prized possession, wouldn’t it bother you?

Confession first, I am a bit OCD with personal items. The only way I’d rent a boat out is if it were purchased with rental income in mind. My own personal boat is for me and my friends.

my 2 cents.

RR

No f’n way. Even with a driver, or an entire crew to dock for that matter. Wouldn’t let someone rent the wife out either. I’m sure it’s been thought of before, but quickly realized it was a terrible idea.

Sounds like they video equipment you rent out are “tools” towards a production. My boat isn’t a tool.

Not a chance.

Rental charges would have to be astronomical for it to work.

Funny reading this thread from a guy who’s afraid of a bag of Cheetos :drink:

People suck and most don't give a rats azz about anything but themselves these days. Hell to the no no no. Beautiful boat brother, keep it that way.

What do you think you could pull a day? Up here around CT and the Hamptons, 60-70ft Pershing’s and Sunseeker type boats are bringing around $10k for a day charter. I wouldn’t think those type of charter clients would bat an eye at $5k a day for a go fast experience.

if it needed to go to east coast it would be way more than 10k. like i said not going to be for everyone but you never know

True that, just bored i guess

Have you ever taken a close look at the condition of Rental boats that have been in service for a while? Now If I had a Capt. License and a 46' or bigger Post, Viking, etc and me behind the helm. Possibly. But a offshore performance boat? N.F.W.

From a different perspective…..…

If you were considering buying a performance boat and found out it had been in charter/rental use, would you view the boat differently to one that had only been used by it’s owner?

RR

Thats a really good point,

i looked at a 52' Sunseeker years ago and it had been used as a rental which turned me off right away

it all comes down to price, if it was a little rough but 75% off of retail.... I'm at least going to look.

If I had the money to do something like that, I think I would have a OB V-hull made with conservative power like 300r's. Purpose build it, nothing fancy and then why not.

The charge would have to be high as he$$ to pay and be profitable.

No way would I rent but I would consider a charter as long as you know who the captain is. People would pay good money to spend a day out on your boat but I wouldn't let them drive it unless you are hovering over them making sure they dont blow an engine or drive. I'll throw this out there. If some rich guy wants to charter your boat for lets say a poker run and you cant make it. Call me and Ill go drive your boat for you because Im just so damn nice I would do that for you. Ill take them anywhere they want to go as long as its on their dime....

I think the risk vs. reward equation is different for everyone. The problem that I see with renting out a performance/offshore boat is that if it abused while is under a rental contract, the damage may not show up for some time. That, and look at the hassle you will have to go though to ensure it's in good working order once it's returned to you. You will have to launch, run, then retrieve, then clean the boat.

Then there is the insurance issue as well.
(There is a current lawsuit out in the wild right now for a guy who dropped his manual transmission vehicle off at a DEALERSHIP for an oil change. A dealership employee started the car, it lurched as it was in gear; and killed another dealership employee. The owner of the CAR is being sued for it.)

You may rent it only with a "qualified captain" to operate the boat. But what's to stop the renter from lining his pocket to beat the piss out of it? Are you going to hold the captain liable for damage?

As long as you can come up with a price that someone is willing to pay, and you are willing to accept for all those risks; so as you see a financial reward; give it a shot.

There are all kinds of new markets out there for "sharing" goods. You know there is an "AirBNB model" to rent out your backyard pool now? https://swimply.com/ Yeah, no thanks.

Interesting concept considering it's a Cigarette boat and the company is marketing the "Cigarette Lifestyle" this could work with wealthy experience seekers.. With a knowledgeable captain operating the boat why not ? Big sport fishing boats are owned and rented out more than the owner using them. Probably would be cheaper for the customer to fly to your location vs towing the boat to the customer plus that would give you more oversite.
Yes insurance is a consideration and a waiver that is useless would be necessary and yes eventually someone may do something that's not allowed but you should be prepared for those situations going into the charter business.

There are 2 sources of recent rental info for you............Stu from FPC bought a 50 Sunseeker to rent with a captain to clients as a booze cruise deal or poker run rental (Matt Truilio did a story on it). The other guy was on here, he had a Skater and then bought a 35-38 Statement CC for a rental in S. Florida. He bought the right boat (CC, lots of room) and it was a triple OB so maintenance should have been minimal.

I/O boat I think you are going to find a small market (small cockpit/no shade/limited uses) but 20+ years ago a guy rented a straight bottom TG with a bimini top out of Miami Beach Marina.
This was the boat at the 4 second mark:

TURO rents cars/trucks directly from the owner to whoever signs up. They have some pretty wild stuff available in certain markets.

55 Sunseeker for $200 an hour, up to 10 guests (plus fuel/capt)
https://www.getmyboat.com/trips/8K5pbyDY/?currency=USD


I'd rather rent this for a day than a go fast especially in no wake zone heavy areas. Divided per person this could be reasonable. Go 1/2 day rental and get dropped off at a waterfront restaurant for drinks/lunch then uber home.......nice day on the water in a cool boat.

https://www.getmyboat.com/trips/5Yry0O3a/?currency=USD
This is an older Formula 280SS converted to OB's............looks pretty cool and $137 an hour is reasonable

There was a guy (he was a member here) that had a yellow cafe (it was or is for sale) that did just this. Rented his boat out, he'd captain and take groups out, I believe in Florida. Don't know the pricing. Don't know why he stopped, but he did.

I was approached on three separate occasions to "rent out" our Top Gun. One was to be used in an episode of The Mentalist. Think I got a grand to bring it out and have it parked on a studio lot for the day while I hung out and watched. The other was Brittney Spears handler contacted me to take her and a couple friends out to the islands for the day. The other was a rep for Dr. Dre (the rapper) and his wife. The wife wanted to take him out for his birthday. Went back and forth with both working out details, in the end Spears went out on a sail boat in Marina Del Rey for the day and Dre's wife ended up taking him to the bahamas or something. However, for both the agreed price was roughly 10k for the day or 5k for half a day.

Wasn't the big Nortech Lady Lisa rented out?...I vaguely remember it being offered during the Key West weekend maybe?

So does Hagerty Insurance https://driveshare.com/

I totally agree with this!

You wouldn’t rent out your wife would you or go to a whore house to find a wife.

Hummm

Look at what rental wave runners look like after one season! NFW i would rent a personal boat unless it was a pontoon or a bayliner openbow!! LOL
And im sure we've all been there when we bring people onboard and there's always that one guy that is just there to have fun no matter what the consequences!
Once had a dirt-bag onboard that got stupid on everyone else's booze and then half way through the evening he see a pontoon with friends he knows and wants to go there. I want this guy off the boat so off we go....the pontoon guys are lit brighter then this guy and start veering towards us......im yelling at the driver to stay put ill come to him....nope! he's the captin and he knows better! :mad:
Im turning away from him as hes trying to get closer to us...im yelling for him to stop....next thing i know the dirtbag is jumping from my boat to the pontoon...pontoon surfs my boats small wake and goes right into the side of my boat and gives me a nice 12" scratch just above the waterline. Dirtbag lands inside the pontoon boat but face first...karma at its best! :D Yells back to us to find him later... YEAH RIGHT!! We went about our night and dont know or care how he got home!
So point is these are the kinds of people that would be on the boat...driver or not it WILL get abused. Question is how badly you want it abused?

Watch a couple of episodes of Bonehead Boaters and that will set you straight real quick.

Speak for yourself!

I heard Moe Green is out at the Tropicana. :)

Couldn't even imagine!

Was this one supposed to be in the Lake Mead thread?

I get asked a lot and I’m not interested at all.

If you have a nice boat you care about and are intolerant of ****ty unrespectable people, I don’t see how you could do it and stay sane.

If you are renting the boat and using your specified driver, that driver has to be a licensed Captain

Nope.

Did it w/a house that I didn’t care about and hated it.

My Boat?

Id still have 20 yrs to serve before I got out.