What It Takes To Be A Charter Boat Owner-Operator
Published: Wednesday, January 30, 2019
There is a great allure to owning and captaining your own charter boat. Because we operate a fleet of charter boats, we are often asked how to go about getting a boat inspected for chartering. This can be a complicated question but, for starters, you have to realistically ask yourself if this will be a hobby business or your primary income? Do you hope to slightly offset the cost of owning a boat or are you looking to profit from it? The answer to these questions will determine what expense and what level of inspection is right for you. There’s a lot to this process, so in addition to this article, we made a blog post on the topic.
Contrary to what most people think, the US Coast Guard is not involved in most charter boat inspections. Most boats are inspected by the state in which they operate. Michigan, for example, has three basic types of inspections: a Livery Inspection – “bareboat”, meaning no captain is provided; a Charter Inspection – a captain is provided for up to six passengers; and a Coast Guard COI (Certificate of Inspection) – Coast Guard inspected for seven or more passengers. Only the last one, the COI, requires a Coast Guard inspection, the others are state-level inspections usually conducted by the DNR.
Assuming that you’re a safety conscious captain to begin with and one finds a certain pleasure in protocol, checklists, and maintenance, you might find that state inspections can be relatively easy. The boat should be solid, the gear well organized, and the systems should be upgraded and well maintained. If your dream is to be Captain Ron, you probably won’t make the cut. An old boat might be great for the occasional cruise with family and friends but the inspectors will have a different view of it if you intend to carry paying passengers. One could spend a small fortune upgrading systems and safety gear, which is why it might make financial sense to buy a newer boat.
It may seem backwards but requirements for safety gear, construction of the vessel, and integrity of the vessels’ systems are much more stringent when a licensed captain is provided with the charter versus if the boat was rented “bareboat” or without a captain. And the requirements grow exponentially when you want to carry more than six passengers and a Coast Guard COI is required. This is why most charter vessels stick to the six passenger or less inspection.
The process starts with an early application to the right agency. For state inspections, keep in mind there’s a big rush in the spring so make sure you get it in early and have all the details worked out prior to scheduling an inspection. For Coast Guard, it’s a much longer process and may require outside consulting. There’s a lot to say on this topic regarding insurance, financing, inspections, and the Captain license process; all the details can be found at www.greatlakessailingco.com/the-charter-boat-allure.
This article first appeared in the Winter Issue (Jan/Feb) 2019 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine.
tags: Charter, Do It Yourself (DIY), Sailing
