Anyone on here ever rent their boat out?

[Chris Fehling]

Hey guys,
Was wondering if anyone on here ever rented their boat out? Pros/cons? I am AMAZED at the price people pay to rent boats for a few hours.

 

[tdonoughue]

Thought about it; never did it. Amazed at the prices, but scared at how someone might abuse my boat... Lots can go wrong.

 

[Chris Fehling]

Yeah... but would I need a different type of insurance for this do you think?

 

[tdonoughue]

I am a member of BoatUS, and they teamed up with someone to offer an AirBNB style thingy for boats. Part of the deal was that they also provided the supplemental insurance required (that was my first question looking into things). Still, I never went for it. That's my baby... sigh.

 

[Dixie Highway]

Someone on here did this in south Florida, search icon up top might be able to find it.

 

[captainhook]

A few people have done this on the forum over the years. Some have had success, others have not.

 

[Ronnie]

I recall that one member here or the other site did so and the renter did a lot of damage to his boat. Mostly dock rash but possibly an overheat issue because the renter clogged the pumps with weeds and a tow line but didn’t clear them properly and kept using the boat anyway. The owner did Not see the damage until the next day because the renter deviated from the plan/instructions and just left the boat and trailer at the ramp possibly with a damaged trailer/flat tire. Insurance through the broker covered but it wasn’t immediate so the owner had to live with the damage for a few weeks. I believe it was the first and last time he rented his boat out.

Here are screenshots of the local jet boat rental ads I’ve seen lately on CraigsList. I’ve seen a few private ads for almost $700 per day, tempting but my boat is like my third child behind my son and dog, I can’t justify letting a stranger use it. others have considered chartering their boat and captain services out but that brings up other liability issues and requirements like a formal captains license (which is not easy, inexpensive or fast to get).

 

[Ronnie]

I’m revisiting this thread now that I’m considering making my boat available for rent. Here are some pics of the boat setter brokerage site that brings owners and renters together. These prices are for 4 hour blocks.

I need to look into a few more things before I decide if I want to commit to doing this, like i can offer to captain the boat for a discount or for more money without getting my captains license? What is the minimum effort I can put into this? Do I have to interact with every renter? Should I just put it into a local boatel and rent it out from there (which limits where the boat may be used) or have the renters pick it up and drop it off at my home? How does the insurance coverage work? How much will my premium go up?

renting the boat out is an alternative to selling it, not for the money (sale or rental), I’m just tired of the trailering part of trailer boating and don’t think I will be boating as much once my kid is in college 500 miles away.

 

[zipper]

Good luck, I would be concerned about a newby to jet boats crashing into things and running on only one engine after sucking up a rope. I don't know which one, selling or renting will net you more $$$ but the latter will bring more responsibility/headaches, with dealing with people.

 

[Ronnie]

I’m still considering which to do but renting it out keeps it available for my and more importantly my sons future use.

I recall another post where someone rented their jet boat out and all kinds of things went wrong / got broken (I posted about it above). The damage was all covered by insurance but the guy was out of the boat for use and rental purposes until it was repaired. I had a similar experience last year when the guy who rented an RV before me damaged it somehow such that we could not rent it and only found out a week or so before we were supposed to get it. The owner was bummed and pissed about the loss of use and loss of income, at least it happened at the end of the summer.

I don’t want to end up doing more work than I am now, I want to do a lot less actually so I’m still on the fence about the selling or renting it out. I don’t plan to do either before august so I’ve got some time to think about it but also think i could sell it for more if i sell it now instead of in august. Money should not be the deciding factor though. It’s hard for me to remember that when I see what it costs to rent a boat for 4 to 8 hours especially considering how Many days in and out of season I don’t use the boat. I think I’ve had it out 4 times this season (all day trips) and plan to use 2 more times (once for a multi day camping trip) through July. I won’t have time to use it in august and by mid September my season is over.

 

[Babin Farms]

For me it would be a hard NOPE on renting the boat out just because I deal with idiots on a daily basis and the mentality is "it's not mine, who cares, I don't have to fix it, easier to throw money at it than deal with it, not my problem" and never take into consideration others that would be renting after them or the owner because at say $500 a day that the owner of said boat can afford to fix it, "he's making a killing". Me, I'm total opposite. I like to return things in just as good if not better shape than I got it and actually take care of things. If I messed something up I'll make them aware and make things right but there aren't too many out there that have that mentality.

 

[2kwik4u]

@B0at1n You're being paged

 

[Julian]

Some people here have used Boatsetter and Getmyboat to rent our their boats. This came up in my Uber Drivers thread.
I looked into it, but don't want to let a idiot damage my boat. So I was thinking I'd captain it - but that requires a captain's 6 pack license (which isn't terribly hard to get). I may go that route over the winter. Main reason...I love boating, and it would be a fun way to make some extra cash.

The only other alternative would be to buy a used boat you don't care about if it gets scratched, dinged etc. But the problem with that is boats right now are CRAZY expensive!

 

[2kwik4u]

I don’t want to end up doing more work than I am now, I want to do a lot less actually so I’m still on the fence about the selling or renting it out.

Renting will be more work. No doubt. Aside from the coordination of getting a renter, organizing the rental, and all that, you will have additional maintenance and prep work before and after each rental. It can be lucrative, but requires significant hands on time.

 

[the MfM]

@Ronnie if you didn’t have the boat already would you be considering buying one to get into the boat rental business? If not there is your answer.

 

[captainhook]

The thought of captaining it yourself is interesting but I feel like that would drive me crazy watching drunken fools wear their dirty shoes, jumping on seats, blasting the audio, doing backflips off of the windshield, kicking speakers, spilling drinks, etc.

 

[Ronnie]

If I didn’t already own a boat I would not be buying one to get into the rental business. I don’t need the extra income but i would not turn it down either.

i still need to do a lot of research on this end but am currently thinking I will store the boat at a boatel and only rent it out from there. This eliminates the need for me to drive it to and from the boat ramp. The marina will launch and recover it. Hopefully I don’t need to show up to give renters a walk through on every transaction. If this works out initially, I may get my 6 pack license so I can captain the boat while others pay me so they can party on it, this would be a good way to get out on the water and meet new people as well, but I have to remember or be rudely reminded that these people are customers not friends. Again, I want to do less work not more. this raises additional potential problems, like how is my wife going to feel about me spending some of my days off boating without her and instead with strangers, some of which may be good looking women in bikinis, drinking alcohol. With a kid on the way to college she may be blinded by the dollar signs, initially anyway. Overall I realize that I’m fortunate to have this problem.if I lived on the water I would not have such a problem but with empty lots selling for over $1m, I don’t see ever living on the water around here.

 

[BigT51]

My family and I rented an AR230 a few years back through Boatsetter, my son actually found an add for it. The owner captained the boat and we spent the day on Raystown Lake skiing, tubing, jumping off rocks, and enjoying the water. It was the most fun we've had as a family in a long time and it turned out everyone liked it which is a rare occurrence for my kids. The owner was really nice and literally did all the work - blowing up tubes, hooking up ropes, stowing gear when done, etc. The next day I started looking for used Yamaha jet boats (couldn't afford a brand new one with two in college and third about to start). Eventually I found this forum and within 8 months had bought our boat. This has been one of the best things we have done as a family since it has created the opportunity to spend time together doing something we all enjoy. I was an avid boater - both sail and power - before I was married but had sold everything by the time we started having kids. So I got to rekindle my love of boating and have my family share it with me, and it all started with renting a boat through Boatsetter.

 

[Joe_C]

My family and I rented an AR230 a few years back through Boatsetter, my son actually found an add for it. The owner captained the boat and we spent the day on Raystown Lake skiing, tubing, jumping off rocks, and enjoying the water. It was the most fun we've had as a family in a long time and it turned out everyone liked it which is a rare occurrence for my kids. The owner was really nice and literally did all the work - blowing up tubes, hooking up ropes, stowing gear when done, etc. The next day I started looking for used Yamaha jet boats (couldn't afford a brand new one with two in college and third about to start). Eventually I found this forum and within 8 months had bought our boat. This has been one of the best things we have done as a family since it has created the opportunity to spend time together doing something we all enjoy. I was an avid boater - both sail and power - before I was married but had sold everything by the time we started having kids. So I got to rekindle my love of boating and have my family share it with me, and it all started with renting a boat through Boatsetter.

did the owner actually have a captains license. he would be playing with fire if doing that a lot without a license.

 

[BigT51]

did the owner actually have a captains license. he would be playing with fire if doing that a lot without a license.

I didn't ask, didn't think about it at the time. There may be a loophole in that no money exchanges hands, it's all done through Boatsetter. In addition, all communication between renters and owners is done through Boatsetter's a well. They handle the insurance and provide guarantees for the services provided. There was no direct contact between me and the boat owner until we met at the dock on the lake. It's very similar to the AirBnb and VRBO setup for renting houses.