Boat rent out query.

[liambarrett-17]

Hey hey!

 

Was hoping someone might be able to give me some advice. I have a 40ft narrowboat that im currently renovating and if possible i would like to rent it out for 6 months of the year. Is there a way to do this safely and securely? I would be out the country so it would need to be done in a way so that i cant be there. Does anyone have any experience doing something similar? 

 

All suggestions appreciated. Thankyou!

[MtB]

3 minutes ago, liambarrett-17 said:

All suggestions appreciated. Thankyou!

 

Use the search box to find the numerous threads on exactly this subject.

 

The main problems are the onerous extra requirements if you plan to let your tenant go out cruising, along with what you do if when you want the boat back, it is nowhere to be found. Possibly lifted out and cut up for scrap while you are away!

 

 

 

In summary, don't do it. 

 

 

 

 

[David Mack]

Hiring out your boat is business use and comes under a whole different set of rules. See https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/business-and-trade/business-boating/starting-or-expanding-a-boating-business

 

The only practical way to do this is a sponsored boat in a hire fleet. The hire company runs the boat, but you own it. But they usually source a new boat that meets their requirements, and it is very unlikely they will be interested in your current boat.

[Tam & Di]

2 hours ago, MtB said:

 

Use the search box to find the numerous threads on exactly this subject.

 In fact I believe the question was last asked just a few weeks ago. Even if you comply with all the safety and bureaucratic requirements it is still a risky thing to do if you hope to get your boat back in a similar condition to how  it is now - or at all, come to that, either because the occupant refuses to leave or because he has already sold it secretly to someone else.

Edited April 23 by Tam & Di

[Arthur Marshall]

Before I was aware of any of the rules about renting a private boat out, I did it fairly regularly, until I realised that it always, but always, came back damaged - massive dent in the hull, deck planks broken, engine out of oil or stern tube not greased, toilet unemptied, batteries flat, internal fittings damaged and more - and these were friends or close acquaintances I was lending it to. None ever admitted doing the damage, they never mentioned it or offered to pay to remedy it.

You'd spend the next six months of your occupancy putting it right, and possibly replacing the gearbox.

[PeterScott]

5 hours ago, liambarrett-17 said:

..I have a 40ft narrowboat that im currently renovating and if possible i would like to rent it out for 6 months of the year. Is there a way to do this safely and securely? ...

As advice above, probably not.

This site https://www.boatrent.co.uk/how-to-insure-a-rented-boat is run by a sensible person and offers advice on how to rent out a private boat without it becoming a hireboat, and elsewhere on the site has messages from aspiring boaters seeking rental arrangements - to liveaboard rather than cruise.

FWIW

[IanD]

1 hour ago, PeterScott said:

As advice above, probably not.

This site https://www.boatrent.co.uk/how-to-insure-a-rented-boat is run by a sensible person and offers advice on how to rent out a private boat without it becoming a hireboat, and elsewhere on the site has messages from aspiring boaters seeking rental arrangements - to liveaboard rather than cruise.

FWIW

 

So that's a fiddle to get an insurance policy in the first place, so you can get a license.

 

Whether the insurer would pay out in the event of a claim once they spotted the (obvious) fiddle is another issue entirely...

[haggis]

I thought Stimpson had retired. A canal society I was involved with had an unfortunate experience with him years ago when he gave us an insurance certificate from a company who had no knowledge of our boat. It transpired that Stimpson had undertaken to insure the boat himself but had led us to believe we were insured with a " proper' insurance company

 

[MtB]

3 hours ago, haggis said:

I thought Stimpson had retired. A canal society I was involved with had an unfortunate experience with him years ago when he gave us an insurance certificate from a company who had no knowledge of our boat. It transpired that Stimpson had undertaken to insure the boat himself but had led us to believe we were insured with a " proper' insurance company

 

 

I was wondering if Stimpson was actually the author of that set of websites.

 

 

[BilgePump]

There seem to be a lot of overly optimistic potential boat renters on that site. A common theme in some of the listings by those wanting to rent is that they like the idea of the lifestyle and see it as a low cost way of life to save up some cash before buying a boat of their own. However, with so many newspaper/media stories about how cheap it is to live on the canals, they don't seem to have much of a clue about the going rate for long-term legitimate hire. There are some offering in the £300-£500 per month range, one offering £150/wk and another suggesting £700/mo. Many are hoping for a static mooring and a decent sized boat in expensive areas. I can't see many boat owners chomping at the bit to rent out at those kids of prices, even if there was an easy way to do it all above board.

[MtB]

6 minutes ago, BilgePump said:

There seem to be a lot of overly optimistic potential boat renters on that site. A common theme in some of the listings by those wanting to rent is that they like the idea of the lifestyle and see it as a low cost way of life to save up some cash before buying a boat of their own. However, with so many newspaper/media stories about how cheap it is to live on the canals, they don't seem to have much of a clue about the going rate for long-term legitimate hire. There are some offering in the £300-£500 per month range, one offering £150/wk and another suggesting £700/mo. Many are hoping for a static mooring and a decent sized boat in expensive areas. I can't see many boat owners chomping at the bit to rent out at those kids of prices, even if there was an easy way to do it all above board.

 

Illustrated by the other side of the coin, boats on that site available to rent. There is just one, a nice-looking cruiser for £1,200 a month. Its in a nice spot on the Thames at Chertsey in, I think,  the weir stream. From memory it is miles from anywhere to park the car and a two-bed house in the same area can be rented for the same money.

 

The boatlord makes it very clear in the listing it is for living on not cruising around. Good luck with that I find myself thinking! 

[IanD]

1 hour ago, MtB said:

 

Illustrated by the other side of the coin, boats on that site available to rent. There is just one, a nice-looking cruiser for £1,200 a month. Its in a nice spot on the Thames at Chertsey in, I think,  the weir stream. From memory it is miles from anywhere to park the car and a two-bed house in the same area can be rented for the same money.

 

The boatlord makes it very clear in the listing it is for living on not cruising around. Good luck with that I find myself thinking! 

 

Whether it's legitimately licensed and insured for rent is another issue entirely... 😉 

Edited April 24 by IanD

[Arthur Marshall]

6 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

Whether it's legitimately licensed and insured is another issue entirely... 😉 

I'd imagine CRT keep an eye on the site, though I'd have my doubts about it even being a valid listing.

[Tam & Di]

The weir stream at Chertsey is Environment Agency waters, but they are pretty hot too, to say the least.

Edited April 24 by Tam & Di
EBA should read EA (Environment Agency)

[MtB]

6 minutes ago, Tam & Di said:

The weir stream at Chertsey is EBA waters, but they are pretty hot too, to say the least.

 

EBA?

 

What are the Environment Agency rules on renting? 

 

 

[Tam & Di]

Although it took a long time I believe they have been pretty heavy on the guy with several boats at Teddington used as AirBNBs

Edited April 24 by Tam & Di

[roland elsdon]

23 hours ago, haggis said:

I thought Stimpson had retired. A canal society I was involved with had an unfortunate experience with him years ago when he gave us an insurance certificate from a company who had no knowledge of our boat. It transpired that Stimpson had undertaken to insure the boat himself but had led us to believe we were insured with a " proper' insurance company

 

He was an underwriter. Authorised to write insurance policies on behalf of several companies.

He printed his own policies underwritten ( when I worked with him in the 1980s) by if I recollect Royal Insurance , Sun Alliance and Commadore  Marine.

He worked with the companies on the specialist insurance of ex commercial boats. 
He also held agencies as a broker with other companies.

Course dont know what happened after I left in 1986 ish.

[MtB]

I've never met a poor insurance broker....

 

Quite a few seriously wealthy ones though.

 

 

But underwriting is one whole level UP. Two levels even!