Boatsetter, good or bad?

[tabbibus]

I know some folks here use it. My marina posted this today.

 

[Ronnie]

Why do you think this policy is in place? Do they prevent non slip holders from renting their boats for use on that lake? Seems like a money grab too me. Like not being allowed to bring your own snacks to a movie. Edit : especially of the marina rents boats or rents slips to boat rental companies.

 

[HangOutdoors]

I understand renting boats if you don't own one.... LIke when we rented ATV's, Snowmobiles, etc. Good Times....
With that being said, when I watch all the rental boats and pontoons being dropped off at the ramp in the morning when we are going out to do watersports, some definitely overloaded and a lot being operated poorly, it is quite terrifying

 

[Ronnie]

My son works for a boat (pontoon) rental place. His main duty is to clean the boats. I’ve talked to him about it and to his boss the business owner. They have been renting boats for years and have it down. All their boats are in slips. They take a $1,000 deposit on a credit card for every rental and they take video of the boat with the renter before the rental period begins and again when the rental period is over. If the boat is damaged they point it out right away and deduct the actual cost from the deposi. Just a few days ago a boat came in with a chipped blade, my son helped replace the prop the next morning and the boat was back on the water as a rental a few minutes earlier.

the marina is a different story, you can’t sub lease your slip or keep a boat there over night that is not registered with the dock master’s office. If you break the rules they have discretion to cancel your account and kick you out of the slip. They claim it’s a liability insurance thing in that to register a boat there you have to provide proof of insurance. A guest boat may not have insurance coverage and if it causes damage to the dock or other boats there will be disputes about who will pay for repair and replacement.

maybe the marina in this thread has the same concerns. That is they have a contract with the slip renter but not with the people that rent a boat from their customer. If the boat renter slips and falls on the dock at the slip is the marina liable ? Probably at the very least a litigious person or thmheir lawyer will name the marina in any suit, the boat renter may not have deep pockets but the marina likely does.

 

[Farny]

Interesting the Lake has the policy as well. Wild guess here, but I would bet 60+ % of boating accidents involve renters.

 

[wTheOnew]

... Edit : especially of the marina rents boats or rents slips to boat rental companies.

That marina has the largest rental fleet on the lake.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Port Royale has the largest rental fleet on the lake.

Was just looking around, you are correct. They have their own rental fleet. Wow.

 

[King]

...they take video of the boat with the renter before the rental period begins and again when the rental period is over. If the boat is damaged they point it out right away and deduct the actual cost from the deposit.

We rented from a place here in Georgia, up close to the Tennessee state line earlier this year that not only did all of that... They Plasti-Dipped the prop just looking for you to scratch some off by return time. At first they thought we were up to something as it was just my wife and I on her birthday trip. They kept asking; "it's just the two of you"? They looked so confused. Yep buddy, it's Capt. Boring and his lovely wife out for a leisurely float.

 

[King]

I know some folks here use it. My marina posted this today.

Does the Corp care or is that a bluff?

 

[adrianp89]

I use BoatSetter and GetMyBoat, no laws against it here. It’s a good side hustle for me.

 

[tabbibus]

Does the Corp care or is that a bluff?

Corp is pretty militaristic here.

 

[Cas1986]

I use BoatSetter and GetMyBoat, no laws against it here. It’s a good side hustle for me.

Do you inspect your boat for damage after each rental? If its slipped how would you inspect the bottom?

 

[tdonoughue]

Checking out the Corps website, I didn't find any regs or mention of a restriction. But I did find a permit application for commercial activity on the lake. One of the boxes is for rental. So I strongly suspect that there is a rule somewhere that if you undertake commercial activity it must be registered/permitted. That would mean the marina's statement is incorrect. It is not prohibited. It must be properly permitted (otherwise they couldn't rent either).

They can still kick you out of the slip, of course, if it is a condition of your rental agreement. But that is just that they don't want competition...

 

[adrianp89]

Do you inspect your boat for damage after each rental? If its slipped how would you inspect the bottom?

It trailered. I do a quick walk around each time.

 

[biffdotorg]

Checking out the Corps website, I didn't find any regs or mention of a restriction. But I did find a permit application for commercial activity on the lake. One of the boxes is for rental. So I strongly suspect that there is a rule somewhere that if you undertake commercial activity it must be registered/permitted. That would mean the marina's statement is incorrect. It is not prohibited. It must be properly permitted (otherwise they couldn't rent either).

They can still kick you out of the slip, of course, if it is a condition of your rental agreement. But that is just that they don't want competition...

I'm gonna throw out a guess here, and it's totally just that, a guess.

The corps of engineers manages shoreline on many waterways. And especially those waterways that are level controlled by the dams and reservoirs they build. Anyone building within the corp of engineers lines have to abide by their rules, and those rights may be revoked at any time.

That being said, the marina is probably operating under permission by the corps of engineers and part of their agreement is that they are suspectable to the raising and lowering of the water height by the corps with no repercussion to the corps. They may also throw in guidelines like, Yes, mr marina owner, you can operate a marina under these stipulations. You are providing dock space for seasonal renters. You may sell fuel and here is your permit to dispense gasoline etc.

One other stipulation maybe that they cannot operate a business other than space rental, and fuel sales. If they choose to rent boats, that may require further permits, or a portion of sales going to the corps. Either way, it's whatever is written into the agreement between the marina and the corps whent hey established their business. In this case, not to include rentals.

So if a lease owner of a slip decides to rent, it may not be against a corp rule, but rather a rule that the marina created and put into their lease agreement. In other words, read the fine print. These boat loan programs may have not even existed when the original agreement was written, so nobody considered an issue.

 

[Odysea Rentals]

Hi my name is Carlos I work in the Miami boat rental ! Boat Setter is taking over the business

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

At Lake Powell (National Park Service control) Aramark is in control of all house boat rentals and I believe other boat rentals, no private boat rentals is permitted.

I believe @biffdotorg is spot on with lease holders running businesses on their waters has to comply with their rules and regs and are responsible that all their rentals are in compliance with NPS rules and regs.

I also think that Aramark needs to assure their profitability to run their business on those waters, and would not be surprised if Port Royale Marina is the same. These companies assume a large capital investment, employees, safety of facilities, etc etc and private renters would be using said facilities without having to bear the financial or compliance costs assumed by the lease holders.

 

[Wisefam22]

Port Royale writes the rules for lake lanier. They pay the Corps roughly 22% of total revenue for thr right to operate on lake lanier.

Their rental fleet is huge even sfter selling off their 10 house boats they had a few years ago.

Good friend of mine used to work over there and I know the rental managers pretty well.

It's prime spot on the lake and the nicest marina on the lake as well.

You aren't allowed to use boatsetter from any marina on the lake for security reasons nothing to do with corps, though corps isn't fond of it because they can't get their piece of the pie from the rental. All commerce in Corp of engineer lake has to pay fee and be licensed to operate.

 

[kgower]

Corp is pretty militaristic here.

My home lake (new this year). They remind me of an HOA who have nothing better to do.