Considering chartering my "little cp23 yacht" here on our inland lake .

[hockeyfool]

Just came back from a long anticipated visit in california where we spent much time in 2 sailor's paradises :
SanDiego & Monterey .
   I called and asked several sail clubs to volunteer as a crew member for races/regattas/cruising
   and ended up getting a gift from God , so to speak ; crewing on Dennis Conner's retired
    Stars & Stripes USA 11 !  Big wide beam at stern, open cockpit, plumb bow, bulb keel, carbon fiber/kevlar
      mast/boom, racing sails, and huge primary  and secondary winches. I was one of 6 men
working as "grinder". Did that that years ago aboard race boats much smaller in lakes Erie & Huron.
      Anywho --- when in the San Diego Bay I saw many sailboats in many marinas, many also anchored
on mooring balls close to shore, and many regattas in that bay as well as Monterey bay.
    Of great interest was seeing a catalina 22 moored off the Monterey Warf  in the shallows of the bay
       doing charters ! YES a teeny weenie c-22 chartering ! So now I want to look into this on my cp23
in our  neck of the woods; a modest inland laker in ypsilanti, mi - inbetween ann arbor & detroit.
    Pretty sure there would be locals loving the opportunity to charter on  a lower budget charter--
   have anyone out there seen this , done this ? Please chine in any comments .

[kickingbug1]

     i actually thought about teaching an introduction to sailing on my 16 (dont laugh clr sailors). the only thing that keeps me from it is insurance liability. my lawyer brother in law says that is a major concern. i would look into that aspect.

[NateD]

We bare boat chartered a j24 in Miami for a few hours. The guy had a few other boats (ranging from dighnys to an Oday 30) and he taught sailing. He didn't ask much in the way of qualifications, which I was a little surprised about until seeing the boats. They were fully functioning, but pretty rough. If a student (or charter client) drops a winch handle, scrapes a dock, or runs her aground, the damage probably wouldn't even be noticeable. Other than the insurance issue, if you skipper the boat with paying clients you'll need a captains license, and if you charter it bare boat, how are you going to feel when it comes back with those dings and damage that are typical from use? Also, some marinas may not allow it (or they'll want a cut of the proceeds).

I think we paid $125 or $150 for 3 hours, which included the gas. The owner had to come down and have us sign some papers, then he gave us a quick run down of the bay and where we could and couldn't go. That was in the middle of the day. I think the revenue from chartering the boat would be relatively low, it would be a bit of a headache to deal with the 2-3 hour charters at random times, the potential damage to your loved boat is significant, and the insurance/marina expenses would likely be fixed while your revenue would be uncertain and variable, potentially leading to losing money on the whole thing. However, if there is a charter company at the marina who can manage all the scheduling/fees and will deal with the charter client, then pay you a fixed amount per day (or hour), I could see that working.

[skip1930]

If it's a business and chartering, insurance will kill you.
I offer to take tourists out sailing on my CP-19 and don't expect a thing. I supply Ginger Ale, water, root beer, and snacks.
I usually get tips that far exceed what I could get for a 'paid day on the water.' No insurance, no tax, no paper work.

Sturgeon Bay is the best sailing area and Door County has a lot of tourists, as it's a County with 60,000 soles in the winter and 140,000 souls in the summer. I usually sail with Honey Moon'ers.

skip.

Bob Lamb asks; Skip....how do you advertise that?

Just print up a 'Come sail with me FREE' flier with cell phone #, add 'weather permitting', tips appreciated and pin it to the walls of the 'honey moon' type hotels, bed and breakfasts places, and the 'visitor center' as one drives into the peninsula. We are the 'thumb' of Wisconsin with more than 300 miles of shoreline around Door County. And on restaurant bulletin boards. Never buy a newspaper ad as that make this 'a business' and the city fathers will want to regulate you out of existence. It's bad enough we 'punish' visitors who travel up here with a 5.5% hotel tax so we can advertise more, and have more guests...slowly turning Door County into The Wisconsin Dells...yuck!

Opps sorry, I mean, "Welcome. Come up and enjoy our Dairy Air".

[brackish]

Are you talking bareboat or Skippered.  If bareboat, I don't think you can make it pay, if skippered probably not unless you handle it like Skip.  I guess it depends on the market demand in your area.  I know it wouldn't float here. 

Did the research into buying a much larger boat and putting it into charter service in the Virgin Islands one time.  I guess the conclusion I drew was that I needed to be in a much higher tax bracket to make that work out, cause a lot of that benefit is in writeoff.

I did rent a C-22 on Lake Keystone, just west of Tulsa when I lived there.  Don't think it picked up too many rentals.

[bob lamb]

Skip....how do you advertise that?

[hockeyfool]

My idea is to skipper the boat -- maybe advertise a mixed purpose offering ; sail charter for 3 hour, extended cruise with dinner
served, and maybe sail instruction cruise charter.  I being on a small inland lake will look into liability with coast guard auxiliary
recommendations and options for liability waiver .

[skip1930]

I always thought as a kid, about in 6th grade that it would be nice to own two ocean capable sailing yachts, live on one, charter the other one out, give up my citizenship, pay no tax, and become a citizen of the world and follow the warm weather.

I think I'd be legislated into some countries jail now that I think about it. But heck is any country really gonna miss my meager involuntary servitude and monetary tax input?

I think we are all like Lemmings.

skip.

[Davo]

There's a guy on Lake Hefner in OKC that does skippered sunset sails and also teaches introductory sailing on a Catalina 22 and 25 (as well as other people's boats if they buy them before really knowing how to sail).  He just advertises on craigslist and posts up flyers around the lake.  He also advertises boat work, I had him paint my boat once as well as haul out a few times.  If there's not much competition, I bet you can set up a pretty decent leisurely side business, ("business" being very loosely defined).

[bob lamb]

Here's my "backyard" sailing grounds.  I'd love to take folks on sunset sails!   Hmmmm...Craigslist, eh?